Volunteers sought to draft moisture meter standard. (Wood Extra: News).

An international standards committee is seeking experienced operators of in-line moisture meters to participate in developing voluntary guidelines for the devices.

ASTM Committee D07 on Wood is working on "Test Method for Standardization and Calibration of In-Line Dry Lumber Moisture Meters."

An in-line dry moisture meter automatically measures lumber on dry chains and planers to remove wood that exceeds moisture tolerance. The meter produces data on kiln performance to enable improvements to kiln schedules and methods. Uniform settings for moisture tolerance and data computation are important considerations when manufacturing and using these devices.

Ed Wagner, an engineer and president of Wagner Electronic Products Inc. of Rogue River, OR, is task group leader of the committee that has been trying to sort out the complex issues of in-line moisture detection for 10 years. "There are basically no standards available in the industry for in-line moisture detectors except for methods published by manufacturers," Wagner said.

Wagner said the standard the committee hopes to complete this year will provide a "common ground" to help wood products manufacturers more effectively select and use in-line meters. The standard being drafted includes a glossary of terms, that in itself will be useful for buyers and sellers of moisture meters to talk the same language.

"Wood by its nature is very inconsistent," Wagner said. "There are many issues that factor into play with in-line moisture measuring including travel speeds, wet spots and lumber thickness. The committee would be interested in receiving help from professionals who have experience working with in-line meters and who are aware of the issues involved in achieving optimum performance."

To provide input or join the task group, contact Wagner at (541) 5820541; ewagner@wwwagner.com. Committee D07 meets April 22-25 in Madison, WI. For meeting or membership details contact Maxine Topping, manager, ASTM Technical Committee Operations at (610) 832-9737; e-mali mtopping@astm.org.