I’m not currently burning wood, but I have wood seasoning. I don’t even need a moisture meter because...I just don’t. Have enough experience to know what good dry wood is and how it should burn. However, I would like to have a moisture meter just to have something to tinker with AND should I choose to take a look I can know exactly what the moisture content of my wood is. Anyone have any suggestions on a good and cheap model? Anyone have any suggestions on a good but medium priced model? $0-$200...less is better, but I’ll go that much if I need to.
I've been using a cheapy off fleabay for a few years. Seems to work just fine. It only goes haywire if the batteries are failing. Type in firewood moisture meter and pick a 2 prong in the $10-$15 dollar range. This price includes shipping!
How do you know it’s accurate or calibrated...whether a unit be cheap or expensive? I mean it doesn’t have to be laboratory accurate for me, just somewhat accurate and representative of being close...a reference point.
Hmmnnn... Never knew Lowe’s carried them. Thanks!!! Where at in the store? A few weeks back I went for gasket material and gasket cement...looked where the stove pipe fittings and other stove related items were to no avail. Asked...guy said they didn’t carry it. Found both by the grill items. Go figure.
I grabbed mine off Amazon, was approx $15 bucks. How to know how accurate it is I really don't know but like you mentioned I don't need it to be spot on. A rough idea is good enough for me because I rely more on amount of time that's passed to know if my wood is properly seasoned. But they are nice to have just in case, if your buying wood, starting out, cut some standing dead, etc...
Better yet, if you search Lowe’s online “near you” it’ll tell you the exact location. I say that because when I bought mine at the local Lowe’s it was on the wall at the “back” of the tool section.
I have one that is ~$25 from home Depot. Ryobi one that uses your smartphone as the screen/ display. It works great. It's probably got more features on it that you may or may not need. It can be used as a simple check, as well as a way to file, picture, and categorize the readings. I also now have another one, that's typically used for woodworking to measure MC of lumber, and it's much more expensive, but it works just as well, and the MC is usually about the same as the Ryobi. Your mm doesn't need to be so accurate, at least for woodburning use at least. Now if you are wanting to burn something that day, you can get a reading asap, and know right then. I'll use the mm to verify what I typically already know, based upon my decades of wood burning knowledge.
Yes, you can. It's the temperature correction that is really nice that automatically adjusts on the better MM's.
Bad picture, but if you can go through the notes you’ll see those values on the chart are standardized values based on controlled values. To compare directly to the chart, wood should be 80F
I don’t even own a multi-meter. Lol!! Guess I need a decent one of those too. Been wanting to buy one anyway. I also use my dad’s...because it comes with my dad. Lol!!! He’s the electrical guy. Never been something I was all that interested in. I can get buy, but when I’m not sure I get someone who is.
I was gonna ask about that, but you beat me to it. Is that the “standard” temp or are there charts for varying temps?
Basically the value varies at different temps. Moisture meters are cheap and easy. Plus they are a great tool to own.
