Brinly AS2-40BH-P Tow Behind Combination Aerator Spreader with Weight Tray, 40-Inch, Flat Black

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

Solid construction and good quality. What REALLY blew me away was the instructions and parts... SUPER organized, laid out step by step and every part in the right place so you don't get confused. WHY aren't all the companies doing this??!! Brinly sold me on their quality and price but NOW, I'm a forever client because of how well they organized their instructions!

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 wasnt sure about this piece of equipment. I was surprised by the weight and durability of it. It has an all metal hopper. Thats a huge plus for me. It does a really good job. I have ran wheat, different varieties of grasses and fertalizer through it. No glogs and no problems. The spikes do sink into soft and hard ground. The only down side to piece is the wheel axle bolts need a metal bushing to keep from wallowing. Other than that I am please with this product.

Update - you can see my glowing review below when this unit was new. I have probably used this unit an average of 2 times a year since I purchased it, maybe a total of 10 times. This year I pulled it out of my shop to spread some weed and feed and the unit instantly failed. The entire drive mechanism is run by 2 cotter pins bent at an angle through the drive axel of the spike drives. The spike drives are made of plastic. The cotter pins actually ate through the plastic causing the units agitator not to rotate and thereby not despensing any product on the lawn. I tried putting in new pins and it didn’t work. I tried drilling out the hole in the axel and installing bolts and washers to adhere to the cheap plastic spike drives and it worked for about 20 minutes then failed. I messed with it for several days and nothing would work. Finally I just purchased another drop spreader from another manufacturer. What I am left with is a perfectly looking unit that is utterly useless. There is no rust. It looks brand new. I can’t believe that the whole operation of this unit relies on 2 flimsy cotter pins and some POS plastic that is bound to fail sooner or later. Do yourself a favor and buy something else.This is the second growing season I have used this unit. I keep it in my barn when not in use and I have not experienced any rusting at all. I have about 4 acres of grass and I use this to spread fertilizer and seed. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an easy way to spread material over a large to medium sized space.

Though the Brinly Tow Behind Spreader is slightly more expensive than other similar models, Amazon chose this one as preferred due to customer feedback. This new spreader is replacing an older model I bought in 2006. I preferred the Aerator spikes on this unit over the current other advertised brands. My old unit had similar deep spikes and I found that the ground penetration, especially with grass seed (and fertilizer) ensures survival of the seeds and dispersement of the fertilizer to the grass roots. When cleaning the unit after use of fertilizer and salt (?) ensure that it is quickly dried to avoid rusting of the seeder components and adjuster mechanism. My old Spreader was succumbing to that fault. With years of using an Aerator/Seeder I would highly recommend this unit.