Advice on a moisture meter

[Stevenjohn21]

I've read several threads on here regarding moisture meters and i still don't really know what will work best for my situation, so hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction. 

Right now I mainly cut slabs 2" thick. I air dry my lumber but will be building a solar kiln in the near future so I need something that will give me readings for the above. I don't need Bluetooth and all that fancy stuff, I just want to be able to know the MC 

Any advice ?

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I will go against the grain a bit here for the advice that others will provide shortly. ;D
 Get a cheap 2 pin meter off ebay or some other source and use that to get a feel for things. I have had two (the first one went through the laundry and sadly, did not survive the moisture, ironic, ain't it?). I have compared mine in direct readings with good quality meters and they are spot on. Maybe I got lucky, but the point is, the cheap (under 20 bucks) meters will get you going. Once you have a kiln, of course the precision changes and you really need to put a fine point on things. Even then, I bet the cheapy stays in your pocket for spot checks and getting a ballpark.
 I always start cheap and use the knowledge gained to drive the direction on further investment. Knowledge is power.

[Southside]

I have a Lignomat painless and have complete faith in it's accuracy. At a project a couple of years ago I put it up against a high end pin meter and we read within 1/10 % of each other. 

[teakwood]

I have a Lignomat painless and have complete faith in it's accuracy. At a project a couple of years ago I put it up against a high end pin meter and we read within 1/10 % of each other.

With all the pain in the ... it is to handle, stack and dry lumber i would love to have a painless moisture meter. it would help to get the pain away just a little  :D :D

[Southside]

Well, I guess my phone was just telling it like it is.  :D

[scsmith42]

I've read several threads on here regarding moisture meters and i still don't really know what will work best for my situation, so hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction.

Right now I mainly cut slabs 2" thick. I air dry my lumber but will be building a solar kiln in the near future so I need something that will give me readings for the above. I don't need Bluetooth and all that fancy stuff, I just want to be able to know the MC

Any advice ?

For your stated needs, most of us use a Delmhorst J2000 series meter with a slide hammer.  It's pretty much the industry standard.
I understand that Delmhorst recently brought out an updated model.
Pinless models such as the one that Southside recommended are nice because they don't leave probe holes in your lumber.  If you go pinless, do the research and verify the depth of reading.  Most of the inexpensive ones only read 3/8" deep or so.  To get a 1" depth of reading (which you will need for 8/4 slabs), you'll need to spend more $ to get a more powerful meter.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I just received the J20 (new model Scott is talking about) It was a bit pricey but so far I have been very happy with it. It does have a bit of a learning curve over the pin-less I use at work to evaluate water damage but in the long run I hope it will be a help to get wood dried and processed correctly. Brian

[Stevenjohn21]

I just received the J20 (new model Scott is talking about) It was a bit pricey but so far I have been very happy with it. It does have a bit of a learning curve over the pin-less I use at work to evaluate water damage but in the long run I hope it will be a help to get wood dried and processed correctly. Brian

Just out of curiosity, why pick a pinned meter over a pinless? It seems the pinless are easier to use and have the added advantage of not damaging stock. 

[Stevenjohn21]

Well I will go against the grain a bit here for the advice that others will provide shortly. ;D
Get a cheap 2 pin meter off ebay or some other source and use that to get a feel for things. I have had two (the first one went through the laundry and sadly, did not survive the moisture, ironic, ain't it?). I have compared mine in direct readings with good quality meters and they are spot on. Maybe I got lucky, but the point is, the cheap (under 20 bucks) meters will get you going. Once you have a kiln, of course the precision changes and you really need to put a fine point on things. Even then, I bet the cheapy stays in your pocket for spot checks and getting a ballpark.
I always start cheap and use the knowledge gained to drive the direction on further investment. Knowledge is power.

I like the idea of starting cheaper and then advancing once I understand more.
Do you have a link or model for the meter you use? 

