Well, my wide plank white pine flooring is now stickered in my house, and the local rental place which had said they had a moisture meter was confused as to what a moisture meter was! I am now faced with buying one asap, probably internet since my few local shops don’t stock them. How much should I spend, or rather, how little can I spend on a tool which I will use once, without getting something so unreliable that it is useless? I’d love to spend some cash on a new tool, but preferably one which I will get some real use out of.
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You might be able to rent or borrow one from the place below. Also, if you don't mind the drive to Williston, Vt there is a western tool supply right near the airport. That is a very good tool house, they have everything from powermatic cabinet saws to every power tools to just about every nail gun made, etc. The best tool shop I've been to. They'll have them for sale and may rent them. They have a website, http://www.westerntool.com Also, if you know any hardwood floor installers or can network to meet one, they all have at least one of them.
You don't need a moisture meter for a one time use. There are two questions you would be trying to answer with a moisture meter. What is the moisture content of this wood today? Has this wood acclimated to the relative humidity in the house? You can answer the first question by weighing a sample (several or many pieces), oven drying it, and weighing it again. You can answer the second question by weighing a sample periodically until the weight stabilizes.
Good idea, I didn't think of it.
On a related topic, does advantec absorb much moisture? The underside is sealed with spray foam, so there is not much chance of significant moisture migrating from below. I would think that two weeks of stickering in conditioned space would be fine. There isn't really such a thing as over acclimatizing, is there?
I need a moisture meter. The application is checking moisture content of subfloor, hardwood floors, wood in crawl spaces, looking for leaks, etc.
Here is what a search at amazon came up with:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/104-3501952-2644701?search-alias=tools&keywords=moisture%20meter
I'd only use it every 3 months max, so can't really justify the $250 one...
I wonder if the $130 one would do the job? I'd think something with a range of 6 - 30% would be adequate - really for what I'd be using it for, anything above 25% would be 'off the map'.
depends on what you're using it for, but I have the $30 sonin meter, and it seems to work fine... At least it will give you a relative reading, I have no way to test how accurate it is. This was a freebie for me, normally I try to buy better quality tools, but I was surprised with this one.
The oven drying method is the most accurate way to do it by far......even the most expensive meters are only relatively accurate. There is a thread at Knots right now on meters; I posted a link there to a reference on the correct way to do it. I'll post it here too http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch12.pdf
That said, on meters, I believe you get what you pay for....a poster further on mentions a FWW article on meters that implies the cheap ones are as good as the more expensive.....I think that's hooey, and I think that was a very poor article. All the wood people I know use good quality tools from Delmhorst or equivalent. They're not that expensive, but it's still an open question whether you will use it enough to justify the cost....there is always oven-drying which is practically free.....for a one-off situation like this, I'd head straight for the toaster oven. I have a cheap one, and a more expensive Delmhorst J-2000......no doubt in my mind which is the better and more accurate tool.Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
How much should I spend, or rather, how little can I spend on a tool which I will use once, without getting something so unreliable that it is useless?
They aren't real easy to use, but the cheap $30 pin-type meters actually give good results. A fine woodworking article from a few years back tested the accuracy of a number of popular units and this appears to be one situation where the results are good with inexpensive units, you basically pay the premium prices for features and ease of use.
I have an article somewhere, another fine woodworking article, that lists the parts to make a basic pin-type meter. Personally, I'd buy the $30 meter.