z spray's ride on core-aerator

[ant]

who all on this forum own's one?
anthony

[cemars]

Originally Posted by ant

who all on this forum own's one?
anthony

I purchased one last fall and put about 5 hours on it before the hydraulic valve started to leak. Then about another 10 hours before it started to leak bad. LT Rich sent me a replacement next day air at no charge. Out of all the things we do my guys ***** more about aerating than anything else. I was hoping this machine was going to be the mother of all aerating machines. The reason I thought this is I have a Z-Spray which is awesome, but the plugger wasn't all I hoped. Our soils here are high in clay and it doesn't core as deep as our walk behind Ryans and Classens. The tines are also spaced further apart, less cores per SQFT. Having said that, in the right situation it can truly rock. It works best in large open areas where you can make a couple of passes at high speed. I find I need to go over areas 2-3 times to get the cores I 'm looking for, but it is fast. This machine is worth looking at but make sure you have demo'd it before purchasing.

[jajwrigh]

definately good to know...

[ns400r]

Originally Posted by cemars

I purchased one last fall and put about 5 hours on it before the hydraulic valve started to leak. Then about another 10 hours before it started to leak bad. LT Rich sent me a replacement next day air at no charge. Out of all the things we do my guys ***** more about aerating than anything else. I was hoping this machine was going to be the mother of all aerating machines. The reason I thought this is I have a Z-Spray which is awesome, but the plugger wasn't all I hoped. Our soils here are high in clay and it doesn't core as deep as our walk behind Ryans and Classens. The tines are also spaced further apart, less cores per SQFT. Having said that, in the right situation it can truly rock. It works best in large open areas where you can make a couple of passes at high speed. I find I need to go over areas 2-3 times to get the cores I 'm looking for, but it is fast. This machine is worth looking at but make sure you have demo'd it before purchasing.

Our old wright standers ( what zsprays come from ) do such a great job of pulling our lesco pull behind aerator, Im not sure why someone that already has a zspray would go out and spend another 8k on the ride on aerator. Yes the cores are alittle further apart then my walkbehinds but we just go over the lawn several times, thus making 10x's as many holes, and still doing it in less time than walking once.

[ant]

i demo'ed one this week and i was impressed with how well it did...the only thing that did not turn me on was the amount of plugs it produced...
ant

[cemars]

Originally Posted by ns400r

Our old wright standers ( what zsprays come from ) do such a great job of pulling our lesco pull behind aerator, Im not sure why someone that already has a zspray would go out and spend another 8k on the ride on aerator. Yes the cores are alittle further apart then my walkbehinds but we just go over the lawn several times, thus making 10x's as many holes, and still doing it in less time than walking once.

The main reason we purchased a separate unit is the Z-spray is out every day doing just that, spraying! The plugger was $6200.OO when we bought ours, and since we only aerate 3-4 months out of the year, I will probably buy the sprayer/spreader package to get more use out of it when we are done aerating.

[turfsurfer]

I purchased one this winter after an extended demo last fall. I thought it did a great job overall. Yes, not as many cores as my Ryan walkbehind, but pretty darn fast enough that if I just overlapped half the pattern, I basically made the equivalent of two passes in the same or less time as the walkbehind with absolutely no fatigue, and plenty of cores. I used to own a Bluebird pull behind. No way was it as handy as the Z-plugger. Maybe not as much difference on wide open large yards, but no way would I put a pull behind on 3-5k yards like I would the Z-plugger. Plus the mower engine always felt like it was straining a bit when pulling the Bluebird (not to mention the #$%^% thing wouldn't pull cores to save it's life). No, I don't work for LT Rich! I kept the Ryan, but only for small gate fences

[ant]

turfsurfer: what size unit did you get?

[turf hokie]

Turfsurfer-

You use the plugger on lawns as small as 3-5 k? How does that work?

I spoke to a guy locally and he said it is too big for lawns that size. I was actually looking to get it from him for some of my big stuff but if it works as well on small lawns that would be great.

[turfsurfer]

I bought the 36" unit since that is what I demoed. Thought overall it would be more flexible and maneuver better. I still may buy the 48" head to switch back and forth if I start getting enough big jobs to warrant it. I have a few that are over an acre but still got done pretty fast with the 36 last fall.
With the zero turn capabilities, it's not hard to put on small yards at all. Just like a walk behind, you make your pass, lift the tines turn and come back. The difference is it's not YOU lifting the aerator all day or walking behind it. It won't make a zero turn while aerating but you can maneuver it pretty well to follow bed outlines and gradual turns.
Last year while demoing, I saw a new neighbor (a do it yourself type guy) unload a rental ryan unit to aerate his yard. It just happened to be a Saturday and I was going to aerate my own yard that day. His yard is about 8k and mine about 11k. I let him get about a 10-15 minute head start then fired up the z-plugger. I was done with my second pass and he was just finishing up his first. I don't think he'll be renting this year. Classen also has a stand on unit this year but was almost $2000 more and I couldn't get one to demo.
Now, if we can just get the lowballers out of the game. Scott's quoted me $165 to aerate my yard. Several dummies in the local paper offerring to do it for $35-$50.