Pin Type Digital Moisture Meter for Water Damage and Mold Prevention

I’m no expert, but this here works! I used it this 2020 spring and summer to help me as I stained 2 outside decks...1 big deck, 1 small deck. Being new to deck-staining as well, this was definitely a fun event! I actually did an excellent job on both decks...thanks for the applause! :) This moisture meter let me know if the wood I was staining was dry enough to stain...I used it very often, and it helped ease my anxiety and gave me the confidence I needed to get the job done right! Other than that, I’m still learning about this moisture meter myself...it worked for me this past 2020 season. 2021 I’ll definitely be using this again...I’m actually kinda’ excited, not sure what’s wrong with me?! I highly recommend this moisture meter!!!!

This tool worked well. I am prepping my deck to stain and seal and since we had some rain recently I wanted to make sure the wood was dry enough. However after maybe a dozen uses one of the pins bent in half when I was pushing it into a deck board. Home Depot does not carry the pins and everywhere that does wants eleven or more dollars plus shipping. Oh and I would have to wait for the replacements to come in the mail but wanted to stain the deck this week. I would instead buy something whose replacement pins are sold at home depot, or go pinless.

This is a good entry level moisture meter and i have used it for a wide verity of tasks from measuring the moisture content of curing concrete to wood beams and lumber and also good for testing moisture of fabric pot planters the unit is good and lite weight and two modes wood and building modes Good all around device for moisture diagnostics. one problem is hard to read the display in sun light so i assume its for indoor use only

A solid and capable moisture meter, it could be sturdier but I don't know that you can do much better for the price. It requires 1 D battery, with one included, which I found to be a nice touch and you can get up & running with just what's included. Construction is mostly plastic, it seems sturdy enough for regular use but I don't think it would stand up to much abuse. There's a nicely contoured handle with rubber grips on the sides, and it feels comfortable and balanced in my hands. The probes are metal and very sharp, but comes with a protective cap that also has calibration points on it. Most importantly though, it works. It was able to detect different levels of moisture in several pieces of lumber I'd soaked in water & let sit for various lengths of time, though I can't speak to the accuracy of the readings. You're piercing the surface, so its best used on a discrete or unseen location, if possible.

I do a lot of remodels and am often the one in charge of fixing things and ordering materials. In both cases this includes assessing moisture for damage and installation purposes. In my area it is mostly dry, however I sometimes come across jobs where there is a moisture question, as well as coordinating wood flooring to be installed. My flooring installer always has specific requirements to install, and this moisture meter makes it easy to be able to tell him exactly what the current moisture level is before scheduling him for work. This moisture meter is easy to use. It comes with a required 9V battery and you just select your material, push it in and read the screen. Could hardly be simpler.

Very useful tool. Remove the moisture testing pin cap, power on, then select "Wood" or BLDG" (for everything else), as shown in photos. Just stick the 2 pins in the surface you're testing, and read the LED scale. If the surface moisture percent is OK, you'll see green LEDs. If the surface moisture percent is too high, you'll see red LEDs. In my testing, it seemed accurate. Readout is large and easy to read. This could use an instruction manual, but none is included. The manual goes into much more detail on what is acceptable moisture percent and what is not. Go to https://www.generaltools.com/mm7-pin-type-moisture-meter for more info and a manual. The lack of an included manual is the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Includes a Panasonic 9 volt battery and a set of replacement pins. Each pin has a rubber cover for the pin's and your safety. Comfortable grip.

This pin-type meter is the easiest to use and most reliable for surface readings of wood and drywall. The main advantages of a pin-type meter like this model MM7 are: simplicity, accuracy, durability, ease and speed of use. There are TWO basic TYPES of moisture meters: Pin types ( like this ) and radio-metric. Radiometric meters use high-frequency radio-waves to sense deep into materials. Those work well, but require calibrating the meter for different types and thicknesses of wood. Then for other building materials ( like drywall) you must have a completely different set of calibrations for radio-frequency meters. PIN style meters ( like this ) use the simpler method: electrical conductivity between two sensing-pins. Generally, pin-type moisture meters are not “fooled” by the density or thickness of materials. That means they are more accurate and easier / faster to use, because they require no calibration. Although I have used other pin-type meters, they were inconvenient because they required striking the pins into the wood with a hammer. Eventually, those strike plates or pins break, which is VERY inconvenient. This MM7 model circumvents those problems altogether! You just press the pins into the wood, gently, and not too deep. The ergonomic handle makes that comfortable. And you can easily feel when both pins are in contact with the wood. Because of that, there is no great stress or force on the pins, so they are unlikely to break. Further, GENERAL TOOLS gives you a SPARE SET of pins with this package! Plus… this design has a cover to protect the pins when NOT in use. And inside that cover there is a little circuit board that turns the tool OFF when the cover is closed. The display is large and easy to read. Audible “beeps” let you know when you have a reading. There is a “HOLD” button to hold the reading too. That’s helpful when you are keeping records of drying times. It’s also VERY convenient when you must reach high or low on stacked piles of wood, or deep into recesses where you can’t see the meter. And don’t worry if you forget to turn this off. It will shut off automatically, thereby saving your battery. Speaking of which: This operates on a 9-volt battery which you simply insert into the rear of the tool. So, there are no fussy clips to deal with! The battery compartment can be opened without a screwdriver, but snaps shut securely. Replacing a battery only take a few seconds! And GENERAL even provides a good quality Panasonic battery with the package! Of the six different moisture meters I’ve used and owned, this is my favorite. Highly recommended!

This is a great tool to have and will help you find a leak before damage happens. We had a water leak several years back in the roof of my mom’s house. It was not known until we saw a couple of water spots on the ceiling. Looking in the attic we found mold and moisture damage that had to be repaired - $3500. With this tool I check any place where the possibility of moisture could happen. Sheetrock/drywall is our biggest culprit. I can quickly check it. It gives a clear reading in percentage and I don’t have to wonder if there is high amount of moisture present. Great tool to have.

This General Tools Pin-Type Moisture meter is the tool you need if you are a homeowner or a hobby woodworker, I don't think you can beat it for the price. If you are one of those folks that must have the very best of everything, or a Home / Building inspector, then you might want to go with some of the "Professional" models that can cost up to 10 times more than this little Jewell. I checked it on a board in my shop, that I knew was dry and then I checked one end of it that I had immersed in water and than pulled it out and let it dry ( to the touch) and it showed 23% to 25% when I checked it compared to the other end that the meter indicated was DRY. Good enough for me!

I have a woodshop in my basement and I've wanted a moisture meter for some time. When purchasing rough cut hardwoods you need to ensure the moisture content is low enough before it can be used for projects. This meter comes with a 9v battery that is wrapped in plastic. To turn the meter on you just hit the middle button and it turns on the display which is very easy to read. There are two other buttons on this unit (hold, mode) The hold button is used to keep the moisture reading after you remove it from what ever you were checking and the mode button switches between wood & building materials. To use this meter you remove the front cover to expose the two pins and push both pins into the material. I checked a bunch of Black Walnut and Mahogany that has been kiln dried and it read over 10% which seemed very high to me. I don't have another meter to determine if the readings are correct though.