[Old Greenhorn]

Actually It was pretty random. I grabbed one for about 15 bucks and then compared it to a good meter's readings and it was within 1/2% then it got 'washed' and I got another one and checked that one too and it was pretty close. When I get a 'good one' this will serve as my 'ballpark' meter. To be sure, if you are ruining a kiln, you need a long pin meter of good quality. I am under no illusion that my cheapo is reliable or very accurate. But it gets me in the ball park. I often get readings all over the map on the same board but I average it out in my head and don't get hung up on details. You can't do that with a cheap meter. There is a lot of differences in boards air dried, especially 6/4 and up.
 Ebay has a ton of them, just don't get the $5.00 one. ;D

[Ianab]

I grabbed one for about 15 bucks and then compared it to a good meter's readings and it was within 1/2%

I've got one of those $19 (local $) specials too. It works as advertised. 

Be aware of it's limitations as the probes are really only "surface" readings, and it can't compensate for different species. So it only claims to be +/- 2% accurate.  I got it mostly for selling firewood. 

"Is your firewood dry?" 
Grab meter, jab it in some random chunks  and it shows 14-18%. 
"Yup, under 19% is dry". 

So I was pleasantly surprised at the results being both accurate and consistent. If I sampled various bits of wood from the same place, they read pretty similar. 

I'm sure the better meters are more accurate, and better able to measure deeper in the wood, but for a quick reference the cheap and cheerful ones actually work. 

I'd be dubious of a $5 one too. At that cost, once you add in the case, LCD display and battery, there isn't much left to spend on the actual measuring circuitry... 

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I have a pinless that I use at work for monitor water damage in homes. It works well and provides the information i need. I wanted one with pins as I plan to build a kiln in the spring and wanted to be able to go deeper into the wood to be more accurate. I started with  a cheap one and still use it on a regular basis with good results. Brian

[firefighter ontheside]

I've never had a pinless type, but I can't see how I could use a pinless to measure moisture of boards in a stack if I cant get to the flat side.  With the delmhorst slide hammer and long pins I can measure deep inside of an 8/4 board without having to access the flat side.  I just looked up a Wagner that says its a deep scan model.  It says it can reach 3/4" of an inch, so on an 8/4 board it still can't measure the center.  That seems like the down side of pinless.  They aren't the best for thick lumber and can't access boards in a stack in the kiln.  I have a cheap $30 pin type I got on amazon as my first meter.  Then I graduated up to the Lignomat Mini ED which was pretty accurate, but has very short pins so not good for thick boards.  Finally I went up to the J2000 with slide hammer.

[D6c]

....To get a 1" depth of reading (which you will need for 8/4 slabs), you'll need to spend more $ to get a more powerful meter.....

Is there actually a pinless meter available that will go to 1" or more depth?

[K-Guy]

You will notice on here that the most guys who are drying wood commercially generally use pin type meters because they are better, they can get both core and shell readings and use it to adjust their schedules. Delmhorst and Lignomat are the 2 big boys on the bock.

[KenMac]

Here's my little input concerning pinless meters: I'm not sure if all models are this way, but mine requires fairly smooth lumber to register reasonably accurately. In other words mine is pretty useless unless I plane (hand) a spot smooth. Newer models might be better since mine is about 20 or so years old. It does work well if lumber is smooth and is set up properly for species. It supposedly goes 3/4" deep.

[YellowHammer]

There are many things that cause stress to a kiln dried lumber business owner (me), and being able to tell definitively, without doubt, to 100% certainty and bet my reputation on the reading when someone brings their moisture meter to check or challenge my readings, with other customers watching, is pretty high on the list.  It's why I use a factory calibrated J2000 pin meter.  

There are others out there, and I'm sure they are good.  However, the accuracy and repeatability of a pin meter is extremely high, and considering it is nothing more than a highly accurate Ohm meter, adjusted to read in the near open circuit range, there is really no reason why an el cheap pinned meter wouldn't be nearly as accurate as a high dollar one.

However, that being said, the more expensive ones will have species and temperature correction tables built in, will have a field calibration shunt resistor, and can be sent back to the factory for NYST traceable calibration.

As Forrest Gump says "Just one less thing to worry about."