Moisture meter accuracy.

[Mark Bolam]

my tip is DON'T DRINK THE WATER

 

I havent got a meter but if I want to know I weigh a log then stick it in the oven, it creates a nice smell, and after a couple of days you can weigh it again and work out the %

 

That would only work if you got the mc down to 0%.

[Mark Bolam]

I found even the cheapest meter better than guessing. I have had wood that I swore was bone dry burn badly on my stove then confirmed by meter its 30%. I found even different trees of the same species take different times to season could be time of year or next to river etc. Oak and Ash are the worst. Beech 3 weeks in the sun and its 20%

 

Good point there Steve.

[gensetsteve]

Your metre sounds ok mark. It wont read properly in a bucket of water because its calibrated to work with the wood fibres. My skirting boards are 11- 14% My mate has a stihl one and we compare now and then both are roughly the same and never let us down.

[farmer rod]

That would only work if you got the mc down to 0%.

 

being a bit anally retentive I get the log out and weigh it quite often, then put the numbers in a spreadsheet, so after a bit you can see where its going to land up.

 

Actually mostly I am worried about woodchip which is by definition 0% after 24hrs (at 110 C)

 

but it would be a useful comparison to measure a log then test it in the oven. The gadgets to measure chip moisture % cost nearly a grand, so its cheaper to get more wood.

[Mark Bolam]

I might give it a bash mate, it will almost certainly smell better than the fish the wife cooked on Tuesday night!

[farmer rod]

I might give it a bash mate, it will almost certainly smell better than the fish the wife cooked on Tuesday night!

 

 

[Mark Bolam]

Your metre sounds ok mark. It wont read properly in a bucket of water because its calibrated to work with the wood fibres. My skirting boards are 11- 14% My mate has a stihl one and we compare now and then both are roughly the same and never let us down.

 

It can certainly tell the difference between wet and dry timber, even if the figures are a bit screwy.

Would you recommend pushing the prongs all the way in for a truer reading?

Surely it works on resistance so this is bound to make any readings much higher?

[oldwoodcutter]

Got the little stihl one,ime no expert but i think its ok,wettest ive had were 50%fresh cut,driest at 11%for kindling that been in shed for years.

[openspaceman]

I get the log out and weigh it quite often, then put the numbers in a spreadsheet, so after a bit you can see where its going to land up.

 

You can do much the same quicker with a microwave, you get to a plateau just before the vinegary smell that indicates the onset of pyrolysing. A 20 gram sample takes a few minutes on a defrost cycle.

 

The moisture meters depend on salts to be dissociated as ions in the moisture to conduct current and the moisture is calculated from the resistance. I think some of the grain moisture meters used the dielectric effect. Pure water is not a conductor.

[Mark Bolam]

So do I shove the prongs right in or not?!!!!!!!!