Can the Electrical Moisture Meter Be Used for Testing Lumber to Meet American Lumber Standards?

There is definitely a need for standardization of methods of sampling lumber and using moisture meters. A recent study of three shipments of partially air-dried lumber points up the difficulty of determining the true moisture content of a shipment of lumber in the range of 19 percent to slightly above fiber saturation. Four samples from each of four boards were tested by the oven method. If only one test had been made, the variation in the estimate of moisture content would have been from 21.4 to 39.0 percent. To gain meaningful data, the author feels that shell and core tests should be made on one out of every 20 boards at three, points diagonally across the board. Lumber should perhaps be classified in three categories according to maximum moisture content, such as 1) maximum moisture content 19 percent, 2) maximum moisture content 15 percent, and 3) maximum moisture content 12 percent, and the maximum variation from the average of meter readings in each class should be indicated. Since at the 19 percent and 15 percent level of moisture content, as specified in American Lumber Standard, some shrinkage may be expected, the lumber trade organizations should investigate the performance methods outlined above and determine the number of tests necessary and where, they should be made to know when a shipment is partly dry, almost dry, or completely seasoned, and where these classifications should be used.

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