Customer Reviews

Luster Leaf 1820 Rapitest Soil Moisture Meter

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

Years and years ago, my mother gave me one of these moisture meters to save me from over watering my house plants and ruining my floors and my furniture.
It finally died (probably after over 25 years!) so I purchased this one. What I like about this moisture meter is that it has a wand separate from the meter itself, which you can stick into the dirt. It makes it much easier to read than the temporary replacement moisture meter I purchased at my local garden supply store that has the wand extending from the bottom of the meter. I have hanging house plants and simply could not read the meter that way. So I highly recommend this one, which also comes with a guide that indicates how much to water a variety of plants. No more checking the top of the soil with my finger, thinking the plant needed water, and killing it with over-watering.

Luster Leaf Rapitest Soil Moisture Meter #1820. Effective, versatile, accurate and inexpensive water meter. Convenient flexible cord permits holding meter in hand while probe placed in soil. Can be used inside for house plants and outside for larger plants and new shrubs. Cheaper if ordered from Denny and Kathy Ace on same page with Amazon direct order. Make nice and appreciated gift to people with garden interests.

Rapitest Soil Light & Moisture MeterThe moisture part is amazing and very accurate from houseplant to houseplant, BUT the light meter part does not react at all to any stimulus. The accompanying chart is helpful to decide how much and whether or not to water. It is also interesting that the reading sometimes changes when the meter is inserted into different parts of the same pot, so that it indicates that some parts are more moist than others of the same plant, and so you can adjust your watering to insure even amounts reach all of the soil.

Moisture meters start at about $6 and run up to well over $100. At first I bought the $6 type, the only kind at the local nursery because I didn't want to pay a high percentage of the product's value for shipping. It's sold by Amazon (with free shipping) as the "mini" meter. It was unusable junk just as the reviews indicate. Because I was turned off, I was reluctant to try this one (#1820) because it's still fairly cheap compared to the meters and irrometers used in commercial operations and research. If I needed to pay $70, even $200 or more, I would, and an additional 5% for shipping would be fine. I needed something that actually worked and not just a toy trinket to play around with. This one is quite inexpensive and though shipping was proportionately costly, I gave this one a shot and I found it completely satisfactory.

I have been using this product for many years to help me decide if it's time to water individual house plants. I bought 2 more so I would have one on each floor of my house. It's a great tool. Read a review that someone wrote that complained that the same plant gave different readings in 2 separate areas of the soil. This seems normal to me as water does not evaporate uniformly throughout the soil.

I purchased a Luster Leaf 1820 Moisture Meter to have an objective way to keep my African Violets from drowning or becoming a desert.

I *like* the separate probe, it works great in a shelf environment for spot checking pots. What doesn't work is the whole instrument.

Bone-dry potting mix and bone dry air read "dry", <1; slightly damp potting mix reads "dry" <1; wet potting mix read "dry", <1; everything read dry <1.

I lost 25 violets to root rot from overwatering that were dry <1.

I finally put the probe directly in a container of water, and got a reading of 4, which according to the back panel, was perfect for African Violets. Which of course, is *not* the reality of life...

Those of you who whom have gotten good ones, good luck, and replace your batteries. It looks like about 50% aren't any good.

Luster Leaf 1820 Moisture Meter

This probe takes some getting used to but am hoping its readings are accurate. I am starting plumeria cuttings that can't take a lot of moisture. This probe seems to be very sensitive and will measure moisture content at various levels when placed in different soil areas of the pot. This is good to prevent root rot. I think I'm going to like it a lot!
In an update, the stalks that I used MY judgment on all rotted. The ones I used the Luster Leaf Moisture Meter to measure are all rooted and leafed out!

I searched for comparable soil moisture testers and this seemed both the best and most economical. After using it for a month, I can easily say it works exactly as advertised, and it's helping me avoid over-watering, my greatest agrarian foible. It takes a bit of poking around the pot to get an idea of the overall general moisture level, but one can get the general idea from several probes. The chart of plants and their needs is also extremely helpful -- though I had to search the internet to rectify differences in common names of plants. All in all, very satisfied.

I bought a moisture meter at some discount store about 20 years ago. It was really cheap and worked great. And then one day it died.

Appearance-wise, it was just like the Luster Leaf 1820, except the display had no colors. It was a different brand, but since they were so similar, I chose this product as a replacement

Performance-wise, however, this item lacks a bit of luster compared to my old one. My old one gave an instant read. With this, you need to give it a few seconds. But it does work well, and I do like having the "cord" to give me some reach. I tried one that had the probe attached directly to the meter, and it was really a pain to use.

These are not so easy to find, so I do recommend this product. It's good to know how dry or wet your plants are, and with a moisture meter, no dirty fingernails. I only wish it gave an instant read. Otherwise, I'm very happy with it. And it can be used for houseplants or the flower bed.

Last year I planted a tree and didn't know if I was giving it too much or too little water. This year I have this handy device to help me. The directions say it's for house plants, but it's working great for my newly planted trees. I can finally tell when they need water and can avoid over watering.