I was at Lowes a while ago, needed a couple things for the office. As I was looking around I saw moisture meters. I have never had one, so I picked one up. Curiosity got the best of me, and I had to make a quick trip home to check it out. Seems as though most of my wood I will be burning for this year is between 13% & 18%. Alot of the wood I am cutting now is between 20-25%. Pretty handy little gadget for $25. I think I should be good to go when it is time to burn.
You probably already know this but make sure you are testing a fresh split and not something you split a while back.
How long has that oak been off the stump or was it standing dead? Green it should be about 80%, well out of the range of a moisture meter.
It was cut last December and January, some was split back in March and April. I figured it helped a lot that it was cut when sap was down in the trees and some was dead when it was cut. Never had one of these meters, so just going by what it says.
That's sounds reasonable. Oak (and most everything else) loses water real fast at first. With oak last bit is what takes forever.
I have the same meter. It's a good tool to use as a reference for sure. I find it hard to get the pins penetrated in the wood very deep, especially with a dense wood like oak. The deeper the pins go, the higher the reading. I have some 3.5 year red oak that's reading 16 - 18%. I don't think it's going to get much lower than that.
You really need to do a fresh split, the exterior of the wood will dry pretty fast this time of year. Split it and take the measurement. You should see a difference. Be careful the pins can break easy on those. I have the same one.
The splits I did were less than 48 hours old but I will do one this evening and see what it says. I do not think these meters are an exact science, just a general reference. The only way to really be sure is cut it, stack it and let it set for a couple of years.
Here is a couple readings on a fresh split piece of Oak just a minute after I split with my Fiskars. There was a difference but not a lot.
Check them again on Saturday. You should find that they will read just like the others from last weekend.
WV, can you give me a model# from that MM? I'd like to ask Lowes Canada if they stock those or will bring them in.
I made a couple of fresh splits, they laid out in the Summer Sun and I checked in two hours later they lost somewhere around 8 to 10% in that time on the surface , I don't cram the pins in deep because it's not necessary on a fresh split
Well it turns out that Lowes Canada does carry the MM, which is great because a year ago they didn't. Thanks for the info.
