Aera-vator

5081 Views 23 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Jayp1017, 5 mo ago

Bolson32

Discussion Starter · Jun 23, 2021

Has anyone here ever used an Aera-vator on a 1 series? I have a 1026r and I'm wondering if I could get away with the 60" 3pt or if I'd need to step down to the 40"

https://1stproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020_4_April_Brochure_PR_7_DIGITAL.pdf

Also, I would love it if anyone had any experience with this and wanted to share. I have a 1.5 acre yard that has some pretty good lawn established, but it's rougher than hell. I've seen a few anecdotal posts that this can really relieve the humps and hollows that come from having clay soil in a northern climate.

I know @Tractor Tim has a video using the Ventrac for overseeding. What was your take on that? Notice a smoother ride at all? Or was it pretty smooth to begin with?

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The Satch

· #2 · Jun 23, 2021

According to the brochure you posted, you need to know the shaft configuration you want then add the weights together; without knowing the configuration you are looking at, no one is going to be able to tell you if the 40 or the 60 would be the better choice.

I've never heard of aerating to get rid of humps in a lawn; I would think that would be a separate effort, bringing in sand and compost to fill holes, or just dirt and seed the patches.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 23, 2021

Good point. The aeravator shaft, and either the standard roller or the rake. The 60" with the standard roller, Aeravator shaft is 817lbs. I think the issue with that size is that it'll be sticking out a good few feet. Not sure the 1 series could handle that. I could also skip the roller since it's quite heavy and just hit it with a lawn roller after the fact.

And to your point, top dressing 1.5 acres is not something I really care to undertake. And frankly I think that's not really "fixing" the issue. Take a look at these things in action, they're expensive but they're pretty badass.

The vibrating tines "fracture" the soil underneath the sod. Adding sand to already ultra compacted soil isn't going to help. It might smooth it out temporarily, until the next freeze/thaw cycle.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 23, 2021

Looks like the 40" would be 570lbs full decked out. I'd have more passes and it wouldn't smooth as wide of a swath it might be more in line with what the 1026r can handle.

workinonit

· #5 · Jun 23, 2021

With the knife blades it's basically a Verticut that vibrates. That's not going to level anything if you want it for that. Golf courses get so compacted they are difficult to penetrate. That's what that thing is for.

Tractor Tim

· #6 · Jun 23, 2021

You would be able to use the 60”, as long as you can pick it up. It takes very little power.

It would likely do a little bit of leveling, especially if you run over it at multiple times.

I like the aera vator for aeration. Really ‘lifts’ the soil nicely. It does not damage turf, but it will slightly till bare soil…which I like for reseeding.

Overall, very nice tool.

Tim

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 23, 2021

workinonit said:
With the knife blades it's basically a Verticut that vibrates. That's not going to level anything if you want it for that. Golf courses get so compacted they are difficult to penetrate. That's what that thing is for.

Yea, I would use the aeravator shaft, not the verticut shaft. Although that would be nice to be able to add later.

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workinonit

· #8 · Jun 23, 2021

I've always been amazed at how effective verticutting is.

Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 23, 2021

Thanks @Tractor Tim !

I found a guy who has one on a ventrac that I'm going to see if he can come do a couple passes on a small section. If it works, I might look into buying one myself. I'm not trying to regrade anything. I'm fine with the rolling hills, I just want it smoothed out. If you look at parts of my lawn it looks flat. But when you go to mow it you quickly realize it's anything but. So it's not like I'm trying to fill in drainage ditches here, just smooth out the humps and hollows that come with an older established lawn.

I know my neighbors all have the same problem. If it works I could probably recoup some of the costs by doing their yards as well.

The 60 would be nice if the 1026r could lift it. Does the weight being that far back matter a ton? Or would I maybe just need some front weights?

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 23, 2021

workinonit said:
I've always been amazed at how effective verticutting is.

Yea, that was actually my first idea. But they're also really hard to come by in a 3pt. I'm not going to walk behind a bluebird for 60k sq ft either. I do think a verticutter would help, but I think this might be a touch better.

The Satch

· #11 · Jun 23, 2021

Bolson32 said:
Good point. The aeravator shaft, and either the standard roller or the rake. The 60" with the standard roller, Aeravator shaft is 817lbs. I think the issue with that size is that it'll be sticking out a good few feet. Not sure the 1 series could handle that. I could also skip the roller since it's quite heavy and just hit it with a lawn roller after the fact.

And to your point, top dressing 1.5 acres is not something I really care to undertake. And frankly I think that's not really "fixing" the issue. Take a look at these things in action, they're expensive but they're pretty badass.

The vibrating tines "fracture" the soil underneath the sod. Adding sand to already ultra compacted soil isn't going to help. It might smooth it out temporarily, until the next freeze/thaw cycle.

