Yard Butler D-6C Core Lawn Aerator

Reviews of Yard Butler D-6C Core Lawn Aerator

1.) All that from something invented over 4000 years ago?
Reviewed by: V_RocKs California
Rating:
I had a section of lawn that was put in before I moved in. The section is like clay and must be tough for the grass to get water... It runs off into other parts of the lawn... Area was always dry and barely any grass. Used this to make plug holes in the area and like magic... It looks like the rest of the lawn now. No extra watering, no fertilizers... Just a couple of holes in the ground and a world of difference.

So I used it on the rest of my lawn. Now the whole thing looks like I fertilized it but I didn't. My neighbors are hammering me for what fertilizer I used.

2.) Got this one by mistake!
Reviewed by: Brenda M. Costa Visalia, CA
Rating:
I ordered the multi aerator and received the sod coring by mistake. Well at first I didn't think I would like it. But after using it I am glad I got it by mistake. The other one just makes holes in the lawn this one actually pushes the dirt out like plugs and leaves it open for water to penitrate. I just got it today and watered my lawn and used it. I am hoping this will help me during the summer heat. I am keeping my fingers crossed.


3.) Handy little tool
Reviewed by: Val
Rating:
We were looking for an inexpensive aerator and based on another's person review, thought we would give it a try. It works great and our lawn is already looking better! Great customer service too!

4.) Sod core aerating tool
Reviewed by: Matt
Rating:
Great tool and easy to use. I have only had it about two weeks and I can already see a dfference in my lawn.

5.) Absolutely superb, easy to use even in the desert
Reviewed by: A reader USA
Rating:
This is a great tool. I live in the desert. Our soil is rock hard, full of rocks, and very poor. It is also full of clay and highly compacted. I put a sprinkler head on the hose and let it go for ten minutes, then used the Yard Butler. After reading so many complaints, I was skeptical, but it pushed in with almost no effort.

Yes, if I went outside the soaked area it was harder to use, but it should be obvious that when you want to push a steel object into your compacted lawn soil, you need to wet the ground first. If you don't, no hand tool is going to work well in hard dry soil. Just reset the sprinkler, take a break, and start again.

When used properly (use your foot on the foot bar--that's what it's for) on a pre-soaked lawn, this tool is amazingly simple and easy to use. And it's fun too.

Another note: I was fresh off a bad back injury (a bulged disk), but after a visit the chiropractor I decided to try the lawn butler for a couple of trial holes just to see if I could do it for a few minutes without too much pain. I proceeded to do my entire front yard in a series of 10-minute soaks, then ten minutes of aerating. Easy, simple, effective.

Note too that the instructions are very clear: do not clear the holes until you are done. Just let the plugs push up through and fall out. This pulls up beneficial nutrients and microbes from root level to the surface and is like fertilizing. When you are all done, clean it thoroughly, dry, and store properly, like you should with any tool.

Likewise, you do not want to torque or twist ANY tool, except maybe an Estwing. Push it straight down into your soaked lawn, using your foot, not your hands. Pull it straight back up. If you have to twist and torque, you did not wet the lawn enough, so set the sprinkler for another 5-10 minutes and repeat.

Bottom line: if this can work in my hard, rocky, desert town, (and with a bad back to boot) it can work anywhere. Highly recommended! Fast shipping too.

6.) excellent product
Reviewed by: Satisfied Customer Lake Forest, CA
Rating:
Easy to use with expected excellent results. Be sure to spray WD-40 into the spikes before use to make cleanout easier when job is completed. Lawn requires less water and penetration instead of runoff is achieved.

7.) works well.
Reviewed by: N. Key
Rating:
I had some problems with the sod getting stuck in the tine holes. I filed a less sharp angle on the tines, which seems to have worked. Well made and sturdy. what I was expecting. I'm not sure if the grass is greener, will have to wait to see!

8.) Works as advertised
Reviewed by: J. Craig
Rating:
I don't know how the Yard Butler compares to the competition; however, in my clay soil yard, it works as advertised and is structurally sound.

The spiked shoes are worthless in concept (and the straps will soon break). As has been stated elsewhere, driving a solid object into lawn does more to compact than to aerate. Prying with a rod is a different approach to getting air and water into soil, and is a technique more suitable to a garden than a lawn. A 'lawn spike aerator' is a misnomer--not a lawn tool nor an aerator.

9.) My favorite lawn tool
Reviewed by: D. Nelson
Rating:
Best investment in lawn care. Easy to use just wait for rain and the next day the lawn is ready for you. I am already seeing my front yard recovering
from last summer's drought 2 weeks after coring it. I haven't even fertilized or reseeded it yet but it's coming to life!

10.) Excellent product-one of the best lawn tools I have
Reviewed by: P. Northover Regina, SK Canada
Rating:
This was a fine aerator, and I would recommend it to anyone. I have a front and backyard of about 1000 square feet total, and it took about 30 minutes to aerate the lawn as instructed. It can become a bit of a workout, but compared to the cost of a hiring a company to do this, it pays for itself the first time you use it.
When used in conjunction with other lawn practices, watering, fertilizing, the use of this tool did improve the health and appearance of the lawn.
The durable construction combined with the need to aerate once a year, should ensure this product will continue to be used for years.

11.) Great Product
Reviewed by: blake_78413
Rating:
I looked at every store I could think of, but could not find a core aerator at any of them. I recommend the core aerator over a spike version because it removes the plug and helps loosen compacted soil, which the spike version does not. After using the product just once so far, I have already noticed an improvement in the brown spots in my yard.

12.) Excellent product
Reviewed by: Betty Palm Springs,CA
Rating:
We found this tool to be just what we expected and it works very well!

