serious tow-behind plug aerators

[Sportsman762]

That is so cool. But I'm surprised by the low weight (236 lb @ 60" width?), as my present core aerator has trouble with penetration, and it weighs over 600 lb. at just 54" width.

The Aerovator uses a wobble action to work the tines in. I used it very hard packed soil (walking paths) and they would go right in. The frame is 347 lbs, the solid tine aerator shaft is 245 lbs, the seed box is 330 lbs, thats 922 lbs.

Heck, in its most basic form, it's an axle with some wheels and tines. You'd think these things should cost hundreds of dollars, not thousands, if it weren't for the very low manufacture volume, shipping, etc.

That Weidenmann was like a sewing machine. It was really complex under there as you cannot pull a 6" core by sticking a piece of pipe on a shaft.

 

[WinterDeere]

That's wild. And 6" cores would be amazing for my lawn, but hell on my buried utilities! We have miles of buried irrigation piping for roughly 100 trees, and a dog fence wire that runs the perimeter around the house. Usually I'm aiming for 2" - 3" core depth, and since my machines are "dumb", I mostly achieve that by timing the right soil conditions after rain.

 

[Sportsman762]

That's wild. And 6" cores would be amazing for my lawn, but hell on my buried utilities! We have miles of buried irrigation piping for roughly 100 trees, and a dog fence wire that runs the perimeter around the house.

Our irrigation lines were a little over a foot deep so we had no issue with the 6" core. All other utilities were 3 ft plus. The problem was the 300+ irrigation heads you had to jump. We always figured you would hit 5 or so.
Normally we would use the Jacobsen 3pt aerators twice a year and the Weidenmann once in the fall. The aerovator was only used on small areas as the other aerators were wide and on a Ford 3930. The Aerovator was on a Kubota BX and was nice for small tight areas.

 

[litework]

I don't have the level of commitment to the cause that I've seen on some of the posts here. I have a Land Pride CA1564 and I *approach* 500 pounds of total weight with 6 - 8 bags of dirt loaded on top of it [one always falls off] and not counting the quick hitch. The implement can carry up to 500lbs of weight. I've been pretty happy with the results in the soil I have in Va.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't have the level of commitment to the cause that I've seen on some of the posts here. I have a Land Pride CA1564 and I *approach* 500 pounds of total weight with 6 - 8 bags of dirt loaded on top of it [one always falls off] and not counting the quick hitch. The implement can carry up to 500lbs of weight. I've been pretty happy with the results in the soil I have in Va.

That's the model I'm running, or seemingly identical to it. It works well enough in wide-open areas, but the 3-point attachment is just poor in comparison to the articulation available on a tow-behind, when working tighter curves and areas.

 

[TractorNoob85]

Check these guys out. They are in PA. Commercial Aerators & Deep Tine Ground Aeration Equipment

 

[WinterDeere]

Check these guys out. They are in PA. Commercial Aerators & Deep Tine Ground Aeration Equipment

Thanks! That looks like exactly what I need, and ironically enough, not terribly far away.

Interesting dilemma: all of their higher-end stuff is 3-point only, which makes me doubt my own conclusion that tow-behind is much faster. I went from 84" tow-behind (albeit a crappy one that broke all the time) to 54" 3-point heavy-duty unit, and the old unit was definitely faster and also more maneuverable in tight corners.

But looking at this site, I'm stuck wondering if I should just be looking at a larger 3-point unit (up to 108"!) or their only tow-behind at 54".

I don't think I'd want to put a 1600 lb. 108" unit on the back of my 3033R, since I'm working on some pretty steep side slopes, where I need to lift the damn thing to make tight turns. Afraid I'd probably roll the rig. But that 1000 lb. 72" unit, or the 1100 lb. 84" unit, might speed up my chore a good bit. I have room on the stock front bumper of the tractor to hang 5 of my 42 lb. suitcase weights, but could always build a rack to hold more. I have 17, if we want to go nuts with it.