Brinly Tow Behind Combination Aerator Spreader with Weight Tray, 40-Inch, Flat Black

Update: Took a minute for a response but they replaced all the parts and sent extras at no charge. The chain broke within 100' and the chain guard, for what this cost this is very disappointing, I bought this last August and just got around to using it. Not happy, I also went straight to the website, and filled out a request for replacement parts, that I said I would purchase, that was over a week ago and nothing. That being said, I need item 17- PN 1019144 Drive Chain and offset link and item 19 PN B-4726 Chain Shield. I hope to hear something back.

Was looking for something like this off and on for couple years. Wanted to overseed my lawn. My options were either a 5k attachment for my tractor or look for something else. I couldn’t justify the former. Found this and I figured for 350 bucks I had nothing to lose. Fairly easy to put together, took about an hour. All SAE fasteners which is great because even after 40 years of monkeying around the Metric system is still guesswork. Worked great! One suggestion, if have a sprinkler system, mark your heads before hand. I got over zealous on the test drive and had to change a couple. Only one small thing I had to alter. The wheel axle mechanism doesn’t want to stay in place. Easily rectified by drilling couple holes and locking with a 5/16 hitch pin

Horrible, fell apart in record breaking time. Took way more time to put together, no time to fall apart. Then had to take apart and put back in the box. Our time is worth something, what a waste of time and energy. My husbands response was they need to fire the engineer who designed this piece of equipment, as it only was loaded with grass seed and not the extra weight on top to secure the soil contact. If you value your time stir clear of this product.

The unit itself is very easy to assemble, but you have to be careful working around the tines as they are very sharp. I have not used the spreader yet but have used it twice to aerate my lawn. I purchased the unit to overseed the lawn which I will be doing in mid-September. There are feed rates for the spreader that are listed in the manual, which hopefully are accurate. The combination aerator/drop spreader should provide professional results, which is why I purchased it. I already own a drop spreader and a rotary spready which has 12-inch pneumatic tires. I overseeded the lawn last year and the is a noticeable difference where the drop spreader was used. The only thing that could be improved is the bracket that locks the unit in travel mode. If you are not careful, the handle will release, and the unit will drop and engage the tines. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase. I also purchased the Brinly sweeper that has the de-thatch combination. That is a great product also.

Overall I would attest to the accuracy of others' reviews and would say this unit is worth the cost with free prime shipping. *The unit seems mostly strong and well-built. My unit had a slight bend/warp in the hopper which initially worried me but did not affect assembly or operation. Assembly took about 30 minutes by myself. *Towing behind my mower, it is fairly simple to operate. Note that for the aerator spikes or spreader to work, the side lever must be inserted into the notch which angle the unit downward and forces the spikes toward the ground. This was not clear in the instructions. *My minor complaint, as other have noted, is that the top lever which adjusts the spreading speed, or which is used to shut off the spreading, moves around too freely. When I'm using the spreader, I find myself opening and closing the spreader so that I don't overlap spots while I'm turning the mower around. So because the lever also moves and gets dislodged, I will just keep one hand on the lever and one hand on my mower steering wheel the entire time I'm using the spreader. If you are unable to reach the lever from the seat of your mower, or you are not strong or flexible enough for this, you will encounter the noted issues. If you are ok with leaving the spreader entirely open or closed for a period of time, you may prefer to just secure the lever e.g. with duct tape. *The spreader (which has a churning paddle) and the aerator spikes work smoothly. The unit (which has rigid wheels) does not have issues turning. Do NOT go in reverse while the unit is attached. *I should note that the spikes are not amazing aerators. Nothing like plugging. But I do think it helps aerate slightly, and definitely helps get more seeds to have soil contact or go partly into the ground while spreading grass seed. *Make sure your lawn is clear of sticks and twigs because the spikes will pierce them and get caught. I've now used the unit for 1 season to spread grass seed twice and fertilizer twice. Stored it outside in a non-climate-controlled shed and it looks good as new.

I looked at pretty much everything that was out there in this style and price range. The Brinly was a little more expensive than most of the other ones I looked at. After reading allot of reviews I decided to roll the dice. I received the and opened the box up. Wow, looks pretty good. It was partially assembled and only took an hour and a half to finish. It is well built and with a great protective finish. I gave it a test spin, and it works perfect. I would highly recommend this Tow behind, drop spreader/aerator.

Light duty only! I have about 2 acres of cleared land and used this to seed same! Per instructions, I waited for rain and damp ground, the hopper distributed the seed well and the setting were easy to set, but because of a few rocks, etc. I bent a couple of the tines and gouged two of the plastic drives. When the hopper was full (more weight) it performed better than as it emptied, as it lost the weight of the seed it did not penetrate the soil as well. I am not returning this as it does the job, was easy to assemble (two people better) and is easy to operate, I am going to modify it slightly and see how it goes as I will be using it for fertilizer and over seeding!

Wry good quality. I was very impressed.