pulverizer question

mikehaugen · Jul 4, 2012

I bought a used pulverizer last year and got a chance to use it this spring. I had been wanting one for a long time, but then was sadly disappointed with it's performance and have been thinking about it ever since.

So, that being said this is what I got. When I bought my house 3 1/2 years ago it was originally a house on 70 acres. A developer bought it and chopped it up into 2 to 3 1/2 acre lots (Luckily for me only one other person bought a lot and the developer lost the property and it is back to farm land). Anyway half my yard is lawn and half was just part of what used to be a field. I have been mowing it with the rest of my yard to keep it from getting overgrown but it is very rough, flat but very bumpy. I believe it is way beyond what a roller will take care of. I tried the pulverizer this spring before it started growing in too much and it really did practically nothing. I went over it 3 times alternating directions each time. It has 2 rows of spikes and double rollers. The spikes are a little worn (maybe a bad comparison but about the same as if you were to round off the end of a 3/8 rod). It did not seem to dig in like I expected and was not hard to pull. I thought about re-cutting the teeth or replacing but it's quite expensive and don't want to unless it will work significantly better. Am I just expecting too much and I need to do something else first to break up the dirt. I have a 2 bottom that I could use then maybe go over with pulverizer but that is a lot of leveling to do and I am not sure I could get it flat again. I have been considering purchasing a box blade, maybe that would be a better approach? I plan on doing a lot of work around my yard leveling and smoothing, even the part that is already "lawn" so would like to find an effective method.

Sorry for the long post but wanted to thoroughly explain the situation. Thanks in advance.

Dadof3 · Jul 4, 2012

A pulverizer is one of my favorite tools to use. It's relaxing to operate and the results can be impressive. Great for new yard installation. I think you have already identified your problem. You need to loosen the soil before you put it to work. Rippers on a box blade would be better for this than a board plow.
Some more pointers...1 you need to go over an area 4or5 times to get finished results. 2 you can break the roller if you back into something solid. 3 bring all your sticks and rocks to one area, then when the pile is big, remove with FEL.4 contour your ground first with a box blade before using the pulverizer
Have Fun

Ledge End · Jul 4, 2012

Hi, I'm curious, would you post a pic of your pulverizer? I am working on smoothing an area so that it can be mowed fast. One of my problems is that due to the amount of stones right near the surface it is hard to get anything to dig in. Recently I've switched to a box blade and put the 4 ripper teeth all the way down and pulled it with the box just above ground level. This pulled up some of the rocks and when the box gets a row of them I lift it and leave the pile and then continue. On my test area I then used a landscape rake to windrow some of the smaller stuff to be later picked up with my FEL. I've removed enough volume so that I decided to buy some dirt. If only I could sell the rocks for as much as the dirt cost :laughing:

mikehaugen · Jul 4, 2012

I am not sure if you are asking me, but right now the pulverizer is in the corner of my property buried in weeds so a picture is not real easy right now. Dadof3, how do you feel about the spikes? Do they really need to be real sharp? I wouldn't think so, especially if the ground is broken up.

JimRB · Jul 4, 2012

Are you driving slow? Have you had any rain in the past month? How To Video Demos - Implements & Attachments

mikehaugen · Jul 5, 2012

I tried fast and slow, and have tried it with the ground dry and slightly damp (enough that the dirt was sticking to the rollers).

Dadof3 · Jul 5, 2012

As you know, the pulverizer only works the earth about 4 inches deep. It's essential that within that layer you don't have any large fixed rocks or hard packed dirt. If this occurs the pulverizer will skip right over it. Very frustrating. In my opinion it's nice to have sharp teeth but not real critical like it is on a chainsaw. I had a 6ft york rake when I got my pulverizer. From that point on I rarely used the rake. Pulverizers work great for grooming gravel drives. Going out of town soon will try to post pictures next week.