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Nate Skinner photo
Germany, Berlin
1 Level
710 Review
37 Karma

Review on Digital Wood Moisture Meter - Pin-Type Moisture Detector For Building Materials, Firewood, Walls, Floors, And Paper - Yellow Dampness Tester For Water Leak Detection by Nate Skinner

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Seems well built but lacks comprehensive cal chart

This review is for model MT270.Meter is built pretty well and even comes with a pair of AAA batteries. It is nicely backlit and easy to read with both digital and simulated analog indications on the display. The temperature scale moves very slowly and seems to be averaging out over a time span, instead of reading a direct instantaneous temperature.I bought this meter to help check my rough lumber, as a beginning hobbyist woodworker. The meter does seem to indicate a fairly consistent range with each wood type. Interior woods read in the 7-9% range, while woods in my non-temperature controlled HOT garage read between 10-12%. I checked 8/4 hickory that has been cut and on stickers for about 70 days, and although it read the highest of all the other woods I have, 12% seems like a very low number for such a fresh cut of hickory. This meter reads higher the deeper you seat the prongs. I can only assume I was unable to get the prongs deep enough in the hickory to read an accurate number.All that aside, my chief complaint is the calibration chart. It has approx 306 tree types listed but of those, 133 are commons names like "Ash" or "Maple, sugar," and the rest are botanical names which I truly have no interest in looking up. Not only that, but without cross-referencing the botanical names, I don't see any of the more common woods listed: No oaks of any kind, no poplar, no American cypress, no pecan, no American cherry, etc. So it's up to the user to research what wood types listed are suitable substitutes for the above woods.

Pros
  • ‎Alkaline
Cons
  • The device may not be precise enough for some professional applications

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