The more you spend on a wood moisture meter (pin or pinless meter), the better the quality, for the most part.
If you’re willing to accept a moisture reading with +/- 5% accuracy, you can probably get away with buying a cheap meter in the $25-50 range.
What Are the Different Types of Moisture Meters?
The different types of wood moisture meters come in two varieties: pin-type and pinless.
Pin
A pin moisture meter has two small pins that must physically penetrate the wood to take a reading.
Pinless
A pinless moisture meter is a non-invasive moisture meter. They don’t need to penetrate the wood to take a moisture content reading. Instead, they use an electromagnetic moisture sensor to scan the wood.
What is the Best Moisture Meter Brand?
We found Wagner Meters to be the best brand for moisture meters.
Also, we found the best wood moisture meter to be the Wagner Meters Orion 940 Pinless Wood Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 92%).
Our list below features the top nine moisture meters on the market right now.
1. Wagner Meters Orion 940 Wood Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 92%)
The Wagner Meters Orion 940 is a pinless moisture meter that can be used for measuring moisture in wood and other building materials. Its rugged build should stand up well to extended use, and the simple, intuitive design makes it easy to use. We like that the Orion 940 is capable of taking accurate readings down to 4% MC. We also like its extra features such as the ability to take dual-depth readings. As with every meter in the Orion line by Wagner Meters, the 940 comes with an On-Demand Calibrator, which means the user can do his/her own calibrations. This is a feature no other manufacturer offers.
2. Wagner Meters Orion 930 Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 91%)
The Wagner Meters Orion 930 is a pinless moisture meter that can be used for measuring moisture in wood and other building materials. Its rugged build should stand up well to extended use, plus the simple, intuitive design makes it easy to use. We like that the Orion 930 is capable of taking accurate readings down to 4% MC. We also like its dual-depth feature for getting readings at two different depths in the wood. As with every meter in the Orion line by Wagner Meters, the 930 comes with an On-Demand Calibrator, which means the user can do his/her own calibrations. This is a feature no other manufacturer offers.
3. Wagner Meters Orion 910 Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 91%)
The Wagner Meters Orion 910 is a pinless moisture meter that can be used for measuring moisture in wood and other building materials. Its rugged build should stand up well to extended use, and the simple, intuitive design makes it easy to use. We like that the Orion 910 is capable of taking accurate readings down to 4% MC. As with every meter in the Orion line by Wagner Meters, the 910 comes with an On-Demand Calibrator, which means the user can do his/her own calibrations. This is a feature no other manufacturer offers.
4. Wagner Meters Orion 950 Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 90%)
The Wagner Meters Orion 950 is a pinless moisture meter that can be used for measuring moisture in wood, wood floor, and other building materials. Its rugged build should stand up well to extended use, and its simple, intuitive design makes it easy to use. We like that the Orion 950 is capable of taking accurate readings down to 4% MC. We also like its extra features such as its ability to take dual-depth readings. It also offers Bluetooth® connectivity for use with a mobile app for storing/retrieving data. As with every meter in the Orion line by Wagner Meters, the 950 comes with an On-Demand Calibrator, which means the user can do his/her own calibrations. This is a feature no other manufacturer offers.
5. Lignomat Scanner D Moisture (Overall Score: 82%)
The Lignomat Scanner D is a pinless, capacitance-type meter capable of reading moisture in wood, bamboo, and other building materials. Its cons include the fact that it is less accurate at higher MC levels (above 20%), surface moisture significantly affects accuracy of readings, and low/high wood temperatures affect readings when wood moisture content is high. Pros include accurate readings when MC is in the 5% to 15% range; built-in species correction and HOLD function; designed for measurements with wood, bamboo, and other building materials; won’t damage wood surfaces; and comes with a 2-year warranty, including repairs.
6. Lignomat VersaTec Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 82%)
The Lignomat VersaTec with its advanced microprocessor technology offers three modes: pin mode, scan mode (pinless meter) with selectable measuring depths, and a relative humidity (RH) mode that measures temperature and RH. Its cons include the fact that surface moisture significantly affects readings; readings for some wood species only go down to 6.8% after adjusting for specific gravity; and the hammer probe cable accessory is not always reliable, while pins are prone to breakage. Pros include versatility – 3 modes of operation plus built-in adjustments for different wood species, bamboo, sheetrock, and a reference scale for concrete and other building materials; reasonable accuracy, especially the moisture reading between 5% to 15% range; and an internal calibration check.
7. Lignomat Scanner S/D Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 81%)
The Lignomat Scanner S/D pinless, capacitance meter measures moisture in wood and other building materials such as laminates and drywall at two depths: ¼ inch or ¾ inch. Its cons include the fact that surface moisture significantly affects readings, accuracy decreases when moisture content exceeds 18%, and for some wood species, moisture measurement readings only go down to 6.8% after adjusting for specific gravity. Pros include two possible measuring depths; the meter is lightweight, compact and comfortable to hold as well as fast and easy to use; won’t damage wood surfaces; and it comes with a 2-year warranty, including all repairs.
8. Delmhorst BD-2100 Digital Pin Wood and Drywall Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 75%)
The Delmhorst BD-2100 lcd display pin meter can be used to measure wood, sheetrock, and other building materials. Its cons include questionable pin durability, inability to read moisture below 6%, somewhat lower readings than actual moisture content, skewed readings from surface moisture, and its pins can damage wood surfaces. Pros include its use with many types of building materials, built-in calibration check, an audible alarm to signal readings above a selected value, and capability of storing and averaging up to 100 readings. MC range: 6% to 40%.
9. Delmhorst J-4 Pin Analog Wood Moisture Meter (Overall Score: 76%)
The Delmhorst J-4 analog pin meter can be used to measure MC in wood and other building materials. Its cons include questionable pin durability, few extra features, inability to read moisture percentage below 6%, skewed readings from surface moisture, and its pins can damage wood surfaces. Pros include better accuracy than most other meters, built-in calibration check, easy 2-button operation, and ergonomic design. MC range: 6% to 30%.
The nine wood moisture meters presented are listed from highest to lowest ranking. The percentage score to the right of each brand is the overall score based on the meter’s Objective Evaluation, Subjective Evaluation, and Accuracy.
Several brands were not recommended for purchase because of poor accuracy or the fact that their meters were not useful for measuring wood with low moisture content (MC) levels. These brands include Amprobe, CEM, Electrophysics, Extech, Protimeter, General, Moistec, Moisture Register Products, Sonin, Testo, Timber Check, and Tramex.