My intent wasn't that you would top dress instead of aerating, I think you need to do both if you want to smooth your lawn and keep it healthy. Adding some sand and compost wouldn't have a huge impact on compaction if after buying an aerator you used it on a schedule, which is what I assume you would do.

Maybe it would smooth it a little due to the vibrating action? But I think the roots of your existing turf are going to do a lot to prevent any real migration of dirt from high spots to low spots.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 23, 2021

The Satch said:
My intent wasn't that you would top dress instead of aerating, I think you need to do both if you want to smooth your lawn and keep it healthy. Adding some sand and compost wouldn't have a huge impact on compaction if after buying an aerator you used it on a schedule, which is what I assume you would do.

Maybe it would smooth it a little due to the vibrating action? But I think the roots of your existing turf are going to do a lot to prevent any real migration of dirt from high spots to low spots.

Fair, but bear in mind the most you're supposed to topdress established turf without re-seeding is 1/4". I'm not sure that's going to move the needle on the bumps. And it's not like you can just reseed the spots that need a little more, because realistically that's 50% of the lawn. And again, I'm not topdressing 60,000sq ft of lawn. That's 46 yards of material at 1/4" It would take me DAYS to do that. I'd be much better off just killing and tilling in what I got and reseeding. My soil is actually pretty decent, other than the clay aspect. But that has its own set of benefits as well.

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Tractor Tim

· #13 · Jun 23, 2021

Bolson32 said:
Thanks @Tractor Tim !

I found a guy who has one on a ventrac that I'm going to see if he can come do a couple passes on a small section. If it works, I might look into buying one myself. I'm not trying to regrade anything. I'm fine with the rolling hills, I just want it smoothed out. If you look at parts of my lawn it looks flat. But when you go to mow it you quickly realize it's anything but. So it's not like I'm trying to fill in drainage ditches here, just smooth out the humps and hollows that come with an older established lawn.

I know my neighbors all have the same problem. If it works I could probably recoup some of the costs by doing their yards as well.

The 60 would be nice if the 1026r could lift it. Does the weight being that far back matter a ton? Or would I maybe just need some front weights?

Keep in mind that soil moisture content has a huge impact on how much the aera vator does.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 23, 2021

Tractor Tim said:
Keep in mind that soil moisture content has a huge impact on how much the aera vator does.

Yep, the dryer the better right? I spoke with a dealer today and he said it's a fine line between so hard it won't penetrate at all, and too wet to really fracture the soil. I'll be sure to have him come when it's been dry for a few days.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 24, 2021

workinonit said:
I've always been amazed at how effective verticutting is.

I have to imagine this would help, at least a little bit. That's not how the aera-vator works, but I think you could follow that up with a good dragging to at least help a little bit.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 29, 2021

If anyone comes to this later. This appears to be a 60" on a 1 series, granted without the heavy roller. Also gives a pretty cool video of it busting up that clay!

I think I'm going to wait for a used one. They're almost impossible to find, but I'm not in a crazy rush.

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SmokyStart

· #17 · Jun 29, 2021

I kind of have the same project in mind...my yard is very rough and throws my zero turn around something harsh. My thought was to get a harley rake and just tear everything up and re-seed, get things established again and then someday get the area-vator. I only plan to do sections of the lawn that I can actually maintain water with sprinklers/hoses so it will be a multi-year project but with experience hope to get better each year.

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Bolson32

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 29, 2021

That may end up being what I do in the long run. But I've got a guy that's going to do a few passes for a reasonable rate.

If I like it, I might buy one. If it doesn't do anything, I'll know that I'm looking at a full reno.

Like I said, where it's the worst, I have the best lawn. So I really don't want to start over.

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Swampmule

· #19 · Sep 10, 2021

I know this is a old thread but that is my video they posted earlier. The 1025R will lift the 60" but it won't like it. I cut off the roller brackets to shave off a few pounds on mine and took up two links on the chains so it will lift higher. And you do have to have front weights or the loader. I've been using it for years like that and it works amazingly if you have a little common sense. It could be dangerous on the hills for some without any. I made a weight bracket incase the ground is hard. You put 400 extra pounds on top of it, it will break the ground no matter how hard it is. You just have to take them off to lift it. Keep in mind I'm the guy that was towing the 1025R behind the Honda Accord. So I'm know to get the most out of my stuff.

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Jayp1017

· #20 · Oct 25, 2021

Bolson32 said:
That may end up being what I do in the long run. But I've got a guy that's going to do a few passes for a reasonable rate.

If I like it, I might buy one. If it doesn't do anything, I'll know that I'm looking at a full reno.

Like I said, where it's the worst, I have the best lawn. So I really don't want to start over.

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