Questions and Answers for General Tools Pin-Type Digital Moisture Meter with LCD Display

A:  It's really easy. It comes with very clear instructions. I'll describe how to test firewood to see if it is dry enough to burn in stoves. Install the 9 Volt battery. Remove the upper protective plastic cap which covers the measuring pins and then the rubber protective sleeve on each pin. Use care, the pins are sharp. Press the ON button and then push the pins straight into the wood until you get a reading. It will indicate a value in % and the range as Low, Medium or High on the lights. The booklet has a guide for the percentages of each range. I would not burn firewood above 12 to 13% in a stove, however you are free to choose for yourself. The cap has a testing resistor inside that is used to check the calibration of the instrument. It can also test many types of building materials on a separate setting.

A:  turn it on, select the type of material you are testing, and press the pins into the material. it will give you a percentage reading and a low- high reading.

A:  You press the on button, remove the measurement pin protectors, select the mode, and pus the pins into what you want to measure and it displays a % value and a Low, Med, High light.

A:  Pull off the top cap. Stick the two pins in whatever you want to measure. In my case, wood. The face will read out the moisture content. I take several measurements to get a good average. I’m pretty happy with mine. Hope that helps.

A:  We can only suggest generic moisture ranges based on what is generally considered to be wet or dry. We recommend consulting with a flooring expert for more accurate information. Dry: <10-12%; Mid: 13-16%; Wet: >17%.

A:  I use this for measuring the moisture content of firewood but some of the principles I use are similar to measuring Dry Wall if that is what you are referring to. The scales and levels are different for WOOD and Building Materials like drywall. Your meter can show you what range your result is in. In firewood, the Low range is from 5 to 11.8% while in Building Materials it is from 1.5 to 16.9%. I know my firewood is dry if the reading is 7%. Where you live will have a direct effect on the reading. So for you, measure many places on the same wall and see what the readings are. Measure upstairs in several places. Measure a friends house if possible. I would worry if the reading is in the medium range. In my house in the bathroom of the lowest level the drywall measures 11.5%; in the Den it's 9%; and in the upstairs it is 7% and it's been raining today. If you are measuring a bottom level of the house and it is not air conditioned, I would expect the reading to be in the higher end of the low range. Do you see high readings near the bottom of walls or in certain areas of a wall? Check to see why that is.

A:  Generally speaking, moisture below 10% would be considered dry. However, actual acceptable moisture levels can vary depending on the region you live in. We recommend consulting with a home inspection authority in your area to find more specific information.

A:  They meant 97% accuracy. I cut firewood and use it to check moisture content in the drying firewood. It works great and I highly recommend it.

A:  Unfortunately the accuracy specification listed on the Home Depot website is incorrect. This model has a plus/minus accuracy of 2% WME. So if you get a reading of 20%, the true reading could be as high as 22% or as low as 18%. We will make sure this gets corrected on the website. Thank you for your interest. - General Tools Technical Support

A:  Accuracy means the tool displays the correct answer. So yes 3% accuracy sounds lousy. Precision is a measure of how close to the real correct value does the tool display over multiple measurements. You need both to be able to assess how good a tool is or to compare tools.

A:  I believe they meant to say within 3% accuracy, meaning the actual moisture content will be within 3% (+/-) of the number shown.

A:  They mean the accuracy is within 3%. So yes I guess 97%. I’ve been using mine for several years and it works great. I guess I would give it a 97% satisfied rating! I use it to test wood before I turn on my lathe.

A:  I think they mean that it is accurate to within 3%. Remember that the reading you get is always relative. If you are testing a piece of wet sheetrock take a reading from a known dry piece also to compare.

A:  +2% to -2%

A:  2% of 20 = 0.4 not 4 so it's 19.6 to 20.4 or 3% would be .06 = 19.4 to 20.6. so basically 20

A:  Accuracy is in a percentage of full scale, not % of reading. Go with the General Tools answer to this question.

A:  IT SHOULD TELL YOU THE MOISTURE CONTENT NEAR THE EDGES BUT NOT AT THE CENTER OF THE PIECE OF WOOD.

A:  This devise could work but due to the pin length it will only read what it touches, so if moisture is deeper in the wood it wont read it. Hope this helps.

A:  Yes. It is excellent for that. I am a woodturner and usually use logs from locally grown trees. Drying wood to at least ~5 % is essential to avoid splitting. I use this meter to monitor drying logs. Cutting out the heartwood in a cut log before drying is also important. Heartwood dries at a different rate than sapwood which causes excess cracking.

A:  yes, anything the prongs can penetrate.

A:  This meter will work on the type of wood you are testing. Keep in mind that the detection range on wood for this model is 5%-50%. So any wood with a moisture content below 5%, will only show up as zero. - General Tools Technical Support

A:  Yes. I've used my a couple of times. Seems to work as advertised.

A:  Yes it would work fine for that. I bought mine about a year ago and it works great.

A:  I doubt it

A:  Hi, the pin type can only detect the moisture of where the pins can penetrate through. So it depends on the thickness of the fiberglass. Hope this helps.

A:  No. You would need to puncture through the fiberglass or grind off a spot.

A:  Yes, but it will indicate the moisture in the fiberglass cover at the same time.

A:  NO

A:  Use the Building Material mode for testing drywall. The meter's instruction sheet doesn't spell that out clearly, but a closeup of a photo on General's site shows drywall being tested in the Building Material mode. I use the meter for both wood and drywall, but primarily for drywall and I've trusted the meter's readings for years - for drywall replacement after pipes bursting in a condo complex. If you're working with areas that have serious water damage, be sure to remove drywall about a foot ABOVE the indicated damage area.

A:  Hi Ryan, please use building material mode. Hope this helps!

A:  Building materials.

A:  Use the Building Materials mode.

A:  Bldg.

A:  I did need to penetrate the drywall for mine to work

A:  Yes, the pins need to be pressed into the drywall.

A:  Love it works great with the woods that i turn on my lathe. Can highly recommend it to anyone

A:  To get the best and most accurate reading, the pins will need to penetrate the surface being tested. That being said, the pins are small and are somewhat unobtrusive. You will end up with small holes where you have tested but a small price to pay for an accurate reading. Love these testers and have purchased multiple over the years.

A:  Hi, the pins would need to penetrate the drywall to get a reliable reading. It can only detect moisture content upto where the pins can penetrate into. Hope this helps.

A:  Accurate within 3%

A:  Hi Mo, for example, if the meter gives you a 10% reading, it means the actual moisture level can be between 7% and 13%. Hope this helps. Thanks!

A:  mean it could read up to 3% higher or 3% lower that actual %

A:  It means that the actual moisture content of what is being measured is within 3% of the reading on the tool. for example if the meter reads 10% then the actual moisture content could be as low as 7% or as high as 13%.

A:  This difference indicates the accuracy of the measurement.

A:  No

A:  Yes.

A:  Yes, this will work on carpet and pad.