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Department of
Agriculture
Forest Service
Forest
Products
Laboratory
General
Technical
Report
FPL-GTR-6
Electric
Moisture Meters
for Wood
William L. James
Abstract
Contents
Page
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
15
Literature Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
Electric
Moisture Meters
for Wood
William L. James, Physicist
Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI
Introduction
Effect of Temperature
2,300
2,190
24,000
1,740
19,950
24,000
2,000
31,600
16,200
12,600
6,760
13,800
4,790
3,550
600
690
4,000
470
4,470
5,000
350
2,190
6,310
5,010
2,290
3,160
1,590
1,100
265
265
315
415
1,300
400
560
1,000
575
1,300
405
645
560
280
250
1,400
365
11
35
345
725
355
525
200
85
250
105
1,100
360
180
85
1,290
470
1,400
550
110
45
340
115
2,750 1,260
2,040
910
380
870
690
250
265
630
415
170
630
630
725
1,120
4,300
850
1,445
2,800
1,320
4,300
850
1,410
1,350
645
615
4,300
830
10
2,890
220
80
690
38,000
6,460 2,090
815
31,700 12,600 5,020 1,820
51,300
9,770 2,630
890
24,000
8,320 3,170 1,260
14,000
12,000
300,000
36,300
87,000
200,000
18,200
44,600
43,700
20,900
72,400
14,400
17,400
12,600
3,980 1,410
22,400 4,780 1,660
6,760 2,000
31,600
57,600
15,850 3,980
120,000 20,000
22,900
5,620 2,040
39,800 11,200 3,980
450,000 52,000 9,500
25,000 8,700 3,160
700,000 100,000 17,000
20,900
5,620 2,090
39,800
8,910 3,310
43,600 11,750 3,720
22,900 5,250 1,660
22,400 4,680 1,550
700,000 90,000 16,000
22,400
5,890 2,140
7
13
15
160
275
155
250
9
81
120
78
140
40
20
55
28
150
60
45
27
200
96
110
230
20
12
50
21
630 340
435
205
180 85
105 53
125 63
80
42
120
60
120
60
150 83
180 83
450 200
185 98
250
120
440 210
135
270
470 210
102
200
150
300
130
255
140
76
100 45
580 250
165 83
12
5
45
58
41
76
10
14
30
16
53
57
7
11
180
105
43
29
32
22
33
33
48
46
100
51
63
110
74
100
58
81
69
44
22
120
44
3.4
5.0
8.6
6.2
18.2
17.0
2.3
3.7
60.2
29.5
12.3
10.2
11.3
7.2
11.2
11.2
18.2
16.6
25.0
16.2
19.9
35.0
24.0
28.0
19.9
25.1
22.4
15.9
7.2
38.0
15.5
4.6
4.6
7.6
6.6
8.8
6.0
7.6
13.0
8.9
10.0
7.9
9.1
8.7
6.6
3.2
14.0
6.3
18
20
.7
6.0
3.7
4.9
8.7
21
22
.45
.30
3.98 2.63
2.19 1.38
3.16 2.14
5.76 3.81
.21
1.78
.95
1.48
2.64
.42
.63
.88
.93
2.51
1.70
.42
.52
6.16
1.86
1.07
1.62
1.45
.79
0.66
.79
1.15
1.12
1.10
.72
1.20
1.80
1.15
1.20
1.05
1.15
1.29
1.05
.85
2.10
1.17
23
25
0.51 0.42
.60
.46
.83
.63
.86
.62
.78
.57
.51
.37
.87
.66
1.30
.98
.79 .60
.91
.67
.74
.52
.87
.69
.93 .66
.75
.56
.71
.60
1.40 1.00
.91
.71
24
.16
1.26
.63
1.02
1.91
.12 .09
.87
.63
.46
.33
.72
.51
1.39 1.10
.07
.46
.25
.38
.85
.32
.25
.20
.17
.50 .44
.40
.40
.61
.43
.33
.26
.69
.51
.39
.31
1.78 1.32
.70
.95
1.10
.81
.59
.43
.40
.40
.40
.40
.44
.40
.40 .40
4.17 2.82 1.99 1.44
1.17
.74
.50
.32
.72
.49
.26
.35
1.23
.98
.75
.60
.95
.80
.63
.50
.49 .44
.60
.41
19
.90
2.1
1.3
.60
3.2
2.0 1.32
.89
5.0
3.1 2.00 1.30
4.1
2.8 1.86 1.32
11.5
7.6 5.13 3.55
10.0
6.0 4.00 2.50
1.5
1.0
.66
.48
2.3
1.5 1.00
.71
35.5 21.9 14.10 9.33
16.2
9.1 5.25 3.09
7.2
4.4 2.69 1.66
6.8
4.5 3.16 2.24
4.6 3.02 2.09
7.3
4.3
2.7 1.70 1.15
7.1
7.1
11.8
11.0
14.0
10.0
12.3
21.0
14.4
16.0
12.3
14.8
13.8
10.0
4.7
23.0
9.8
2.8
1.7
1.1
25.7 15.1 9.3
27.6 13.0 6.9
22.4 12.9 7.3
43.7 25.2 14.5
6.0
8.3
16.0
9.6
30.2
30.0
3.9
6.3
105.0
56.2
22.4
16.6
18.2
12.6
18.6
18.6
28.8
26.9
45.0
28.2
33.9
60.0
41.7
52.0
33.1
44.7
38.9
25.7
12.6
68.0
25.1
The values for this species were calculated from measurements on veneer.
