Looking to get an inexpensive lumber moisture meter for very occasional use.

I'm looking specifically at a Proster that runs right around $20.

Are these things very accurate ?? Fairly accurate ?? Junk ???

Thanks for any input !!

I use an EXTECH Instruments MO210 and it's accurate. However, it's about $100.

I’ll have General Tools MMD4E pin type meter I use in the wood shop for checking dried lumber and occasionally firewood. It was about $35.00 and is accurate enough for my uses.

I have a 22 dollar one , it works well enough that I don't doubt it

if it says sub 16 the wood burns well if more it hisses in the stove.

sub 13 lights with practically 1 sheet of news paper

I think mine is a general tools also form amazon a few years ago it has a checker in the probe cap it always reeds the same so I expect it is still calibrated ok

the correct way to get an accurate test is warm a piece up to room temp , split it and on the fresh split measure along the grain with the probes

Thanks, fellers !!

I have a stack of wide, 12/4 cherry live edge boards air drying that I am needing to advertise. Most of the ads I see have a % moisture content listed in them. So, I figured it may be of help for me to know that. Dependingon how this little batch project goes, I may get into it a little more and need a meter further, so...........

Appreciate the advice.

Same here. ^^

I too have been thinking of getting one...however.

Do they not only check the outer surface area of the wood? GCP says to open a piece and check inside, which makes sense. But, how would you do that on lumber?

Is there a type that checks from one side of the lumber to the far side?

The pin type moisture meters just measure the surface moisture between the pins and don't take into account the specific gravity of the wood specie.

They do make pinless meters that will scan 3/4 inches deep. Ligno-Scanners are popular. You set the specific gravity for the specie you are measuring. They are said to be pretty accurate. Prices start about $200.00.

As said above, my $35.00 General tools meter serves my purposes. Most of the wood I use in the shop I have had cut and milled and has been stickered and air-drying on my property for years. I usually allow a year per inch of thickness for air-drying depending on specie. Air drying will only take MC so low though. If you want it lower you have have it kiln-dried.

Mini-Ligno DX/C Has been very good for the 10 years ive had it . Paid 200 bucks for it in 2012 ,dont know what they cost now . But easy to use ,all digital . just punch in the code for whatever wood species your doing and push the pins into the wood . Comes with short pins and long pins .

Was it just old school that you cut a piece of wood off and measured the volume, weighed it , then put in an oven @ 200f for 2 hours then , re-weighed it for moisture loss

This particular log was down a year and has only been sawed for 6 months. At 12/4, I'm thinking I should either sell it as "air drying" or send it to a kiln. I'm afraid 3 years sitting stickered it'll get powder post beetles or something.

Sometimes that is a seller if going into furniture making, powder post beetles

At 12/4 its only a year and a half drying at one inch per year thickness . Thats why its stickered to dry from BOTH sides at the same time . Think one inch in from top and one inch in from bottom =one year drying so thats 2 inch thick board , you have three inch so another 6 months = 1 1/2 years dry time .

I use a hatchet to chop a shallow slit, then put probes into slit. This is for pressure treating purpose. Different woods dry at different rates. I provide my guys the cheap meters and test them using the expensive meter. The cheap ones work pretty well. Only time they fail, is falling off a forklift or breaking the tips off.

cut 4 inches off the end of a piece split it with a hatchet and check in the middle

a little wasteful but it makes a 20-30 dollar meter work.

Duh.............

I never even considered it that way. That makes things sound a bit more reasonable.

Thanks for the cyber "slap up 'long side my head".