Only wood that is sufficiently dry should really be used as a building material or as firewood. With moisture levels over 20% in woods used for construction there is a risk of significant crack formation, and for firewood, there is risk of damage to health as well as to fireplaces.
The solution: check the moisture content quickly and easily with our new BM12 and BM21 moisture meters – and not only for wood.
You can determine whether your building wood or firewood has been delivered in a sufficiently dry condition with our moisture measuring devices: simply remove the protective cap, stick the steel insert measuring pins into the material and read the results from the display. To eliminate the possibility of damage occurring later on, construction wood for walls, ceilings and roof timbering, for example, should contain no more the 18 to 20 percent wood moisture. In fact, architects and carpenters say the ideal moisture content for wood is between 15 and 18 percent. And burning firewood with a moisture content of over 25 is prohibited by the Federal Immission Control Act – because it is extremely uneconomical and it generates an increased amount of fine dust content in the flue gas.
This is how it works
For measuring wood moisture levels, a calibration curve, which corresponds to the average of all relevant wood types in Europe based on wood temperature of 20°C, is recorded in both devices. This means you do not need to make any additional adjustments in order to determine the wood moisture content. With both measuring devices you can also determine the moisture levels in soft building materials such as gypsum, plaster or screed. The moisture levels are shown on the display in absolute percentages. Here the BM21 steps ahead because it also features two different scale ranges for wood and building materials. In addition, there is a reference adaptor integrated into the device’s protective cap for monitoring the battery status and functions.
Advantages I find particularly good in both devices:
- Wood moisture and material moisture measurements with just one device
- Top value for money
- Easy to replace steel insertion measuring pins
- Temperature display
Keep damp wood out of your fireplace!
In future, check the moisture content of your building timber and firewood even before you buy: order the BM12 moisture measuring device today for just £ 10.59 incl. VAT or the BM21 for just £ 16.31 incl. VAT. – available now in our Trotec shop.
