Firewood Moisture Meter Comparison 20%,45% Do they work ???

[@thomasl8145]

I watched to get an idea of accuracy and which meter to buy. From the wide range of readings across all meters, I'm not so sure I should even buy a meter anymore. Thanks for the vid.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Yeah they are pretty inaccurate it seems. I would take all reading with a grain of salt if someone says there wood is 18% because you can stick it again and it could be 25 or 30.

[@jasonsahadeo5740]

I think you shouldn't take the reading itself as law, unless you have a really expensive one. I think it's better to compare it to a known dry peice. So keep a small peice of each species you work with so you have a dry block to compare to.

[@mikeh8228]

My thoughts are : when you test, do not use frozen wood! Also, if you have only one meter, then test several times and take an average. I wonder what the cut off is so you can use the wood in your wood heater? No answer in this video.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Yeah it was not ideal. I left it outside and I should have put it in the garage.

[@RBnPA]

I’ve heard 16% or lower but that’s hearsay but I’d like to hear others opinions.

[@michaelnelson3469]

Thanks for an honest evaluation of these things. Most guys would have blown smoke up our asses about how great they all were.

[@Marie-vx9fs]

Makes sense that the more expensive the meter, it works better. What is the normal % range for subfloor that is plywood? I had a flood in my home and two layers of plywood. Will be going thru a subfloor tear off in bathroom (and pan out to more rooms) that was source of exploded compression hoses underneath sink.

[@TheRealChuckNorris]

I disagree. Stihl doesn't manufacture their own meters. As a matter of a fact most big brand sellers don't manufacture their products. They either contract with other vendors and buy their products in bulk and re-badge them under licensing. It's all made in China or atleast the parts are made in China and assembled in the usa. Stihl even has a manufacturing plant in China. Usa doesn't produce anything other than shitty automobiles and war material.

[@garymccahill7790]

In Connecticut we have a lot of Ash that have been killed by the emerald ash borer. So when finally cut down, they have been drying for a while already.

[@DoubleMonoLR]

From a UK firewood website it states "Ash, when freshly felled, has a typical moisture content of 35%". This is apparently lower than many other species. The notion of Ash being fine to burn green is apparently a myth that goes back a long way.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Yeah I think in general due to the lower moisture content it will season faster and also better green. I can tell you its pretty light off the rip vs something like Oak.

[@proto57]

From my personal experience, I would not call it a myth. Yes, the moisture content may be higher than desirable for most firewood, but several characteristics of ash make burning it immediately a feasible practice: 1) however the wood is structured, it seems to drive off the contained moisture, when burning, more easily and quicker. Steam just shoots from the end grain as soon as it warms up, while other damp woods might sit there and sort of smoulder 2) That steam ignites! When burning fresh ash, the steam off the ends must have a high wood alcohol content, because I've often seen it burn like gas jets, with blue flame. I've never seen this in other wood... and I've burned cherry, maple (red and sugar), oak, locust and others. Ash is the only wood I've ever successfully burned right after felling and splitting. As an experiment, I once timed it: From when I felled the tree, cut a log, split the log, and lit the split lumber in my wood burning stove was only 20 minutes. It lit easily, burned hot, and burned completely. Would it be better to season it? Like all wood, yes, there would be an improvement. But it is the one wood I know that really can be burned immediately, even with high moisture content, but with little or no noticeable penalty.

[@terry7893]

A typical over 20 minute video with 2 minutes of real content, to discuss a few simple moisture meters, leaving us to skip through all the 18 minutes of fluff including aerial video footage of his area and talking about his dog to get to the answer. Skip to the 17 minute mark to get to the answer.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

So testing each one, one by 1 is fluff lol. Must be a person who just reads the back of a book.

[@terry7893]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz And it took you 18 minutes??? To test 5 units? How many people do you know want to spend 18 minutes to buy a $24 item? We don't need all the chatter. Edit the video down.

