# Lesco Spreader Info



## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

Two years back when I bought the house and new to lawn care, I bought a spreader from a local hardware store. The brand was Rigid. It's a tow behind spreader.

These days I find it to be horrible and inconsistent. The agitator in the hopper hardly moves the granules around which lends to inconsistent application and other issues, especially when I put smaller amounts of granules in the hopper.

I want to get the 80lb Lesco, but I have a question for those of you who do have one... How well does it empty small amounts of product? Let's say you put in 10lbs of a fert., is it just as consistent as if you put a 50lb bag?

I can't find a photo of the inside and the agitator it comes with online. Is it tapered nicely to allow product to flow down? How wide is the agitator?


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## DTCC_Turf (May 26, 2018)

I use an 80lbs Lesco regularly and I would recommend, if you only wanted to put out 10lbs of Fert, to put in at least 20. You can always pour the rest back into the bag. Like any spreader it will struggle to spread evenly and completely empty towards the bottom.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I have the Lesco 80lb Spreader. Here is an older photo I found with the stock agitator installed (sorry, I only had one with the grate installed):








Here it is with the grate removed and the Permagreen Breakthru Agitator installed:








I would say you need _at least_ a couple pounds of product in the hopper for it to feed without doing the _spreader hop_ to get the product to flow well. Here it is with 1/2 lb of Ammonium Sulfate:








Here is 1 lb:








Here is 2 lbs:








For 10lbs of product I would either do what @DTCC_Turf suggested or just use my Scotts Wizz handheld. Here it is with 8lbs of Ammonium Sulfate:


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

Wow, thanks @Ware for the detailed photos and help! I definitely like the way it is tapered.

So, I imagine there are different agitators that can be purchased. Any recommendations there?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

randy said:


> ...So, I imagine there are different agitators that can be purchased. Any recommendations there?


The PermaGreen Breakthru is the only one I've seen.


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## 95mmrenegade (Jul 31, 2017)

The wizz is a great spreader to have around the yard. I made one modification which was to add a switch on the back to turn the motor on and off. I use a sharpie to record my spreader settings on the various products. Great little piece. I may make a hopper insert for my lesco 80# to narrow the hopper at the bottom for smaller loads if I ever get time.


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## Mr Efficiency (Jul 4, 2018)

Ware said:


> I have the Lesco 80lb Spreader. Here is an older photo I found with the stock agitator installed (sorry, I only had one with the grate installed):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hello..

I just sighned up to The lawn forum and saw this post that actually relates to me. 
This is my first post here and I want to say hello to all..
I hope you like the Permagreen agitator, took me 25+ years of using lesco and permagreen 3 hole spreaders to invent something that would make the flow start instantly, consistent all the time and stop clogs from occuring. It's a true nightmare when you fill up a 80 or 150 lb Hopper and in a few minutes of using it, it gets a clogged hole and you have to empty everything out to get a small chunk blocking a hole. That doesn't happen any more with this Permagreen agitator.

The agitator has made the lesco spreader much better and you can apply almost any materials with a full hopper or almost empty hopper and the materials will always flow at the same rate.
Lesco spreaders last almost forever. I have 4 lesco spreaders, one is still going and it is over 25 years old to the newest one I bought last fall
Btw
There is a cheaper seller on ebay if the PG agitator that has sold hundreds of then and it can be purchased at most site one supply locations for about $30.

Thanks
Chris


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Mr Efficiency said:


> Hello..
> 
> I just sighned up to The lawn forum and saw this post that actually relates to me.
> This is my first post here and I want to say hello to all..
> ...


Welcome to TLF - glad you are here! :thumbup:

So you invented the Breakthru Agitator?! That is awesome!

I just updated the links in the posts above to the cheaper one on eBay. :thumbsup:

@Tellycoleman @MasterMech have you guys installed one of these? I like it a lot.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

cool I would like to see how this thing works. I believe it works it just doesnt make since in my head.
can it be used with the spreader mate? @Ware


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Tellycoleman said:


> cool I would like to see how this thing works. I believe it works it just doesnt make since in my head.
> can it be used with the spreader mate?


This is not my photo, but it replaces the OEM wire agitator that wobbles back and forth. It works the same way, but the Breakthru Agitator is more robust and has those little fingers that turn downward into the holes to help break up clogs.

@Mr Efficiency could probably do a better job of elaborating on the design.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Thanks I just saw the youtube video and ordered one


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## Mr Efficiency (Jul 4, 2018)

Ware said:


> Tellycoleman said:
> 
> 
> > cool I would like to see how this thing works. I believe it works it just doesnt make since in my head.
> ...


You badicly decribed what it does. Its a simple design but to get it perfect it took a lot of time and a ton of testing. 
That pict you posted I had taken at a site one location over a year ago after installing that PG Breakthru Agitator for a guy who just bought the lesco 80 lb spreader as I stopped in to pick up materials.

