We were down this road recently on the "Ask a Question" forum.
The thread "Moisture gauge" in
Ask a Question forum
You need to calibrate your meter against some other kind of measurement (like your finger or a dowel or a chopstick, or best of all visual inspection with your own eyes upon repotting), but that's sort of a given. If you aren't doing that, why bother really. The mechanism by which the meter functions (conductivity) makes it quite reliable as an additional way to assess the moisture content of a given pot.
It's a mistake to fault the meter (or the mechanism by which it works) based on faulty assumptions regarding its use.
WillC said:Meters also tend to break down after constant use and can become expensive.
Certainly not mine, which was the cheapest I could find when I bought it. The analog meters work just fine.
