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Best moisture meter for wood 2018 – [Buyer’s Guide]
Last Updated March 1, 2023
My name is Brayden Diaz. One of the most important sections in the article – the comparison charts for best moisture meter for wood in 2018!
Just read here for my top 3 recommendations. Why are these 3 moisture meter for wood on top of my list? Well read on… I hope that my Top 3 list will provide you great options in buying the right fit for you.
Let’s get to it!
Best moisture meter for wood of 2018
Customers need to be careful on how they spend their money on these products. Check them out and decide which one suits you the best to splurge upon.
Now, let’s get to the gist of the matter: which are the best moisture meter for wood for the money? Below you can find 3 reviews of the best moisture meter for wood to buy in 2018, which I have picked after the deep market research.
Test Results and Ratings
| Rank | №1 | №2 | №3 |
| Product |  |
 |
 |
| Total | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Style |
5 points
|
5 points
|
4 points
|
| Size |
4 points
|
4 points
|
5 points
|
| Durability |
5 points
|
4 points
|
4 points
|
| Value |
5 points
|
5 points
|
4 points
|
| Awards |  |
||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
How to save up to 86%? Here is little trick.
You must visit the page of sales. Here is the link. If you don’t care about which brand is better, then you can choose the moisture meter for wood by the price and buy from the one who will offer the greatest discount.
№1 – Dual Moisture Meter: LCD BACKLIT DISPLAY- Test Moisture Levels & Temperature in Wood
| Total: |
4.8
|
Why did this moisture meter for wood win the first place?
I don’t know anything about other models from this brand, but I am fully satisfied with this product. The material is stylish, but it smells for the first couple of days. I am very happy with the purchase. It is definitely worth its money. The product is top-notch! I really enjoy the design. It is compact, comfortable and reliable. And it looks amazing!
5
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
№2 – Wood Moisture Meter
| Total: |
4.5
|
Why did this moisture meter for wood come in second place?
Managers explained me all the details about the product range, price, and delivery. I like this product. For such a low price, I didn’t even hope it to be any better. It’s decently made. Seems that the material is good. It has a very beautiful color but I don’t really like the texture. This is a pretty decent product that perfectly fitted the interior of our office.
5
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
№3 – General Tools MMD4E Moisture Meter
| Total: |
4.3
|
Why did this moisture meter for wood take third place?
This price is appropriate since the product is very well built. The material is incredibly nice to the touch. It has a great color, which will suit any wallpapers. I liked the design. We’ve been using it for 2 months and it still looks like brand new. It is inconvenient to use due to the size. I am going to get something different next time.
4
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
moisture meter for wood Buyer’s Guide
Pin vs. Pinless Meters
Species and Temperature Correction Temperature and wood density affect the readings given by moisture meters.All meters are calibrated to read the MC of Douglas fir at about 6degrees F. (The Timber Check is the only exception; it is calibrated for red oak). That means if you’re using a meter on something other than Douglas fir and the temperature is above or below 6degrees F, you’ll need to make adjustments to the meter reading. Manufacturers include charts that adjust for species and temperature variations. More expensive meters have built-in species correction and a couple have built-in temperature correction as well (see chart below). Just set the meter to the desired species and the meter automatically corrects the readings.This is a huge benefit when you have a lot of wood to test. Pin meters are more sensitive to temperature variations than pinless meters. That’s why pin meters always come with temperature correction charts. Some manufacturers include corrections for pinless meters should you need a very precise reading. Pinless meters,on the other hand,are more sensitive to differences in density,or “specific gravity”of different species than pin meters. That’s why pin meters with built-in species correction can get away with grouping species into a handful of settings while pinless meters generally require you to set the specific gravity of each species into the meter.
Important Features
Pin Length A rule of thumb states that the average MC of a board can be found at a depth equal to 1/to 1/the thickness of the board. For example, 5/16-in. pins are long enough to get an average MC reading on a 1-1/2-in.-thick board and 1/2-in. pins will work for 2-in. stock. Remember,however, that this rule works only when the board has an even moisture gradient where the surface is drier than the core. It’s tempting to think that a pin meter measures the MC of the wood at the ends of the pins. In reality, the uninsulated pins measure the wettest layer of wood they come in contact with. Wood that’s been stored in a shed or shop can have a higher MC on the surface than the core. In this case, the reading only reflects the MC of the wetter outer surface, regardless of how deep the pins penetrate. To get an accurate core reading with uninsulated pins you can crosscut the board and take a reading of the core on the freshly exposed end grain. Insulated pins only measure the MC of the wood at the tips of the pins. They come with the external probe accessory that’s available with some meters.
