General moisture meter on sale

[cigmaker]

Went to lowes tonight to get a General moisture meter. After the sales associate located it for me I was pleasantly surprised it was on sale for 20 bucks. Figured those holding out might pull the trigger at the lower price.

 

[MarineScott]

I got one today also, same price and 10% off with my Military ID. Had one before and now I can"t find it.

 

[tntblaster14]

Also same price @ Amazon

 

[WoodTick007]

Went to lowes tonight to get a General moisture meter. After the sales associate located it for me I was pleasantly surprised it was on sale for 20 bucks. Figured those holding out might pull the trigger at the lower price.

Just curious. . .What does one need a moisture meter for?

 

[naturelover]

Measure the moisture of your firewood.

The dryer the better. With the new re-burn technology stoves, dry wood is necessary. My Englander 30 will barely burn wet or green wood.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Fred Wright]

The General MMD4E is a very popular meter. I got mine from Amazon but paid shipping. Probably best to get one locally at this sale price.

 

[unclemoustache]

Also good for those of us who sell wood - We can tell the customer with confidence if it's below 20% or not, or decide which bundles are driest.

 

[Whitespider]

We can tell the customer with confidence if it's below 20% or not...

Really?? With confidence??

How can a $20.oo moisture meter be accurate in all types and densities of wood, in all temperatures, in all the variable conditions??
Never mind, I'll answer that myself... it can't, it flat can't be accurate. At best it can only tell you that the same exact piece of wood is relatively (not absolutely) dryer or wetter than it was last time you checked it. But it can't tell you what the moisture content is, or even what percentage of moisture has been lost or gained. They work by measuring electrical resistance between two points... unless you can calibrate the darn thing for wood's density, temperature, and lord-knows-what-else... well... weight would be a better indicator.

That's the truth of it guys... they ain't magic.
*

 

[Cerran]

Really?? With confidence??

How can a $20.oo moisture meter be accurate in all types and densities of wood, in all temperatures, in all the variable conditions??
Never mind, I'll answer that myself... it can't, it flat can't be accurate. At best it can only tell you that the same exact piece of wood is relatively (not absolutely) dryer or wetter than it was last time you checked it. But it can't tell you what the moisture content is, or even what percentage of moisture has been lost or gained. They work by measuring electrical resistance between two points... unless you can calibrate the darn thing for wood's density, temperature, and lord-knows-what-else... well... weight would be a better indicator.

That's the truth of it guys... they ain't magic.
*

But it can give you a general idea of the moisture level relative over time which is what the use of a MM is generally good for.

 

[jrider]

Really?? With confidence??

How can a $20.oo moisture meter be accurate in all types and densities of wood, in all temperatures, in all the variable conditions??
Never mind, I'll answer that myself... it can't, it flat can't be accurate. At best it can only tell you that the same exact piece of wood is relatively (not absolutely) dryer or wetter than it was last time you checked it. But it can't tell you what the moisture content is, or even what percentage of moisture has been lost or gained. They work by measuring electrical resistance between two points... unless you can calibrate the darn thing for wood's density, temperature, and lord-knows-what-else... well... weight would be a better indicator.

That's the truth of it guys... they ain't magic.
*

I agree that a moisture meter can't be that accurate unless proper calibration has been done but if you sell wood, you can wow em with some info the average firewood buyer doesn't know, or you could just use it to quiet down a customer who has no idea how to burn wood and claims you sold them green. I don't own one or plan on buying one however.

 

[Whitespider]

But it can give you a general idea...

Yes... maybe.
But it can't allow you to state with confidence the wood is below 20% moisture content... heck, the meter could easily be off by several points depending on dozens of variables.
*

 

[Cerran]

The moisture meter mentioned isn't super accurate but it will get you to within about 3-5% of the wood's actual moisture level. Really the only true way to test moisture is by weight with drying in a oven.

 

[Coldfront]

What it is good for is comparing your wood moisture content between different piles and various stages of drying. If the meter is off by a few points who cares. It helps me identify my driest wood. Some wood types dry much faster than others, how else could you be able to tell? I found my Yellow Birch was surprisingly dryer than my Ash, I got both at the same time green.
And the only way to measure is a fresh split piece of wood.

