The moisture meter is a crucial tool when it comes to monitoring the dampness levels in firewood. Wet firewood is harder to burn, creates more smoke and sparks, and is generally not suitable for heating your home. Moisture content in wood is one of the single most important factors in determining whether firewood is ready to burn. The best firewood moisture meters make it quick and easy to take readings from wood with little hassle or effort on your part.
In this article, we discuss the importance of this tool and review several of the best moisture meters available in 2020.
Best Firewood Moisture Meter Comparison Chart
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Why Invest in a Firewood Moisture Meter?
If you currently use firewood to heat your home or plan to in the future, investing in a good firewood moisture meter is critical. Unless you plan to pay quite a bit of extra cash out on pre-seasoned firewood (approximately $50 to $150 more per cord than fresh-cut firewood), a moisture meter is your best bet at accurately reading the moisture content of your firewood.
Why is knowing the precise moisture content of your firewood so important? By understanding the moisture level in your firewood, you can tell when it is done seasoning and ready for use in heating your home.
Firewood with lower moisture contents (for example, 15 to 20% with a hardwood such as Oak) often burns longer, hotter, and cleaner. Firewood with low moisture content also pops and cracks less, making them less liable to cause accidental fires or injuries from sparks and shooting embers.
Simply investing in and regularly checking your firewood with one of the best moisture meters not only helps you get the most out of your firewood, but it also increases fire-safety in your home. Those who produce tons of firewood with firewood processors also benefit greatly from moisture meters.
Best Firewood Moisture Meters of 2020
We looked at many firewood moisture meters available this year and picked only the very best for reviewing. We based our selections on various factors such as durability, battery life, display, ease of use, accuracy, and warranty options. Here are our top picks for the best firewood moisture meters of 2020.
Best Durable, Straightforward Firewood Moisture Meter
The Stihl Wood Moisture Meter is one of our top picks for multiple reasons. It's a tough device made by a world-class manufacturer, comes with an easy-to-read and use LCD, and has 3- and 4-year protection plans available. The unit includes batteries, a user manual, and the meter itself. It is accurate with a measuring range of 6 to 42% in wood. If you're searching for one of the best firewood moisture meters for the money, with the least amount of risk, look no further than the Stihl Wood Moisture Meter.
LCD Display Genuine Quality Product Incl. Batteries and User manual Measuring range: Wood 6-42% Ideal for firewood which requires a moisture content of less than 20% to burn effectivley
Best General-Use Pin-Type Moisture Meter
The Proster General Digital Moisture Meter is a wide-use unit great for reading moisture levels on not only firewood but on paper, cardboard, and other materials as well.
The highly accurate design claims to measure a moisture level of up to 99.9% with as little as .5% margin of accuracy. Also, the impressive meter comes with four built-in modes that categorize roughly 50 species of firewood. These preset readings help ensure the highest possible accuracy.
The meter has an ergonomic design that easily grips your hand. It's easy to read, with a big HD LCD with data hold, auto power-off, and low battery functions.
Proster General Digital Moisture Meter, Pin-Type
Auto power off conserves battery energy. Data hold function Built-in battery check and low battery icon display. Complete with protective cap and carrying case. Memory contains 4 wood groups with calibrations for approximately 50 species of wood.
Best High-Accuracy Pin-Type Firewood Moisture Meter
For those ready to invest in a more expensive unit, the Lignomat Moisture Meter Mini-Ligno E/D is an excellent consideration. It gives instant and accurate moisture content readings between approximately 6 and 45%.
The Mini-Ligno is a highly durable pin-style moisture meter consisting of the very best German components and American craftsmanship. Further, it is recommended by both residential and industrial firewood users/workers.
A bright LED digital display makes readings easy to understand, and longer pins than other meters have made for more accurate moisture content measurements. The meter works for reading moisture in fiberboard and veneer as well as wood.
Lignomat Moisture Meter Mini-Ligno E/D
Measuring Range 6-45%. Built in calibration. Calibration for domestic species. Recommended for craft-type or industrial application to measure moisture in lumber, veneer or fiberboard.
