How to Choose a Professional Wood Moisture Meter

If you search for “wood moisture meter” online, you’ll come up with dozens of options, with a variety of features, brands, prices, and so on.

How on earth do you know which one is for you? How can you tell between cheap, low-quality ones and high-quality, professional ones?

Despite everything companies tout about their moisture meters, there are just a few important features you need to put any meter in the professional category.

And in this article, we’ll be examining those features in detail:

• Accuracy
• Species correction
• Durable build
• Non-damaging
• Price
• Warranty and customer support
• Other key features

What makes a wood moisture meter “professional”

Whether you’re a professional woodworker, flooring installer, or luthier, you deserve a moisture meter that suits your own skill level. Even if you are a hobbyist, a professional moisture meter will make your projects better and last longer.

But what makes a wood moisture meter a professional one?

The makeup of “professional” wood moisture meters is found in their qualities. Let’s look at those qualities now, to help you make a better decision in the buying process.

Accuracy

Accuracy is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a good-quality, professional moisture meter. Inaccuracy in a moisture meter means ruined floors, cabinets, furniture, and other wood products.

This is because wood is a hygroscopic material. That means that it can gain or release moisture in response to the surrounding air (temperature and relative humidity)—even after it’s kiln-dried. And it will continue to do so until the moisture content balances with the moisture content of the air (called equilibrium moisture content, or EMC).

Depending on the use, some wood has to be dried down to different percentages to begin with. For example, wood flooring typically has to be dried down to 6-9%.

What does this mean for wooden furniture, wood flooring, and other wood projects? It means, if the wood hasn’t had time to sit in the environment it will eventually be in, it won’t have time to acclimate and reach EMC. Which means it may have too much or too little moisture in it when you start working, and later down the road the wood could crack, warp, split, or twist. A beautiful oak table with a horrific split down the middle isn’t so beautiful anymore.

The way to make sure your wood has reached an appropriate moisture level is through a moisture meter—an accurate one. Inaccurate meters can be off by several percentages, or even more, which gives you false assurance that the wood is thoroughly acclimated.

And, if the wood wasn’t actually at an appropriate moisture content level, you will likely see major problems down the road. As a floor installer or a woodworker, you can’t afford mistakes like that.

How can you tell if a moisture meter is accurate?

One way to tell is by taking multiple readings in the same place. An accurate meter is going to give you the same result every single time. But an inaccurate meter could give you a variety of readings that, even if they’re close, still aren’t the same.

Another way is by checking that you can confirm that the meter is calibrated without having to send it back to the manufacturer. If a meter is dropped, thrown around, or used another rough way, it could become uncalibrated and give inaccurate readings.

Having a calibration verification option ensures that this meter can be used again, even after taking a heavy jostling. Some meters have the option to be calibrated at the user’s location.

A third method is through the option for species correction. This is especially important for someone working with many different woods. We’ll talk about this next.

Species correction

All professional wood moisture meters will come with the option for extensive species corrections, which is the ability to adjust to the wood type for a more accurate measurement.

Just by taking a brief look at various species of wood in a lumberyard, you can tell that not all wood is the same. Sometimes, it’s obvious, like with different colors or grain patterns. Other times, it’s less obvious, like with porosity and different chemical makeups. Whatever the case, these can affect how a meter determines the moisture measurement.

Pin-type meters can be affected by the chemical composition of the wood (different wood species have different chemical makeups), and pinless meters can be affected by the density of the wood (some woods, like softwoods, aren’t as dense as others, say, oak). And we’ll talk more about pin and pinless meters later.

The important thing is, a professional meter will have options to compensate for different types of wood. If you work with exotic woods, it’s even more important to check what woods are programmed into the meter, as exotic woods are less likely to be listed.

Durable build

A professional wood moisture meter is going to be a durable, well-built one. You can tell a meter’s durability in several ways.

The casing and main body are the first things you might think of. Is the case made of a strong material that won’t crack if you set it down too hard? While dropping a moisture meter isn’t ideal, accidents do happen, and there are a number of potential injuries to the meter waiting to happen at a jobsite. You want to be sure the case itself is strong, since it protects the internal components of a meter.

Another facet of durability is the measurement electronics that make up the instrument. Are they built to withstand dust, sand, or even—yes—moisture? Sawdust from cutting, glue, finishes, humid and dry environments . . . any number of particles and small grains that can work their way between the crevices of the case. This may be something to look for in product reviews since you can’t really tell just by looking at it.

