Which moisture meter do you use?

Lignomat, Electrophysics and Wagner seem to be three highly regarded brands in the US, but all seem to be up around $200 plus. There’s lots of professional users, and lots of good info on the topic on Woodweb: http://www.woodweb.com/

As ever you can buy an eastern made meter for $30 – $50 depending on the deal you get, and people speak of getting good results with these too.

I can’t make a recommendation as i’ve no experience yet of it in use, but i recently bought a Mini Ligno DX/C by Lignomat at just under $200 from Highland Woodworking – i paid the extra because it’s the kind of thing i wanted to buy once and forget about, and i’ve had very mixed experience with buying cheap stuff over the years. It’s certainly a very nicely made unit, it’s German, and it has a well designed, strong and compact looking external housing.

I looked mostly at pin type meters. The Mini Ligno DX/C has a socket for an accessory accessory hammer in remote probe on a cable, and reads up to around 60% – both may be useful factors if you were ever thinking of going kiln drying – most of the cheaper units as far as i can remember read up only to around 20%. Ligno have a Mini Ligno with no probe socket and a narrower reading range which is cheaper.

As best i could bottom the issue the non contact type meters are (a) typically more expensive, and (b) good for scanning larger areas in a hurry; but they have limits such as depth of penetration and the possibility of being thrown out by surface contamination.

I more or less concluded that they were not strictly speaking alternatives, more that their abilities overlap but both types have unique abilities too. Lignomat i seem to remember had a deal going a few months ago where you could buy both together for a discount, but i don’t know if this is still on.

Don’t take this as gospel, it’s just my take on what seemed to be coming out when i read around…

ian

-- Late awakener....

ebay south korea digital 4 pin for 20 bucks.
tried it on 5-6 samples which moisture cont. was known
dam thing was within 2% or less on all samples
for a back yard hack cant beat it.

Like most things in woodworking, it depends on what you intend to use it for. It’s been years since I’ve purchased wood in person at a mill but, if your intent is to check their lumber, you may avoid being sent down the road by showing up with a Delmhorst or something equivalent. Good ones aren’t cheap but, if you take care of them, they’re a once in a life-time purchase.

I just found the 4-pin meter on ebay and ordered it. For $20 it’s worth a shot. I don’t need one that’s super-accurate so I’m hoping this one does the trick. Thanks for the post!

glad to hear, i know guys that spent 2-3 hundred.
some tech things drop in price and incr. in acuracy.
but ive had this in three wood shops now and every board we checked
was within 2%. usually most tools that are cheap arent worth owning unless
its a one time thing. ie you have to take 1/16 to 1/4 off 2 door bottoms
you can buy $25 elec. planner and toss it when done. but any tool that will
be used more than a few times should go quality.
and if its a circ. saw. drill, etc that will be used everyday i would always buy the best
you can afford. this is an expensive hoby and a hundred here and there helps.