Luster Leaf 1840 Rapitest Soil pH Meter

read many reviews online and ended up going with this brand and model. i amend my soil as most hobbiest to serious gardners do, i wanted to have a quick reference for hot spots (too acid or alkaline), when i notice a problem area or bald spot in my garden as to have a pH reference point. i have tested this against litmus paper and add soil to solution type tests and results very, very similar. i am not trying to be an agricultural chemist and for the money, this tool has been very helpful to me in my home vegetable gardening endeavors. i make sure and keep the tip clean and follow directions (not for liquids) and it has served me well. when stored in a ziploc, the indicator stays at a neutral 7 which is what i expect from it. i recommend testing on damp to dry soil as too much water will affect your readings. i reserve the upgrade to 5 stars until it makes it through the warranty period then i will update. i had a few areas in my garden that were struggling or no germination/poor growth and this little jewel showed me that a 5 pH existed. i amended to correct, indicator showed 6.5 and i now have no problems with these areas. i literally grow asparagus - zucchini and my yields are good enough to feed my wife and i, can some, and give some away to the neighbors with just a small home garden. i encourage everyone to get on board with grow your own. 7/18/12 Well gardners, still working like a charm and thanks to some fortunate rain this year, yields have been good enough to give to our neighbors and we are canning now...will turn over to fall stuff soon...pH meter helped me again this year when i had problem with one of my large potted gardens which revealed a 7.8 pH which is much higher than usual and i composted well in those large pots and it was enough to correct. once versed in the pH readings and the corrective amendments, you are on your way...now, start retrieving your own seeds and heirloom them...enjoy your successes as well as failures and grow what makes you happy! i will now upgrade this model to a 5 Star rating. 4/9/13 ~ getting ready for spring plant, and the pH meter is still working like a charm. hope everyone has a great yield this year and a great time doing it.

I bought a pH meter over a 3 in 1 meter because the 3 in 1's seemed to do so-so at several tasks whereas a ph only meter should be really good at the one thing it is supposed to do. Unfortunately, like other reviewers, I note it doesn't work. The needle does not give readings other than 7. I had a few samples from the lawn done by a lab and my lawn does not really have a pH of 7. Product is kind of labor intensive to use for a simple probe meter. It should more or less require you to stick the probe in the ground and get a reading. No, no, no, you have to prepare the soil, etc. Even doing that, meter did not work.

When I first bought this probe and did pH tests, I was disappointed in its accuracy and was ready to return it. I have access to pH standards at 4.00pH, 7.00pH and 10.00pH. Full disclosure, the standards have expired sometime between 2020-2021 but I have measured them with a fully calibrated digital probe and they are still within specified accuracy range. Now, the Rapitest probe cannot be used as is out of the box. The metal used on the probe oxidizes very fast and needs to be buffed prior to measurement. Keep in mind that the supplied scouring pad is useless as it does not polish the metal well. For each test I have used a very fine steel wool which produced a very smooth shiny probe (do not polish the tip of the probe, just the shaft). First, I measured the 4.00pH standard and the probe readout never came close to that value. It settled just below 5. Then, I proceeded with a 7.00pH and the probe readout settled just below 7. Now I realize, that the 10.00pH is out of range for this probe but I decided to test it just for fun. The meter settled way out of range after 9 as I would expect. In conclusion, the probe behaved in the right direction with regards to each pH standard but it did not measure the proper values. Since then, I have purchased and tested several pH probes of the same type and my expectations have dropped. I realized, that this type of probe does not produce accurate measurements, nor it is meant to. It is a guideline if the soil is acidic or alkaline. If a precise measurement is needed, be prepared to pay more money for a decent digital pH meter that uses a glass type probe and requires periodic calibrations. This probe can not be calibrated by the user but it can be tested against pH standards. By the way, for those who are trying to measure distilled water and expect to read a pH of 7 - do not. The distilled water is only neutral (pH 7) at the time of distillation. The moment it is exposed to atmosphere, it absorbs CO2 from the air and becomes acidic. I have used a calibrated digital pH probe and used up several expensive pH strips testing our tap water, filtered water, distilled water, and de-ionized water. They all came up in the range from 5-5.5 pH. If you see a 7 on the meter while measuring water, make sure you have polished the probe well, 7 is a neutral position for the probe.

