The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Firewood and Wood Heating => Topic started by: jmur1 on May 06, 2021, 04:59:38 PM
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Curious if any folks on here have bothered with a wood moisture meter. I am curious to try one out but would be more than happy to hear comments on good or bad or preferred brand or any other feedback. There are getting quite cheap $20 for the lower models and up to $500 for the higher end. I imagine you get what you pay for to a point.
I am pretty good with the old weight/color/crack method but recently Ive been splitting alot of unusual woods (for me) so a meter may help out.
Let me know.
jmur1
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Now that I'm too old to climb up on the roof to clean the chimney, I've become a believer in moisture meters. Last year I "metered" the wood I burned to 17% moisture or less. I didn't have to clean he chimney once.
The complication is that you have to split the wood again to get a realistic reading. To test, I split about one piece in ten. The bottom of the stacks tended to be wetter as did some species like rock maple. I restacked the moist stuff and will use it next year.
My meter was a cheapie from Harbor Freight.
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I got a moisture meter for Christmas. It’s an unknown brand from Amazon. Has a mode selector to select a species...
I’ve found a range when checking a piece of wood, as the little probes don’t go very deep into the wood and it’s hard to push them far into dry wood. Easy to get 15% on the outside, then split it and check what was the middle and see it in the 20’s.
To really show some folk at a party that you know dry wood, smear some dish soap on one end of a dry looking piece, blow on the other and make bubbles. People will be amazed.
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Yes I use a cheap one.
Once I started using it, I was amazed that wood I previously thought was dry based on appearance and 'knocking' sound wasn't as dry as I would have hoped.
Tom.
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I've thought of getting one, but my wood is stored in an old barn and usually sits for at least 3 years so I haven't bothered.
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I got one of those from Amazon to check the dryness of standing dead ash, just a neat easy way to gather some info. I was surprised to see how dry some of the EAB killed ash really is straight from the woods.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43757/IMG_1228.JPEG?easyrotate_cache=1625100657)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43757/IMG_1229.JPEG?easyrotate_cache=1625100765)
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I got the super cheap version from Walmart. actually does seem to work ok. You can definitely see the difference from a freshly split middle check and the end of a stacked chunk. its about 5-10% diffence. Ill have to check the Ash Im bringing home. I have seen that some of them that have been dead for a while are starting to rot in place. Time is not on our side!
jmur1
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44322/walmart_meter~1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1625250413)
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I use one, came with the new furnace. Don't check through the bark, but in actual xylem wood. I never get much in the flu, but I brush it every month. My flu is straight up from the elbow, no climbing roofs involved. 42 feet up. :)
Napoleon Wood Moisture Meter (https://www.woodstoves-fireplaces.com/napoleon-digital-wood-moister-meter)
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I got one of those from Amazon to check the dryness of standing dead ash, just a neat easy way to gather some info. I was surprised to see how dry some of the EAB killed ash really is straight from the woods.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43757/IMG_1228.JPEG?easyrotate_cache=1625100657)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/43757/IMG_1229.JPEG?easyrotate_cache=1625100765)
Same unit I have.works well