Brinly PA-48BH Tow Behind Plug Aerator, 48"

Purchased from Amazon. Product arrived in good shape with all parts. Box is heavy and hard to move around by yourself. Directions were fairly clear, but product is really not that easy for one person to put together. I liked the little blue prints of the different bolts, etc. I got hung up on the handle install. I finally managed to get it together by putting it up on one end. Total time about 5 hours, however 2 of them was trying to attach that handle. Even then it was a challenge to press and line up the holes with it up on its side so the bolt could be installed. Other than that the directions were fairly clear. That section on installing tines was clear accept for the machinery bushings. I guess there is no way around it. You gave several bushings, and just said install one or more at the end. It was not real clear if the last one went on the inside or the outside. You could also be a bit more clear about putting the handle toward the back. Maybe a mark or something would help ensure it was properly placed. I finally went by the hole in the transport pin. Also the handle grip goes on very quickly with a squirt of W-D 40. I have not been able to use the plug aerator due to extreme dryness in my area. I may just have to water the lawn and then give it a try. The manual and online video tell you how to test your soil to ensure it works the best. I am afraid my soil is so hard now it will damage the tines if I don't wait. The product looks sturdy. I also got some small cuts on my hands even being extra careful. I did a lot of research on what to buy and the price and reviews on this one makes me glad I purchased it. To rent a machine for 1/2 day it was 96 bucks. So this will pay for itself in a couple of uses and I don't have to load and unload a rental and then rush back to the rental store.

Package arrived on time, but much worse for the wear. Carton was crushed on all 8 corners, but nothing was damaged other than some paint scuffs. Assembly took a little longer than expected. About 1 hour and 40 minutes from start to finish. Instructions were excellent. Pay attention to some of the little "bubble" comments. They answer a lot of questions that start to form in your mind as you are assembling. They have obviously listened to customer feedback when developing instructions. An inordinate amount of time was spent sorting and counting fasteners. There is a nice fastener ID page, but it doesn't list quantities. You have to read through each step to get the req'd count. I would have gladly paid an extra $1 or $2 to get fasteners grouped in packages. Old guys like me don't have the best eyesight or dexterity with little parts.Workmanship was OK. Several punched holes were badly burred and needed redrilled to clean up. I don't think they developed their tolerance stacks very thoroughly. The wheel landing gear was located off a few degrees so that in the "travel" position things are not quite level. Very thin frelon bearings look to be a frequent wear point. I plan on ordering spares tight away. We'll see... Additionally, they designed to have nuts with no washers or plates over slots. Plan on adding some of your own.As far as function, this did a very nice job. I had to wait 2 days after a heavy rain to get the right soil conditions. Once things dried out, this worked like the advertisement said it would. The instructions recommended starting with 3 blocks. I started with (4) 35 lb cinder blocks. I ran over a 1/2 acre section and cut about 1 1/2"-2" deep plugs. I added another 70 lbs and got the full engagement. I expected this to be a rough ride, but the timing of the spoons made for a very smooth ride. It covered about 1 acre in just under an hour.I would recommend this product to others.

This thing is sturdy and does a great job. It arrived quickly and in good shape. It took about an hour to assemble and was not too difficult. The instructions are adequate and pretty easy to follow.I put 6 cinder blocks on it for weight and began aerating our campground lawn (about 10 acres) we watered the day before so the ground was slightly damp and this thing had absolutely no problem coring deep holes. And our soil is pretty hard.I have used it 2 times now and absolutely love it.I have zero complaints.

Once you have it put together, you're going to need a substantial amount of weight for most soil types. The easiest way to add weight is with cinder blocks, but this can be problematic. If you're lawn isn't very level, the blocks around considerably and make a ton of noise. They also end up breaking over time. I tried bags of sand, and it just want enough for my sold that does have some clay. It made a mess. It did a decent job of aerating, but I did find myself cleaning the tines more than I would have expected. A plugged tunnel pushed the whole rig up and skipped that section so I had to go back a number of times. I ended up spraying it down with vegetable oil and that seemed to help but only a small bit. Storage can be tricky when not in use of you don't have a lot of space as it doesn't break down easily. So overall, not bad, but not great. If I had to do it again, I would try something else.

I was torn between this and the Agri version. Chose this from reading reviews. Assembly was easy and a little over an hour (and no cut up fingers from the blades). Loaded it up with weight, did a great job. Neighbors borrowed it as well. Very pleased. Seems to be built very sturdy.

I have read the reviews before buying the tool. I have to say it seems they have done few things to remedy the issues noted.Word of caution, if your soil density differs, you need to pay attention. On softer soil it digs out the grass with full weight. So pay attention, balance the weights on it and remove some of the weight on the soft soil. Other than that works really well. I subtracted one star because the wheel lever still has issues. They need to strengthen the plate that holds the lever. Still bends. All and all you get your money back almost in one use in comparison to renting.