Are Pinless Wood Moisture Meters Accurate?

How pinless moisture meters work

Pinless meters don’t require you to push protruding pins into a piece of wood to measure its moisture content.

Instead, pinless meters operate through a sensor pad that releases radio waves into the wood you’re trying to measure. The way the waves respond when reacting to the wood tells the pinless moisture meter how much moisture the wood contains.

Its ability to take accurate measurements with a sensor pad makes it much faster and easier to use than a pin meter.

With pin meters, you have to drive pins into the wood any time you want a reading. This can be difficult and time-consuming to do, especially if you’re working with a harder material like hardwood. Some materials are so dense that they may break the pins.

This means that in addition to worrying about breaking your meter, you’ll also need to go through the hassle of buying pin replacements every time they break. (Most people need to have a stock of extra pins on hand to cover breakages.)

Pin meters will also leave behind unsightly pinholes that can devalue your wood flooring or woodworking project. (Not to mention, if you’re using your pin meter to measure building materials like drywall, you’ll need to repair any holes you leave behind.)

There might be some scenarios where pin meters are more useful than pinless meters. This could include any time you’re trying to measure a curved or rough surface. Pinless meters must sit on a flat, even surface to get accurate readings while pin meters don’t. However, pinless moisture meters offer more advantages overall.

Here are two reasons pinless meters are more accurate and effective than pin meters:

1) Easier use means fewer cutting corners:
Because pinless meters are easier and faster to use than pin meters, there’s less reason to skip out on valuable moisture testing.

 

At times, pins can be so difficult and tedious to drive into the wood that some are tempted to only measure a couple spots in a stack of wood. This can be problematic as more moisture may exist in other parts of the wood, or other parts of the stack. Without taking comprehensive readings, they won’t have an accurate understanding of how much moisture their wood contains. And, if their only option of detecting moisture in their wood is by driving in pins, they might decide to forego moisture testing altogether.

 

Pinless meters, however, can get readings with the push of a button. So there’s no reason not to take several measurements and get accurate and comprehensive readings.

 

2) Wider scanning means more comprehensive scans:

Pinless meters measure a larger area of wood each time you take a reading.

 

Pin-type meters are only able to measure the moisture content of the wood between the two pins, since they detect moisture based on electrical resistance. And that makes it easy to miss moisture pockets that are drying more slowly than other parts of the wood.

 

Pinless meters, on the other hand, scan a larger area with radio waves, giving you a fuller understanding of your wood’s moisture levels. And it’s so much easier to quickly measure in several spots.

 

This is why pinless meters are the best wood moisture meters to use if you need fast and comprehensive readings.

But keep in mind that some pinless meters are more accurate than others, depending on their quality and condition.

How can you know if your pinless meter is accurate?

You can assess the accuracy of a pinless meter by determining its quality and condition.

Assessing meter quality

Whether you’re buying a pin meter or a pinless meter, you get what you pay for. Cheap meters might be more affordable, but that price comes with its own cost. They won’t be able to deliver the accuracy that quality meters can.

It’s easy to spot quality meters when you know what to look for. Dedicated manufacturers craft them with conscientious customers in mind, creating durable, efficient, and accurate meters.

Most quality moisture meters will have:

• Consistent readings: Measure the same area multiple times. You should get the same reading. If you don’t, your meter isn’t very accurate.

• Correction features: The specific gravity and wood density of different wood species must be accounted for when taking a measurement. Otherwise, it may skew your moisture meter readings. This is why high-quality moisture meters enable you to adjust species settings. They will have codes for you to input or will provide you with an adjustment chart so you can get the most accurate readings.

• Warranties: Manufacturers have confidence that their meter will last if they offer a longer warranty. This is why warranties of a year or more indicate a high-quality meter.

• Calibration verification: Proper calibration enables meters to get accurate readings. Meters can be thrown out of calibration when dropped or otherwise damaged. That’s why high-quality meters provide a way to check calibration. Manufacturers of high-quality meters will also re-calibrate the meter for you if the meter is out of calibration.

(To learn more, read about the difference between cheap and quality meters.)

Assessing meter condition

You could have a pinless meter made by the best manufacturers in the world, but if it looks old and banged up—like it got thrown off a truck and run over a couple times—it may not work so well.

That’s why it’s crucial to assess the condition of your meter to ensure it’s in the best shape to do the best work.

You can make sure your meter’s in good condition by:

• Looking for damage: Dents and scratches may be superficial, but they may also indicate a deeper problem. Meter damage can result in inaccurate readings and impede functionality.
• Looking for malfunctions: Is your screen not working properly? Or are the meter’s buttons unresponsive? Your meter may have been damaged. You’ll want to get it fixed before you trust it for accurate readings.
• Checking its calibration: Some signs of wear and tear are evident, but not always. Calibration can be especially sensitive, so it’s always good to verify it from time to time.

(Want your meter to last? Learn how to keep it in top condition.)

While some meter issues can’t be fixed, many of them can. That’s why, on top of choosing a quality meter and keeping it in good condition, you’ll want to have a couple troubleshooting tricks up your sleeve.

Troubleshooting pinless meters

Having trouble with your pinless meter? Maybe it doesn’t seem to work right or it keeps giving you unusual readings.

Don’t worry! Chances are, nothing’s wrong with the meter itself.

Just like pin meters, pinless meters need to be used in a certain way to function properly.

If you ever want to check if you’re using your pinless meter the way its manufacturers intended, just take a peek at the instructions the manufacturers provide you.

On top of that, you can try these tips to deal with common moisture meter issues:

• Verify calibration: If you are questioning your meter’s results, it may be because your meter’s calibration has been thrown off. Check it with a calibration reference, and if it indeed needs recalibration, send it to the manufacturer.

• Correct for wood species: You may be getting unexpected results because you forgot to correct for wood species. Any time you measure a different wood species than what you previously measured, remember to adjust your meter accordingly.

• Avoid taking measurements on top of metal, surface moisture, and wood abnormalities: Metal, moisture on the wood’s surface, and wood abnormalities like wood knots can all throw off your meter’s readings. Curved or rough surfaces may also affect pinless meter readings. To avoid these problems, measure on a dry, flat surface that’s free of any kind of metal.

• Take multiple tests: Moisture levels may vary throughout a stack of wood. That’s why it’s a good idea to take multiple tests in different parts of the stack. This will give you a bigger, more accurate understanding of how much moisture your wood contains.

• Test in the center of the wood: For larger pieces of wood, the edges of your wood could dry out the fastest, but the center of the wood will retain moisture longer. If you base your understanding of the wood’s moisture only on the readings at the edges, you’ll assume the wood is dry while the center contains enough moisture to cause warping issues later on.

• Follow your meter’s manual: High-quality meters come with manuals that can offer additional troubleshooting tips when you run into problems. By following the manufacturer’s instructions you can minimize mistakes and increase your overall accuracy.

(Learn more troubleshooting tips for pin and pinless meters.)

Consider buying a meter from a company with a customer service team you can count on to help you troubleshoot any problems you run into.

Where to get a quality pinless meter

Now that you’re clear on how a pinless wood moisture meter works, you’ll want to find one that fits your needs.

In most cases, it’s a matter of finding a good manufacturer, making sure the meter is in good condition, and using it according to manufacturer instructions.

Don’t know where to start looking for a quality moisture meter? Bessemeter offers a selection of quality meters at an affordable price. We also have a customer service team dedicated to keeping your pinless meter in tip-top shape so you can continue getting accurate moisture readings for years to come.