7440 AccuMASTER XT Digital Moisture Meter | Handheld |Pin Type | Backlit LCD Display | Detects Leaks, Damp and Moisture in Wood, Walls, Ceilings, Carpet and Firewood

This is my first moisture meter, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm very pleased with it. I use it for checking my firewood to see if it's ready to burn. It seems very well built. You have to push with a little force to get the prongs to go into the wood and I was a bit worried that those little pins might be fragile, but they are not. They are sturdy and the case seems to be up to the task as well. I've played around with it a bit - testing a piece of wood and then leaving it in the house for a while and everytime I test it again, the moisture level has gone down just as you would think it should. I like the fact that it will shut itself off if I forget to do it. One little surprise feature is the beeping that indicates moisture level. If the level is really low, the beeping is slow. Then as you go up in moisture, it beeps faster. The cutoff for burnable firewood is 20% and if the unit measures over 20% is beeps quite fast, sort of like It's saying, "This wood is not ready!". I should also mention that the readings I get are consistent with what I see when I burn the wood. If I measure a piece at say 18%, it lights right up and burns with no steaming or hissing. If I measure one at 22%, then there will be some of the steaming and hissing after I put it on the fire. It comes with a 9v battery and I was pleased to see that it was an alkaline battery, which should last for quite a while. It seems like most things that come with batteries come with the cheapest ones possible - this was a pleasant surprise. December, 2024 I stumbled on this review that I'd done back in 2017 when I first bought the meter. (I just recommended this product to a friend and looked up my order). I can report that it is still working after about 7 years of use! I replaced the battery one time so far. I heat with wood and cut 4 or 5 cords a year - I have used this meter 100's of times since I got it and it's still going strong.

Works as advertised

I like its ease of use. I worry about the pins. They kept loosening as I use it. I have to be careful to keep them screwed down all the way.

It works great, but you should note that besides moisture it also picks up metal as well, so it can lead to false positives if there's metal behind what you're testing. And Amazon, stop saying my review violated some guidelines I didn't violate anything.

So... I'm a mechanical engineer at home and fix all the vehicles and issues around the house. We had a leak in our first floor laundry room recently so I had to call in a claim to AMICA (excellent company by the way) and asked their opinion about how to find where the leak was coming from. They told me I need a leak detection expert first. So... I found one of the top two leak detection experts in our area and they came right on time and evaluated our home. They used a moisture detection scanner (high-end) to determine the damage to the ceiling drywall and then measure around the window, the dormer above the laundry room, and the bathroom. Turns out, the toilet's wax ring was leaking and he was able to measure to confirm it wasn't the shower, wasn't the faucet, and all of it was around the commode. So... $200 later, we got a new wax ring and no more leaks. But for me... I'm happy there's no more leaking but I want a tool of my own so I don't have to call someone else to measure. I looked at Klein Tools (great for electricity but their moisture reader is inferior), General Purpose, Kobalt, Craftsmen, etc... this one was the highest rated but I could not get it locally. I ordered from Amazon and it came the next day. I just measure the tiles upstairs (still moist but far less than the first day) and measured the drywall ceiling which was dry and I just started the repairs to the ceiling and ready to install the light fixture back and paint the ceiling. This was accurate... and has both the pin and pad feature so you have the best of both worlds. The pins read a little dryer (by 2-3%) compared to the pad but definitely easy to use and does not have the confusing scale like the Klein Tools version. Highly recommend this particular model... cost a little more but very durable and very accurate. Now I'm sure my friends will call me to borrow it.

I'm a licensed Master Service Plumber and have had lots of different moisture meters back in my early days they were a very expensive tool to own now the markets flooded with all sort Well in my opinion this little guy is the best bang for the buck it's small very accurate the tips to probe can be replaced but no idea where to get them but they do unscrew so far I'm good and have yet to break yet but they are metal and will push into wood or drywall no problem and just snap off like some pos units I have had I love the back lite screen its very nice and its has fractional measurement the best is the ringer bell noises it makes when it's in stuff that's wet I love it its the sound of money to me! It will make most home owners start to.make odd weird Cringe faces but that's what its meant to do find out if this leak in wall or whatever has spread more than it may show face value I use it weekly along with my Flir Thermal Camera to pinpoint leaks before I swiss cheese the walls or ceilings to discover of such a leak so if your in the trades and looking for one of these look no further its perfect and hey if you drop it off a 12 foot ladder been there done that but hey no big deal it's only 30 not 300 dollars so Its not like dropping my Flir Thermal camera ouch! Thate an expensive day then now I'm gonna make cringing faces lol And I was not paid or anything promised to make this review just bored waiting on my next customer to get home and will be using this little guy again its paid for itself a long time ago one bit of advise always keep an extra 9volt battery with your gear for it tho as that's when it will die on you when your trying to show the client and whalaa

Gives decent readings. Turns on all the time by itself, super annoying! Has ghost readings on pins. It will be registering readings and then give false readings on whatever you’re testing until you physically touch both pins at the same time, guessing that resets it, then it will register 0 until you actually test whatever you’re testing. I bought this when it was 50’ish, I would never pay 70+, I would upgrade to a more professional meter at that point.

This was used at our Church - on the 18" masonry walls - that WERE full of water after a serious water leak problem... We've been using this to monitor the block wall water/ dampness - to know when the walls are FINALLY dry enough to be able to begin re-sealing the walls - and re-painting the walls... It's been (and STILL is) extremely helpful in monitoring this problem - luckily - we are NOW - FINALLY - able to begin our re-sealing and priming and re-painting of The Church basement walls. This is and was - exactly what we needed to monitor our water issue - without having to have a contractor repeatedly come onsite to let us know where things were at - that is a cost we didn't need to continue have ongoing - as we already had such HUGE expenses as a result of the initial water leak issue. It has saved us a lot of money - and now we're able to monitor OTHER areas if/ when maintenance feels it necessary. Great purchase - WE'RE not disappointed - you won't be either. :)