settings on moisture meter
12/1/19
my moisture meter has the choice of (white or sugar pine) or (pine or fir)
I have another tester that has the choice of (white pine) or (fir)
Which setting should be used for southern yellow pine?
Thanks
12/2/19 #2: settings on moisture meter ...
SYP has a rating of 870 on the Janka hardness scale. In comparison to Yellow Pine or Douglas Fir that have Janka ratings of 690 and 660. I would think that SYP would be closer to Black Cherry that has a Janka rating of 950. I would assume that the density of the different woods is what matters to your meter. So, If your meter has Cherry as an option I think I would lean towards using it.
12/5/19 #4: settings on moisture meter ...
It depends what kind of moisture meter you are working with. It sounds like you have a dielectric meter (one without pins) so this setting is super important. These meters reference specific gravity (similar to density, but not the same) to determine MC. You want to choose a specie that has a similar specific gravity to southern yellow pine. The SG of SYP is about .55. So as Grant mentioned, if you have a cherry setting, this will give you an accurate result.
12/6/19 #5: settings on moisture meter ...
thanks for the input. Actually I have 2 meters of the same brand one is the pin-less type and one has pins . It is Dr moisture or something like that. It Dawned on me I should call the company and ask. I will try to remember to do that sometime soon.
Thanks
12/15/19 #6: settings on moisture meter ...
Of all the species that grow in North America, southern pine reads lower than the actual by several percent. All other species require only a small correction, if any. It is therefore hard to say what species setting to use, but you could try using Douglas fir and then add 2% MC to any readings...probably the best option.