OK I spent most of the day reading reviews on "spreaders" - wow! I literally almost gave up. I needed precision but a "drop" spreader was not recommended for the "granules" of Corn Gluten Meal. But I need a spreader that has the precision of not getting on the road or sidewalks, gardens, patios, etc. So the drop spreaders were either super expensive high-end around $500 minimum to $1000 - or the broadcast spreaders lacked the precision. And the cheaper end spreaders were precisely that - prone to breaking easily, getting clogged easily, etc.
Suddenly I discovered a broadcast spread with Deflectors on all four sides - so I could get the Precision I needed PLUS the bigger size opening for the granules of corn gluten meal. Wow! It also has real pneumatic wheels (not cheap plastic wheels) for a more comfortable ride and also holds 100 pounds - so I could do two bags of CGM in one shot.
So I need to spread 13 bags.
So this spreader is not 'advertised" -
First I ruled out the following brands:
Scotts (the most common brand)
Agri-Fab
Earthway
Those three are the main residential brands of spreaders. Each has their own problems.
Oh and Chapin - I ruled them out also.
Here is the FIRST promo vid for this spreader
And then as I read the reviews - someone complained that the gear box was exposed to the elements - a big no no in design.
So that first vid is from ten years ago.
But NOW they have an upgraded "fully enclosed gear box" design.
So I lucked out.
upgraded version - from four years ago
So people see this and think it's a Plastic Gear box but actually it's a ZINC gearbox ENCLOSED in plastic!
adjustable deflector shields - to cheap the Corn Gluten Meal off the road, patios, sidewalks and gardens.
So the other products had cheap "plastic gears" - that break easily - NOT this product!
The other products had smaller storage size - NOT this product!
The other products did NOT have deflector shields!!
The other products had arcane assembly - NOT this product!
https://static.globalindustrial.com/products/pdf/5467-global-industrial/640788.pdf
Wow - seriously - it beat the competition on all counts!!
One of the drawbacks is having to hold a lever back to maintain the open spreading function - NOT this product!
So that's FOUR reasons why I chose this product.
The final reason is the cost being not that much more than the above models I already rejected.
Of course I had to direct order from the company but they have a supply warehouse in the state next door - of their four US locations.
I never heard of this company before.
OK a replacement wheel if I need one.
OK I found another brand that is the same design.
Buyers Groundskeeper (video)
Walk-Behind Salt Spreader 100-Lb. Capacity Model# 3042650 After assembly I found that the side flaps for controlling the spread
pattern both hit the tires. The flaps have just enough flexibility to
force it past the tire but I consider this a design flaw. The flaps
should either be curved in the center to allow clearance past the tire
or be mounted slightly narrower. My first use I went through 200lbs (4
bags) of ice melt, not rock salt. Apparently, at some point in time
during that the agitator pin came off and I could not find it in the
hopper, so it must be laying in my parking lot or off in the grass
somewhere as it is GONE. Luckily Home Depot had another for 75 cents and
I hope that this one will stay on.
The instructions were not that easy to follow, especially for someone not well versed in the terminology used. The pictures were small and I had to try and figure out by comparing the parts to the pictures
after two storms the welded metal piece that holds the salted up busted off.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200772083_200772083?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=Desc&utm_content=89789
So it takes longer to ship.
After the initial charge of product is discharged, the remainder remains
stuck in the hopper and does not fall into the ports. And yes. The
product is fresh and loose enough to work in the spreader. The problem
is, as I stated, no agitator on the shaft inside the hopper that is
connected to the gear drive. As such, there is no way that a fresh supply
of product is introduced down into the discharge ports. It all remains
collected in the hopper with a big hole where the initial product fell
into the ports.
OK this is troubling. The video shows it working. Let me look at my brand to see if it has an agitator.
But the 3 openings to disperse the material are wide and drop heavy, thick, and wet material better than a fertilizer spreader.
the close out piece on the bottom keeps popping out,
hmmm
It does have a cotter pin in the hopper that agitates.
Yeah that's what I thought - I saw that.
Crazy this is the SAME model as the "Saltdogg Spreader" that sells for TWICE the price!!
Wow so I just ordered the "industrial" aka wholesale version of a marked-up retail product!
Amazing. So this product has NO marketing except at "northern Tool" and at Global Industrial.
Wild.
- Poly hopper won’t rust or dent and holds up to 100 lb of ice melt or bagged salt.
- Enclosed gear box with grease fitting shields commercial grade alloy gears from weather, rust, and cold.
- Flow regulator with solid control linkage.
- Spreads ice-melt, or bagged salt material up to 24 ft.
