Kenster said:
I paid $30 for that MM at Lowe's! Someone has reported on here that this, or most, Moisture Meters are not calibrated for cord wood and that these meters will indicate about 5% on the high side for checking firewood. I've never had any problem burning anything that this same MM indicates below 25%.
I'm just looking for a ball park figure anyway. Not expecting great accuracy out of a cheap meter.
It's not an "across the board" 5% difference, it's a whole different way of calculating the MC. The 5% difference is only correct at a reading of 25% on the meter. With firewood, we want to know what % of the
total weight is water. With lumber and wood technology (the use the meters are designed for) they want to know what % of the
total fiber content in the wood is water.
For example, if the resistance moisture meter reads:
- 50%, water content by weight is 33%
- 33%, water content by weight is 25%
- 25%, water content by weight is 20%
- 20%, water content by weight is 17%
- 15%, water content by weight is 13%
- 10%, water content by weight is 9%
As you can see, because of the different formulas used to calculate MC, they become closer to each other the lower the MC goes, so the meter becomes much more accurate for firewood use at the lowest MCs - the ones we never see in the real world. ;-)