Home-Built Aerator Cost Less, Works Better

2009 - Volume #33, Issue #4, Page #29

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One look at a commercial $2,300 pasture aerator was enough for James Godwin. Not only was it expensive, it was also only 6 ft. long. He knew he could do better building his own.
"I built one that was 10 ft. long and only cost me about $500," says Godwin. "It works great aerating pasture ground. I even use it on my oats."
Godwin took a 4 by 4-in. frame from a twin rake and repositioned the hookups for the 3-pt. hitch. He fabricated twin 5-ft. gangs of coulters to hang in line from the frame.
"I hung 6 by 6-in. steel tubing to the bottom of the frame to support the coulter gangs," explains Godwin. "Old cultivator brackets were reworked with disc bearings to mount axles."
The gangs themselves consisted of discontinued coulters Godwin picked up at cost for only $17 each. He mounted them on 1 1/4-in. square tubing axles. Steel plates that had been drilled to fit the coulters' bolt patterns and with square holes for the axles were mounted to the coulters. Spacers were cut to fit between the coulters.
"I picked up two support jacks at a salvage yard for only $10 each and mounted them at either end of the front beam," says Godwin.
Two 55-gal. barrels mounted to the top of the aerator frame are equipped with faucets at their bottoms. Adding or reducing weight is a simple matter of adjusting water levels.
The low-cost aerator slices the field surface to a depth of about 2 in. Godwin says that is just the right amount. Previously he had tried using a subsoiler, but it left the pasture and field a mess.
"It took me three years to level out the area after that," says Godwin. "This rig causes minimal disturbance."
To verify the effectiveness, Godwin did only half of a Bermuda grass plot before fertilizing. "You could see the difference in darker color where I aerated. I saw the same effect on oats."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James R. Godwin, 331 Harper Joy Rd., Dothan, Alabama 36301 (ph 334 677-3056; woodcraftrg@aol.com).

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Home-Built Aerator Cost Less, Works Better TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 33-4-29 One look at a commercial $2,300 pasture aerator was enough for James Godwin. Not only was it expensive, it was also only 6 ft. long. He knew he could do better building his own. "I built one that was 10 ft. long and only cost me about $500," says Godwin. "It works great aerating pasture ground. I even use it on my oats." Godwin took a 4 by 4-in. frame from a twin rake and repositioned the hookups for the 3-pt. hitch. He fabricated twin 5-ft. gangs of coulters to hang in line from the frame. "I hung 6 by 6-in. steel tubing to the bottom of the frame to support the coulter gangs," explains Godwin. "Old cultivator brackets were reworked with disc bearings to mount axles." The gangs themselves consisted of discontinued coulters Godwin picked up at cost for only $17 each. He mounted them on 1 1/4-in. square tubing axles. Steel plates that had been drilled to fit the coulters' bolt patterns and with square holes for the axles were mounted to the coulters. Spacers were cut to fit between the coulters. "I picked up two support jacks at a salvage yard for only $10 each and mounted them at either end of the front beam," says Godwin. Two 55-gal. barrels mounted to the top of the aerator frame are equipped with faucets at their bottoms. Adding or reducing weight is a simple matter of adjusting water levels. The low-cost aerator slices the field surface to a depth of about 2 in. Godwin says that is just the right amount. Previously he had tried using a subsoiler, but it left the pasture and field a mess. "It took me three years to level out the area after that," says Godwin. "This rig causes minimal disturbance." To verify the effectiveness, Godwin did only half of a Bermuda grass plot before fertilizing. "You could see the difference in darker color where I aerated. I saw the same effect on oats." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James R. Godwin, 331 Harper Joy Rd., Dothan, Alabama 36301 (ph 334 677-3056; woodcraftrg@aol.com).

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