Now if you want to improve your lesco spreader even better, you round over the top edge of the holes in the hopper with a Roto Zip and a round over router bit , 1/4 or 3/8". You dont want to do the bottom of the holes just the top, if you round over too deep you will ruin the holes. Rounding over the holes improved the lesco spreader even better to handle spreading very large materials.



That cam in the spreader pict is a permagreen one and not a stock lesco one. 
The shaft on that cam is 1/4" linger then the stick lesco one. Was put on for testing. 
I ever wanting a replacement lesco cam with a longer shaft you can order one from permagreen


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@Mr Efficiency I like that round over mod a lot - it makes a lot of sense.

Question: I noticed this yesterday and haven't had time to diagnose it, but any ideas why my impeller looks like it is only partially engaging the agitator actuator?


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

@Ware the video I watched about the agitator had something about that to.
I cant explain it so here is the video
they bent it down to fit. Not sure if that conforms to the proper use of the product.


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## 95mmrenegade (Jul 31, 2017)

Ware said:


> @Mr Efficiency I like that round over mod a lot - it makes a lot of sense.
> 
> Question: I noticed this yesterday and haven't had time to diagnose it, but any ideas why my impeller looks like it is only partially engaging the agitator actuator?


Mine has the exact type of problem and I ended up bending the flange down. I dont know if you can loosen the agitator and pull the shaft up which should raise the assembly so it interfaces with the metal agitator.

In the picture with the rounded holes, is there epoxy or something in the base to make it thicker?


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Ware said:


> Mr Efficiency said:
> 
> 
> > Hello..
> ...


I have not, but would really like to! The fert I run has no issues flowing through the stock setup.


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## Mr Efficiency (Jul 4, 2018)

Ware said:


> @Mr Efficiency I like that round over mod a lot - it makes a lot of sense.
> 
> Question: I noticed this yesterday and haven't had time to diagnose it, but any ideas why my impeller looks like it is only partially engaging the agitator actuator?


You just push down and bend the staunless steel cam a little so it rides on the top of the impeller cam. 
You can shim down the cam by putting a washer or two between It and the bottom of the hopper to also lower it.

In these picts is a permagreen cam that has a 1/4" longer cam shaft and nylon washers were put between the ss cam and bottom of the hopper. 
On the stock lesco spreader cam you can get one washer between the ss cam and bottom of the hopper to drop the cam down some. Ss or nylon washers can be used that have 3/8" hole.


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## Mr Efficiency (Jul 4, 2018)

Here is a little something for you lesco spreader owners. Pinless impeller set up. 
To easily remove the spinner without ever having to deal with a pin again and you can adjust the impeller height. 
Bang out the pin if you can then before you remove two hopper bolts on the non shield side (left side when pushing it),takes 2 min with 7/16" ratchet and 7/16 open-end wrench. Pop out the shaft from under the hopper.
Get a lesco replacement impeller or use one you took off if you could get the pin out without cutting it off or get a cheap $12 impeller one from site one supply. Cut a X with a hack saw blade in the bottom of the impeller wher the shaft goes in, get a hose clamp and put it on. You can put another smaller hose clamp below so the impeller never can move down if you want. I don't have them on mine. 
Put impeller on and leave a little space between the top of the impeller cam and the bottom of the spreader( so when weight is in the spreader it doesn't bind up


I bent up the third hole slide a little also so it cant hit the fins. Make sure you dont bent the slide part or it may become lose.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@randy this topic has evolved into an excellent Lesco spreader resource, so I renamed your OP and added it to the sticky topic at the top of this subforum. :thumbup:


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## Indianola Burns (Aug 2, 2019)

@Ware I just purchased a new Lesco 80#, PG agitator, and spreader mate B off your recommendations. I figured I needed to up my game from my Strom with GCI nozzle assembly. My question is... it seems like the spreader mate will be resting on top of the PG agitator. Will this hurt anything? Thanks, and love your videos 👍


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## Herring (Sep 19, 2020)

I bought a used Lesco drop spreader that was missing the bolt that holds the handle to the hopper. I took the spreader apart and cleaned it throughly, then realized the bolt that holds the handle to the hopper is not a bolt at all, but a center bearing with a stud that the handle fits on and is tightened with a nut. This stud had sheared off of the center bearing.

When looking to replace this part I learned that the Lesco and the Spyker drop spreaders are nearly identical and could be made by Gandy. The spreader rate adjustment is stamped Gandy on both spreaders and their parts diagrams are the exact same. I looked at three websites to replace the center bearing, part number 017120. M.K. Rittenhouse's price is $63.70. Gandy's price is $27.00. Spyker's price is $9.75 and is sold by Brinly-Hardy Co.

I hope this helps others when replacing parts to their Lesco, Spyker, or Gandy drop spreader.


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