Moisture Meters

[Bear]

Has anyone got suggestion on what brand of Moisture meter to buy for under 100 dollars that is any good? I have app 500 bdft of walnut and some ash air drying.

[herb fellows]

No personal experience, but I hear the Ligno Mini is supposed to be good.

[Mr__Bill]

A down and dirty setup for a DMM to read moisture content.


The electrical resistance of wood varies with its moisture. Drive two sharp metal pins about 30 mm apart and about 10 mm into the wood. Measure the resistance along the grain (lengthwise).

moisture % 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
megaohms 4800 630 120 33 11 4.5 2.1


You can also cut a piece off your wood, weigh it, then dry it in an oven until it stops decreasing in weight. Then you will know precisely how much moisture there was in your sample.

Bill,
The internet, the gods gift to plagiarists.

[chopnhack]

That is really cool, thanks Bill!

[cabinetman]

Originally Posted by Mr__Bill

You can also cut a piece off your wood, weigh it, then dry it in an oven until it stops decreasing in weight. Then you will know precisely how much moisture there was in your sample.

Bill,
The internet, the gods gift to plagiarists.

This test will only reveal a difference in weight (which can be figured in a percentage). You didn't know the %MC when starting. The percentage of weight difference may reflect the percentage of moisture change, but will not reveal the MC of the sample. FWIW.
.

[SARGE..g-47]

I have a Wagner Bear.. I have used a Lignomat (sp), both are excellent but... neither are under $100. I also have a Timber Check I use when I go up the road to my hard-wood supplier. It is a pin type opposed to digital read of most and cost around $60 at Highland Woodworking (then Hardware) when I purchased it. It works fine and I consider it one of the essential tools I use in the wood selection of every project.

Good luck...

[Mr__Bill]

Originally Posted by cabinetman

This test will only reveal a difference in weight (which can be figured in a percentage). You didn't know the %MC when starting. The percentage of weight difference may reflect the percentage of moisture change, but will not reveal the MC of the sample. FWIW.
.

Well, you do need to know how much the sample weighed prior to drying. The weight after drying and the weight of water. With that information you can calculate the percentage by weight that the original sample was water. You will also know that the sample at the end of the process has 0 percent water. It is up to you to determine when the sample has stopped drying and starts to oxidize away.

I knew and old cabinet maker who would put a drop of water on a board and see how long it took to soak it. That was his test for how dry the wood was.

I tried the two nails and a DMM (aka VOM) the other day on some pressure treated 2X, it was so wet that the meter read it at 0 oms.

Bill, over here in the sun eating Halloween candy for breakfast.

Bill.