Built-In Species and Temperature Correction We think that built-in species correction is a feature you can live without unless you typically need to take readings on a large quantity of wood.A chart can be a bit of a hassle,but it’s no big deal if you’re dealing with just a few boards. Even with built-in correction, you may have to use a chart to find the right setting.
Fast & Accurate Location of Damp Areas
There are a variety of probes available from standard and universal to more product specific probes. If you need to measure moisture levels within a wall you may want to consider ‘Deep Wall Probes’. These allow you to measure moisture at depth within walls and other structures.
Pinless Moisture Meters
These operate on the principle of capacitance, which is a fancy way of saying that these devices compare the relationship of the wood’s electrical properties and the water (moisture content) that wood contains. Capacitance simply refers to the ability of a given object to hold an electrical charge. Earlier, we said that wood was generally not very good at this (low capacitance) while water is very good at it.
Pinless meters have a couple of significant drawbacks to be aware of, however. The big one is that they cannot tell the difference between core moisture, that is, moisture toward the center of the given piece of wood, and shell or surface moisture. This can be problematic if you’re burning wood for fuel, but is much better suited for wood planks and other, thinner pieces that woodworkers would likely make use of. The Pinless Wood Moisture Meter is also excellent at determining the average level of moisture in a large, three-dimensional space, so again, it mostly depends on what you need it for. Woodworkers will likely gravitate toward this type, while people who burn wood for fuel wouldn’t find it terribly useful.
Firewood moisture meter
Seasoned Firewood- You can’t purchase the best firewood without first understanding what it means to season wood. All freshly cut firewood contains up to 45% water. Seasoned firewood is wood which is at least year old, or from last season, that has been stacked and protected in a manner that has allowed it to dry out, reducing the overall moisture content. Well-seasoned wood, when inspected with a moisture content reader or also called a firewood moisture meter, will have a moisture content of less than 20%. The ideal age of seasoned firewood is 2-years old, since the quality of wood will begin to diminish around 4-years. When purchasing seasoned firewood, you should always ask how long it has been seasoned for. Additionally, look for signs of a shady dealer. Is the wood haphazardly tossed into a pile? Proper seasoning requires that wood is stacked in a particular manner, not touching the ground or walls, and with sufficient airspace around the logs. Wood should be covered loosely while seasoning, but will often have the cover removed for selling. You can tell if wood is seasoned well by knocking two pieces together. It should produce a hollow, knocking sound, rather than a thud. Additionally, seasoned firewood will be much lighter in weight than wet, fresh cut wood. It will feel dry and brittle to the touch, and will have cracks and splits across the rings.
I have one of these.
Unless you are an inspector, this is the best moisture meter for simply determining DRY.
That’s all it tells you and that’s all you need to know when: – you need to determine whether or not a slab has a moisture barrier underneath it. – the in floor radiant heat system has cured the gypcrete in which it was laid. – the self-leveling compound you poured has dried.
Dry is dry. IF WHATEVER YOU ARE MEASURING IS NOT DRY, THEN THERE’S NO GREEN LIGHT TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT.
For drywall, etc…
I bought this to try to diagnose a slight “damp plaster” smell I was picking up in a downstairs room in our house. Using the meter I was able to check the relative moisture levels of various parts of the walls and ceiling – so it’s done what I needed it to do.
From contributor B
Contributor A is right – spend the coin on a good meter. The last thing I wanted was to sell KD lumber, receive a complaint on it, and find that my customer was using a clearly more accurate meter than me. I went with the Delmhorst RDM3, and did spend handily for it, but I don’t regret it. For the various thicknesses you have, it would be handy to have a meter that can tell you both surface and core MC. With mine I went with the hammer probe so that I can check not only MC at the surface (3/8″), but can set my meter to continuous read and run the hammer insulated probes into the lumber until I hit the wettest spot (normally the core). That gives you a better idea of the range of MC you’re dealing with from core to shell. One other thing, with the several spp you have, you should check into the ability of any potential moisture meter to species correct for the species you’re using, and along the same lines, temperature correction. I forgot to adjust the temperature on mine when drying 4/oak recently (I had the meter set 20 degrees from what it actually was) – had to go back and redo all the reading, and there was about a 2% MC difference.