[@terry7893]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz Take a look at this video... This guy tests 14 items in the same amount of time and you get hard hitting, complete, and tested information at every step. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3O0dqxun9lnbck

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

@@terry7893 See your missing the point of the video. Its that they are not very accurate and vary how hard you press them in. Brand really makes no difference. But I guess you got that from the notes at the end lol.

[@terry7893]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz There are too many other things that I (and most people now) are using KZbin for. Everything from travel tips, to repair how-to's, to purchasing items, to news like the Russian invasion, etc. Nobody has 20 minutes to donate for each video so we have to skip through. I watched a video the other day about moisture meters where the guy talks about his dog and shows drone footage of the area where he lives. All a total waste of time. Another video is of these 2 guys outside chit chatting and laughing while they discuss moisture meters. That's fine if you happen to be one of their friends and there in person talking to them, but ....why post a personal outing on KZbin? If you want to talk meters, then skip the fluff and talk meters. They had 2 minutes of content on a 20 minute video.

[@mikeh8228]

I looked up the question about proper moisture content in firewood to burn in a wood heater, and found it is between 15 and 20 %, lower and it burns too fast and hot, and higher and it smokes too much and uses much of the heat in drying out the wood. I purchased the General Tools meter as listed on Amazon as it appears to be the simplest to use and comes with an extra set of steel tips should you need to replace them and a battery. Thanks for the comparison video. I suggest you take several readings on several pieces of wood in a rick, then average them to get an idea of how the drying is going. Wood near the bottom of the rick will be wetter as it is closer to the ground and may get splash from rain. Also, buy a cheap tarp and cover the stacked wood loosely. Been doing firewood for my wood heater now for over 35 years and rarely get a batch that does not burn well after reasonable aging time...8 months to a year. For the past several years, I buy what I need for a couple of years down the road, and burn the aged stuff I got last year. So each year I buy what I burned and burn the 2 year old wood. Just keep it off the ground, wood rots quickly if in contact with the ground.

[@abhi-_-]

Thanks for this wonderful comment.. I ordered that orange 14 bucks meter yesterday to ensure that I am burning wood at right moisture levels. In my business, we burn 500-600 kgs of wood each day so its important to get most out of what I pay for wood. But I am confused a little about those four modes in the meter cuz here in my locality in india I get firewood of mango, eucalyptus, guava, north indian rosewood, acacia, etc. I have no idea which mode is right for these.

[@dimmacommunication]

True , under 15% burns way too quick, it also could be dangerous for the stove.

[@umarasghar4668]

For gray meter my readings varies with time,after some time the value decreases gradually and remains constant after some interval of time.how can I say my wood is at my required % as it decreases while checking moisture content.

[@szolanek]

By looking at them, they don't look dry. By an untrained eye, they are 35% or above. As for frozen wood, I wouldn't expect good readings.

[@maxperry1635]

Could any of those moisture meters be used to check finished floors and interior walls where you do not want to jab pins into?

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

They do make some that are "pinless" look for one of those. I think 1 of these did have that feature and they are usually a bit more money

[@maxperry1635]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz Thanks Craig

[@umarasghar4668]

How efficient or accurate the gray meter is?can I use it for acacia wood as there's not listed for acacia in meter

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

They were all the same pretty much. Not very accurate but I would say ball park 5% +-

[@dalesmith4778]

I just bought the grey one lol. Thankfully I only paid 14 bucks for it. I tried it out on some wood and got readings from 60% to 10% on the same piece of wood.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Lol yeah people get mad with the video but the point is they are not very accurate

[@dalesmith4778]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz Well I played with mine some more and it was getting more consistent readings. The wood I was testing was dry and it's been out of the weather for a few weeks. The only thing that concerns me though is there were a few spots on the bark that were coming back like 90% but the bark is dry and brittle so don't know what that's about.

[@kaym4821]

Hello, i just bought the grey meter, how do i know which wood group to choose? Does it matter to choose the right group?

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

it does matter it should have come with a cheat sheet for the settings. The % will vary when you change through them.

