Time for Lime

[wshytle]

I might could/should have posted this in the main forum but just to be safe....

Around here in the south we have to lime the earth to correct the ph of the soil. I know the north has a different situation and uses gypsum?? in places or something of that nature.

I made this aerator about 5 years ago to help the lime get to the soil better and to obviously aerate. As you can see, I throw nothing away. This was an old 30 gallon water tank and one thing led to another and here it is. I had all of the steel laying around and used my little welder on the entire project. The only thing I bought was the coupler, the wheels, and the pillers (sp).

I designed it so that it can simply be flipped to transport. The coupler is turned 180* to accomodate the hitch. I even added the bracket on the back for a cinder block but seldom use it; the added water provides all of the weight necessary. A day or two after a good rain it will sink the 2" spikes easily.

When I first made it the only thing I had to pull it was a green lawn mower. I later learned the transmission wouldn't hold up well even though I had plenty of horse power so now it's IH to the rescue. The 108/128 in the picture pulls it well and with authority. I guess when filled it weighs a little over 300#.

Now if it will just rain....

 

[stanner]

Dang!! I have one of those tanks in the shed.... Hmmm. I may have to build one... Looks Nice!!

 

[aschumacher]

Wayne, a very clever but simple idea...use one side, then flip it over to move it! I love it !!

 

[aaytay]

Wayne-
Great looking tool. What are the "spikes" made of?

I have an old pressure tank here. Hmmm......

 

[wshytle]

Art-

I had a bunch of 1/2" square stock I cut into 2 1/4" lengths. I ground one end to a semi-point then after marking the tank I started welding. The biggest trick I had to tackle was finding center on the tank for the axle. I cut a 2 circles of wood the same diameter (tank) with a 1" center hole (size of axle) then attached straight edges to the tank sides. After centering the wood within the extended straight edges I then slid the axle in the wood holes and accomplished finding center that way. It was involved but adequate. I got within 1/4" of center and it turned out great.

Hope you understand... I'm not sure I do.

 

[wshytle]

A buddy of mine came and got the aerator today along with the tractor. He even borrowed my trailer to haul it on. He lives in a developement where everyone keeps up with "The Jones". In this case he's the Jones. He said it worked great and did a perfect job. He did bend a couple of the spikes on tree roots and one even broke through. This happened towards the end of his job so he was able to finish. This is one of the drawbacks with using an old tank. You never know what condition the walls are in from the internal rust. I/we plan to just weld it back maybe with a patch and see how that works. I'm getting ready to aerate a couple of acres so...

 

[dfrisk]

WAYNE - I made my aerator too..... and just like yours used solid 1/2" dia. steel spikes but mine are about 3-1/2" long and according to the OTHER lawn mower forum We're aerating TOTALLY wrong because we don't pull up little dog turds of dirt all over out yards. According to THOSE guys, a core aerator is the only thing worth pulling across a yard. But I made my aerator in about 1986 and have pulled it over my two acres for most of the 19 yrs we've lived here and even without fertilizer our grass is better than when we moved here and the prior owners had Tru-Green or Chem-Lawn fertilize their yard 3-4 times a year. So even though our Aerators "Don't Work" I think they really make a huge difference. The one "know-it-all" got REAL snippy with me about it too.

ANYHOW, I've bent one spike on mine, an exposed tree root got it too.

 

[proessler]

Denny, I have a 30" Hahn Aeri-boy Jr. that I fabbed up to 60". It has open spoons, so U can make dirt *Dog Turds*. It has Cat.0 or pull type hitch. Let me know if you'd like to give it a try,I'll bring it over so you can Demo it.

The Dog turds break up pretty well with a little speed!

 

[dfrisk]

PAUL - Thanks for the offer to Demo your aerator.
First time I had a lawn aerated was back at our house in East Moline, IL. about 1985. The lawn service we hired did it for an extra fee. I agree, the plugs it pulled disappeared after the first rain a day or two later. And I made my aerator in time to run over the yard the next year. Places in the yard where I run over the same ground 2-3 times the soil gets REALLY loose, but there's really no damage to the grass.

