General Tools Moisture Meter, Pin Type, Digital LCD (MMD4E)

Easy to use with timber

Works well and seems to give accurate readings

A very good moisture meter if only they put more substantial pins on as the tips bent first couple of hard wood samples tested, I wanted to give it five stars even though you get a spare set of pins.

Excellent product,works well and battery lasts for ever

Does what it says

I have a leak somewhere in my wall of my house, we used this to track the moisture levels upstairs and down to try to find out what was happening. The general MMD4E moisture meter comes with a clever calibration device and clear concise instructions on how to use it. It's very easy to use with only a few settings/buttons. Basically push into wall and hold. It has a nice compact design making it easy to move around and hold. It gives you a moisture score and, helpfully making it easy to understand giving a low, medium, high rating so you know whether to worry or not.

One could easily mistake this as a builders only tool, but it's valuable for home owners that want to make sure their living space is in good condition. It could also be a very handy tool for woodworkers looking for certain qualities of materials to work with.The instruction book is clear and easy to understand. This device is made of a thick plastic which feels pretty robust, and has two modes - wood and building materials. The latter mode covers such things as carpet, ceilings, floors and walls. When you turn the device on, it has wood selected by default, you can switch to the other mode and back again by pressing the 'Mode' button. Once this is done and you have removed the covers from the very sharp pins at the top of the device, carefully pushing the pins into the material you wish to measure will automatically start the measuring process.The pins are so sharp that the device does not appear to leave any visible marks in the material when you use it, and you don't have to press the pins in hard for it to begin to pick up moisture, should there be any present. The device is similar to a thermometer in how it works, only it will not hold the highest reading it measures, for that you have to press the hold button which will keep the number on the display frozen for three minutes.Working alongside the percentage display, there is also a useful colour display for low, medium and high moisture levels which lights up blue, green or red respectively. Should the device detect high moisture levels, the red light will also be accompanied by loud beep. There is also a green backlight to help clearer reading in low light areas. Inside the cap you can find a special circuit board which simulates a high moisture environment, you can use this to make sure the device is reading accurately.My main two issues were the cap that shields the test pins can be very hard to remove. Also it can be difficult to tell the whether the device isn't picking up what you were pressing it against, or whether the materials you were reading hold no moisture, since there is the same -.--% readout for both. It would help to have a way of differentiating between the two.

This is the third of this kind of tool I've had and thus far this one actually works! Yay! This is a new brand for me... and it seems pretty good quality. The machine sits well in my hand and the display is easy to read. It doesn't seem to give false readings. I've got a bit of damp wall in the bathroom and this clearly shows exactly where it's a problem and where the wall is dry. Good price in my view.