# Aero-Vator...better way to aerate compacted soils!



## MsTin (Sep 5, 2017)

Seems like a better option than pulled plugs, raking and topdressing. Especially for those of us that have to manage more than 1/2 an acre!

[media]https://youtu.be/TiTwknWm5xc[/media]

If anything, maybe some of us DFW people could pitch in to rent one and have our lawns done all at one to save money! Do any of you know more about this?


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## MsTin (Sep 5, 2017)

Bueller?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I have watched several videos of the Aero-Vator and it does look like a great tool to have at your disposal. I think it would be hard to find one to rent though. Those Ventrac's look like great machines but I am sure they are a pretty penny!


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

Speaking of DFW, anyone know of a service that does a good core aeration for a modest price? And does anyone do dry ject aeration around here?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

That's pretty cool. Of course, actually finding one to rent is another story.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Oh, those Ventracs are nice pieces of equipment. There's a ton of implements that can go on them. They are pretty pricy, but considering that there's so many tools you can put on them to use them for, it beats having a dedicated piece of equipment for each purpose.

Pete, the owner of GCI Turf Services out of North Carolina, has an aeravator on his Grasshoppers. I had never seen this piece of equipment before until he showed them on his channel. Here's his overview of the aeravator on his machine.





Here's a renovation that he did not too long ago on a yard that had bermuda in it, and the seed bed that the aeravator left for seeding was fantastic. 





*BY THE WAY* Pete is having a drawing at the end of the month if he can get his subscribers up to 2K, he's going to give away two 50 pound bags of his GCI TTTF blend. I like his videos, he's a good man, and has a lot of passion for his profession. If you haven't subscribed to his channel, head on over there, and subscribe! I'm not sure when he got the gimbal, but it's made his videos a lot easier to watch. I think The Grass Factor talked him into getting one. :lol:


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> I have watched several videos of the Aero-Vator and it does look like a great tool to have at your disposal. I think it would be hard to find one to rent though. Those Ventrac's look like great machines but I am sure they are a pretty penny!


$18-22k, just for the tractor. Then attachments are separate. 60" mowers are $4k. A lot of pretty pennies.



pennstater2005 said:


> That's pretty cool. Of course, actually finding one to rent is another story.


Then getting it home. Tractor and Aero-Vator weigh about 2k lbs. More than max weight rating of most home-owner trailers.
That is a problem and probably why rentals are sparse. 5 years ago there were three places within 20 miles of me that rented them, and now: none.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I have never seen them down here in the South, I just checked and the closest dealer is over an hour away in Clayton,NC. They don't seem to have much of a following down here but that could also be due to the price of them.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> I have never seen them down here in the South, I just checked and the closest dealer is over an hour away in Clayton,NC. They don't seem to have much of a following down here but that could also be due to the price of them.


They are slightly more common around Ohio and the surrounding states. (Originally designed and built by the Steiner brothers in Amish Country- Dalton, Ohio- and called the Steiner. They sold to Ransomes -now owned by Schiller? Once the non-compete ended the brothers started up Ventrac. Most of the attachments are interchangeable between Steiner and Ventrac-nearly identical machines. Over the years they made, at one time or another, rotary mowers, tri-plex reels, front loaders, slip scoops, verticutters, snow plows, snow blowers etc. for them), I see them once in a while, mostly in institutional settings, golf courses, highway mowing, city maintenance, universities, airports. Not many homeowners because of the price I'd say. We homeowner's pass them around now and then on craigslist. The Steiner is built like a tank and the original Onan engine is bulletproof. 10 years ago you'd see tons of attachments and some Steiners for sale pretty regularly, but not often anymore. People know what they have and are holding on to them I guess.


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## MsTin (Sep 5, 2017)

Shoot. I wonder if someone can come up with a "poor-man's aero-vator". The vibrating part would be a little difficult.


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