Is the abundance of sawdust going to hurt the electronics in the meter? Is moisture able to ruin them? If so, that meter probably isn’t a professional one.

One last place to think about durability is in the pins. Pin-type moisture meters have two prongs or pins that get inserted into the wood. They have the potential to break off, and some brands break more easily than others, requiring you to buy more pins more often.

Non-damaging

The two types of wood moisture meters are pin meters and pinless meters. And depending on what you’re using the meter on, you’ll want to consider a non-invasive meter.

What do we mean by this?

Pin moisture meters detect wood moisture content through two pins that could break off and get stuck into the wood. Using the electrical current between the two pins, the meter calculates the moisture content from the resistance.

Whereas pinless wood moisture meters use an electromagnetic pad that scans the surface of the wood. It doesn’t penetrate the wood at all—it’s non-invasive and non-destructive.

Think of them like you would think of finding a stud. You could find the stud by just drilling a hole into the wall in different places until you hit a stud. Or you can use an electronic stud finder that scans the surface of the wall to locate the stud.

Because of the methods these two moisture meters use to obtain the moisture content, different uses might necessitate different meters. Invasive pin meters could create unsightly holes in your wood the customer may not appreciate. Whereas with pinless meters, you would never know they were there. No mark is left on the wood.

That being said, you may want to consider a pin meter if you are working with uneven surfaces (think rough or rounded surfaces) because pinless meters work best on an even, flat surface.

On the other hand, driving a pin meter into hardwoods like oak can be quite difficult. In these cases, a pinless meter would probably work better.

Price

Generally speaking, a professional moisture meter is going to cost a couple hundred dollars. And no, you aren’t just paying for the brand!

Most moisture meters that are less than $100 have a tendency to be very inaccurate. They also may not have calibration verification, which can make you doubt their accuracy.

A good-quality meter will usually cost $100-$300, with some high-end ones costing even more. It might seem like a high price to pay, but it’s worth it. You want something that will give you the correct reading—why waste money on something that could be several percentages off? That could be the difference between good-to-use and too wet. It could give a false green light to your project when in reality the wood isn’t ready. And that can cause major problems down the road.

Warranty and customer support

Part of having an excellent meter is the excellent company it comes from, both in the warranty and the customer support.

Every good moisture meter should come with a warranty. This allows you to have part of or the entire meter replaced if there is a defect or problem early on. And since many high-quality meters are expensive, you won’t lose hundreds of dollars if the meter is faulty.

Like a warranty, customer support is important. It shows that company cares about you and wants to make your life with their meter as easy as possible. Customer support should be glad to answer all your questions and explain anything you want to know about the meter, how it’s used, or the science behind it. It shows they aren’t trying to hide anything and that they genuinely care about you as their customer. They aren’t just out there to sell a product.

Other key features

A professional moisture meter may also have some of these features:

• LCD, which gives you a backlit screen and the ability to see the screen in all lighting. Most professional options are digital moisture meters, making the LCD technology an added bonus.
• Data storage, which allows you to let the meter store readings for you. Some may allow you to store hundreds of moisture content readings, with the ability to detect trends or other analyses of the data.
• Shallow and deep scan readings, found in pinless meters. These allow you to scan at different depths in the wood, suitable for varying thicknesses in wood pieces. Some meters have dual-depth capabilities, allowing you to switch between shallow or deep scan.

So you’ve seen all the features that go into a moisture meter. Which ones do you really need?

Which features are essential for a professional woodworker?

The features we’ve outlined will be ones you want in a meter as a professional woodworker.

You want a meter that’s highly accurate to give you accurate readings and save you time, money, and your reputation.

You want a meter that accounts for different species of wood, which in the end affects your accuracy.

You want a meter with a solid build. And you want a good warranty to go with it.

You want a meter that’s suited for your needs, whether it’s with pins or not.

Choosing the best wood moisture meter is all about selecting one with the features that will help you maintain and build your reputation, save you time, and save you money in the long run. And a moisture meter with these features will be a professional one.

Sometimes, unfortunately, the only way you can figure out if your meter is not in the professional category is after it breaks or has an issue. But as you’re shopping, look at the reviews of others who have used the product before. They can help you eliminate ones that definitely won’t work.

And why not start at Bessemeter’s shop? Our line of professional wood moisture meters will be the perfect addition to your toolbox.