[@kaym4821]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz Yes, I do have a list of wood groups that came with the product. In fact, I got the grey one (the one shown at 5:40). In your video, you used mode C. Did you use an arbitrary setting, or did you already know the type of wood that you were testing on?

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

@@kaym4821 I was testing Ash so I believe it was C, I did play around with the other settings and you can see a 1-3% variation depending on the mode.

[@kaym4821]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz ok, thank you so much for replying! Great video :)

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Thanks for tuning in!!!!

[@omarnaja508]

Does it work for measuring wall moisture ?

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

yes it does and some advertise them as such.

[@steveiv9250]

This video proves absolutely nothing, You need a bench mark piece of wood , a piece with a absolute known moisture content to test all these meters against, So tell me which meter is worth buying or can be trusted ? How do you know with certainty that they are not all junk ? Or if the cheap one is indeed worth buying over an expensive model ? Also your stabbing these meters all over the place.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Exactly the point of this video. They are not very accurate and depending on make model and where you stab the wood results vary.

[@richarddavis3569]

Frozen logs... Moisture on the face of them. Not a great test in my eyes

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Yeah, I pulled them out and left them outside...however I think there was dew or a light rain that night and it froze to them. Overall not very accurate in general, regardless of being a little wet in the first tests. Does the same when they are dry.

[@FeatherHorseforge]

I have the Scandia version of the twins (exactly the same🤔🙂)

[@TheRealChuckNorris]

You should do a review wherever you purchased the meter that was overpriced.

[@chrishickmott7806]

Why start like that 😕

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

don't like nature ?

[@Tadders]

You didn't get screwed on those 2 identical meters...they're the same exact price just different colors. I checked your links, lol.

[@sdivinec]

Man - its STIHL not STHL. This is famous German brand - if you are looking for quality, precizion, and reliability - this is the brand you are looking for. Basically you can use it as a reference to chcek the others - if it is humanely possible to make a meter which works - STIHL for sure has it. And if it wouldn't work - they would not be selling it. The pronaunciation for the "S" is same as for "shit", because it is German company. English name should be SHTIL :)

[@zagreb-boris]

are you serious??? this IS NOT German STIHL... it's just cheap garbage from China - they just put German name.

[@mattp9932]

Bro you are gonna break those. Put it on the log. Push in. Don’t ram

[@carnold.knowledge]

Why are you yelling at us? And in the future, consider editing the video down for conciseness.

[@brandonjohnson7559]

Super helpful, not lmao. Maybe let the wood sit inside for a couple weeks and then test it

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

Lol its the point that they are not accurate. Of course if I let them dry out it might read better but they are all over the place. Not very good in general even with dry wood.1

[@brandonjohnson7559]

@@outdoorzwithcraigdz yeah I wasn’t being a d**k lol I genuinely wanted you to let wood sit in your house and then do the test again because I really can’t find any other comparison videos and I guarantee it would do well. I’ve been wanting to buy one for a while but I don’t know which one to get

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

@@brandonjohnson7559 Ok lol. Maybe I should redo it I still have them all in the garage I have not used them since.

[@gazza89]

I've got somewhere I need checking for moisture 😏😏😏

[@owenjohnson5030]

You need to push the pins in pretty deep to get a reading. Are you sure you really want to find out that bad?

[@gazza89]

@@owenjohnson5030 Always go deep bro 💪💪💪

[@zagreb-boris]

really stupid way of "testing" - you test a piece of wood, but without knowing what is it's REAL moisture. waste of time - mine and yours.

[@outdoorzwithcraigdz]

How do you know the "Real" Moisture ? You have to use some kind of tester right ? You don't go out and buy a sample test piece of wood to calibrate the un-adjustable meters ? You should probably post a video of your own. The point of the video is they are not very accurate and results vary.. hence the Do they work title.

[@MrSprintcat]

Thanks for the video buddy. I always thought about doing that but take a fresh piece of wood that's been in the basement next to the fireplace for a week or two and split it in half and then check it. I pretty much burn my firewood from last year's stack.