I’m in the market for a good moisture meter, as most of the lumber I deal with I acquire green and air dry. I am considering the Wagner’s Digital model (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,43513,45788,45736&p=45736). Any thoughts on this unit or recommendations on others?
Chris @ flairwoodworks
– Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
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"...as most of the lumber I deal with I acquire green and air dry." I may be wrong, but my impression is that the pinned meters tend to be more consistently accurate than the pinless. Most people buy pinless meters so they can use them at a lumberyard without getting shot. The other possible disadvantage to the pinless meter is that it might not work so well on rough lumber. Someone will confirm/refute this?
I have a Delmhorst J-Lite, which may not give readings as specific as you're desiring (the .1% increments -- not sure why you'd need that ). It's versatile, though -- you can buy an accessory "remote electrode" which enables you to reach into a stack of lumber, deep. I'm sure someone makes a pinned model that would compete with the pinless you're looking at, should you decide that's the way to go.
Here's the J-Lite with optional long-reach pin.
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I have an Electrophysics unit that does 0.1 increments to 10% and then 1% increments beyond that. It has built in temperature and species correction, and a digital display. It has worked well for me. I use it to measure the moisture content of wood as I dry it in my small DH kiln.
Dan
Last summer I bought the Wagner model you are considering. It is quite a good meter. In fact, Chris Schwartz' other, smaller publication did a head-to-head and the Wagner was Highly Recommended. I haven't had trouble with rough lumber. On the other hand, this unit measures its full area and depth no matter what. You need to have an air gap under the wood you are measuring. Just to test, I have rested nominal 4/4 oak on my leg and seen the reading shoot up. Similarly, if I measure the oak I am using to make countertops with an OSB substrate, the reading wil be higher because of the density of the OSB.
As a word to the wise, shop for price by googling on the model number. I forget the exact price, but just a few months ago I got mine for $50 to $60 less than the catalogue price shown in your link.
Joe
"Just to test, I have rested nominal 4/4 oak on my leg and seen the reading shoot up."
So what's the MC of your thigh? Don't forget to repeat the measurement using a pin-type meter to verify accuracy.
-Steve
Interesting advice, Steve, but I think I won't.J
Joe,
In your oak counter top on OSB scenario, could you get an accurate reading by holding the meter 1/2" above the surface so that it only reads the oak?
Do you find the precision of any use?Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
You have to press a pinless meter firmly against the surface to be tested.
Frankly although mnine will read out in decimals, it is not especially important. If some of the wood ia at 9.somethng and the rest is at 14.something, it will matter, but is some is at 8.something and some is at 9.something, that is really just normal variation. A full two point difference might matter, I'm not sure.
Do note what Smalser is saying, though. The pinless unit won't tell you if there is a moisture varience within the individual piece, so if you dry your own,and it has any appreciable thickness, you could have a problem. However, if your wood has all been dried to an even MC at some point, and has just changed in however long it has been stored, the pinless is great, and very convenient.
Joe
Or he could use the old, tried and true method for testing moisture differential.Pull a good, straight-grained board out of the middle of the stack and rip it down the middle on a table saw. If the pieces warp on you coming off the saw, your stock is probably still too wet on the inside. Careful the saw doesn't throw the board when it warps and binds. The thicker the stock, the more of a sporting event. Then rip a few more boards from different sections of the log to insure the first wasn't merely caused by reaction wood.
Edited 2/22/2008 9:53 pm by BobSmalser
Chris
In the lower end price range, you will get more accuracy from a pinned model vs. a pinless.
I have been using the lignomat pinned model for about a decade now, and it has not failed me yet. I use it on every board I cut, as I dry my own lumber.
I can't think of a single reason why you need accuracy on hardwood lumber to .1 increments. Moisture changes in wood occur on a daily basis, and you only need to know when the wood is at equilibrium with its surroundings.
Jeff
Jeff,
As this is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, I am not overly concerned with cost. I don't see the importance of 0.1% MC either. I still have a lot of woodworking to do!
How do you check the moisture content of a board with a pin meter? Are there several spots you check (end, middle) and do you press the pins into the wood?Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Take a fresh cut of endgrain off the board, and insert the pins. I have found that if the boards are stickered and stacked properly, and are of the same species, and milled at the same time (drying time equal), that the MC is very consistent throughout the stack.
I usually pull a board from the center of the stack to test.
Jeff
JeffHeath,
Let me add my support for the rugged reliability of the pin type lingomat.
I've been thru 50,000 bd.ft. with mine and it's always been correct and repeatable..
Pinless meters take an average MC through the board's depth. Pinned meters take a specific reading at a specific depth.
You need a pinned meter to measure moisture differential, and that's critical if you are drying your own wood. Pinless meters are for spotchecks of kilned wood you are confident was dried all the way through the center.
If you are drying your own wood, having a meter with a high upper range is also handy.
I prefer Delmhorst. I use an RC-1 commercial model and a smaller Model G for spot checks. Both are pinned meters.
Edited 2/21/2008 10:08 am by BobSmalser
The general concensus I'm getting is that pin-type meters are more useful than pinless. When checking a board, do you embed the pins in the wood or just touch them to the surface? To check the middle of a board, where the moisture content is likely to be the highest, any pinholes left would yield a loss in lumber as they would have to be cut out. This is precicely why I am looking at a pinless model. Is my thought logical?Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
flairwoodworks,
Most rough sawn lumber is made to use the cant as a railroad tie..That's where all the low grade wood is and it's better to sell it as a railroad tie than to get low grade prices for it usually. That means it's 8'6" minimum length. Use the added six inches to test the wood, to deal with snipe and in general waste.
I've seen decades old pin type meters working daily and I haven't seen anywhere near that reliability on the pinless.
if you want a quick and dirty number you don't have to penetrate the wood with a pin type you quickly learn to judge interior moisture based on what the surface is telling you.. You learn to adjust for the factors that alter that moisture content..
Besides don't let moisture paralize you.. our forefathers made stuff without moisture meters and they are hereloams now. I've seen wood workers dither over .5% when it doesn't matter that much. 998 times out of thousand you'll be fine if the wood is within a couple of points of optimum..
Electrode pins are usually insulated so they onlt read at the very tip of the pins. Add a slide hammer to the electrode unit to drive the pins deep into thick stock, and this is the only method to measure moisture differential in thick stock.
Pinless meters and meters with uninsulated pins like my smaller J model below next to the big RC-1 with a slide hammer electrode take average reading throughout the depth.
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