moisture meters

[lynches lumber]

Looking to buy a moisture meter. Dont have to be top of the line. Just want something  accurate and dependable. Any recommendations?

[red oaks lumber]

i use a lignomat pin style for quick  moisture checks and a delmhorst slide hammer style for more accurate checks. price range from $200-$1500.
if you only want to check ballpark moisture readings you can go cheaper  but, if your selling kiln dried lumber or making flooring where accuracy is your reputation or custom kiln dry. spend the bigger money now to save your reputation later.

[WDH]

I have a pinless Wagoner that is really nice.  However, it runs about $400.  My experience with a cheap moisture meter ($130 is not all that cheap is it?) was very poor. 

[Den Socling]

The previous post are true but I'll add a couple thoughts. A pin type like a Delmhorst J2000 is good for checking 4/4 lumber. Add a slide hammer with insulated "nails" and you can now get to the core of thicker lumber. The drawback is the holes the nails leave. The Wagner pinless is good for 4/4 and it will detect a wet core in 8/4 but they are only accurate to a depth of about 3/4".

[Magicman]

I have the older analog pinless Wagoner.  It serves me well.

[red oaks lumber]

with those "nail" holes i get more for my wood.. reclaimed ;D ;D

[DR Buck]

I use a Delmhorst J2000.  Yea, it leaves holes in the edge of the boards.   They're small and I've never had a comment or question about them.   I guess they disappear when jointing the edges.

[lynches lumber]

thanks for the input guys. So I gather you dont think the one at lowes for $29.98 will get it huh? :D

[shelbycharger400]

I use a ryobi pinless ($50) home depot,  they claim it measures to 1/2 in deep... i use it for firewood i use, and wood i sell.    Makes the customers feel good on the spot that its not green as a gord (25-35 percent is fresh cut). my firewood im buring, reads 10-12 percent or less and it sat for 3 years uncovered,  this minute..just check'd the floor in here. 1 in thick t +g hard maple , read 8 percent..  its been in here when the house was built  1960

[cypresskayaksllc]

I like my wagner pinless. But Ive never had any other kind.

[OneWithWood]

I use three different meters depending on the thickness of the wood.  I have a Delmhorst R-2000 with a slide-hammer probe that will bury the insulated pins as far as I need for 8/4 lumber, a Delmhorst J-2000 that will also accept the slide-hammer rig and a Lignomat pinless unit.  The pinless is good for 4/4 if I need a quick reference but I don't trust it much beyond surface measure. 
I have never achieved the same reading with all three meters on the same board but the two Delmhorst units are close.
One thing that I have noticed is that the temp of the board is critical to accurate readings.  I can get the surface temp with an infrared unit used in auto mechanics but I cannot get a good reading 1" into the board.

[DR Buck]

OWW -  I think it's crap shoot on consistancy of MC measurement.   I can take a set of readings, calculate the average, clear the meter and take a second set and end up with a different average MC.   Close, but different.

On the J-2000 I usually set the species then the temp setting to whatever the current inside-the-box temperture reading  display on the controller and over temp sensor reads. 

[ATLGA]

Even when I set the temp on my J2000 to match the kiln/lumber temp I notice a small amount of MC change displayed on the J2000 once the lumber cools.

[Den Socling]

Electrical characteristics do change with temperature but not by a fixed value. It all depends on the wood which has a lot of variation in characteristics. In other words, I believe you are 100% correct. I have seen the same thing with pinless meters.

[swampbuggy]

I am also looking for a moisture meter and ran across this article. Gave some interesting information and viewpoint. Swamp

http://woodgears.ca/lumber/moisture_meter.html