Agri-Fab 45-0518 40" Tow Behind Lawn Plug Aerator with Universal Hitch; Designed to Pull Behind Lawn & Garden Tractors

This aerator is well made. I was surprised that it came with inflatable tires instead of the cheap plastic ones. Yes, you will have to inflate the tires with a bicycle pump to 30psi. The metal structure is thick and the very sharp aeration blades are made of stainless steel. Assembly was lengthy in time. About 2 hours using small electric impact. I found myself referencing the hardware guide often to verify correct fastener selection. There are at least two confusing assembly steps as the drawings were not detailed enough. I used the aerator immediately after assembly as it just finished raining (to soften soil). I placed two concrete blocks and one bag of sand on the tray. I towed the aerator with a typical 42 inch lawn tractor and went over the yard twice with great results. My soil in very compacted sand/clay. The aerator pulled 3 inch plugs on average. I was very pleased with the results.

The product itself is about a 3 and a half. But I have it a 3 over all. The instructions are a nightmareIt has you assembling the tow arm to the tray and tightening only to have to remove half the bolts later for the center support. Then the handle has two bolts and you attach it near the end of the process and one of the bolts is two long to fit in the space to insert it to attach the handle. I had to swap out another bolt of the same thickness but shorter to insert it and attach the handle. Over all the instructions as a whole are ridiculously written. Very frustrated. Took about three hoursI have not used the product yet but it seems fairly sturdy. If I don’t have any issues I’ll leave this review as it is. If I have problems after using I’ll update review. I’ve seen this on you tube and I think it will get the job done. Just beware of the assemblyUpdated. I changed my review from three to 4 after using. It is sturdy and works well. But the assembly instructions are a nightmare. A real pain to put together. But the item worked well! Worth the money

Very well built but you need the video to put it together. There are a lot of parts and the video is needed to see how everything is correctly assembled. It will take time if you are not mechanically inclined. The bolt lengths as shown on the directions are determined by measuring the shaft, not the full length including the bolt head. Apparently the tires were upgraded from what was shown in the video but they did provide supplemental directions for how to install them. The tires were not inflated so better have a compressor or pump available before putting the aerator to use. When they say the blades are sharp - believe them! I have two cuts to prove that. The aerator worked well on the lawn and did a good job and nothing came loose or got bent. Just make sure the ground is soft after a rain, otherwise it may bounce all over. Adding extra weight using cinder blocks worked well. Good product and US made.

This product works as advertised. You definitely need the extra weight / cement blocks to get maximum penetration into the soil.Assembly was fairly easy as they produce a video on YouTube with the step by step directions. Even so, there is a point, when installing the next to the last bolt for the wheel lever, I encountered a problem. The 1 1/4" bolt is too long to fit in the space that is provided, however, a 1" bolt fits just fine. I believe, early on in the instructions, where you are instructed to install the very first 1" spacer on the axle, I believe if the 1 1/3" spacer is installed instead, then the 1 1/4" bolt would fit. And in place of the first 1 1/3" spacer, you install the 1" spacer instead. Since that part of the assembly is very near to the beginning, I didn't go back and try it. Nonetheless, I was able to finish the assembly by substituting a 1" bolt near the end.Even with that complication, I still give 5 stars as it looks like I'll be getting many years of good use out of this product.Addendum: After reading someone else's review about a couple of bolts through the tray that appear to have no purpose. I would leave them installed as they serve to keep any weights that you add from sliding into the wheel lift lever.

This product could be so much better if a little more of design for assembly went into the thought process for the engineer. It took me a VERY long time and CUT my hands with the blades several times given very awkward positions where you need to tighten up bolts/nuts, etc. Also I received different pieces compared to what was on the instruction booklet to assemble the wheels and had to go to the hardware store and buy stuff to put it together. I could not make the lever work propperly for when you want to NOT aearate.. it does not lock in position. I also had to upgrade with a rope to be able to reach the lever.. it doesn't come with gloves to help protecting your hands during installation. LAstly, you need to add weight to it so it Aerates deep enough but they don't include any mechanism or rope/bands to hold any weight and this makes it painful to figure out and an extra expense to go get something that works well. it's not super ergonomic and easy to use so I wouldn't recommend unless you're just doing this once or twice a year.

Assembly of this Agri-Fab 40 inch plug aerator was fairly simple and straightforward. Everything for assembly was included plus a few extra pieces, all things properly packed with small parts sealed in bags. Instructions were easy to read and understand.This aerator is very maneuverable, but backing up can be challenging and can put a lot of stress on the tongue. We have approximately 90 pounds of weight on it and it works GREAT for us! It does work best if the soil is moist, we had rain prior to using it. We are happy with our purchase.

Like others the assembly was unclear because the design needs to be improved despite the included updated procedure. The elevation rod doesn't cleanly seat in the notch and jumps out over bumps.I would love a longer tongue also, although the elevator issue is managed easier, but backing is tough with a basic mower.It pulls clean plugs two days after a long rain and really helped the sod recover from chickens.The plugs are sharp - be careful.

Just use it, did an excellent job, very solid, strongly recommend to view the video on Agri-fab web site for assembling this Aerator, it shows all the parts and all the steps for proper installation, and I can tell you it was an easy installation.

Delivery took a while... However, the quality of the product is very good. The manual was clear and the print was large enough to read and assembly was a snap. This product will not disappoint I heartily recommend it. lo56bird

As others have said, this product works however the assembly is quite difficult and the instructions are poor.Here are some hints/comments from my experience:1) Outside wheel bracket placement - It's important to place these in the opposite direction to the center wheel bracket. I didn't do this and when assembled the knives wouldn't lift off the ground with the handle. The easy fix on this was to change the position on the center bracket.2) Poor welding on wheel brackets - These were not concentric so I used emery cloth to sand down the inside. It was still a tight fit and I had to use a mallet making sure to line up the holes as I knew they would be hard to remove.3) Attaching handle to center wheel bracket - Here's my best advice, use a 3/8" x 1" hex bolt instead of the recommended 3/8" x 1 1/4" recommended for the lower bolt. I just switched it out for one of the 1" bolts used to connect the tongue to the tray. There is not enough clearance for the 1 1/4" bolt.4) Useless 2 bolts with whizlocs - These go on the tray per instructions and do not attach anything. I pondered this for a while and just put them on. They serve no purpose.5) Handle slips out of notch - When moving the device with the knives up, the handle is prone to slipping out of the notch. I use a piece of wood to secure it and that seems to work well.6) Weights on tray - I added two cinder blocks and this really improved performance.Hope these comments are helpful.