Cam piston driven plug aerator

[Sparkynutz]

Hard to find much info online with the majority of aerators not even listed which type they are. 99% are just a spinning drum.
Just the physics of a spinning drum plug aerator makes absolutely no sense to me. Twisting and turning on tines can't be good on them and oblong holes might not matter much but not exactly what is intended when aerating. A cam unit that moves up and down punching holes straight down just makes more sense. So far I've only come across a few walk behind very very expensive piston aerators. Is there such a thing as gear or even pto driven plug aerator? Seems cost could be greatly reduced if the need for seperate motor was eliminated and driven with a gear between one of the drive wheels and piston cam turning as fast as its driven. My other idea is just a spinning pto could easily drive a piston plug aerator up and down.
Does something like this already exist?
If not, I could really see the market for this or atleast fabricate my own to use.

 

[MossRoad]

Toro has some 3pt models.

 

[muddstopper]

What you are looking for is a areavator. I have a tow behind made by First Products. 1st Products AERA VATOR AE 4E - YouTube It works similar to a spike type areator except the steel spikes vibrate instead of just poking a hole in the ground. The vibrateing spikes fracture the ground in every direction, breaking up any hard pan and actually will help take out any humps or dips in your lawn. It is also the perfect tool for overseeding and for new lawn installs. Just broadcast he seed and any soil amendments before using the areavator. The vibrating tines will work the seed thru existing grass to make sure you have good seed to soil contact. The areavator is towed behind a big mower, your craftsman or lawnboy mowers wont pull it, just to heavy. It has its own engine to drive the tines and the hyd's are 12v dc for raising the tine up and down for work or towing. I used to do hydroseeding, but I found the areavator the best tool for seeding a new lawn and renovating a old lawn. The machine paid for itself many times over and I have never replaced a tine in over 15years of use, and I used it lot.

 

[Sparkynutz]

What you are looking for is a areavator. I have a tow behind made by First Products. 1st Products AERA VATOR AE 4E - YouTube It works similar to a spike type areator except the steel spikes vibrate instead of just poking a hole in the ground. The vibrateing spikes fracture the ground in every direction, breaking up any hard pan and actually will help take out any humps or dips in your lawn. It is also the perfect tool for overseeding and for new lawn installs. Just broadcast he seed and any soil amendments before using the areavator. The vibrating tines will work the seed thru existing grass to make sure you have good seed to soil contact. The areavator is towed behind a big mower, your craftsman or lawnboy mowers wont pull it, just to heavy. It has its own engine to drive the tines and the hyd's are 12v dc for raising the tine up and down for work or towing. I used to do hydroseeding, but I found the areavator the best tool for seeding a new lawn and renovating a old lawn. The machine paid for itself many times over and I have never replaced a tine in over 15years of use, and I used it lot.

That thing looks like a joke. I don't see any cores coming out in the video and it's bouncing all over the place.
Check out a toro 648 that's more like the results I'm looking for but without the motor and extra wheel.

 

[texasranger556]

The video that played after the one linked shows a coring shaft. 1st Products Universal Shaft System - YouTube

 

[Ford850]

That thing looks like a joke. I don't see any cores coming out in the video and it's bouncing all over the place.
Check out a toro 648 that's more like the results I'm looking for but without the motor and extra wheel.

No joke. He gave you an example of a small model. Here's a good video of a larger one with more close up footage of the tines at work. 1st Products AERA-Vator Highlights - YouTube They are considered the best at aeration.
How would the cam piston aerator work since it's being moved forward while it punches a whole. Wouldn't that also create oblong holes and stress on the plug cutter, getting pulled laterally while it's in the ground?

 

[Sparkynutz]

Pistons would move up and down much much faster than the speed traveled unlike drum roller units that always turn at same exact speed you are traveling.
How is ground typically compacted? Vibrating plates or rollers. That vibrating unit might be getting air into the roots but it sure won't be doing any good for heavily compacted soil.
There's a reason good golf courses use real piston driven aerators. When the vibrating one was used in video it barely went into the ground and the results left behind looked terrible.
I've never seen an aerator used on a ball diamond until your video. What would be the point?
Compacting and smothing it out more tho I could see your unit accelling at but not what I'm looking for.
A plug removing fast acting low maintenance unit with no motor that actually reduces compaction is what I'm looking for.

Grange's Toro Procore 648.MOV - YouTube
Here's a real aerator.
Yours looks more like a scarifyer/ seeder than an aerator.

 

[muddstopper]

That thing looks like a joke. I don't see any cores coming out in the video and it's bouncing all over the place.
Check out a toro 648 that's more like the results I'm looking for but without the motor and extra wheel.

You sir dont understand what areation is supposed to do. Aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn. The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction. A areovator will fracture the soil in every direction, breaking up compaction and allow water and nutrients to penetrate the soil better than any plug pulling areator will ever do. True, a areavator dont pull plugs, it doesnt need to because it is breaking up the entire compaction layer, not just pokeing one little hole in the ground. I can assure you I have had manufacturers demo other products, including big core pulling areators like you are seeking and test them side by side the areovator and then load their **** up knowing they didnt have a better product. And you are absolutely correct, a areavator excells at new seeding and overseeding. And just how deep does your plugger arevator go. The areavator fractures the soil completely down to 6 inches, leveling and smoothing the surface as it goes. But its your money, throw it away if you want to.

 

[Sparkynutz]

Where are you getting this 6" the tines don't even look that long. When it was going through grass they didn't even look to be penetrating past the thatch layer. Tilling aerated too but at the same time it compacts the lowest dirt it reaches. I just don't see how shaking and poking soil aerated it without actually removing anything or pulling it up. I'd love to see real hard data or testing. Thinking logically a piston driven plug remover could go as deep as you wanted the stroke to be too. It would require less weight, less tines and more speed to accomplish the same amount of punctures at a given depth especially at deeper levels.

 

[npalen]

My perception, subject to debate of course, of anything that pokes a hole in the ground and doesn't remove any soil is simply compacting the soil around the hole. The dirt has to go somewhere.