Will the Greenkey Rolling Lawn Aerator get sent from Bangkok or not? Dr. Mike Amaranthus on endomycorrhizal inoculant

 Assembly vid of Greenkey Rolling Lawn Aerator 

Wow it's a PLAYLIST for assembly!!

I spent the night checking out manual lawn aerators as I need to aerator the lawn before I spread the endomycorrhizal fungi spore.

 

The Importance of Mycorrhizal Fungi with Dr. Mike Amaranthus

He's got several vids - he started MycoApplications business.

So he gives an excellent lecture on the soil science of  applying these spores to store carbon and grow plants.

 https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/rolling-lawn-aerator

This looked like the BEST manual aerator tool that I could find.

It's demonstrated here - in the UK - it's a uK product 

I didn't know the brand name - I could only find this "fly by night" website - or a couple websites - that sold the aerator!!

I just need holes in the ground so that the spores can get down to the roots.

All the other tools seemed too slow or not as effective.

https://mylawn.store/product/rolling-lawn-aerator

I ordered it from here and a DHL label was created out of Bangkok Thailand!!

 Or so they claim. It's one of those businesses that charges you if you cancel the order....

But claims you get a refund if they do not send the product.

So here is the manual spike aerator on Amazon

Let's now read the reviews.

 very easy to use and efficient as long as the ground is soft
very sharp spikes. keep away when not in use. I have already lost 2 of the protective caps

  however sections move apart in use so 1 nylon washer installed each side remedied this.

 I aerated the whole lawn (a big one) with a garden fork and it took a couple of hours of hard work. With this tool it took maybe 20 minutes at most - and was far more effective. Can definitely recommend it.

 The bolts holding the handle too together are too thin and too short.
The bolts, being thin and short making it difficult to get them tightened

 However, if you slip a couple of 4Kg barbell weights over the handle it works very well and is easy to operate.

 Ah good to know. so 20 pounds of weight?

Pushing the roller tends to rip up the turf as the spikes, imbedded to their full 2in length, pull out and tear the grass. Pulling the roller gives much cleaner holes and is much less work.

 my major criticism is with the assembly of the studs. It took me almost two hours and a lot of effort to make sure that all the studs were screwed in fully, and there are still a couple that I couldn't fully screw in. The studs should come already assembled. A very frustrating assembly.

 Ah good to know!

 

Good luck assembling this thing. The plastic channels don’t hold the bolts tight enough so they spin. You will then have to grab them with pliers, but they will slip and massacre your hand. It works well once assembled but expect to lose a bit of skin and possibly your temper in the process.

  however, three of the nylon lock nuts did not tighten up successfully which meant that they were loose on the rollers which sadly tears up the lawn due to the angle they are going into the soil. Should include spares in the package. Also the supplied spanner is pretty much useless as it barely gripped the nuts when tightening.

 It could just be my lawn (it was very damp) but in areas it was hard to push and the metal cross-piece bent down towards the spikes and I had to bend them back as the spikes caught the metal and stopped the thing turning. this was not too much of a problem but the cross-piece could do with strengthening fillet across the angle.

Having looked at all the aerators on the market, I chose the Greenkey rolling lawn aerator because, unlike electric aerators, it does not cut up the grass roots and the kill the worms in the soil. As an engineer, I very much appreciate the way it has been designed and manufactured. Every piece fitted together perfectly. I only hope it was made in the U.K.

Decent quality but could do with spring washers or locknuts on the spikes as they loosen all the time. A decent workout even on wet lawn ! Use exactly as shown on video.

  I may have overtightened some of the spikes which compressed the plastic and some of the spikes are not totally upright. I did this as some people say that the spikes can come loose.
Anyway I used it when the day after a heavy shower when the ground was softer. It worked really well and the lawn looks better some weeks later. I will use it regularly to let air, water and fertiliser get to the roots and to hopefully prevent compaction of the lawn. Limitations are that it only spikes to 2" so wouldn't have much effect if the compaction was deeper in the subsoil.

Very effective & I am truly glad I bought it. Makes great slots in the soil which will not only aid aeration & moisture absorption, but make over seeding a dream. I am over 50 & not at peak fitness but I even look forward to the gentle workout as well.

 Excellent reviews.

The T bar handle does make it easy to use, but I did have to add weights, 15 Lbs. to be exact, for better traction. For best results, use this product after the ground has been wet. I used it a day after heavy rain and it worked like a champ. Okay, for full disclosure, I totally hate yard work with a passion, but I do enjoy working out and you will get a work out using this product on your yard.