Best Multi-Use Digital Moisture Meter
One of the highest recommended digital moisture meters this year, the Tavool Wood Moisture Meter, is quick, accurate, and long-lasting. It has eight calibration scales and works well for firewood users, manufacturers, carpenters, inspectors, and other professionals that work with large amounts of lumber and other various building materials.
The meter is accurate for measuring low, medium, and high moisture (5 to 60%). In addition, the meter comes with a large backlit LED display that makes it easy to use and read.
The meter features several functions such as memory, max/min moisture measurement, temps, auto power-off, and more. It also has two main modes, one for wood and another for building materials. Also, the grip has rubber sides that make operating the unit even quicker and easier.
Digital Moisture Detector Moisture Tester, Pin-Type
Designed with 2 high precision pins, penetrate into the test surface and quickly know the moisture level in your walls,give you an estimate of the potential for moisture growth throughout your home.Tavool moisture meter for wood is the best way to identify the location of moisture buildup.
Best Pin or Pinless Type Wood Moisture Meter
Calculated Industries 7445 AccuMASTER Duo Pro Pin & Pinless Moisture Meter is not only one of the most popular firewood moisture meters available online; it is one of the most diverse in general.
The unit is both fast and accurate. It has the option of both pin-based moisture content detection and pinless sensor readings of moisture content. The pins work great for most firewood; however, if you need to check deeper layers of wood, the pinless functions come in handy.
The meter is easy to use and read with its large backlit display and durable ergonomically designed body (fits well in your hand). Besides reading moisture content in wood, the unit is great for reading concrete, plaster, carpet, drywall, and other building materials.
The meter is also loaded with all the most helpful features, including moisture level numeric indicators, operational icons, low, medium, and high icons, a protective cap, built-in 9V for testing, and auto power-off.
Calculated Industries 7445 AccuMASTER Duo Pro Pin & Pinless Moisture Meter
Offers ideal dual functions of pin and pinless sensors in one. Use the pinless pad feature to test a large area more quickly without damage. Switch to pins for accurate tests at various depths
Things to Consider Before Buying a Firewood Moisture Meter
Before making that moisture meter purchase you've been thinking about, here are a few significant considerations to think about first.
Durability
The durability factor is crucial in any electronic device or product that consists of numerous components. The best moisture meters consist of high-grade parts both inside and out and last for years.
Display
The display on a moisture meter is one of the most important aspects to look at before purchase. The larger the display, the better. The best moisture meters tend to come with HD, LCD, and LED screens.
Battery Life
As with all electronics, battery life is a major consideration to be aware of when shopping for the best moisture meter. Likewise, be sure that you know what type of batteries, or charger, is required before purchasing a moisture meter as well.
Components
The quality of the best components speaks for themselves. Moisture meters with the widest range of functions, highest levels of accuracy, and often the highest price tags indicate their high-quality components.
Accuracy
Numerous aspects factor into how accurately a reading a moisture meter can give time and time again. These include the quality of components such as pins, EMF technology, displays, and more. The best moisture meters read the moisture content of between 5 and 60%. Some meters claim to read up to 99.9%.
Warranty Options
Whether it is a money-back guarantee, return policy, or warranty to cover the entire unit for a specific number of months or years, the best moisture meters tend to come with some guarantee. Make sure you're fully aware of these policies on any meter you're considering buying.
How to Use a Firewood Moisture Meter
Most moisture readers are pin-based, meaning they work by measuring wood resistance through pins inserted into the wood. The conductivity, the resistance of the electrons flowing through the wood, indicates the level of moisture, resin, or sap present inside.
Some moisture readers work with EMF technology, detecting moisture by simply touching or aiming at the wood to be read. These meters are known as pinless moisture meters.
Moisture meters are extremely simple to operate. Power it up, stick the pins into the material you wish to measure, or touch it (with a pinless device), and read the display. It's that simple. The amount of time for an accurate reading ranges from instant to several seconds.
Which Firewood Moisture Meter is Right For You
Picking the right moisture meter for you doesn't have to be a difficult task, even if you are learning about them for the first time. Hopefully, our article helps make this decision a much more well-informed one. Do you know about a great moisture meter that our audience should try? If so, wed love to hear all about it in the comments section below.
Good luck with selecting the best moisture meter for you!