This works very good and is actually quite inexpensive. Other reviewers have stated that the tester does not give an accurate reading and I found this to be false after I performed my own test. I was not getting the reading I was expecting in the soil, so I tested the unit in 100% vinegar. The reading was the same in the vinegar as it was in the soil I checked 6.9 - 7.0 and knowing this to be highly unlikely, I stuck the probe way down deep into the vinegar and got a different reading, a very acidic reading which was exactly as expected. The issue here is that the probe has to be submerged deep into the soil (up closer to the handle). If the tip is not placed deep into the soil, the tester will give a false inaccurate reading. Clean and dry off properly per instructions after each use. Hope this helps with everybody purchasing this tester!

I have to say I think it works. I have followed the directions and feel that if you put as much distilled water as they want it will only read 7 from the distilled water. I found that if you mix just enough water to make a thick mud, it seemed to move the needle after almost a minute. I put it in a moist plant pot that had not been replanted in some years. I fell the existence of the fertilizer both past and present is the reason the needle went to almost 6.5. I plan to use it more and more as I am reclaiming some garden space that was once a burn pit, and lots of drywall was their. Come fall I will pay for another soil test from EDIS and see if it was even close. So far the sulfur seems to be working.

Followed all instructions but it’ll either stay at 7 or move a tiny bit either direction. Tested know acidic soil and it said it was 6.8 so I did a ph test where you put the soil into a container pop in the powder and shake . The same soil came back 5.5. So don’t know can’t find a ph probe that works .

THIS IS THE BEST SOIL PH METER ON THE MARKET!! VERY USEFUL, IMMENSELY AWESOME, AND PORTABLE! GREAT ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL AGES! ACCURATE TEST RESULTS WITHOUT ALL OF THOSE INCONVEINIENT VISITS FROM YOUR SOIL PHYSICIAN! THANK YOU, MANUFACTURERS OF THIS RADICAL PRODUCT! I AM RECCOMENDING THIS TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS, BUT NONE OF MY ENEMIES BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT THEM TO EXPERIENCE THE SHEER AMAZINGNESS OF THIS DEVICE!

When I originally tested my soil samples, I was disappointed too since the meter always registered a 7.0 reading. I bought it to test the soil for a Bonsai that I could never get to bloom, but the Bonsai eventually died and I bought a different type that has thrived. So I just put the meter away and figured that for $12, I couldn't expect much. But I recently started to brew beer, and a key part of the process is to have all items sanitized, using products like Star San. After brewing a few batches, it seemed to be a waste of water to mix up a batch of sanitized water for each brew session (and for bottling), but I wasn't able to tell if the sanitized water was still acidic enough to reuse. Then I remembered the pH meter, dug it out of storage and tested the sanitized water, and sure enough, it registered in the acidic level. As a result, here are some metrics to test if your pH meter works or not. Try dipping it in white vinegar, and it should register around 6.0. Try dipping it in a batch of Star San mixed according to directions, and it should register around 4.0. Perhaps the meter isn't sensitive enough to register slight variants in pH levels in soil samples, although most dirt on average should register right at 7.0. Maybe try adding water to dirt sample to allow pH level to be more readable. Anyway, I gave it a 4 star rating since I don't use it to test dirt, and just wanted to provide some information to help you determine if you got ripped off or not.

No funciona, la aguja no se mueve en ningún caso probándolo en diferentes tipos de tierra... Un verdadero timo, no lo recomiendo para nada. Le doy 1estrella para poder hacer la reseña, però le daría -1.000.000

I use this soil pH meter to check my worm bin acidity. Appears to be accurate and is very easy to use.

just what i was after

I bought this product because my potted citrus trees were too alkaline. This probe style device was easy to use, and allowed me to adjust the soil ph with confidence. My orange tree needed the most ph adjustment, and it has quickly improved dramatically. My other plants are also doing very well now.

I tried this numerous times on different soils but it just stays on the 7. I followed and repeated the directions numerous times and it doesn’t help. I cleaned the metal probe with the cleaning pad that came with it and it doesn’t work still. I tried turning it in the soil and leaving it there for a min or 2, still nothing. Hopefully I can return this cause it was over priced in my opinion and doesn’t function.