Luster Leaf 1880 Rapitest Electronic 4-Way Analyzer

by Luster Leaf

Product Features

• Rapid test electronic 4-way analyzer
• This is a compact portable meter
• Measures the essentials for vigorous growth: soil pH, soil moisture, combined soil n-p-k level based on USDA standards and available sun light
• No batteries needed
• Seed starting

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 11.5 x 5.3 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000HHLJQA
• Item model number: 1880
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)
  • #19 in Patio, Lawn & Garden > Plants & Planting > Soils, Fertilizers & Mulches > Soils
  • #88 in Patio, Lawn & Garden > Plants & Planting > Gardening Tools

Product Description

Instantly tells you the fertility of your soilMeasures the light intensity in footcandlesInstantly tells you when to water your plants by measuring the moisture levelInstantly tells you how acid or alkaline your soil is by measuring the pH levelMeasures four different levels for fertilizer, light, moisture and pH. Includes instructions and guides for all four measuring levels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pH works fine if you follow the directions, March 4, 2009

By 

J. Dinovitser - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Luster Leaf 1880 Rapitest Electronic 4-Way Analyzer (Lawn & Patio)

I bought the rapitest mini 4 way soil analyzer on ebay which is almost identical to this one with three leads. I couldn't help notice how many are complaining that the pH measurements do not work. This is not true. If you follow the directions it measures pH fine.

You need to first clean the right lead with the included pad and wash it. Then you stick the meter all the way into the ground. Then you have to water the ground around the meter leads until it gets muddy almost like water. You will then see the meter start moving away from 7 and if you wait a minute, you'll get an accurate reading. Repeat a few times to make sure you got a good spot that is consistent. If you only insert the very tips of the leads into the soil or do not make the soil into mud, you will get a pH of 7. I've inserted the whole thing into a bottle of vinegar and it measures about 2.5 which is accurate and I've inserted it into a container of peat moss I've watered until muddy and it measures 4 to 5 depending on location. Both are accurate. If I do not follow the instructions and only insert the tip of the leads into the bottle of vinegar or stick it in dry soil or stick it into the soil without waiting a minute I get an inaccurate reading. But if you follow the directions it works fine with an error of about 0.5 pH units in my opinion.

I give it 4 stars out of 5 because the "Fertility Meter" does not appear to really measure N-P-K directly but seems to merely measure the soil's conductivity and assuming most of its ions are N-P-K compounds and therefore has a high false positive rate. When you insert it in liquids that do not have any nitrogen phosphorous or potassium, it reads "high" when it should really read "low". Also the pH meter appears to have a maximum error of 0.5 pH units with repeat measurements in vinegar which is fine for gardeners who don't work in a lab and need perfect results.

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars okay otherwise but ph testing feature useless, June 5, 2007

By 

OhioGardener (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This unit is very useful for measuring soil moisture and sunlight. While I wasn't in a position to evaluate the fertility feature, I do know that the ph testing is useless.

When I tested the commercial soil in my potted plants, I noticed that they all indicated a ph of 7. To my surprise, my yard and garden soil also indicated 7. Since I have heavy clay soil in my yard I began to suspect that the Rapitest was inaccurate.

I took a couple 1/2 cup soil samples out of the garden and put them in small seed pots, carefully followed the Rapitest instructions for ph testing and still came up with a ph of 7. I added two tablespoons of vinegar to one of the samples and two tablespoons of baking soda to the other. Results? You guessed it--ph of 7.

I found a study on the Journal of Extension ([...]) that evaluated ph testing methods for field testing by extension agents which found the Rapitest to be useless.

I would have given this unit an even lower score, but at least two of the functions worked.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars all 4 in one, January 16, 2007

By 

A. Coons "a/c" (brooklyn, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

A very good device for the price. The only thing that I didn't realize at first was that the NPK numbers are not specifically given. Rather, the device gives you an overview of whether the nutrients are balanced or not. If the nutrients are not in the "ok" range, then you'll need to do a seperate nutrient test to find out exactly what the levels are.