Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about Wood Moisture Tester
Question 1: Why should I use a wood moisture meter?
This is probably the most commonly asked question among first time moisture meter users. While the exact answer to this question may vary from industry to industry, these answers are usually related to quality.
Using a wood moisture meter, you can accurately assess the problems that a given sample of wood may be experiencing, such as cracking, shrinkage, splitting, mould growth and more. When the moisture content of wood is too high (or even too low, in some cases), the quality of the final product can suffer.
Using a moisture meter can help you ensure that the moisture content of the wood material you are using is within the correct %MC range to avoid callbacks later.
Question 2: What are the different types of wood moisture meters?
While there are countless models of moisture meters on the market and new ones appearing all the time, they fall into two categories based on their operation:
Needle meters.
Needle-less meters.
A pin-type hygrometer uses two (or more) electrodes to penetrate a wood material in order to read the %MC of that material using the principle of electrical resistance.In a two-pin meter, one pin sends out a current and the other receives a current, and the meter interprets the impedance of the current to the current. Since wood is an insulator and water is a conductor, the lower the resistance to current, the higher the moisture content of the wood.
Pinless meters, on the other hand, use an electromagnetic radio wave scanner meter to scan a sample of wood below the board. These meters are sometimes called non-invasive moisture meters because they don't have to physically penetrate the surface of the wood to get a reading.
Question 3: Which type of moisture meter is better?
After inquiring about the different types of moisture meters available, most people still want to know which moisture meter is the very best type. The answer depends a lot on the type of work you're doing, the size of the wood material you're working with, whether it leaves pinholes in the material, and your personal preference.
Pinless meters are fast and will not damage the surface of the material being scanned. Pin pins, on the other hand, give you more specific information about the distribution of moisture in the wood.
Many professionals use both types of meters in their work, switching between them when necessary.
