what's the best (affordable) arerator?

[Fast Eddie]

I'm looking at buying an affordable arerator and need some expert advice. I have two on my list that I can afford and would appreciate any thoughts from my tractor brothers.

1. Sears Craftsman: I believe this is a 42 meant to be pulled behind a lawn tractor. Cost is $ 179. Here is the link.

Sears.com

2. A Swisher drum type (48?, probable a tractor pull behind.

Swisher Drum Style Spike Aerator 48" Width

I have both a JD 790 tractor and a JD L110 42 lawn tractor. My yard is 7.5 acres, actually probably 5.5 acres after you subtract for wooded areas.

Any thoughts?
Eddie

 

[Rara Avis]

After you try using those, you'll buy this one...

www.WoodwardCrossings.com - Equipment Listings

 

[MarkV]

Eddie I have a core or plug aerator similar to those shown on the Sears site. Mine came from Home Depot is 48” and cost somewhere around $200 a couple of years ago. The aerators in that price range are pretty light weight and my expectations for longevity were not very high when I bought it. Surprisingly it has made it through 2 years aerating 3 times a year in heavy clay. If I wait for just the right moisture content in the ground it will pull 3 inch plugs.

The Swisher aerator in your link is a spike aerator and if you do some reading on the lawn care sites they are not very highly recommended. The spike aerators tend to compact the ground and cause more damage than good according to the pros.

Aerators seem to take a real price jump from the cheap ones like mine to the next step up in quality. I would up grade if I could find something in the $500 to $600 range but they seem to jump to the $1200 to $1500 range which is more than I want to spend for my limited use.

MarkV

 

[ampsucker]

i bought a cheap plug aerator. when loaded up with cement blocks for weight it worked pretty good until the hitch cracked. i had it welded up stronger than before (before i got my own welder i had to pay guys to do this for me) and havn't had any more problems.

what i'm saying, is, you can go cheap if you plan on building in the price to have it "upgraded". it will work better than a cheap one and won't cost as much as the expensive ones.

amp

 

[Blagadan]

5.5 acres is a lot of ground to cover for a light craftsman aerator.

My Northerntool core aerator looks identical to the craftsman. Those core aerators do a really great job but are a bit flimsy, consider beefing it up if you can? For an extra $100 and a bit of DIY, you could make that aerator a strong unit from the get go. Mark is right, there is no middle of the road aerator which is a pity.
Before you buy, make sure you have a good look underneath. I have 1 acre and my northerntool unit started to crack and wear after about the 3rd year of moderate use. 2 runs a year, 1 acre, multiple passes (lets say with each run I did about 4 passes in various directions, total area covered about 4 acres if that makes sense...). There are no proper bearings fitted to mine so the shaft ran inside a short piece of heavy gauge tube welded to the side plates. Even though I greased it regularly, it wore into the shaft pretty quick. I fitted pillow block bearings at each end of the shaft on the side plates to up grade it a bit. Also, have a look in the middle underneath where the shaft is supported in the middle. If theres only a piece of light folded sheet metal between the bottom of the shelf and the shaft, then that is most likely going to wear, buckle and crack like mine did. I had to beef up that support with a home made 1/4 plate bracket and I fitted a pillow block bearing there too.
Come to think of it, I adapted mine to fit on my 3pt hitch as I found it a bit of a drag to raise and lower the wheels every time I wanted to maneuver my unit around the place. Theres a lever and pin set up to raise the aerator up and onto the wheels, this is dangerous when the aerator is loaded, if you dont get the lever fully engaged into the slot pefore you fit the safety pin, the lever can pop out and the aerator will drop violently with the lever whizzing passed the operator .
It is a good idea to be able to lift the aerator completely off the ground when you come to the end of a pass. I would recommend you look at an aerator that is 3pt or 3pt adaptable with an aftermarket upgrade.

EDIT: Here is a pic of a pillow block bearing similar to the ones i used. Complete with grease zerk.

hth,

blag

 

[Blagadan]

One more recommendation...
These units are designed to take cement blocks as ballast but I found the blocks rattled and slid in the tray, wearing into the paint and making a helluva noise behind. I went and got myself some heavy duty sandbags to use instead. Works a treat, self stowing and doesnt move around when in motion. And if one of the bags does move and get torn open, you spread sand on your lawn with is a double whammy..... all good!!! lol

good luck.

 

[JiminGa]

MarkV, I saw a barrel type plug aerator at Ace Hardware in Buford Saturday that was $450. It was a pull behind and looked well built. I didn't pay attention to the width, but when I get the $$$ I'll probably go back and buy one.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Thanks everyone - this is a lot of good information. I didn't know that about spike aerators, so I should liik for a plug type. We have a new Ace Hardware that opened about a week ago, I'll check them out.

Everybody is absolutely correct - there seems to be no middle ground. Either $1100 for a really great machine or $ 200 for something that probably won't last much more than a couple of seasons. I hope that some enterprising manufacturer is reading this.

I appreciate the comments.

Eddie

 

[silverking]

Where do you live? Might want to consider renting, you can rent a good one for $85 a day in my area and that will be my option because they are just too damned expensive.

 

[shimp]

here are a few options

Rental/Residential Core Aerator

this is mine, a lesco(made by classen)-can be used as a 3 point or tow behind;