 Get the correct size spanners or a good quality small adjust able spanner. You will also need a small Vise Grip or Mole Grip to hold the spikes while you tighten the securing nuts. Some of the spikes will lock into the wheel but I had to use the Vise Grip on about half of them. Once assembled there was to much play on the shaft that located the spiked wheels, so I made a thick felt washer to take up the play. Had I not have done this then I suspect the wheels would not have locked together as they should have done. I was inspired by G Burrows review and his method of adding weight to the unit.

  B) the slots into which the spikes locate are sometimes too big for the hexagonal spike head so tightening them without additional tools is impossible (see under).
III. Tools. To assemble it properly you will need 3, different sized, open end or ring spanners one for the nuts holding the handle and axle in place, one for the lock nuts holding the spikes in place and one for the nuts used to bolt the shaft, handle and spike wheel bracket. You will also need a Philips screwdriver and long nosed pliers, the latter to locate and hold in place the bush which fits inside the bottom of the shaft at the bottom bolt position. I used two small shifting spanners for the nuts plus a pair of vice grips to hold the spikes in order that the lock nut would be tight enough. If the spikes are not sufficiently tight there is a high risk that they will wobble and snap the fittings on the wheel. May I suggest that when fitting the spikes you put the ‘protectors’ on before attempting to tighten the lock nuts. If you don’t and the spike slips it could easily cause a serious injury.
IV. If you are not a DIY expert don’t attempt to build this yourself. It is relatively straightforward but, as I have said, could be dangerous so get someone to assemble it for you.

 VI. Finally It is a good tool. The metal parts are robust enough to take the pressure needed to operate it. I have reservation about the plastic parts but if the spikes are properly tightened then they should be adequate.

 think i will add locktite to the axle nuts

 Once assembled, it's much sturdier and heavier than others I've seen and has a tall handle.

  I found some 4mm (inside diameter) by 6mm (outside diameter) clear plastic tubing in my garage, which I cut to size to fit completely over all the 30 spikes to be attached when it is in storage. Without these protectors, the spikes could cause an accident as they are very sharp.

 . I couldn't start assembling the first one I ordered since I discovered that the wrong number of screws, bolts and washers had been delivered. I then ordered a second. Thankfully I kept hold of the first in the event that the same problem were encountered again. Once again, the wrong number of screws and washers. I did not want to order a 3rd time and assumed that if I could source the missing parts in a local hardware store that assembly would then be straightforward. I managed to buy the missing parts locally. However, the assembly was then extremely frustrating and the instructions inadequate. Only one size of spanner is supplied that fits the bolts that secure the 30 spikes. There are 2 other sizes of bolts used in the assembly and suitable spanners are not supplied. I then discovered that the screws and bolts to secure the tubular parts of the "handle stem" are inadequate for holding the pieces together. They are too shallow with the result that they keep loosening. Some of the bolts have to be tightened with pliers to get them to stay on the screws and they simply seemed to be the wrong size for the design of the parts they are to hold together. I now have an aerator that works but that is already falling apart due to the useless screw/washer/bolt combination supplied to hold the handle stem together. None of the reviews I read pointed to the inherently poor design of some of the component parts of this machine. None of them mentioned the self assembly nature of this product. On the basis of it being supplied twice with missing parts, inadequate instructions and an inherently poor handle design, I do not recommend it to anyone.

 

 

 so the spikes are only 1.77 inches long! But the design with weight added should get the spikes down farther into the earth than the other Push manual spike aerators on the market.

another vid on it

 yeah I tried to call that Thailand phone number and it said it was not in service.

Then I looked up the address for "one" of the businesses with the SAME phone number - and it appeared to just be a field. Hardly any building at all.

So I am definitely going to not pay and challenge "dispute" the payment.

Then order from the UK.

The fraud site claims my item was PICKED  UP by DHL but then the tracking order number at DHL says only the LABEL was created but NOT picked up. haha.

So I'm reporting this as fraud also.

https://www.dhl.com/th-en/home/footer/fraud-awareness.html

So that is a scam deal to create a shipping label that is fake with no product.

Then CLAIM the product was PICKED UP. 

Oops. I caught them and so now the payment will be disputed and not paid.

And I got free shipping from the UK - so it takes longer - estimated delivery September 1st.

 Now I need to find some free weights. haha.