Correction Tables

Wood Species Correction Look-Up

For pin-type moisture meters that do not have wood species corrections built in, manual correction is required. Delmhorst uses Douglas Fir, the USDA standard, as the basis for all wood calibrations. Because the electrical characteristics of different species vary, all species read differently at the same moisture content.

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Pin-Type Moisture Meters

*Meter readings taken with 26-E 2-pin electrode with insulated pins. Do not apply 2-pin correction.

▲ SPF correction is based on USDA/Forintek data and can be used for the following species: Lodgepole Pine, Alpine Fir, Eastern White Spruce, Black Spruce, Jack Pine

 

Equivalent Species

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For meters that do not have temperature corrections built in, manual correction is required. As wood temperature increases, its electrical resistance decreases and indicated moisture content rises. Lower wood temperatures result in lower indicated moisture content. If the wood temperature, which is typically the ambient temperature, is between 50°F/10°C and 90°F/32°C, there is no need to apply a correction.

Meter Readings
C F 6 7 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 60
-20  0  9  11  15  22  31  38  45  53      
-10 20  8  10  14  20  28  34  40  47  55     
5 40  7  8  12  18  24  30  36  42  48     
15 60  6  7  11  16  21  27  32  38  43  54   
30 80  6  7  9  14  19  23  28  33  38  47  55 
40 100  5  6  8  12  17  21  25  29  34  42  50 
50 120  5  5  7  11  15  19  22  26  30  38  44 
60 140  4  5  7  10  14  17  20  23  27  34  40 
70 160  4  4  6  9  12  15  18  21  24  30  36 
80 180  3  4  5  8  11  13  16  19  22  27  33 
95 200  3  4  5  7  10  12  14  17  19  24  28 
105 220  2  3  4  6  9  11  13  15  17  21  26 

Moisture Content values shown in Bold are only qualitative since they are above fiber saturation point (30%MC).
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For meters that do not have pin corrections built in, manual correction is required. The default calibration on our pin meters was made with non-insulated pins that penetrate 5/16 inch. Since insulated pins read slightly lower than noninsulated ones, refer to this correction table when using an electrode with insulated pins, such as the 26-ES.

meter readings with insulated pins (26-es electrode)
7 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Corrected readings (true indicated moisture content)
7.3 8.4 10.6 12.8 14.9 17.0 19.2 21.4 23.7 26.0
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Measurements obtained with pinless (capacitance type) moisture meters such as TechScan are greatly influenced by the specific gravity of the wood. Wood with higher specific gravity produces higher moisture readings than materials with lower specific gravity at the same moisture content. Since TechScan is calibrated for wood at a specific gravity (SG) of 0.46, a correction is required when measuring wood species with SG values other than 0.46.  To correct meter readings to actual moisture content, enter the meter reading and the wood’s specific gravity in the Specific Gravity Correction Tool and the corrected %MC will be calculated in the right column.  Refer to the owner’s manual for more information on SG corrections, or, refer to these online resources:

NOTE: SG VALUES ARE BASED ON GREEN VOLUME AND OVEN-DRY WEIGHT.

Specific Gravity Correction Tool

0.0

Species Name Botanical Name SG
african ebony Diospyros crassiflora 0.78
african mahogany 0.42
alder Alnus glutinosa 0.37
american elm 0.46
aspen Populus tremula  0.36
basswood Tilia glabra 0.32
beech american Fagus grandifolia 0.56
beech euro Fagus sylvestris 0.53
birch Betula alba 0.55
black gum Nyssa sylvatica 0.64
black walnut Juglans nigra 0.51
bubinga Guibourtia spp 0.71
call
cherry black Prunus serotina 0.47
cherry brazilian Hymenea courbaril 0.64
cottonwood black Populus strichocarpa 0.31
cypress
douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii 0.45
eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis 0.36
eastern red cedar 0.44
hickory Carya ovata 0.64
hondruas mahogany Swietenia spp 0.45
incense cedar Libocedrus decurrens 0.35
jatoba Hymenea courbaril 0.77
keruing Dipterocarpus spp 0.69
larch euro Larix decidua 0.45
larch western Larix occidentalis 0.48
longleaf pine Pinus palustris 0.54
magnolia Magnolia grandiflora 0.46
maple hard Acer saccharum 0.56
maple red soft Acer rubrum 0.44
maple silver soft Acer saccharinum 0.49
meranti Shorea spp 0.46
oak red Quercus spp 0.56
oak white Quercus spp 0.6
oregon myrtle Umbellularia californica 0.51
pecan Carya illinoinensis 0.6
philippine mahogany Liriodendron tulipifera
poplar Liriodendron tulipifera 0.4
purpleheart Peltogyne spp 0.67
ramin Gonystylus spp 0.52
red fir Abies magnifica 0.65
redwood Sequoia sempirvirous 0.36
shortleaf pine Pinus echinata 0.47
spanish cedar Cedrela spp 0.41
spf
sugar pine Pinus lambertiana 0.34
tasmanian myrtle Nothophagus spp 0.5
teak 0.55
tupelo Nyssa sylvatica 0.64
western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla 0.42
western red cedar Thuja plicata 0.31
white ash Fraxinus americana 0.55
white pine Pinus strobus 0.36
yellow poplar Liriodendron tulipifera 0.4
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