Ligno Scanner SDM Pinless Moisture Meter – Wood Moisture Meter for Hard & Soft Woods, Bamboos, Drywall & Concrete – Dual-Depth Humidity Tester & Detector for Flooring Inspectors & Flooring Installers

pretty good
Ligno Scanner SDM Pinless Moisture Meter – Wood Moisture Meter for Hard & Soft Woods, Bamboos, Drywall & Concrete – Dual-Depth Humidity Tester & Detector for Flooring Inspectors & Flooring Installersfor reputable woodworking moisture meters there are two names. wagner and lignomat. i would put reed instruments in 3rd. this is for the lignomat which is roughly half the price of the comparable wagner. it is no frills, but has the basics. i have previously owned the lignomat sd. the designations sd are shallow < 1/4" and deep <3/4". m on this model represents building materials. i got this for the concrete functionality as i did not have that with my other meter. what sets this apart from budget moisture meters is accuracy and granularity. budget meters may have the option to input variable densities but its usually less than 6 or so species of wood. this matters because wood densities affect the readings. the better you can account for density the better the better it can measure the resistance or whatever magic it is that calculates the moisture content. the other part is the depth of reading. wood is basically a bundle of very small tightly grouped straws. capillary action draws moisture into the wood thru the end cut. the faces (typically) of boards will read differently. having the ability to read different depths tells you with higher detail and precision the true moisture content of you wood. especially if you are seasoning or dying the wood. the shallow reading tells you what the wood is today, the deeper reading tells you where the wood really is over time. i dont know if i have articulated this well. so imagine 12/4 stock. 3" thick material. the part ytou tyouch is going to much more quickly acclimate to the moisture/ humidity level existing in you shop. but where the majoirity of the woods moisture is sub surface. this meter will let ytou see sub surface. thats great. so for instrance, i am drying wood i got from a freind with a mill. its been in my shop for 2 months. i take a surface reading. it measures 9% and i am like oh boy its ready. its 12/4 (3") the truth is the interior portion is actually 22%, but being as though i was only able to read surface moisture i unknowingly make a bad judgment. iun stiker the wood. and i proceed to joint and plane it. i then ley it on the table saw to rest for the weekend. i come in on monday and those beautiful walnut boards i jkust milled up have cupped and bowed and twisted into spaghetti. however, if i had taken deeper readings i would have seen that it has in interior content >22% and would have let it acclimate for maybe another year or so. then when i do my millwork, its a lot more stable and relative to the shop humidiity levels. this meter also, has the concrete measuring ability. i got it to check for leaks in my floor. but i think its best use case is for flooring installers who need to wait for a certain level of moisture in the deck before installing wood over the concrete. overall, its not a budget item, but sometimes doing it right the first time is more important than doing it cheap the first time.

Works well, easy to see readouts.
Hubby and his brother work together on a lot of oddball handyman and home repairs. We saw this moisture meter at a great price, and Hubby felt it would be very handy to have in his tool arsenal, even though it was pricey. The meter runs off a 9v battery (be sure to keep some in handy), and is well made, but nothing special. The readouts are bright and easy to read, and the meter is easy to use and appears accurate. It works on all kinds of wood–including firewood! A laminated card was enclosed, with a chart of what number is which wood, which is a very handy thing to have. The meter can also check for overall moisture, which is something Hubby needs to know on many of his jobs–is there also a leak? Hubby and Brother are quite happy with it, and would recommend it with the caveat that it is pricey and the quality of the casing could be better.

NOT RECHARGEABLE AT THIS PRICE??
Functions as described. Easy to use and fairly accurate. For the outrageous cost of this gadget, the build quality isn’t anything special. When something is as expensive as this, I expect this item to have a reason to be priced like it is. The gadget could’ve been made better than it is, owever, the biggest issue I have is that it’s using a 9 volt battery and isnt rechargeable. 90% of batteries are NOT disposed of properly. This is terrible for the environment, along with spreading toxins.

Accurate and sturdy meter. Easy to carry around.
I bought the Lignomat SDM after we had some water damage to check the moisture levels. It’s lightweight, pocket-sized, and comes with a pouch that has a belt loop, which makes it easy to carry around. The meter feels sturdy and well-built, and the readings seem accurate. Now I can use it to check my floors and drywalls anytime. No more guesswork for hidden damage!