Combo Pin and Pinless Moisture Meter for Water Damage and Mold Prevention

Bought this General pin/pinless moisture meter, model number MM9 from Home Depot. I tested the pinless function around the house and I am pretty sure it gave false positive results in several areas. Attached pictures where I tested a stand alone wall of my staircase, pretty sure there is no leaking or plumbing behind it and the meter is indicating it is wet. I did not use the pin function as I ddn't want to damage the dry wall.

Purchased this tool to measure moisture in my unfinished oak. All the pins broke and did not give me any readings...

For the money, is worth while For an adjuster to have it in his or her kit. It works Well drywall. Very marginal on sheet vinyl laid over concrete slab, but OK if sheet vinyl over plywood, OSB, or CDX. Good for soft woods like pine or fir, but not so much on hardwoods. It is handy if you wan kipt to photo it while testing the building component it is best suited for. So again, knowing its limitations, I'd definitely have one for the price.

I picked up this General pin/pinless moisture meter, model number MM9 from Home Depot. It appears to be well made and rugged enough to hold up well even with everyday use. It operates as both a pin as well as a pinless meter. To use as a pinless meter simply turn ON the meter by pressing the POWER button, set the material being tested with repeated pressing of the MODE button - Drywall, Cementboard, Softwood, Hardwood and then hold the sensor pad, measuring about 1 3/4" x 1 3/4", located at the end of the meter against the surface to be tested. The relative moisture content will be displayed on the LED colored scale from Red - Amber - Green: Dry to Wet. The manufacturer says the maximum sensing depth is 3/4". For pinpoint readings, press the release button on the top cap and it will spring open on a hinge. Two sharp pins (protected by plastic covers) will be exposed. By pressing the MODE button the meter will toggle between BLDG (building) and WOOD. Now firmly press the pins into the surface to be measured and the moisture will be displayed in large white numbers on the LCD screen. It will also be displayed on the colored LED scale. There is a Hold button that lets you lock in the reading when the screen is not visible while taking the reading. Pressing the Hold button a second time releases the hold. The meter is easy to use but since I don't own another standardized meter to check it against, I cannot vouch for the accuracy. To turn OFF press and hold the Power botton for 3 seconds. Alternatively, the meter will shut itself down after 60 seconds of non-use. It is powered by a 9v alkaline battery. The meter's range is 5-50% for Wood and 1.5-33% for Building with an accuracy of 4% +/-. The unit comes with an extra pair of pins taped inside the end cover. The manufacturer says it is auto calibrating and has automatic temperature compensation for continued accuracy. A low-battery icon will appear on the display when the power is low. The warranty is 1 year. It is imported.

This meter works perfectly for quick and accurate moisture detectiom and then allows you to pinpoint and get a spot measurement for exact moisture content in soft and hard woods, cement board and drywall. All in one moisture meter that comes with battery, back lit screen and two extra probes (very cool!) as well. I love that I can run the meters smooth face on a wall and watch the LEDs for moisture. If it lights up in the high range, I can flip open the cap and get an exact percentage of moisture reading with the pin probes. This is an ingenious idea and it works out flawlessly. Having an older house it's hard to pinpoint exactly where water is coming in and this meter allows me to identify a general area by sliding it across the surface, then go to the pins and track down the source by watching the moisture level rise on the gauge. This is a superb meter for not only pros, but also the home handyperson.

This lost a star because of a few minor issues. This product comes with no manual, and as of 8/20/2018 there was no manual to download on their website. I downloaded the manual for the previous model. I feel that the placement of the buttons could have been better, it would have better on the sides, so as you are obtaining your readings you can operate it and do everything with one hand, like pressing the hold button to keep the current measurement locked onto the screen. This comes with two extra probes/test leads I just wish there was an onboard storage place to house the leads. The cap that protects the leads is large enough to hold them, so what I did was simply tapped the extra tips inside to ensure that I always have them. This worked well for my needs, I have some drywall in my shower that I want to replace and this helped me to identify the major culprits. Just turn it on and run the sensor by the affected area and you will get a reading with the lights, if you want to determine the exact extent of the damage, how much moisture is in the material. Once you get passed a certain % you will here the meter beeped. Mine started beeping when I came across a drywall with a reading of 18.4% and higher. Press the hold button to lock the information that is on the screen. I found that for high areas, turning the meter upside down worked best for me to see the screen , moments like that made me wish the hold button was on the sides so I can press it with my thumb. I used this on Drywall and 2x, you can cycle the modes on the meter for various lypes of materials, drywall, softwood hard wood and one other that I cannot think of at the moment. Each material will produce a different range for the alarm

I like this tool very much because it can save you time and guesswork when looking for moisture in wall board or panel board. It can help to find a leak in a wall that can damage the wall board. Being able to detect moisture in a wall can also help you check for any mold that may be present behind a wall which literally can be detrimental to your health. Very easy to use, by scanning over the surface then pinpointing area with pins used to probe past the surface. A must have if you remodel or flip homes.

This moisture meter is a useful addition to the tool box. It can help find moisture problems before they become too serious. One issue - that I would expect to be corrected soon - is the lack of instructions. There is some very limited information on the back of the package, and a reference to the website for product specs. There I found information on a number of other models but nothing on the MM9. Until that is corrected, the MM8 online manual is reasonably helpful. I initially thought I could point this at a wall (from a distance) and get a reading - that would be nice, especially for ceilings. But after reading the MM8 manual, I realized there is a sensor pad on the top of the unit that must be in contact with the drywall to get a reading. So not as easy as I hoped, but still quite useful. I spent the next hour checking out drywall all over the house with mostly two and three bar readings; near some plumbing fixtures I got 4 bars. It works, it's useful, and I think it's a worthwhile investment. Model specific instructions would be nice, and when those are available I'd consider this a 4 star product . And why not put those instructions in the package instead of making us search online?

Only negative I have about it is when you are using the pins. Top flips open to the pins.it flips away from the digital readout. You can’t get in a tight spot without facing the readout toward the tight spot.

Lacking directions with use