Moisture content determined using the oven drying method is slow, expensive and does not give immediate results. Moisture meters may provide a faster, cheaper solution, but are not considered as reliable. The use of moisture meters will be investigated in terms of reliability, repeatability and time consumption.

1. Use of moisture meters to determine
moisture content of wood fuel.
Tiê Mendes Tavares
Waterford Institute of Technology

2. Summary
 Introduction
 Objectives
 Methodology
 Results
 Conclusion
 Acknowledgment

3. Introduction
 The experiment aims to evaluate the viability in measure the moisture
content using two different moisture meter (Wile Bio and BM2).
 Samples from freshly shredded brash bales.
 Samples were collected at Medite – Coillte Panel Products.
 Laboratory and data processing was made at WIT Forestry Labs.

4. Objectives
 Compare the accuracy of using moisture meters compared to oven drying, for
more rapid determination of moisture content.
 Moisture content as determined in WIT by oven drying
 Moisture content as determined by Moisture meter 1 (Biomass Moisture Meter BM2)
 Moisture content as determined by Moisture meter 2 (Wile Bio Moisture Meter)
 Compare the accuracy of them using samples at a range of moisture contents.
 Determination of the number of replicate measurements needed to gain a
reasonable estimate of moisture content of shredded brash bundles.

5. Methodology

6. Results
BM 2 WB 2 WB 3 WB 4 WIT
49.5% 56.5% 49.5% 36.9%
60.0% 54.4% 49.8% 40.8%
48.5% 57.6% 48.5% 40.2%
49.5% 51.1% 43.4% 36.9%
44.0% 55.6% 47.0% 36.9%
33.5% 55.4% 44.6% 36.3%
47.0% 56.4% 46.2% 38.6%
57.0% 54.6% 46.4% 39.0%
44.0% 53.0% 43.8% 36.3%
55.0% 53.3% 54.8% 34.6%
48.0% 52.9% 43.4% 37.9%
27.0% 52.5% 40.2% 33.8%
52.5% 53.2% 47.3% 34.6%
36.5% 53.3% 43.7% 36.9%
33.5% 52.2% 45.7% 37.9%
31.0% 49.5% 41.3% 34.0%
43.0% 53.6% 40.7% 31.8%
28.0% 53.2% 42.6% 35.0%
45.0% 53.4% 45.6% 38.2%
41.0% 51.9% 45.3% 36.6%
39.0% 53.3% 45.3% 37.8%
42.5% 52.2% 44.4% 42.2%
40.5% 55.5% 49.4% 40.0%
41.0% 57.6% 43.6% 40.4%
Sample
Moisture Content
Method
51.4%
53.4%
51.9%
50.4%
52.2%
50.3%
53.1%
52.0%
1
2
3
8
7
6
5
4
BM 2 WB 2 WB 3 WB 4 WIT
x̄ 43.2% 53.8% 45.5% 37.2% 51.8%
σ 8.7% 2.0% 3.3% 2.5% 1.1%
x̄: Average of all samples in each method
σ: Standard Deviation of all samplein each method
Method
x̄ σ x̄ σ x̄ σ x̄ σ
1 53% 6% 56% 2% 49% 1% 39% 2%
2 42% 6% 54% 3% 45% 3% 37% 2%
3 49% 3% 55% 3% 45% 3% 38% 2%
4 43% 8% 53% 3% 46% 2% 35% 0%
5 41% 7% 53% 1% 46% 1% 36% 1%
6 34% 12% 52% 1% 42% 1% 34% 1%
7 42% 7% 53% 2% 45% 1% 38% 1%
8 41% 7% 55% 1% 46% 6% 41% 2%
WB 3 WB 4
Sample
Average and Standard Deviation
BM 2 WB 2

7. Results
43.2%
53.8%
45.5%
37.2%
51.8%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
BM 2 WB 2 WB 3 WB 4 WIT
MoistureContent
Method
Average of all samples in each method

8. Results
BM 2 WB 2 WB 3 WB 4 WIT
46.5% 33.9% 28.1% 25.2%
51.0% 34.2% 29.7% 20.5%
50.0% 32.0% 29.2% 22.1%
14.5% 21.9% 14.0% Low
17.5% 20.6% 14.3% Low
18.5% 22.1% 14.0% Low
10.5% 18.0% Low Low
11.5% 18.7% Low Low
11.5% 18.3% Low Low
1.5% 17.0% Low Low
1.0% 17.3% Low Low
1.0% 17.1% Low Low
Moisture Content
Sample
Method
1 27.1%
2 22.9%
3 13.8%
4 11.4%
x̄ σ x̄ σ x̄ σ x̄ σ
1 49% 2% 33% 1% 29% 1% 23% 2%
2 17% 2% 22% 1% 14% 0% Low Low
3 11% 1% 18% 0% Low Low Low Low
4 1% 0% 17% 0% Low Low Low Low
Sample
BM 2 WB 2 WB 3 WB 4
Average and Standard Deviation
1 - After 6 hours
2 - 24 hours
3 - 30 hours
4 - 48 hours

9. Conclusion
 Wile Bio was the more accurate and precise of the two meters.
 Both of the moisture meters are faster than the standard oven-drying
method.
 Wile Bio is fastest.
 Moisture Meter BM2 is not precise and gave a measurement far from the oven-
drying method.
 Might be caused because of the lack of adjustments and tools in the display.
 Heterogeneity of the bale is an issue as it has different parts of the tree with
different properties what make it more difficult to measure the moisture and
the collection of a representative sample.

10. Acknowledgment
 Waterford Institute of Technology
 Tom Kent
 Enda Coates
 Nicholas Mockler
 Coillte Panel Products – Medite
 Oliver Gras
 Darren O Loughlin