What moisture meter is recommended?

[jjf888]

Is one brand better/worse than another? Am leaning towards the Stihl, well, because it's a Stihl....

 

[spuldup]

I have a $30 pinless from Amazon that seems to be correct enough for my use. Ive compared it to another pin type model and they read within a few %. I would say to not go pinless because the sampling area needs to be flat and at least 3 inches wide for an accurate number.

Criteria to look for are small (fits in the pocket), backlit, auto-off, and material type presets. The generic font on the Stihl leads me to believe it is just Stihl branded. Just a guess. Not clear how to set the range for hardwood, but maybe that's the only range it does? These are just ohmmeters after all.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have an old General from HD or Lowe's, and a little button-cell job from Harbor Fright, which run about $15.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Is one brand better/worse than another? Am leaning towards the Stihl, well, because it's a Stihl....

seriously.. you dont need to do that.. just go on amazon and get an inexpensive tester.. here is something basic that I would get.. its +-.5% close enough.. Its firewood.... its like 15 buck delivered

 

[Wildflush]

I’ve been very happy with the $14 Harbor Freight model.

 

[Ashhole]

I picked up a used Lignomat mini-Ligno MD Moisture Meter. The top cap serves as a hand brace to really get the pins into the wood.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I tried the HF/menards model and it worked well. I said the wood was as wet as I expected. I need to get one for myself.

 

[Eman85]

I'd get a calendar and write the date on the wood when you stack it. If you don't know how long the wood has been cut split and stacked you should assume it's wet and needs a couple of years.

 

[j7art2]

I’ve been very happy with the $14 Harbor Freight model.

+1 for these. Love em.

I've had about 6 now. They've all been good for me and all I use. I've lost the majority of them over the course of the years in the field while harvesting. They're cheap enough that if I lose it, I simply buy another. I take them with me when harvesting too. Though it's not a fresh "split" even a fresh chainsaw cut can kinda give you a ballpark of what you're working with if you're getting dead and down.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I was loadong wood up for a friend last night and it was a mixed stack. Poplar, oak, elm, ranging from fresh cut to bone dry. We picked through the stack and found the stuff on the front row that was the driest. It was pretty dry, but I told him to keep a 3 day by the fire just to dry it a bit more. He had run out of wood and needed some asap and people around here don't sell anything close to dry wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

I've got rechargeable batteries now; Need to find a meter that works on AA or AAA...then give the old one to some guy I see blowing smoke out the stack. 😏

 

[Conkl]

I also would like to find a reasonably priced meter that uses A/AA/9volt batteries. I have a HF that works well but have spent enough on those little button batteries to have bought another meter.

 

[brenndatomu]

@JRHAWK9 recently compared different meters and found that its hard to find 2 meters that agree within 3-4% of each other on the same piece of wood

 

[Garbanzo62]

I have the Stihl. Seems to work fine. Make sure you really press the pins in. I've had initial reading go from 18 to 32% because the pins were not in far enough.

 

[brenndatomu]

I have the Stihl. Seems to work fine. Make sure you really press the pins in. I've had initial reading go from 18 to 32% because the pins were not in far enough.

If you are testing on a freshly exposed split face, it shouldn't matter, the pins are reading whatever they touch

 

[Garbanzo62]

If you are testing on a freshly exposed split face, it shouldn't matter, the pins are reading whatever they touch

It is on a freshly split piece. not sure why it does it. I always check at least two spots. Many times the first indication is low and then it jumps. The second reading generally matches the higher one after the jump.

 

[WellAdjusted]

I've gone through two cheapy pin meters from Amazon that bit the dust fairly quickly as the pins tend to bend and snap.
I picked up a General model specifically because I can buy replacement pins from Amazon or Lowes. Happily the unit actually shipped with a replacement set that I've already swapped in after snapping one of the pins on some black locust.

 

[brenndatomu]

I guess I don't get why people are breaking pins off driving them in...if you are testing on the freshly exposed face of a split, why would it test any different if stabbed in 1/64", or 1/4"?
We aren't documenting data for NASA here...and these are cheap mediocre accuracy meters anyways...