I'm looking for a good pinless moisture meter for use in my shop and with my sawmill. Can anyone recommend one?
I have seen such a wide range of prices that it's somewhat confusing.
Dave.

I have be weighing my blocks and keep a log book
I got some green Red cedar boards 10' long and ordered a meter from Amazon for 20.00

Max, would you share what you chose? I've been looking to replace my old cheap analog meter, too, and wondered which one from the big site was worth it.  Thanks!

The only reason I picked this one was because it was RED and 20.00
There are a good many to chose from
eeny meeny miny moe


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093V1ZBPN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Amazing how many choices on the market these days. I have an old analog, pin style and when I bought it for $70.
many years ago, it was that or a Lignomat for $300!  Now they sell accurate units for $20.!!!!

Are the cheaper ones accurate? And can they be calibrated?
I'm thinking of getting a pinless unit so I don't have to punch holes in good boards, while being able to look deeper into freshly sawn lumber at the mill.
I don't really want to spend $400 on one if I can get an accurate one for under a hundred.
Dave.

Flem witch one is accurate for $20.
I heard the good ones are around $400. And you just lay it on the wood. And it is still a guess at best.
Prolly the weigh method is best.

The one I was looking at was $25. actually. It claims 0.1% resolution and self calibration.

https://www.amazon.com/Mecurate-Moisture-Detector-Calibration-Firewall/dp/B08VDZP7N5/ref=sr_1_17?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&keywords=Moisture+Meters&qid=1640574055&s=hi&sr=1-17&ts_id=553270

Can't see how those pin ones can give more than surface reading.

You can measure deep inside  wood with a pin meter if you do the following. Drill two small holes in the wood with the same distance apart as the pins on the meter. Hammer in two small steel nails and place the meter pins on the nail heads.
This is recommended by the <internationalpinandnailknockinwoodcorporation.
Honestly it works fine.

Quote from: Buemaker on December 27, 2021, 05:26:51 AM
You can measure deep inside  wood with a pin meter if you do the following. Drill two small holes in the wood with the same distance apart as the pins on the meter. Hammer in two small steel nails and place the meter pins on the nail heads.
This is recommended by the <internationalpinandnailknockinwoodcorporation.
Honestly it works fine.

This is how my kiln buddy does it too...

Sounds like a plan.

I've done what Bue suggested also and it works. I believe with either type of meter, the recommended method for a truly accurate read, is to measure from a fresh cut. And if you are going to place nails in a chunk of wet wood to measure moisture over time, use stainless or the oxidation that is going to be happening down where you can't see it, will skew the accuracy.

Quote from: wood carver 2 on December 26, 2021, 11:02:24 AM
Are the cheaper ones accurate? And can they be calibrated?
I'm thinking of getting a pinless unit so I don't have to punch holes in good boards, while being able to look deeper into freshly sawn lumber at the mill.
I don't really want to spend $400 on one if I can get an accurate one for under a hundred.
Dave.

I weigh my riser block and so forth in grams and write it down on the wood, when it stops loosing weight I'm good
I also have a dehumidifier in my bow room set at 45%, so 8.6 to 8.3 for me

I have used this one for the last 25 years, this model comes up on eBay every now and then fairly cheaply, a new one will cost you a bundle. This one gave up the ghost after about 20 years of use but Wagner will refurbish one for about $100 so I sent it back and had it reworked.

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I don't use the wood table and am only looking for my bow wood (osage) to reach the ambient moisture level in my area which is 12%, for hickory I will be looking for 8% or less.

In black power we call people who have to have every little thing about their outfits, accruements and firearm perfectly period correct "thread counters".

In bow making we have quite a few thread counters as as well. For me a ball park figure on moisture content that shows me that my wood has stabilized and is ready to work is good enough for me, I don't feel the need to cross reference different wood species to the exact degree as the wood chart would indicate.

The first thing I found out after I got my pinless meter what just how much wood people gave me and told me it was cured and dry was actually as green as a gourd with a moisture contend of 22%+.

The unit I'm looking at is a wagner orion 910.it costs about $400. It has settings for different woods and you can re-calibrate it yourself.
Dave.

I looked at this meter and it makes me wonder if the cheaper ones are any good.
Dave.

Its really simple technology. Nothing more that a low voltage resistance reading. I'm surprised any of them are expensive. Guess if it seem mysterious.........

Quote from: Flem on December 28, 2021, 01:05:29 PM
Its really simple technology. Nothing more that a low voltage resistance reading. I'm surprised any of them are expensive. Guess if it seem mysterious.........

That's why I haven't bought one yet. 🙂
I was hoping to hear from someone who has experience with lower priced ones.
The only thing I'm fixed on is that it's pinless.
If I only had small pieces of wood, I would just follow the advice of those who weigh them.
Dave.

They all work off the same technology, pin or pin less. Even my cheap old analog meter is good to +/- 1deg.
And they all need to be compensated for temperature+wood density. For $25, its hard to go wrong. You could even buy two cheap meters and check them against each other.