Moisture Meter suggestions

[Steelart99]

I'm into making a variety of things (knives, bowls, stoppers, jewelry) and have found that I really need to get a moisture meter to sort out the appropriate woods for my projects. It will also help me as I get into stabilizing more. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good metes? I've found a variety available and each seems to have good and bad reviews. I'd prefer to find something less than about $100.
Thanks
Dan

 

[Kevin]

From my research if you want reliable accuracy you'll need to get into the $300+ range. I currently use a cheapo ($120ish) Ligno Mini and while it is fairly accurate and reliable, it isn't as accurate as I once believed. When I read that the really cheap meters you can get on ebay etc. give skewed readings due to surface moisture I dug deeper and IMO you cannot trust a $30 meter and a $100 meter isn't much better. My next meter is going to be this one. Pricey, but I want reliable readings not just something that makes me feel good.

 

[Steelart99]

From my research if you want reliable accuracy you'll need to get into the $300+ range. I currently use a cheapo ($120ish) Ligno Mini and while it is fairly accurate and reliable, it isn't as accurate as I once believed. When I read that the really cheap meters you can get on ebay etc. give skewed readings due to surface moisture I dug deeper and IMO you cannot trust a $30 meter and a $100 meter isn't much better. My next meter is going to be this one. Pricey, but I want reliable readings not just something that makes me feel good.

Kevin, just from the various reviews that I'd read, I was getting exactly the impression that you've stated. I had just hoped I was wrong and there were some reasonably accurate meters out there for under $100. Anyone else have any "good" experiences to add? I may have to settle with less accuracy for now and upgrade later ... but that seriously goes against my grain!
thanks
Dan

 

[woodtickgreg]

From my research if you want reliable accuracy you'll need to get into the $300+ range. I currently use a cheapo ($120ish) Ligno Mini and while it is fairly accurate and reliable, it isn't as accurate as I once believed. When I read that the really cheap meters you can get on ebay etc. give skewed readings due to surface moisture I dug deeper and IMO you cannot trust a $30 meter and a $100 meter isn't much better. My next meter is going to be this one. Pricey, but I want reliable readings not just something that makes me feel good.

Kevin, just from the various reviews that I'd read, I was getting exactly the impression that you've stated. I had just hoped I was wrong and there were some reasonably accurate meters out there for under $100. Anyone else have any "good" experiences to add? I may have to settle with less accuracy for now and upgrade later ... but that seriously goes against my grain!
thanks
Dan

The mini ligno has always gotten good reviews from the magazines as a middle of the road meter but I'm not sure of the pricing. woodcraft carries them. Also general tools offers 2 low priced meters $30 to $60 range, not highly accurate but may get you into the range. :dunno:

 

[Mike1950]

We had this discussion before- I bought a cheap one off of Ebay- I do not know how accurate it was but I do know that it drew down a 9 volt battery in an hour.:dash2::dash2::dash2: I now have one from lowes. It is a cheap one- again I do not know how accurate it is but the wood that has been in my shop for years registers in the 6-8% range and when I go out to my wood pile it register upwards to 30% . It gets me in the ball park that I need.

 

[DKMD]

I've got the General meter from Lowe's... It seems to be accurate enough for my purposes, and it was cheap.

 

[Dusty]

As you've found out, the cheep moisture meters aren't as good as the expensive ones, but even the expensive one's are only relatively accurate. The only reliable method to determine moisture content is the "oven dry" method. Search google using these key words:

wood moisture oven dry

You'll find a lot of information about the process and how easy it is. I use a modified method. I weigh my samples with an accurate digital scale, then put it in the microwave oven for a minute or two at full power then I let the sample cool, weigh it and record the weight. When the sample stops losing weight, I put it in a 180 degree oven and leave it overnight. The next morning I weigh the sample and record the final dry weight. Then I can quickly calculate the original moisture percentage. When I saw lumber from a log, I do the oven dry method on a green sample so I know what moisture content I'm starting the drying process with, then after air drying 30 days, I dry another sample and record the moisture content. If it's lower than 20% I start the final drying process. When I'm ready to use the lumber, I use the oven dry method to make sure the moisture content is between 6 & 10%
The calculation is simple, just take the original weight and subtract the oven dry weight, then divide that number by the oven dry weight and multiply by 100%.

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/5190/Moisture_Content_ocr.pdf;jsessionid=48A0FAD5A39C8EB88D0920E34D00BF90?sequence=1

Hal

 

[Kevin]

....When I'm ready to use the lumber, I use the oven dry method to make sure the moisture content is between 6 & 10% ...

I agree that weighing moisture loss is most accurate. But the middle and high end meters of today will get you close enough to 6% to 10%. In fact, if you use the meters properly, The percentage of error is fractions of a percentile. Cheap meters can and are often off by a large degree because they cannot ignore surface moisture. You cannot tell the difference between a piece of wood at 8% or 15% by just holding it. An accurate meter will give you a much better shot at knowing the truth, but you're correct, the only way to be 100% sure is to dry and weigh.

 

[Steelart99]

....When I'm ready to use the lumber, I use the oven dry method to make sure the moisture content is between 6 & 10% ...

I agree that weighing moisture loss is most accurate. But the middle and high end meters of today will get you close enough to 6% to 10%. In fact, if you use the meters properly, The percentage of error is fractions of a percentile. Cheap meters can and are often off by a large degree because they cannot ignore surface moisture. You cannot tell the difference between a piece of wood at 8% or 15% by just holding it. An accurate meter will give you a much better shot at knowing the truth, but you're correct, the only way to be 100% sure is to dry and weigh.

Even though I did a search, I did not find the previous discussion on this. I'll try again shortly.
Nonetheless, I think I'll just end up buying a middle of the road meter to use for now. I understand the dry and weigh ... but I'm way too impatient. I want to know if the chunk of wood I just bought, or found, or traded is ready to go on my lathe and if it is likely to stay fairly dimensionally stable. If I was storing large quantities of wood for later projects, then I'd be far more inclined to do the "dry and weigh".
As it is, I seem to be storing large quantities of machinery, steel, bone, antler, fossil ivories, stone, some wood, and various other oddities ... Not much room for storage of a quantity of wood or a wood kiln (which is what I'd really like!).

I'm still open to additional specific meter suggestions. I do appreciate the ones already noted ... and even have them in my Amazon cart ... along with way too many other "wants".
Thanks
Dan