# Moisture Testers



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I have never used a moisture tester other than the old fashioned hand crush method. I thought about purchasing a hand held moisture tester with probe where I could test windrows and small squares and round bales. Seems like there is quite a range on moisture reads versus windrow and baled hay. I wonder what a acceptable windrow reading would be for small bales and what an acceptable windrow reading would be for 4x5JD round bales baled at meduium density. How effective is the hand held variety and who do you think makes a good product. I heard that Delmhorst makes a good product. Thoughts?


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## johndeere (Oct 31, 2009)

I have a New Holland hand held one model DHT-1. I use it when I use the square baler and round baler. I like it because it is portable, quick, durable, and compact. It is the only one I have ever used. I have only had it for one year.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

Delmhorst makes a good one I have been using the one that can be used handheld or as an automatic tester with the sensors mounted in the baler. You have to learn how the density and other factors affect the readings. It will definitely make you realize how you have mis-judged your hay in the past.

I'm sure there are other good units besides Delmhorst, it is the only one I have experience with.
Sam


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

We went through 3 John Deere moisture testers last season and never got one to read 
the same as the one I borrowed from a friend. His had been calibrated. I finally gave up. 
My wife has been baling hay long enough to know when it's too wet and when it's not. I'd 
still like to have one for peace of mind but until I find one I can trust, forget about it.

Link
http://www.haytalk.com/forums/f2/we-panicked-evening-hay-heat-808/

Link
https://jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/document/english/pmac/5557_fb_Moisture_Tester_Hay_Testers.htm

I tried 3 of the model SW16136

Link
http://www.haytalk.com/forums/f11/farmex-hay-tester-641/


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## buckeye (Jul 21, 2009)

I also use a Delmhorst meter and would highly recommend it. You will find several points of moisture difference from windrow to bale testing. The tighter you can compress the window the closer you will be but at best i have 3-5 points of moisture difference.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I use a Delmhorst F-2000 along with the hand crush......both usually agree. I never felt I was getting much of a reading on the windrow and the hand crush was more accurate. I only use the meter on a few bales for confirmation if I'm concerned.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

We've got several of the farmex ones... BHT-1, and a hand held one. You have to learn how density and such do change the readings, like sedurbin said. Make the bales tighter, the moisture will go up. You can fool the tester, but once you have used one a little, it is a useful tool.

Rodney


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## Barry Bowen (Nov 16, 2009)

Using a decent tester really helps take the guess work and some of the risk out of baling. I have been using the farmex handheld ones sold with the New Holland label on them for about 3 or 4 years now. These testers have really helped me keep track of the moisture especially in the evening when it is getting to be time to stop. I have two right now, one for each baler. Mounted the storage tubes on the tractor at an angle, so that even if the end cap comes off they will not fall out. New Holland has two models, one is rigid and the other has a cord between probe and handle. The rigid one read down to 8% and the corded one only goes down to 14%.

As to moisture readings, they will be higher in the bale then the windrow as the hay is compressed in the bale. To get an idea what the windrow is reading, now this will just give you a good idea, not a truly accurate reading, I take a good handful and wind it up in a rope as tight as I can around the end of the probe and push the button. Figure this will be 2-4 percent less then it will be in the baler. If you get readings like this under 14 you are usually good to go, over that see how it comes out in the baler. If you get over 16-17 this way, it is not dry enough. You will get a different reading in the baler then you will after if comes out since it is more compressed in the baler. Talking about small squares here.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

For truly accurate moisture testing for hay you need to have one of those weigh and heat systems, problem is their information can be too late to be of any use. Fine for research but not practical for production.

I have been using an on the go moisture tester for 20 years now and it has earned it's keep many times over. I like an analog dial read out. The needle will swing with the moisture. Something that is very informative. I hold the read button down with a small "C" clamp. Watch the moisture tester and listening to the slip clutch will tell you a lot. They hint when the hay is dry enough to need some more pressure on the hay to keep the bale the desired length and weight.

I seldom push my luck by baling with much if any stem moisture. For cured hay, the relative humidity will also be a guide. I bought a Kestrel hand held weather station from Gimpler's. Put the little toy down next to the windrow & if it reads 65% or less it is dry enough for small square bales.

What works here may not apply in a really humid climate. Here we normally are able to start baling by 11 am CDT. Here it normally is too dry to bale by about 2 PM CDT. That does not mean that people do not bale till the cows come home, leaving a good third of their hay shattered out on the ground.

Please not there is a typo in the Universal Truths for Hay Baling, "The hay will have significant leaf shatter when the humidity is down in the 55% to *60%* range." That 60% RH should be *50% RH*. 
If anyone has more to add to the Universal Truths be my guest. If you have a local adaption to these universal truths state that is how things work where you are and give where "where" is.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I did a bunch of testing with our moisture tester last year. Really have to use it for a while to get reliable information out of it because of the variability you can introduce by changing your baling practices.
http://www.haytalk.com/forums/f2/moisture-tester-alfalfa-bale-density-experiment-864/


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks for the responses folks. It gives me much to think about. It sounds like it is an ongoing education with these meters.


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## Ridgerunner (Jul 10, 2009)

I use moisture tester daily in a factory setting. We check temperature and relative humidity. Since relative humidity is relative to the temperature, the meter has to measure the temperature, also. Note that an increase of 1 degree F = 2% relative humidity. So if the temperature measurement is wrong, the humidity reading will be twice as wrong.

I have found that most meters take a long time to get a stable temperature reading. Just like an old thermometer, you have to leave it in your mouth/arm pit or what ever for a while for the reading to stabilize. I have found some moisture testers take 5-10 minutes to reach the correct temperature reading. The best thing to do is store the meter at the same temperature as the environment you are going to measure.

So, never store your meter in an AC'ed cab. And always give the meter time to stabilize the temperature reading.


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

Ridgerunner, Most Hay Moisture Testers don't use temperature to calculate, they use electrical conductivity. This is why the hay density, or compression, is the biggest variable.

Certainly your advise would apply to those of us that use a relative humidity tester to check the wind row conditions.
Sam


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