If/When you bring the aerator over make sure you throw your new Firestone tires & wheels in the truck so I can mount them!

WOW, 60 inches wide... Suppose my M with the big M&W sleeves & pistons can pull it? ;-)

My home-made aerator is 32 in. wide if I remember right, seven wheels with six spikes each. It pokes a 3-1/2" deep hole or more correctly, a V-shaped slot, about every 4-1/2 inches. I made it with each wheel independent so I can turn as short as possible with it still fully in the ground. I see lots of comments on the other forum about what kind of bearings or seals to use for the wheels. Sometimes the "KISS Principle" really works the best. My "Bearings" are a 1" dia steel shaft with 1" black iron pipe used as the hub of each wheel. I oil them up good before I start aerating and maybe once more before I'm done with my 2 acres. Yes the shaft is probably worn, and the hubs are looser on the shaft than it was 24 yrs and about 100 acres ago, but rotary hoes and potato harvesters work in filthy dirty conditions with similar bearings/bushings at much higher speeds than what I'm exposing these to.

It hooks to my home-made sleeve hitch so I can raise it to turn on the driveway, clear exposed tree roots, etc. I normally run with 300-400# of weight on it. It's just the right size for the CC #72 I normally pull it with. I pulled it with the 982 with the sleeve hitch adapter on the 3-pt a couple years when I was too lazy to lift it with the manual lift on the 72. But it's really too narrow for the 982. I need to add another wheel to each end and it'd be perfect for the 982.

I normally aerate in 1st gear with the 72, I can pull it fine in 2nd but I think it runs deeper in 1st which I think is better. I think it actually pulls as hard as a 10" Brinley plow when it's working at the right depth. Plus it's more seat time! Couple yrs ago I ran over the whole yard TWICE one weekend. I also aerate as late in the year as I can. I've aerated on snow covered ground, during early snow storms after dark, any time before the ground freezes. The following spring I can still see thousands of holes in the ground before the frost is gone.

ART - If you want another option, I'd have a steel service center "ROLL" You a cylinder about 3 ft wide and 3 feet in diameter from maybe 1/4" thk plate. And put removable access panels in the ends so you can bolt on removable bars with the spikes. It'd be a convertable lawn roller & aerator. You may want to "Adjust" the size some, I just roughly calculated the added water weight at over 1200#. Might be a bit heavy even for a Super Garden Tractor. But I bet it would really smooth out a rough yard!

 

[proessler]

Denny, the Farmall M is overkill.

Your 982 should do just fine with trailing or Cat.0 hitch.It's a size thing, unless you have huge area without any obstacles.

I only use 2 Farmall 656 front wheel weights for dead weight on the aerator. 2 bolts each & they're on or off! I was over on Yelk road Wednesday bidding on a project for a new home owner. Not far away...

 

[dfrisk]

PAUL - Guess we're taking over this thread! Maybe the SUPER H is the right tool for this job! It's as tall, long, and heavy as the M but a couple inches narrower. No real big open areas in the yard, It's hard to fit 75-80 trees onto two acres without making odd little patches. At least the Super H has a radio! The 982 doesn't!

Yep, I don't live far from about EVERY Yelk in Dane County. Stop in next time you get close.

I've got a dozen MWSC 10# suitcase weights up in the shop's attic that would probably slip onto the aerator real easy, but if I pull it with the 982 I'll need them on the frt so I can steer.

 

[wshytle]

Well, I got this d**n thing running again and didn't want to pull a JD spreader with a cub so.....I found this spreader on cl and just missed a brand new cub cadet spreader by an hour or so. This tractor will be sold after the lime is spread (if it can handle that chore). I have to put out about 1200# mostly for the garden and some on the yard. It's a way of life down here if we want anything to grow. I just hope the green things can handle the work; I know a cub could.

 

[wshytle]

Here's the pic I forgot to load.