3 Pt Core Aerator

[lawn_king]

Buy the gill/woods pl 60. Its a battleship. I have put a ton of hours/miles on our unit, pulls a great plug & lots of them with 96 tines! The landpride is also a good unit but i went with the woods as it has 2 more gussets. The millcreek is a good medium duty rig, the woods and landpride units are severe duty.

 

[Nuru]

How about BEFCO, how are they?

 

[phyxer]

How about this one from the smart farmer 3-point tractor Core Plug Aerator 60" Plug depth 4" - The Smart Farmer, LLC.

Troy

 

[JeffinNE]

I agree with Lawn King that Woods is right there with Landpride and Frontier as probably the best of the 3 pt aerators. I do like the 60 inch models over the 48 inch models as you get 96 spoons instead of 64 and spacing between gangs is 5 1/2 inches instead of 6 1/2 inches.

What I worry about is the ability to actually pull the unit with the original posters 25hp tractor (or the JD2320 I'm looking to buy--24hp).

Any thoughts?

 

[lawn_king]

I had no problem pulling the unit with my 21 hp kubota. Im looking to jump up to the pl72 this fall as the pl60 is a little too small for my GL3540. Anyone who might want to buy my unit should pm me by labor day.

 

[T-Bow]

JeffinNE - here are my thoughts on the core aerators. I have a JD2320 and a Frontier CA1048. I added 420 pounds of weight to the aerator to plug decent holes in my clay soil. Though next time I use the unit in the fall I may add an additional 100 pounds to see if I can get better soil penetration. With the larger unit you may need to add even more weight (depending on your soil type) to get good plugs because you have more spoons. One other thing to then think about is the maximum weight lift capacity of the 3 point arms. Just my 2 cents so to speak.

 

[phyxer]

How much does the Frontier 48 inch 3pt aerator go for? Also, does anyone have any experience or opinions on this one? 48 TRUE CORE PLUG TYPE AERATOR 3PT. - Agri Supply Thanks in advance!

Troy

 

[phyxer]

On edit, my local Deere dealer just quoted me $2500 for the Frontier CA1048.
I guess the spoons are made of gold or something The Land Pride CA2548 is $1900 and the CA2560 is $2200. The old Agri Supply one is lookin' better all the time

Troy

 

[JeffinNE]

My local JD dealer has 3 Frontier CA1060's on hand and told me they would be cheaper than ordering a new CA1048.

T-Bow--would your 2320 be OK with a CA1060? I also have heavy clay soil.

Phyxer--you've sold me on the Landpride RTR0550 based on your posts--thanks!

Anyone have prices for the Befco aerators?--after looking at the specs on their website, their heavy duty models are closer to the Landpride/Frontier/Woods models.

 

[Nuru]

How about this one from the smart farmer 3-point tractor Core Plug Aerator 60" Plug depth 4" - The Smart Farmer, LLC.

Troy

I looked at that one, but the Befco is used and costs less and is larger (72")

 

[T-Bow]

JeffinNE,

To answer the question as to if the JD2320 can handle the CA1060 I guess it would depend on how much weight you would need to add to the aerator to get good soil penetration. Looking at the specifications on the JD2320 from John Deere's website the tractor's 3 point lift capacity 24 inches behind the link arms is 1150 pounds. The CA1060's weight is 442 pounds so you could add an additional 708 pounds to the aerator. On my CA1048 the unit weighs316 lbs and I added 420 pounds to get acceptable results but I'm thinking of adding an additional 100 pounds to get better plugs in the fall. I'm not sure how much extra weight you would need to add to the CA1060 to get the soil penetration you desire - but remember you have probably 2-6 more spoons in contact with the ground so I would think you would need more weight. Also you will need a counter weight on the tractor. I use my loader. Finally when I lift the CA1048 with the 3 point arms I can only lift it about 4 inches or so off the ground - not sure if I can adjust the top link to get more ground clearance - I have not tried. My lawn is relatively flat so this is not a problem for me. I would think the 2320 would lift the CA1060 the same height.

 

[Fxfymn]

If anyone is in the Northern Va, area here is a Woods PL60 Core Aerator on Craigs List for $1400.00. Woods PL60 tractor mounted aerator. Not mine, I just saw the listing.

I bought a 72" Toro with replaceable spoons on E-Bay this summer for around$800.00 plus a couple of hundred to go get it. It's a refugee from a golf course and uses two hydraulic cylinders to raise it up on dolly wheels for towing. The gent I bought it from retro-fitted a three point hitch, but since it's commercial and has heavy cast iron weight plates to boot, I really know I've lifted something when I raise it with my 3430. Keep your eye out and you may luck out on e-bay or Craigs List.

 

[radman1]

I have this model by Ryan.

Ryanｮ Tracaireｮ 3 Point Hitch Aerator

Spoons are mounted on individually rotating cast iron centers. Fantastic aerator but probably on the $$ side. Good friend worked at local plant and got it for me at cost which was $1100, 8 years ago. I think back then it retailed for $3000. Weighs just over 1000 lbs.

Some one earlier mentioned their core aerator pulled hard. Mine pulls easy. Nearly impossible to make any turns unless they are gradual. It will just make the tractor go mostly straight due to its weight. No weights to add or water tanks to fill.

 

[JeffinNE]

T-Bow,

What do you use use for the added weight? Also, do you think just using front suitcase weights would be enough counter weight? Thanks for all your help!

 

[T-Bow]

JeffinNE,

For the weight on the aerator, I use six 70 pound suitcase weights. Two 70 pound weights fit perfect in each of the side trays and I get two in the center tray. You do not have to use suitcase weights though and this is the more expensive way to add weight to the aerator. I bought the weights because I also have a 3 point carry all that I use often with the loader off.

I edited this because I miss read the second part of your question. I would think that you could use suitcase weights also to act as a couterweight to the aerator instead of a loader.

T-BOW

 

[Kays Supply]

I have a 5' spoon aerator. I built a rack on top and mounted a 50gal blue poly barrel in it. I can add and loose weight as the ground gets hard and soft. With the barrel full, I can sink the spoons to the hub in this SI Illinois clay. The aerator came from James Equipment in Sikeston MO. It was less than $800 a few years back.

 

[donn12]

I have the turf vent 3pt and it is great. For just one yard spending more than 600 does not seem necessary. I cannot imagine using a tow behind model either. I thought about it but after using the three point - no chance!

 

[phyxer]

The prices I was given for the Befco 48" was $1999 and the 60" was $2199-----NOT CHEAP!

Troy

 

[lawn_king]

I priced 72" units today. Woods pl72 $3700. Landpride ca2572 $3000.