- Fully welded, powder-coated steel frame for superior durability and corrosion resistance
- Large 13 in. pneumatic tires and solid axle provide premium stability
- Hopper screen and plastic rain cover are included.
- 3 adjustable poly deflectors control your spread pattern and help keep salt off sensitive vegetation
And another company sells the SAME design for marked up even higher - $550!! holy smokes.
Here it's called the Icemaster Pro Saltspreader.
Wow - how many BRANDS are there of this design! hilarious.
haha - this model is BEFORE the gearbox is enclosed. hilarious.
Pros:
- Solid frame
- Good pneumatic rubber wheels, roll nicely in the slush and ice even
- Gearbox completely enclosed
- Salt spreader adjustment lever is accurate and pretty solid.
- Easy to maneuver.
Cons:
- Handle attachment to frame a little flimsy at times
- Cheap metal used on the axle. Only one wheel drives the gearbox, and it's attached via cheap metal screws, I managed to partially strip the threads when tightening it.
finally we get Amazon reviews based on the SaltDogg brand
Again SAME exact design.
So obviously this is from a factory in China and sold under half a different brand names in the US - at different prices (wildly varying!!)
On one of the units the drive stopped working after 10 minutes of use, being a certified mechanic I disassembled the gear box to find no lubrication what so ever.
oops.
Just make sure all bolts are tight before trying to use.
OK let's check out the most expensive version - is it really the SAME design from the same factory?
Video on how to assemble (the Groundskeeper - same as what I ordered)
OH I GET IT NOW - this is a cheaper version of the $550 design that has a REAL agitator in the bucket!!
So essentially they stole the design but had to change something - so they left out the real agitator and replaced it with a cheap agitator.
I took out the original cotter pin and then I drilled out the cotter pin hole that is in the center shaft to be a bit larger at a 1/8" hole diameter and no more because I was concerned over weakening the shaft. I then installed a 2.5" long machine screw in place of where the cotter pin used to be through the larger 1/8" hole in the center shaft and just used multiple nuts on the screw threads to keep the machine screw in proper position and offset properly. I also put loctite on the nuts to prevent loosening. I then put a piece of clear plastic hose over the nuts to make the agitator larger in diameter to stir more of the material in the lower part of the spreader tank better.
It takes some tweaking because if you make the agitator to much larger in diameter or to long in length the agitator will not rotate sometimes with different prill sizes of fertilizer that are heavier because the agitator will not rotate if it becomes to large and causes the drive wheel of the spreader to lockup.
https://aroundtheyard.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=12612
Wow here's a nice Agitator part and it's $75!!!
https://www.amazon.com/Permagreen-Spreader-Breakthru-Agitator-T422400/dp/B0791NGMWL
My (fert) sales reps also recommend to avoid using agitator pins if you can get away with it. They said agitators pins can turn fert into dust which causes premature "caking". Yet we have agitator pins in all our fert spreaders (it's like a security blanket, I guess -- old school). But....we switched to stainless steel cotter pins (still does the job, they last longer, and less grinding of granules).
Wow! Cotter pin actually is better?
OK so Chapin does sell this same 100 pound Spreader - for $370 (before tax). And you have to fully assemble the best out of the box.
So I hope mine comes assembled - but again I still have to tighten it all up.
That's how the SaltDogg is sold I guess.
https://chapinmfg.com/products/chapin-82400-100-pound-capacity-salt-spreader?variant=30415714418770
So Chapin discontinued the 100 pound with the deflectors as a fertilizer spreader - but still has it as a salt spreader - with parts. So I could probably switch out those parts.
So the Chapin has a different agitator also. My guess is it's the same 100 pound spreader but designed with different agitators for price cost. So the high end agitator is $550 and the medium end agitator is $350 - but that appears to not work so well!! Plus it's very complicated to assemble the beast.
But then there's a different agitator for Salt spreading versus fertilizer/seed spreading.
I had are the agitator sits kinda high above the holes so it doesn't help keep what you are spreading moving around just above the holes. It can clog up or throw inconsistently.
Mine only lasted about 15 50lb bags of product before the gears started stripping.
yeah if you watch that Chapin assembly vid - sure enough their agitator does sit high up!! Wow.
Yeah it's the SAME gear rod assembly. Fascinating.
What about Ewing's Irrigation & Landscape Supply EMPRO 100 pound spreader?
It's enough of a different design to be a different model product.
Wait - the ECHO 100 pound Salt Spreader is the SAME I think - vid
wow $450 - the price range is amazing.
https://www.amazon.com/Andersons-LCO-1000-Rotary-Fertilizer-Spreader/dp/B07GYZRKS6?ref_=ast_sto_dp#customerReviews
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