How to Find Moisture Gauges and Sensors
When you search online for the best moisture gauges and sensors on the internet, you’ll find varying results from soil moisture sensors, to wood moisture sensors and humidity sensors. Let us talk about the different types of moisture gauges and sensors, its uses and benefits. We will learn the best features and product ratings available in the market today.
When it comes to measuring the soil moisture, soil moisture gauges and sensors measure the soil’s volumetric water content by indirectly using other properties of soil like dielectric constant, electrical resistance, or neutrons interaction which are considered proxy for the soil’s moisture content. It is important to have a property and soil moisture calibration and this depends on the soil type, electric conductivity or temperature. For measuring soil moisture, gardeners and farmers use portable instruments, and for remote sensing in agriculture and hydrology, the soil moisture affects reflected microwave radiation. Water potential can also be measured by soil water potential sensors and it includes tensiometers and gypsum blocks.
In order for you to know whether a wood is stable to use or not, it is important that you know its moisture content. In measuring the moisture content of the wood, there are two types of sensors or meters available in the market today which are the pin and pinless moisture meters, wherein both types measure the effect of moisture on an electromagnetic field (pinless) or an electromagnetic current (pin). A pinless meter can scan an entire board without having holes on it, and it is portable that it can be taken into the lumberyard for testing the wood before buying it. Pin meters can read moisture content no matter what the wood size, shape and degree of roughness it possess, requiring two pins making in contact with the wood. For thick lumber or woods, pin meters or pin moisture sensors allow usage of remote probes or nails for pin meters or pin sensors, which can be driven at the center of a thick lumber for core wood moisture readings that cannot be reached by pinless meters.
Before buying your own moisture meter or moisture sensor, you need to take into consideration the pin length, moisture content range, minimum sample size, displays, and built in temperature correction and built-in species. The rule of the thumb is you need a longer pin length for thicker board or wood which is 1/4 of its thickness, and this applies for even moisture gradient where the surface is drier compared to its core. Moisture sensor displays come in four types such as analog, LED, digital LCD, and digital LED.
It is important to purchase only from reputable and trusted dealers for the best moisture meter or moisture sensors for whatever need you have.
