Luster Leaf 1820 Rapitest Soil Moisture Meter

Read the reviews where people describe how to best use this. I followed their instructions and it works fine. It's not a fancy piece of equipment, but it works fine. It saved my fern, which was in a "self-watering pot" that wasn't working, and when I used the meter it said it was completely dry. Another day or two of relying on the pot to water the plant and it probably would have died. Now I test it every day to see how much more water it needs, since a malfunctioning self-watering pot is just a stupid pot with no drainage. The meter is light-weight and seems a little flimsy, and I can't vouch for the complete accuracy or reliability, but I think for deciding whether to add more water to a plant (and approx. how much), it works well and is a good price. If I test the soil, add a little water, and retest, the meter goes up a little; if I repeat, it goes up a little more. Sensitive enough for my needs. Side note about self-watering pots for anyone who is interested: The kind with the inner unfinished terra cotta pot that is supposed to let water slowly soak through to the soil- test it before planting in it by placing the dry inner pot into the outer pot full of water and place a dry paper towel in the inner pot. If the paper towel isn't wet within an hour, the inner pot isn't letting the moisture through. I guess at this point you can try soaking it in vinegar for a couple days to remove any deposits that are blocking the water, then soak in distilled water to get the vinegar out. Or you can just return the stupid thing.

I was interested in a soil moisture meter that was very low maintenance and simple to use. This product is exactly what I was looking for. There are no batteries to worry about replacing or wondering if the reading you are getting is low because of low power. It works purely off of the chemistry of the water in the soil. Perfect and foolproof. The price was right too. I really like how the probe stores in the body of the meter... just insert from the bottom and you are good to go. The list of plants and their water preferences is handy, although not complete. Remember it is just a guideline and use your own experience to determine what is right for your plants and situation. The one improvement I do wish the manufacturer would make it that the meter needs a loop molded into the casing somewhere, so that a neck cord could be attached, thus allowing one hand to be free to steady the pot, or hold leaves out of the way, instead of having to hold the body of the meter. Overall great product.

My initial review in October of 2011, upon purchase of 3 of these about 3 years ago, was: In reviewing these reviews, it is apparent that this company does manufacture duds, on occasion, and that, being the reactionary public that we are, those receiving the same are, of course, more prone to write regrettable reviews than those who receive those that are superb, as was the case with me, several months gone by now, and wishing to allay my lassitude, while expressing my creature-joy of having such a fantastic wand, so versatile to my needs, but for to lay its main body upon the shelf while probing the greater depths of my pots and receiving readings of fantastic accuracy, do hereby inform those who would read this far into my pontifications that I am about to order yet another! Relayed another way, if those who receive duds would believe those who write rave reviews, then, upon receiving your replacement wand, please say something karmically cool to our public, conveying good growth while causing the sales of this company to increase, ergo boosting its ability to cure the few defects they have, and thereby furthering the joys of foliage. I was mistaken. Within just 2 years, and with light use in my home, all three of these units were dead, defunct, malfunctioning, & otherwise trash. At $14 each, I believe that I'll be better to buy the old cheap ones, & that's now where I am heading!

I'm very please with it after figuring it out, it works great - if others are having trouble, I hope they take the time to experiment a little to see if they're doing something wrong. The display is large, easy to hold and read, and you can use it on hanging baskets. or low pots, with ease. After having one of the fixed probe models, i was really frustrated trying to read their small displays at odd angles, i had been wishing for something like this for a long time. I read the reviews carefully and was hoping that I would get one that didn't have the same issues as others were describing, plus i've learned that some reviews just aren't even reading the instructions that come with products! The first couple of tries after opening the packaging, I was having the exact problems others described: never left "dry" mark, dipped it in water and it still said "dry". I was really disappointed and cleaned the probe off well, planing on returning it. Then, I read the instructions. When i stuck the probe all the way in (past 3") I started getting accurate readings! I'm wondering if cleaning the probe well also didn't hurt, but now it seems to work perfectly. I've used it a couple of weeks with accurate readings every time. The probe is a little "fatter" than my fixed probe and requires more force to get into the soil. I'm wondering if other users are not getting past the top layer of dry soil (like I was originally). Plus, when i put the probe deeper into a glass of water it does indeed read "wet".

I just received my meter yesterday, and I this morning when I was testing the soil in my outdoor plant pots the black handle at the end of the wand came loose. I was testing the soil in a small pot that I'd forgotten was self-watering, and so it wasn't actually as deep as it appears. I tried to put the probe in deeper than it would actually go, and then the handle suddenly slid loose and downwards along the probe. The handle is basically a hollow rectangle with the probe stuck through it, and didn't appear to have been attached especially firmly from the start. I can sort of pop the handle back into place, but it's not firmly in place or anything and is liable to come loose anytime I attempt to stick the probe into the dirt again. Now, I did use more force than you'd normally exert when sticking the probe into dirt, but I didn't really exert my self either. The probe appears to be still functioning despite my handle woes, so the meter's still useable. It's just a slight pain to use since the handle can randomly come loose. Maybe it'd work all right if I just removed the handle entirely, or if I glued it, but I'm not sure i f that would interfere with the probe or not. I'll update this review later after I've used it awhile, since I can't really say how accurate it is with one day's worth of data.

A must have tool for any plant owner. I have bought many different brands of these over the decades and they are a Godsend. No batteries are required - the voltage necessary to operate is generated by dissimilar metals in the probe when contact is made with moisture. Take several measurements and average the readings - the soil will read more or less wet depending on WHERE you stick it. This one in particular is more easily used than the all-in-one probe types in that it has a separate probe attached to the meter by a cable. While I buy the all-in-one types for most of my friends, THIS is the one I choose for myself! My own is over forty years old and still going strong! I bought this one for a very dear friend. Two Green Thumbs up!

This is a good product a first, but it only lasted 9 months. I was very careful with it never dropping the devise. I used it during the summer in my garden and in the fall and winter on my house plants. Then today March 14, 2026, it just went dead on me.

Very useful

“This is my second time buying this meter. The first one worked for about 7 months, but this new one stopped working in just two months (purchased on August 1st). The readings are not accurate and the needle keeps moving randomly. I expected better quality from a well-known brand like this.”

He comprado otros medidores de humedad en el suelo pero o no duran mucho o son bastante imprecisos, por lo que este me esta pareciendo muy bueno, parece muy sensible y me está resultando muy útil en mi huerto.

Arrived super fast! And it's a brilliant little device! Just make sure to take care of it such as don't leave it in the soil or don't submerge it in water and most importantly make sure to clean it after use! Now I can monitor my plants moisture levels perfectly.

I wasn't sure what to think when there were several reviews saying this product didn't work. But I read the instructions that came with it, and it says to use the included scouring pad on the probe before each use. I did that, and the moisture meter worked perfectly. So I'm wondering if some of the reviews saying this product doesn't work didn't use the included scouring pad? Hard to say... Anyways, I love the fact that the probe is separate from the meter... for bushy plants, this makes it much easier to get the probe into the soil without damaging the leaves.

Realice varias pruebas con mis diferentes plantas y en todos los casos la variación entre el estado seco y el húmedo prácticamente fué muy similar, entonces para basarte en ella y regar tus plantas, pues no sería correcto por lo que no recomiendo este medidor.