Sonin Moisture Meter 50211 – Robust 10-28% Analog Scale for Wood, Concrete, Plaster, Carpet & More – Dual Reading Scale, Not Including 9-Volt Battery – 1-Year Warranty, 1-lb Weight

I’ve got and old one and a fairly new one. Readings are a slight bit different but for home owner, painter, woodworking it’s close enough. Excellent for price and good tool for home owner.

We had house leaks and needed to continue to monitor the moisture level in the wood (ceiling) and drywall. My home inspector recommended this one as an inexpensive alternative to his $400+ Surveymaster moisture reader. However, this device was so inaccurate that made me doubt its usefulness.Off the dry wall, when the reading from Surveymaster was 22%, this one's was 15%. Two locations off the ceiling wood, Surveymaster vs. Sonin were 18% vs. 8%, and 12% vs 8%. All the readings were done on the same day by my experienced home inspector who used the devices in the exact same location w/ exact same direction (when pining into the ceiling) and tried to use the same force to minimize the error bar caused by mishandling.Sonin's readings were the same 8% even though there was a 10% difference in the readings from Surveymaster. 8%-12% would be considered ok for wood, but 18% is not. For example, mold remediation company would dry the ceiling wood below 16% before they put on the final coat. W/ such inaccuracy, I found it nearly impossible to have a good assessment on the situation and to take necessary actions.Another drawback of the product: the pins are not sharp at all comparing to the Surveymaster's. In test, the pins couldn't penetrate into some plywood area under the roof, and hence couldn't get any readings.In short, it is cheap for a reason. Use it w/ bucket load of grain of salt.

I actually bought this moisture meter to check the moisture content in my fire wood. For that it seems to work well. I just wanted to make sure the the wood I was selecting to burn wasn't too wet. No Problems there.I do expect to be buying another moisture meter for the wood that I use for furniture building as this one would be useless for that.I am pleased with it for what it does. Just don't expect too much from it.

I live in a Co-Op apartment building that self-manages all of its repairs. This year we have had a major issue issue with moisture working its with through the mortar of our three course brick building. The building will be 100 years old in 2015. We have questions about whether the moisture visible on our walls and ceiling was a piping problem or water from the elements. Also when we could see the staining caused by the moisture, we wondered if it was a new or old problem. Well, this very inexpensive and reliable meter has given us a tool to track the moisture in the wall and check for new moisture after a heavy rain or not. I convinced the Board of our Co-Op to purchase two more so that we would have enough on hand to monitor the highest frequency of issues at any one time. Mind you, though, that I found the only 6 volt battery that would work was the Duracell brand. I had tried Eveready unsuccessfully.

this moisture meter is consistent with it's readings not sure how accurate it is. One of the reasons I purchased it was to do a comparison wit a digital Moisture meter I have. On soft surfaces the reading are comparable to the digital meter however on concrete the readings are consistent but not the same % moisture of the digital meter. The digital meter has settings for either wood or concrete which this meter does not have. My main usage is to measure moisture on a concrete block wall of my garage. I think between the two meters I will be able to localize where the issues are on the wall. I do like the cable on the meter which allows me to have the meter where I can see it while probing the wall. The digital I have has a light but is not always positioned to be able to see the display. ( both my meters are not expensive ones The digital one is from HF) I would would buy this meter again.

Other than the fact that this product seems to have been constructed in someone's pre-school art class and its lack of versatility and its lack of sensitivity, this is a decent product for the money.Appearences:1> The front of this junk box says in overly large letters that this is indeed a 'MOISTURE METER'. Well, if you did not know that, then you probably are not buying it anyway.2> The moisture prongs are attached through a household plug's body giving it a grandpa's workbench feel.Use:1> the scaled meter bounces so wildly there is little time to determine the actual moisture content of the material you are probing. It might as well just have a red light and a green light to display moist vs. Not moist.2> It feels lightweight and ready to disintegrate at any moment - certainly not for prolongued or harsh use.3> On the bright side the corded probe is handy for reaching not so accessible areas.Overall:The price is low with good reason. If you are purchasing a water meter than most likely it is needed on the professional level. this meter dowes not cut the mustard for professional use. The yellow bound protimeter (preferably with non penetrating and penetrating sensors) is the choice to make. However, if all you are looking for is a BACKUP moisture meter, then this one fits the task well - at least from your wallet's perspective.

I have hidden leaks in my home. Home inspection and a structural engineer were useless. After spending $1000 on them, I figured what's another thirty some dollars, right? Well I'm too worried about ruining wall paper to push in the spikes, so I just press them flat wise against my walls and bricks where I am looking for moisture. I have found it to be really accurate. I mean I do this before and after rain near windows, plumbing, etc. and it gives the swing in readings, wet to dry again were there actually is a leak. The only thing I can't get away with on is my wood floors. These have to be fully stabbed and still no real reading, but wood joists were O.K. 'cause they are rough, not polished. The first 9 volt battery is lasting really long. What a great cheap little item if you own an older home.

I had one of these for years but broke it so bought this as a replacement. Having the prongs on a wire is a big advantage over the other designs when you're up a ladder or squeezing into tight spaces and can't always have your head in the right place to read the meter. This overcomes that problem and I wouldn't be without it.