Star Wheel Aerator Leaves No Plugs

Star Wheel Aerator Leaves No Plugs TILLAGE EUIPMENT Accessories 19-4-10 "It does a good job of aeration without leaving any plugs on top of the soil," says Harvey Melcher, Friendswood, Texas, who used parts off a small tandem disk to build his own 3-pt. "star wheel" aerator that slices through sod. Melcher does custom groundskeeping work on local softball and soccer fields and golf driving ranges. When he was asked to aerate fields, he looked at commercial aerators but found them too expensive so he decided to build his own. He bought a new 6 1/2-ft. wide tandem disk from a local manufacturer for $475 and remounted the disc gangs on a 12-in. wide, 8-ft. long steel I-beam laid on its side. He removed the discs and replaced them with 3-pointed, 17-in. dia. "star wheels" that he cut out of 5/8-in. thick steel plate. A hand grinder was used to sharpen each point. "I use a 28 hp Deere tractor to pull it. The legs are curved at an angle so they pull straight out of the soil cleanly without kicking any soil up on top. You can hardly even tell where I've used it. Golf driving ranges really like it because when they pick up golf balls they don't have to worry about plugs getting mixed in. I've also used it on my own pasture. A Deere aerator of comparable size sells for almost $3,000 and doesn't do as good a job." Melcher made a 3-pt. hitch for the aerator out of a piece of steel tubing that pins to the top link of the tractor 3-pt. and two pieces of heavy angle iron that bolt directly to the I-beam. They pin to the lower arms on the 3-pt. The aerator is very top heavy, so to keep it from falling forward when not in use Melcher made a telescoping stand that slips up into the center hitch tubes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harvey Melcher, 71 El Dorado, Friendswood, Texas 77546 (ph 713 482-2493).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.