New Moisture Meter

[barmstrong2]

Picked up a moisture meter today at Harbor Freight (and one for my brother for Christmas) thanks to you guys on this forum. I never heard of such a thing before reading of it here!
I've been playing with it on my wood piles. Interesting stuff! I have some red oak that was standing dead 3 years, CSS 2 years that is measuring 14%-19%, depending on the size of the split. Bigger splits, over 6", are a little higher, 17%-19%, but, all of it has measured below 20%. I found one, a small split around 3" that measured 14% on a fresh split.
My cedar kindling measures 14% and in my fresh CSS, I found some sugar maple that was a blow down and CSS in October that is 32%.
Everything I split and tested in the shed for this year was under 20%. Oak, beech, maple, elm... all good to go, as expected. I knew the oak was dry, as it ignites in a flash when I throw it on the coals.
My neighbor just bought some "seasoned" firewood this week and was curious how seasoned it is. We split a few and found 20%-34%. He's splitting it up smaller and bringing a good stack inside to dry.
Best $15 I've spent in a long time!

 

[EG GREV NED MIN ELD]

I picked up the same MM. Love testing the stuff I have, helps me decide when it is ready for cover.
Just a word of advice, when pushing in the prongs make sure you go straight in and straight out. I bent mine by inadvertently twisting it. Cut them down a bit and sharpened them with a file, seems to still work, just keep in mind that they are fragile.

 

[Riff]

Picked up mine from Amazon, no HF nearby, and it just got here this week. Like you I'd never heard of them prior to coming to this forum and it's quite nice to be able to go around and test the wood I've been burning then seeing that it all has been below 20%. Feeling much safer and warmer since coming here and it's only been a few months now.

 

[DaveH]

I bought mine at Harbor Freight also. Pick up a spare battery, the stock one didnt last more than a month on mine. They are very cheap to replace. It's been useful for me already. I got a free load of split red maple that passed the eye ball test. It had been split, but not stacked, for a couple years and I thought it was ready to go. I stacked in on pallets near the basement door, assuming a couple weeks top covered it would be good to go. Nope, fresh split, tested....50%. Cut my losses and moved it to pallets out by the wood shed, I'll leave it for next year. Like I said, this wood passed the eye ball test, maybe felt a bit heavy, but I would have thought I could burn it this year. $10 meter saved me from some potential creosote.

 

[Seanm]

Best $15 I've spent in a long time!

Glad you like it. I think they are a cheap easy and fun tool to have at our disposal. Following comment meant more to the folks reading the thread than just to the op. Make sure you are checking the reading on a fresh split. They say you should not go across the grain but with it. Although I believe this to be true Ive never seen the difference. Keep in mind that to get a proper reading the wood will need to be as close to 70 f as possible which usually means bringing it inside for the night and then splitting it and testing it the next day. Moisture meters are set to work at 70 f.

 

[Burn Time]

Picked up a moisture meter today at Harbor Freight (and one for my brother for Christmas) thanks to you guys on this forum. I never heard of such a thing before reading of it here!
I've been playing with it on my wood piles. Interesting stuff! I have some red oak that was standing dead 3 years, CSS 2 years that is measuring 14%-19%, depending on the size of the split. Bigger splits, over 6", are a little higher, 17%-19%, but, all of it has measured below 20%. I found one, a small split around 3" that measured 14% on a fresh split.
My cedar kindling measures 14% and in my fresh CSS, I found some sugar maple that was a blow down and CSS in October that is 32%.
Everything I split and tested in the shed for this year was under 20%. Oak, beech, maple, elm... all good to go, as expected. I knew the oak was dry, as it ignites in a flash when I throw it on the coals.
My neighbor just bought some "seasoned" firewood this week and was curious how seasoned it is. We split a few and found 20%-34%. He's splitting it up smaller and bringing a good stack inside to dry.
Best $15 I've spent in a long time!

Those test instruments tell us that most standing dead trees are seasoned. I learned that from several years of elms. Another factor is the ability to bring seasoned cord wood inside a week or so before burning. The wood acquires extra dryness. Not establish can manage this, but it pays dividends.