ComProTec Canada - Manufacturers of the Timber Check Moisture Meter

About the Timber Check Moisture Meter (model B350)

Why Buy a Timber Check Moisture Meter | Operating Instructions | Calibration Information
Species Corrections | Wood Temperature Corrections | Warranty Information

Species Adjustment Table

Ash, American
Ash, Black
Ash, White
Ash, European
Ash, Japanese
Aspen
Balsa
Basswood
Beech
Birch European
Birch, Paper
Birch, Yellow
Boxwood
Cedar, West Indian
Cedar, Western Red
Cherry, American
Cherry, European
Chestnut
Cypress
Elm, American
Elm, English
Elm, Rock
Elm, White
Fir, Douglas
Fir, Grand / White
Fir, Noble
Gum, American Red
Gum, Southern
Gum, Spotted
Hemlock, Western
Hickory
Jarrah
Larch, European
Larch, Japanese
Larch, Western
Lauan / Meranti
Lime
Linden
Magnolia
Mahogany, African
Mahogany, Hondurian
Mahogany, Philipine
Mahogany, West Indian
Maple, Pacific
Maple, Queensland
Maple, Rock
Maple, Sugar
Oak, American Red
Oak, American, White
Oak, European
Oak, Japanese
Oak, Tasmanian
Oak, Turkish
Olive, East African
Padauk, African
Persimmon
Pine, American Pitch
Pine, Eastern White
Pine, Jack
Pine, Maritime
Pine, N. Zealand White
Pine, Ponderosa
Pine, Red
Pine, Scots
Pine, Sugar
Pine, Western White
Pine, Yellow
Poplar, European Black
Poplar, Yellow
Ramin
Redwood, European
Redwood, Californian
Rosewood, Indian
Sapele
Spruce, European
Spruce, Sitka
Sweetgum
Sycamore
Tamarack
Teak
Tupelo
Walnut, African
Walnut, American Black
Walnut, European
Walnut, New Guinea
Walnut, Queensland
Yew

B
F
F
A
A
F
A
F
C
D
F
E
A
D
C
C
D
C
A
F
E
E
E
B
A
D
A
B
A
C
F
C
C
F
F
B
E
E
F
D
A
F
B
A
B
A
B
A
A
A
A
C
E
B
F
F
C
A
F
B
B
C
F
A
C
A
A
A
A
F
A
B
A
C
C
C
A
F
F
F
A
D
A
C
B
C
C

Reading	A	B	C	D	E	F
7	7.0	8.2	8.0	10.5	8.0	7.1
8	8.0	10.0	9.5	11.0	9.3	7.5
9	9.0	10.8	10.9	11.6	9.7	7.9
10	10.0	11.7	11.5	12.2	10.4	8.6
11	11.0	12.7	12.6	13.4	11.3	9.5
12	12.0	13.6	13.7	14.3	12.1	10.5
14	14.0	15.3	15.5	16.0	13.4	11.8
18	18.0	18.2	19.7	19.1	16.3	15.0
22	22.0	21.5	24.5	23.2	19.3	18.3

Note: Actual moisture contents of specific wood samples may vary slightly from the values printed here. No two trees are exactly alike.
The Timber Check Moisture Meter is calibrated for wood at 20°C. Apply the wood temperature adjustment before the species adjustment.

Correction for Woods Not Included in This List

There are many more types of wood than the 88 species listed above. If you are using a species not included in this list there are two methods that can be used to calculate the correction factors.

One is to follow the procedure used in laboratories to measure moisture content. This means that to determine the moisture content of a piece of wood you must first obtain a wet sample of the wood, weigh it very accurately, and then oven-dry it. At different stages of drying the sample should be cooled, weighed and measured with the moisture meter. This oven-dried weight is subtracted from the initial wet weight and the difference is divided by the oven-dry weight (wet weight - dry weight /dry weight X 100 = % moisture). This value should be compared with the reading with the moisture meter.
Continue this process until the wood sample no longer loses weight. This final value would be 0% MC. Although this method is the most accurate, it is not practical for anyone other than researchers.

A simpler but less accurate method would be to get a few samples of a wood species on our list. Get these samples at different moisture contents by keeping them in different environments for a period of time along with samples of your unknown wood species. A simple method is to seal small samples into plastic bags with a damp cloth for different lengths of time. After the samples have picked up moisture from the dampness in the bag move the pairs of wood samples to other bags without the damp cloth for a couple of weeks. The result will be that you have a few pairs of known and unknown types of wood at different moisture contents. Measure them with the meter and calculate the correction factor for these ranges.