 

[Cerran]

What it is good for is comparing your wood moisture content between different piles and various stages of drying. If the meter is off by a few points who cares. It helps me identify my driest wood. Some wood types dry much faster than others, how else could you be able to tell? I found my Yellow Birch was surprisingly dryer than my Ash, I got both at the same time green.
And the only way to measure is a fresh split piece of wood.

Exactly I use one as a relative measure for drying wood. It also helps for checking when I cut some really dry standing dead stuff like Lodgepole pine which often is dry enough to burn right after being cut. When you check with a MM and it's less than 18-20% then you know it's pretty much ready to burn, although I rarely burn anything that's not at least a year old.

It would be interesting to do a check against oven drying a piece of wood and seeing what the moisture meter reads in relation to what the actual moisture content was.

 

[Whitespider]

But Coldfront, the electrical conductance, or resistance is different for different species of wood and even mineral content of the moisture can change the reading. Just because your MM says the Yellow Birch is dryer than the Ash doesn't mean it is. It simply means the electrical conductance, or resistance is different between the to samples... and that could be because of moisture, or density, or any number of other variables.

Ya' gotta' remember, the moisture content of wood is relative to the dry weight. A 100 lb log at 100% moisture content contains 50 lbs of water (i.e., the weight of the water is 100% of the weight of the dry wood). A 100 lb log at 50% moisture content contains 33.3 lbs of water (i.e., the weight of the water is 50% of the weight of the dry wood). If you have two samples of identical size (volume), one oak and one cottonwood, both at an actual 20% moisture content... the oak will contain a lot more water, a whole lot more. Unless you can calibrate the MM to the actual sample being tested... you can not say with anything close to certainty that one sample has a lower moisture content than another. In fact, an oak sample at an actual 17% moisture content is a wetter (contains more water per cubic foot) than a cottonwood sample at an actual 20% moisture content... but your $20.oo MM doesn't know if it's checking oak or cottonwood.

Those $20.oo moisture meters likely do a fairly accurate job on what they are roughly calibrated for, at least close enough for the purpose (i.e., checking construction lumber... fir and pine boards). But when you start sticking those probes in firewood of all sorts, under all sorts of conditions... well.... c'mon man... only magic could make that work.
*

 

[Coldfront]

I have been using it for a few years now and find the reading to be pretty good, my fresh cut red oak is at about 34% and I have very dry light as a feather pine at 12%. If you never tried one don't knock them, they are a lot more accurate than knocking 2 pieces of wood together and listening to the sound. I have various piles of wood laying all over the place and sometimes forget what my oldest wood is. Any wood I have that reads 18% or lower is burning great.

 

[cantoo]

Whitespider, you do realize he has a moustache right?

 

[Whitespider]

...I have very dry light as a feather pine at 12%.

That statement alone tells me your MM ain't reading true.
Do you have any idea how low the relative humidity would have to be for an extended time period before wood can reach an equilibrium point of 12%?? Are you telling me the relative humidity in NW Wisconsin as been below 65% all summer?? Even at night when temperatures drop?? Even when it's raining?? Really?? No kiddin'... no dew on the grass in the mornings?? No frost lately?? Really?? No foggy days?? Really??
I might, just might, be able to be convinced your pine is at 15% moisture content... I'd be more likely to believe 16% or 17%.
But 12%?? No friggin' way in Wisconsin... no friggin' way‼
*

 

[groundup]

MM are a great way to monitor moisture content. Anyone who uses one knows that it's easy to tell when a particular species is ready to burn, based on the % of moisture.

 

[unclemoustache]

Really?? With confidence??

How can a $20.oo moisture meter be accurate in all types and densities of wood, in all temperatures, in all the variable conditions??
Never mind, I'll answer that myself... it can't, it flat can't be accurate. At best it can only tell you that the same exact piece of wood is relatively (not absolutely) dryer or wetter than it was last time you checked it. But it can't tell you what the moisture content is, or even what percentage of moisture has been lost or gained. They work by measuring electrical resistance between two points... unless you can calibrate the darn thing for wood's density, temperature, and lord-knows-what-else... well... weight would be a better indicator.

That's the truth of it guys... they ain't magic.
*

Hey, stop raining on my parade. I want to be told that they are magic, durn it all! Stop sticking facts into this.

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