Hello everyone, I bought a moisture meter yesterday and to my astonishment the wood I have been burning, red oak to my knowledge, at least that's what I was told, measured in at 5-9%. I don't recall seeing any split measure above 9% and I took three measurements after splitting a split in half. However, the same wood still hisses and I can feel water beeing driven out at the end of the split early in the burn. I am still using a fireplace by the way. Not that that should matter. I read the manual for the MM and there is no way to calibrate it. I did check my floor and wall and they were 0-1%. I bought the orange one from Amazon that was $17. Can get the name later if necessary. So, if the wood is dry why does it hiss and seep water? Thanks, Sean
Sounds like you've got a bad meter, unless it has some optional settings that aren't configured correctly for wood. Even indoors in the wintertime, 0-1% MC in the woodwork is improbable, and there's no way that 5-9% firewood hisses.
Check it else where, maybe you have some construction you can check, I have the cheap HF ones and have never had a problem with them and they have always given me readings I could trust. Its possible to have a little surface moisture causing the hissing but that should not be a big deal, how does the wood burn otherwise? I have had 2x4 kindling ooze water out of a knot once in a while. Carefully check it in the palm of your hand.
I'm also thinking the meter is either bad, or a setting has been missed. No experience with the digital meters, as I have a really old analog style that I don't trust much.
Unless the wood is kiln dried it's not 5-9%. Air dried lumber will make it as low as 10-12% and that is drying at one year per inch of thickness. Staying dry the whole time.
"Must remove to wood setting about read moisture correct. This meter now is very suited reading content moisture wood. Thank you purchase our lovely moisture product. In case of reading poor, not return to me. User must present proper wood for meter measure correctly." Am I close?
After you burn wood long enough, you know what's seasoned and what isn't. A moisture meter then becomes a second opinion about what you already know.
Ether the meter is bad or you are missing some setting on it. Mine has a little tree symbol that blinks when set for fire wood. I don't think even pop corn would test as dry as what you are getting for a reading.
When I bought one I had to test it on a couple things, worked ok. Turns out what appeared to be part of the plastic body was actually a cap that come off Worked better without the cap.
I don't use one at all or ever owned one. All my hardwood goes in a rack and 4 years later it will be used. Softwood goes in 2 year racks. So my wood it dry and no use for a moisture meter for me.
Moisture meters are such simple devices, it's a wonder that they would ever be malfunctioning in a way that they would be reading that inaccurately, but it seems to be. About the only other thing I could suggest is that maybe you aren't pushing the pins in far enough. Oak is pretty hard wood. How deep are the pins penetrating the wood? Have you tried it on some green wood? You should get something well over 30% or a OL (Over Limit) reading on green wood.
That's Great! you've managed to get that much wood ahead, it would be fantastic if all new wood burners could start out that way. But do you have any tips or suggestions that might help the OP figure out why his moisture meter seems to be reading a low moisture level while his wood seems to have a high moisture content?
I agree. I been cutting down trees and burning wood long enough to know that things are not always as they seem some times. I use to be a cut today, split and stack and burn 6 months later guy. Until I got an Oslo and found out real quick that the wood I had that was good nuff for the old stove just wasn't makin the grade in the new 1. Went to plan B and got ahead on wood but still bought a $12 MM so I knew were I was at. I still use it from time to time just for piece of mind and I like playing around with stuff like that any ways. I bought an IR gun also just to check my temps and found that not all magnetic thermometers are created equal. I still use that from time to time just to verify my temps. Lots of folks say they go out and bang 2 splits together and if they get that hollow, baseball bat kinda sound, then it is dry. I myself have never agreed to that logic since I could go out right now and grab 2 splits of some Elm that I CSS right before Christmas and it would sound just like that due to the fact that it is frozen harder than the ice on Antarctica. Or I could just bang 1 split against my head but I wouldn't be sure of where the hollow sound was coming from, the split or my noggin. I guess to make a long story even longer is this. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.
