What is the optimum moisture content for firewood?
Using this moisture meter involves placing the electrodes into the wood in line with the grain (not perpendicular to it). It is as simple as this. You will then get a reading on the instrument’s screen. How Do You Measure Moisture in Logs? Whereas a plank of wood will dry more evenly, logs will tend to dry out faster at the ends than in the middle.
What is the best moisture meter for wood?
Feb 21, 2021 · To use a moisture meter to read the moisture level of a piece of wood or masonry: Turn the moisture meter on using the power button. Ensure that the moisture meter is on the right setting for the material being tested. Remove the cover to the probe pins, if required. Press the pins on the moisture ...
How to check the moisture content of firewood?
How do you use a firewood moisture meter? So split a piece of firewood down the middle, push the two pins on the end of the moisture meter into one of the freshly split faces of the wood (not the end grain and not the outside faces of the wood ) ideally near where the middle of the piece was before you split it, and press the On button.
How to use a wood moisture meter?
How A Firewood Moisture Meter Works. A firewood moisture meter works by measuring the resistance of your firewood. The resistance determines the conductivity of the wood . Conductivity is the ability of electrons to flow through the wood. A …
What moisture reading should firewood have?
How accurate are moisture meters for firewood?
Do I need a moisture meter for firewood?
What Is A Moisture Meter?
Moisture meters are an electronic device, typically small in size, used to measure the moisture level of certain materials. Moisture meters are commonly used for testing the moisture level of firewood to gauge whether it would burn well or not.
What Does A Moisture Meter Do?
Moisture meters read the moisture level of certain materials such as timber and masonry. Moisture meters typically give the moisture reading as a percentage, which can be used ascertain how dry the material being tested is.
Why Use A Moisture Meter?
Using a moisture meter to identify the moisture level of firewood helps to determine whether that piece of wood is dry enough to be useable on fires and burn efficiently. Burning firewood too high in moisture content can lead to numerous issues.
What Should A Moisture Meter Read?
A moisture meter should read below 20% for wood for it to be classed as ready to burn effectively as firewood. Any firewood under 20% can be classed as acceptable but wood can become progressively harder to burn to as moisture levels increase above 20%.
Do Moisture Meters Work (Are They Accurate)?
Moisture meters will typically provide a good moisture level reading of materials when used as recommended by the manufacturer. The accuracy of a moisture meter will depend on the model but can be within a couple of percent.
How To Use And Read A Moisture Meter For Firewood
For pinless moisture meters, turn the device on and press the end of the device against the material to get a moisture reading. For moisture meters with probe pins, press the moisture meter pins slightly into the material for it to provide a reading.
How A Moisture Meter Works
Moisture meters with pins check the electrical resistance of the material being tested and provide conductivity as moisture reading. Pinless moisture meters test the relationship between the material and the moisture to provide a reading.
Can you use a moisture meter on firewood?
If you're looking for something more precise and need an actual digital readout of the moisture in your firewood, a firewood moisture meter can be used. The device is pretty simple to use, and it is fairly affordable if you choose one of the cheaper models. Moisture meters are not specifically made just for firewood.
What is a firewood moisture meter?
A firewood moisture meter can be used to determine the moisture content of your firewood, but are they a necessity or just a novelty? A moisture meter is possibly the most important stove tool to help you ensure that you get the most out of your fireplace or wood burning stove. The tool will help you make sure that you are getting well-seasoned ...
Why is moisture important in firewood?
Moisture content is perhaps the most crucial thing to consider when determining the amount of heat your firewood produces . That is why a firewood moisture meter is very important. A firewood moisture meter can also help monitor how well your wood is seasoning and which stacking methods work best. When you have a lot of firewood to process ...
Why is a moisture meter important?
A firewood moisture meter can also help monitor how well your wood is seasoning and which stacking methods work best. When you have a lot of firewood to process and season, it is necessary that you do it in the most effective manner .
How much does a moisture meter cost?
They can be used to test the moisture levels in a variety of different materials. Depending on the model you choose, they cost around $15-$35 and have an accuracy of around 1-3%, which is more than enough for firewood. To test your firewood, simply push the pins into ...
Is it bad to burn unseasoned wood?
Burning unseasoned firewood will cause the accumulation of creosote in your chimney, which increases the risk of chimney fires . It also reduces the life of your chimney and wood burning stove. Unseasoned firewood also generates less heat and produces a lot of particulates that are bad for your health. If the firewood turns out to be unseasoned ...
What is high conductivity?
A high conductivity shows a low resistance. The moisture in a piece of firewood contains dissolved nutrients and salts that allow electrons to flow through it and conduct electricity. A firewood moisture meter contains two sharp electrodes pushed into the wood . The resistance between these electrodes will show the amount of moisture in your wood.
Step 1: Why You Should Care About the Moisture Content of Your Wood
Burning wet wood in your wood stove or fireplace insert can lead to creosote build up in your chimney, resulting in reduced draft and possibly a chimney fire.
Step 2: How Wood Moisture Meters Work
Most wood moisture meters work by measuring the resistance of the wood. The resistance is a measure of the conductivity of a material. Conductivity cal be thought of as the ability for electrons to flow through a material.
Step 3: The Resistance of Wood Correlated to Moisture Content
This table is from a US forest service publication which investigated various commercial moisture meters. It is fairly informative but the important information for us is this table. It shows the resistance values of different kinds of wood at different moisture contents.
Step 4: Measuring the Resistance of Your Firewood
The distance between the electrodes is crucial for this experiment. The distance between the electrode used in the table is 1.25 inches. I made a template out of scrap plywood, drilling two small holes this distance apart.#N#For electrodes I used brad nails and drove them into the wood using the template as a guide.
How to measure moisture in firewood?
To measure moisture content in firewood: Remove the end cap of the unit to reveal the pins, unless it’s a pinless moisture meter. Turn on the moisture meter using the on/off button on the unit. Gently push the two pins at the end of the moisture approximately 1mm into the piece of wood.
How to check moisture content of wood?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that: 1 To ensure that you’re testing the inside of the wood, moisture reading should be taken on any newly split sides of wood. 2 The prongs on the moisture meter should run parallel with the grain when testing. 3 2-3 tests should be done in different locations to ascertain the overall moisture content of any piece of wood.
What is the moisture content of firewood?
For firewood to burn efficiently it should have a moisture content of 20% or lower. As the moisture content of firewood increases above 20% it gets progressively harder to burn effectively in a fire.
How much moisture does wood need to burn?
This is important because for wood to be useful as firewood then it needs to have a moisture content of under 20% to burn efficiently. To achieve this moisture content the wood needs to be dried out, through a process known as seasoning. The higher the moisture content of the wood when it’s cut, the longer it can take for it to dry out ...
How long does it take for wood to dry out?
Seasoning wood can be a lengthy process. Certain hardwoods can take up to 2 years to dry out, while softwoods can typically take up to 1 year. Hardwoods such as Ash or Oak are from deciduous trees, which typically take longer to grow compared to softwoods such as Pine, from coniferous or ‘evergreen’ trees.
How to keep wood from rotting?
To ensure that wood dries out in the most efficient way, and to prevent it from rotting, the wood should be: Stacked on top of some sort of impermeable ground, such as concrete, to ensure that moisture from the ground doesn’t seep up into the wood, and for any excess water to runoff into the nearby ground.
How long does it take to season wood?
You can read more about how we season our own wood here. As the conventional seasoning process can take many months or even years , a process known as kiln drying helps to vastly speed up the drying process of firewood.