Resistance measured in megohms at 80 F between two pairs of needle electrodes spaced 1-1/4 inches apart and driven to a depth of 5/16 inch. The reciprocals of these data
are conductance in micro siemens.
2
Exact species unknown.
Hardwoods
Ash, black
Ash, white2
Aspen, bigtooth
Basswood2
Birch 2
Birch, paper
Elm, American
Hickory 2
Khaya 3
Magnolia 2
Mahogany (Swietenia)
Maple, sugar
Oak, northern red4
Oak, white
Philippine mahogany
(Shorea Spp.)
Sweetgum
Tupelo, black4
Walnut, black
Yellow-poplar 4
Conifers
Baldcypress
Douglas-fir (coast region)
Fir, California red
Fir, white
Hemlock, eastern
Hemlock, western
Larch, western
Pine, jack
Pine, longleaf
Pine, red
Pine, white
Pine, ponderosa
Pine, shortleaf
Pine, sugar
Redwood
Spruce, black
Spruce, Sitka
Species of wood
Table 1 The average electrical resistance along the grain of several species of wood at different levels of moisture content1
Effect of Species
Effect of Density
Surface-Contact Electrodes
Surface-contact electrodes are not generally usable with
conductance-type meters, except possibly on thin
veneer, because of the conductance gradients associated
with wood drying under normal conditions. With
surface contacts, the generally drier and hence vastly
more resistive surface dominates the measured
conductance, and only readings of the dry surface are
possible. In general, surface electrodes on opposite
sides of a flat specimen indicate the moisture content of
the driest layer of wood between the electrodes.
Pin-Type Electrodes
Electrodes that penetrate the wood have greater
applicability than surface-contact electrodes. Pin-type
electrodes are widely used because of their simplicity.
The simplest of these penetrating electrodes have poles
consisting of nail-like pins that are driven into the
wood. Electrodes that are screwed into the wood are in
limited use.
When pin-type electrodes are driven into wood, the
observed conductance is almost exclusively in the thin
shell of wood that is in immediate contact with the pin.
Neither the conductivity of the wood between the poles
of the electrode nor the distance between the poles has
any significant effect on the reading of a
conductance-type moisture meter.
Pin-type electrodes are driven into the specimen from
one side, so the measured conductance is nominally in
a plane parallel to the surface of the specimen and not
across its thickness. Thus, the flow of electric current is
parallel to the planes of nearly equal moisture content,
Capacitance Type
Permanent Electrodes
Power-Loss Type
Power-loss type meters use the relation between
moisture content and loss factor. The wood specimen is
penetrated by the electric field radiating from an
electrode that is coupled to a low-power oscillator in
the meter. Power absorbed by the specimen loads the
oscillator and reduces its amplitude of oscillation,
which is in turn indicated by the meter dial. Since the
loss factor depends on moisture content, the meter dial
can be related to percent moisture.
A portable power-loss type moisture meter is illustrated
in figure 3.
Electrodes
Electrodes for dielectric-type meters are nonpenetrating.
They vary in design according to particular applications
but are not interchangeable for use with one
instrument, as are electrodes for conductance meters.
The electrode of a dielectric meter is an integral part of
the instrument.
Rough Lumber Electrode
Figure 4A dielectric capacitive admittancetype moisture meter. (M 141 438; M 141 439)
10
Adequacy of Sample
If all individual pieces in a lot of lumber were at the
same moisture content and moisture meters gave the
same readings on all wood at the same moisture
content, the moisture content of the entire lot could be
determined by a single reading. But the moisture
content of any lot varies from piece to piece, the
moisture content of every piece varies from point to
point throughout the piece, and moisture meters give
various readings on different specimens even at the
same actual moisture content. For these reasons, an
accurate estimate of the average moisture content of the
lot requires more than one reading. A reading could be
made on every piece in the lot, but usually the same
information can be obtained for less cost by making
readings on a smaller number of pieces, i.e., on a
sample, properly selected from the lot.
Proper sampling entails selecting specimen pieces in
such a way that in total they represent the lot without
bias, and selecting a sufficient number of specimens to
11
Specimen Characteristics
The characteristics that affect meter readings are
species, density, moisture distribution, thickness,
and temperature.
Species
12
Other Factors
In addition to specimen characteristics, meter readings
are influenced by the contact of the electrodes with the
specimen, orientation of the electrodes relative to
specimen grain, treatments used to preserve specimens
as well as adhesives and finishes, weather conditions,
and skill of the operator.
13
Electrode Contact
Grain Direction
Skill of Operator
15
16
Literature Cited
2.5-6/88
17