[Delmarva Keith]

I was using one of those $10 big box cheapo moisture meters for differentiating heat from drought stress and checking irrigation coverage. I managed to break it this morning (got more than my money's worth out of it but it is a piece of crap).

I can't find anything mid-range to replace it. Seems like all that's out there is either a $10 flimsy piece of junk or a many hundred $ plus TDR for golf greens. Can anyone recommend a mid-range, like around a hundred bucks or so, soil moisture meter that's well made enough to hold up to frequent use on turf? I'm not growing putting green quality turf like some of you guys manage to do (very impressively I'd say) - just cool season, high cut turf that sometimes needs a little ****hing to figure out what it needs.

Thanks!

 

[adgattoni]

There's this one from R&R for just over $100. I probably wouldn't trust anything from Amazon or similar.

https://www.rrproducts.com/Direct-Read-Soil-Ph~~Moisture-Meter-product18171

 

[Ware]

There's this one from R&R for just over $100. I probably wouldn't trust anything from Amazon or similar.

https://www.rrproducts.com/Direct-Read-Soil-Ph~~Moisture-Meter-product18171

Here is the same one on Amazon. It is a few dollars cheaper, and R&R's shipping prices can be brutal.

* Note I haven't used one.

 

[Delmarva Keith]

Hey guys, thanks very much for the recomendations - they did help a lot to decide what to try.

I ended up buying one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/XLUX-Professional-Tester-Moisture-Sensor/dp/B07CM248CG
I went with Amazon because I pretty much need it ASAP. They will have it to me by tomorrow.

I don't expect any better performance than a big box cheapo meter but a review indicates the probe is sturdy, which is important. Will see soon enough.

Looks like the next rung up is the extech type at around $200. More than I need for what I'm doing.

 

[Delmarva Keith]

Just to circle back, I received the one as in the link I posted.

It's a lot sturdier than I thought it would be. The probe is 3/8" aluminum tubing about a foot long with a steel point. It says it takes 10 minutes for whatever crazy ph reading it supposedly does but the moisture reading is instantaneous. It does what I need it to do. I'd say it is worth what it cost, especially that there seem to be so few available alternatives.