Cam piston driven plug aerator

[3238dpw]

If you pound a tent stake in the ground do you see all the dirt displaced squish up around it? No its compacted. Unless the medeum is already 100% compacted like pure water or nothing but rock it will be more compacted after driving the stake. Removing the stake will loosen and displace gravel if done so at an angle. If it's not then there will be even more compaction done

I can see how that aerevator aerates rocky dense soil by loosening the top the same as a rake or tines on a box blade would do to a gravel driveway.

However an aerevator wouldn't do a darn bit of good to a mostly dense clay or black soil. Vibrating penetrating tines will compact the soil further. Removing plugs and replacing with amendments like sand, fertilizer, manure or other loose organic matter will help drainage as well as promote better root growth.

Just because one thing excels at one application doesn't mean it may even be acceptable at other similar applications.

I have thick clay base with dense black dirt on top in my area that drains poorly.

I am looking for a mechanical or 3 point piston driven plug remover and nothing else.

You are right about it not working on dense clay and black soil if it’s wet, but if it is dry it will work excellent. Like I said in my earlier post it will break up the hardest soil

 

[3238dpw]

I'm probably as guilty as anyone of derailing your thread and apologize for that. The core or plug type aerator certainly has its place and you know your soil conditions better than anyone else.
I think there is a market need for a "piston" type plugger that is of simpler and less expensive "homeowner" design. Its not an easy design criteria as achieving a true vertical motion while traveling horizontally is nearly impossible. A cam generated/spring loaded motion probably comes as close as anything to pulling a plug and leaving a cylindrical hole.

An inexpensive homeowner design will ever happen as the cam driven designs will shake themselves to death, so they have to be built very heavy, also known as expensive. The closest to a homeowner is a walk behind model. I think it was called a Plugr

 

[pmsmechanic]

Are you looking for something that actually pushes a hole into the ground? The 955 that I once owned spent most of it's previous life aerating golf course greens with a machine that pulsed water jets into the ground to open up the soil. The biggest benefit was that it didn't hurt the underground sprinklers.

 

[Renze]

Slow motion Verti-Drain - YouTube

 

[3238dpw]

If you look real close you can see that machine as it rolls forward also elongates the hole. Which really isn’t a big deal. That horizontal action actually can help with loosening the soil below the surface. You will also notice that it is a solid time which does help open the soil more than the latest hype would leave you to believe. These machines are great at breaking up hardpan if they have deeper penetration than the other aerators that were previously used. That machine is also extremely slow. I know that I am biased because I do love the aeravator but it is the only aerator that doesn’t creat hardpan because it fractures the soil horizontally and downward. I have used it and it creates great results. This is almost a pointless discussion really except for the mental exercise because unless you can make money with this machine very few homeowners/landowners can afford either of these machines

 

[Arc weld]

I didn't read all the posts but saw a few. When the 3 pt. aerators with vertical moving tines came out they had to be timed to the tractor forward speed to avoid tearing the turf or elongating the hole. You didn't just put them on the tractor and go. I don't know if they have improved them so they don't have to be timed. Now if you have a good water supply and want to get real fancy, you can get a Toro HydroJect that uses high pressure water to aerate and there's virtually no surface damage. These aren't cheap though.

Toro - Sports Fields & Grounds Aerators

 

[Renze]

Evers Agro Graslandwoeler - YouTube