moisture meters... pinless preferred....

tod osier

tod osier

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never owned one (I know what a poser). Bought 2 highly rated, but inexpensive, pin type from amazon and I can't get either to give me repeatable results. Tried green firewood, old subfloor, new hardwood, some old boards, random body parts on the dogs, etc... The readings I'm getting are all over the place and not repeatable.

Can you get one for under 100 bucks that is decent that will be repeatable? I don't even need overly accurate.
 
I used to have one for work that had probes on one end and was problems on the other. The probes where more accurate but the other end was close enough. It had repeatable readings that made sense.

Unfortunately it was north of $300. I leant it out one day and never got it back. I often regret not keepi better track of it. It was an ex tech MO260.
 
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I've never had any luck with sub $100 meters. I own a delmhorst j-2000 now.

The delmhorst j-lite is good also. They are both pin style meters though
 
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I've never had any luck with sub $100 meters. I own a delmhorst j-2000 now.

The delmhorst j-lite is good also. They are both pin style meters though
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Thanks guys, I believe the 300 dollar figure, given the performance of the cheepies I've tried. I will say, I don't get why one should cost that much given how they work, but that is a different question.

Anyway, I can't stand tools that sorta work and those that fall into that category don't last long around here.

Thanks for the suggestion Jode, I'll keep that model filed away if I decide I really want/need one.
 
Get a super triple XXX whiz bang super duper, double xercrominum probe model, build a Bayesian model with all priors in the negative binomial distribution and determine creditability intervals at the preindustrial middle Jurassic epoch , then junk it all and weigh it dry in oven and weigh again.
 
Get a super triple XXX whiz bang super duper, double xercrominum probe model, build a Bayesian model with all priors in the negative binomial distribution and determine creditability intervals at the preindustrial middle Jurassic epoch , then junk it all and weigh it dry in oven and weigh again.
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Is that the model with the unobtainium probes or the base model? Will I have to do the probe mod and upgrade?

I just want one that reads 9 or 10 or 11% if the wood is in the neighborhood of 10%, not read 0% sometimes and 34% for the same wood when held in your left hand.

As for ovens, my wood is too big to fit.
 
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Get a super triple XXX whiz bang super duper, double xercrominum probe model, build a Bayesian model with all priors in the negative binomial distribution and determine creditability intervals at the preindustrial middle Jurassic epoch , then junk it all and weigh it dry in oven and weigh again.
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I'm not wrong in jumping to the conclusion that you didn't have a suggestion, am I?
 
I have a wagner I think 400 series that I purchased for my kiln / sawmill
it is pin less and works good, has 50 or so settings for different species of wood, it does function like it is supposed too. around 400 to purchase 10 years ago.
I think with these meters you get what you pay for. wagner is a good brand to start with.
 
I have a wagner I think 400 series that I purchased for my kiln / sawmill
it is pin less and works good, has 50 or so settings for different species of wood, it does function like it is supposed too. around 400 to purchase 10 years ago.
I think with these meters you get what you pay for. wagner is a good brand to start with.
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Thanks Tom, sounds like the consistent answer is that you cant expect a cheap one to do the job!
 
Todd, if you use the standard formula of: Consumer price is twice wholesaler/retailer acquisition cost, which is twice manufacturer's price; cheapy mositure meters have about ten to fifteen dollors worth of materials,production time and development/design time in them.

When I was still squeezing fish, YSI thermistors were standard equipment on every boat-great units, with excellent response time, accurate when routinely calibrated. One died, so I tore it apart...amazing simple "guts" and very easy to repair. I decided I would buy one for myself to fish remote trout lakes after I left the fishery biology field. I was dumbfounded when I discovered their retail price.
 
Todd, if you use the standard formula of: Consumer price is twice wholesaler/retailer acquisition cost, which is twice manufacturer's price; cheapy mositure meters have about ten to fifteen dollors worth of materials,production time and development/design time in them.

When I was still squeezing fish, YSI thermistors were standard equipment on every boat-great units, with excellent response time, accurate when routinely calibrated. One died, so I tore it apart...amazing simple "guts" and very easy to repair. I decided I would buy one for myself to fish remote trout lakes after I left the fishery biology field. I was dumbfounded when I discovered their retail price.
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Absolutely, the meters can not have much in them, but you do get what you pay for (apparently) and it looks like you need to pay if you want one to work. Not a single person here has suggested one of the inexpensive units that appear so common.

Jen is currently ordering a 20 m thermistor chain for her buoy, I would love to know the parts cost for that ca. 10K unit.
 
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