Pin vs. Pinless Moisture Meters
Too obvious? Maybe. But let’s point it out anyway. Pin-style meters usually have two metal pins that must physically penetrate the wood’s surface in order to take a moisture reading. Pinless meters use a sensor pad that works in contact with the wood surface but does not physically break or damage the surface to take a reading. Let’s look at why that matters.
Sensor Size vs. Pinpoint Accuracy
The true difference rests in the underlying technology of each type of meter. Pin meters work on a resistance principle that measures the flow of electricity between two pin tips and measures the moisture content (MC) of that very tiny path. Keep in mind that pin meters only measure the MC at the point in the wood between the two pins. Multiple readings are always necessary to get an overview of the MC. Pinless moisture meters use a larger sensor pad and emit electromagnetic signals to measure the MC of wood. This provides the unique ability to quickly and accurately “scan” larger areas in each wood piece, providing instant MC readings. This technology can scan many board feet in seconds without the time-consuming effort of driving pins into the wood.
Holes vs. No Holes
As we’ve already mentioned, a pin meter will penetrate the wood’s surface to measure the MC. Therefore, each MC reading will make a pair of holes in the wood. For 2x4s or firewood, this might not be a problem. For wood flooring, fine furniture, cabinets or other fine woodworking projects, those holes become a series of blemishes in the surface of the wood. Pinless meters leave no damage to the surface.
Getting back to the story…
The sellers, on the other hand, wasted whatever they paid for the second test rather than go straight to the stucco cut. Once again, the exterior probe testing method proved to be the most accurate, minimally invasive and low in cost. After doing thousands of exterior probe moisture tests I am convinced that it is the only way to go.
Biography
Barry’s professional journey to the present began with the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s. Barry realized the importance of energy conservation and energy self-sufficiency and began to study architecture, construction technology and home energy conservation. After working for a few years as an energy auditor he studied and learned about home inspections. In 1990 he started his own home inspection company, Private Eye Inc.
Since then Private Eye has tested thousands of homes for moisture. Although many of the earlier problems have been corrected in homes built today, there is still an unacceptable failure rate in stucco homes. Barry continues to be the local authority on moisture intrusion issues and has been included in multiple TV and newspaper stories. He speaks at realtor education meetings and home inspector conferences on the subject of moisture intrusion and moisture intrusion testing.
In 201Barry merged Private Eye with what he determined to be the best home inspection company in the Twin Cities, Structure Tech. Through Structure Tech Barry continues to perform home inspections and moisture testing as well as training for the next generation of home inspectors.
How to use one
You can just measure the outside of the log, measuring across the grain of the split surface, but ideally you should split open the log with an axe to measure the internal moisture and take an average of the two readings. As long as the average is no more than 25% then that means your logs are ready to burn.
Product details
The Gardman Combination Ph and Moisture Meter features a dual function meter that measures the Ph level and moisture level of soil. An ideal gardening tool, the Gardman Combination Ph and Moisture Meter is equipped with a guide that lists the optimum Ph and moisture levels.
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How to save up to 86%? Here is little trick.
You must visit the page of sales. Here is the link. If you don’t care about which brand is better, then you can choose the moisture meter for wood by the price and buy from the one who will offer the greatest discount.
Final Word
First of all thanks for reading my article to the end! I hope you find my reviews listed here useful and that it allows you to make a proper comparison of what is best to fit your needs and budget. Don’t be afraid to try more than one product if your first pick doesn’t do the trick.
Most important, have fun and choose your moisture meter for wood wisely! Good luck!
So, TOP3 of moisture meter for wood
- №1 — Dual Moisture Meter: LCD BACKLIT DISPLAY- Test Moisture Levels & Temperature in Wood
- №2 — Wood Moisture Meter
- №3 — General Tools MMD4E Moisture Meter
Questions? Leave a comment below!
Chatting about moisture meter for wood is my passion! Leave me a question in the comments, I answer each and every one and would love to get to know you better!
