broadcast spreader that doesn't suck

atitus74 · Apr 30, 2019

Over the years I've tried a few of them and so far have never got a good one. Looking for suggestions. This is for mostly flat lawn area. Too large to use a drop spreader, but not large enough to warrant electric/pto spreaders. I need to be able to lay down granular fertilizer, herbicides and pesticide. The pesticide in particular seems to be challenging as the 'granular' material is very light. The problem I can't seem to solve is that I open the gate but no material comes out. I am forced to open the gate much wider than the setting I want and then the material comes pouring out and I have to quickly close it back down to the setting I want. I've had other ones where the gate works well but the range is terrible or uneven. Ideally I'd like to be able to tow it behind the BX but I'm not opposed to a good walk behind if that is the ticket. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Deerherd · Apr 30, 2019

I use one of these for spreading seed, fertilizer etc, works very well. Might be more than you need, kind of pricey. About $1k

dalola · Apr 30, 2019

I think, in the world of broadcast spreaders, you get what you pay for. I'm not sure you can find anything of quality for much less $1K. I've been looking for years.

The big issue is corrosion from the fertilizer. Cheap materials will fail within a few years, even with good care. Some of the cheaper units do perform well for a couple years, however. I find a key feature is the agitator above the fan opening, to keep the material from clumping. I currently have a Brinley pull-behind that has worked well, but is on it's last legs, due to corrosion. Not sure what I will replace it with. Thinking of building a homemade 12V unit to strap to the front of my FEL. Just haven't found a good hopper for a starting point yet.

Ford850 · Apr 30, 2019

I've had good luck with a quality Agri-Fab spreader. It has an open/exposed gear set which appealed to me. I thoroughly rinse off the spreader after each use and let it dry. Then I coat every metal surface including all nuts and bolt heads and inside the tubing with Fluid Film, before storing. Even when I leave a coating of fertilizer on the metal parts that I can't easily rinse off, I spray the FF over it all once it's dried. I've been using this for approximately 14 years now, which I never expected. It's used for fertilizer, lime, and grass seed.

dodge man · Apr 30, 2019

Why are you against a 3 point broadcaster? I have one and used it behind my BX for a couple of years and now behind a JD 2025. I like that you can throttle up or down to control how far you broadcast. They cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Mine looks a lot like the pic above behind the utv but is 3 point.

atitus74 · Apr 30, 2019

Dodge man I'm not so much against it as thinking it was overkill. I did look at them online. If folks are having good luck with agrifab for example that seems to make sense for my usage and my wallet. If I had 700 to spend, a PTO spreader might be an option.

RjCorazza · Apr 30, 2019

I use a Befco 3 point spreader, and it has worked well for the past 15 years. Now with a larger cabbed tractor I need to come up with a way to operate the gate. I can pull it open with a rope, and drive around till empty. Pushing the gate closed is the problem because of the angle.
Anyway, for most applications I do around one acre at a time in literally a few minutes.

coobie · May 1, 2019

atitus74 said:
Over the years I've tried a few of them and so far have never got a good one. Looking for suggestions. This is for mostly flat lawn area. Too large to use a drop spreader, but not large enough to warrant electric/pto spreaders. I need to be able to lay down granular fertilizer, herbicides and pesticide. The pesticide in particular seems to be challenging as the 'granular' material is very light. The problem I can't seem to solve is that I open the gate but no material comes out. I am forced to open the gate much wider than the setting I want and then the material comes pouring out and I have to quickly close it back down to the setting I want. I've had other ones where the gate works well but the range is terrible or uneven. Ideally I'd like to be able to tow it behind the BX but I'm not opposed to a good walk behind if that is the ticket. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Lesco walk behind or befco baby hop pull behind.

Texasmark · May 1, 2019

I have a popular, reasonably priced, 500# 3pt conical spreader that I've used many years. I've learned that low percentage fertilizers, like 15-5-10, that I use on pasture grasses, likes to cake up at the outlet and clog it if I do one of 3 things:
1. Run around with the PTO spinning while the gate is shut
2. Load the hopper to the full 500#
3. Set the gate opening too narrow.

Every time I finish using it I immediately wash it down with clear water and then coat it all over with used cooking oil.

The Fred · May 1, 2019

CountyLine Fertilizer Spreader and Seeder at Tractor Supply Co.

Hard to beat this one, it's made in Italy and is the same brand Landpride used. I had the LP version for 20 years until the disc rotted out. TSC version is identical but does not come with an agitator that can be purchased separately.

Also one can spread small amounts of sand in the Winter with this model if it is screened.