13.) Works as advertised
Reviewed by: Eric W. Appleton, WI
Rating:
works fine, just be sure ground is damp if you are using on clay or hard soil and push straight down with your foot on top, i could see it breaking if at an angle or not used properly like a few other people mentioned.

14.) Works Great
Reviewed by: Robert Schmitter
Rating:
The yard butler worked great. It does its job, but it does take some muscle. In real dry ares I just water prior to use. Also use the butler like it is attached to your leg, you get deeper and greater results.

15.) Great Product
Reviewed by: P. L. Belcher Lake Geneva, WI
Rating:
Very sturdy and did the job well. We had about 4 days of rain previously so the ground was wet and this made it very easy to do. We finished our front yard quickly and were delighted how well this product worked. We hope we'll see a difference in our yard next spring.

16.) G-core model works great
Reviewed by: T. Lee California
Rating:
I went to Lowe's and bought the G-core model at only $20. It works great. The corers are full pieces of cylinders, and seems better built than what I read here about 2 half pieces soldered together. Just aerated my little strip of lawn this afternoon with it.

17.) awesome
Reviewed by: luckilady so cal
Rating:
this thing works like a charm. no more flooding, less weeds, adn more grass. can go through any type of ground easily. highly recommend.

18.) Works Great
Reviewed by: Joel Calhoun
Rating:
I was able to do my whole yard in a few hours, large stomp area gives plenty of leverage. Only thing that was sore after was my neck from looking down.

19.) Simple and Effective
Reviewed by: Kenneth N. Zinn Wilmington, DE United States
Rating:
It had rained a couple days before I got it and used it, and it worked like a champ. I even did part of my neighbor's yard. You can't do your whole yard at once, unless you have a tiny yard, but I have done mine in sections over the course of a couple of weeks. A little time here, a little there, and before you realize it you covered a lot of territory. I find I can go faster walking backwards after each punch. I did make the mistake of not cleaning it out well between uses and it clogged up pretty good when I tried to use it next time. I got a large nail and using the head, cleaned all the dried dirt off the insides of the tube, and that fixed the problem. It even does pretty well on dry soil here in Northern Delaware, where we have a lot of clay and compact soil. It seems pretty well constructed, not cheap or flimsy.

20.) Great product....does the job!
Reviewed by: Inexcess20 Reno, NV
Rating:
We've got a small lawn and this product does the job it was intended to do. No need for paying for a power aerator....if you do not mind the exercise! Pulls out plugs properly, if your lawn is well watered the day before.

21.) works great, you can just feel the lawn breathing better!!!
Reviewed by: Dennis R Mendoza
Rating:
this works great on my densely compacted, rocky, and sandy lawn. really much more sturdier than some other customer reviews make it seem. and, cores do pop out with the next couple of plugs are done. i have had success with rocking it back/forth a little before pulling it out, this helps reduce that much more compaction. of course, you should be aware of your particular case, in order to prevent any handle or core tube snapping (as expressed in some other reviews). i am just saying that in my case, i do not experience such issues. i'll have to see how beneficial the plug aeration is after a week or so...


22.) Completely satisfied
Reviewed by: Michael E. Quiring Colo Spgs, CO
Rating:
Purchased to aerate yard. Does great job, it's built to last. Happy with the purchase.

23.) Serves its purpose, but cheaper elsewhere
Reviewed by: Ivan Los Angeles, CA
Rating:
This aerator works as it's intended, and wetting the lawn half a day before coring does make it much easier. We have clay underneath the lawn, so the part that was dry was quite hard to core through. It's been a week and a half, and we can see some green grass coming out of the brown patches now. And in response to the person that mentioned it's hard to empty out the holes, you don't need to empty it, just keep pushing it into the ground. Each dig pushes out the dirt from the prior dig. After you're done, just stand up a stick on the ground and push through it to empty the hole, simple as that.

Having said all that, I did see a very similar corer/aerator at home depot for $20. Wish I had bought that one.

Also, a word of advice - stay away from the 4-prong aerator. It's hard enough to push through the 2-prong, I can't imagine the 4-prong working too well.

24.) Treat it like exercise and you've saved yourself a bundle
Reviewed by: Tarheel_In_VA Alexandria, VA
Rating:
This is a sturdy piece of equipment. It does the job quite well. I was skeptical about the quality, but was surprisingly pleased.

You do have to carry around a dowel or something to push out dirt if it gets stuck, because the thing about aeration is that you are trying to pull soil from down below and pull it out onto the top of the ground. You don't want to just jam it down as someone else said like a metal rod compacting the soil more around the hole. By pulling soil out, you allow oxygen and water to get down into the soil for the roots, but eventually this fills back up with organic matter and surrounding soil.

I have a 40 by 40 back yard and this was definitely not a job for the big rental machines. Even if I got a bunch of neighbors together, it wouldn't make renting a gas machine worthwhile. I finished the whole yard in less than an hour and it was good exercise. So, skip a workout and go finish your yard. You'll save yourself a bundle and not pollute the air. The beauty of this thing is that you can pull it out yearly and go over some trouble spots. And you don't have to do the whole yard.

25.) For $10 it's great
Reviewed by: Cie Cie Brooklyn, NY
Rating:
I took a class in tree caring and this tool is simple to use. You place it on the area you want to aerate and step on the bar at the bottom. It is suppose to cut a core in the soil thus creating more surface contact area for the air.

I saw a previous review about the handle can break. I think the driving force is with your foot on the aerator and your body to weight it down. I'll be cautious about the handle now that I know it can break.

I got it at Loews for less than $10. They're at a clearance sale. I wonder if they're redesigning it to have a larger diameter and longer core.

26.) Nice Tool
Reviewed by: Gadget Lover Fremont,CA
Rating:
For a small lawn this works well. Soil/lawn should not be too hard before using the Aerator. I hit a hard spot while pushing down on the Aerator and it slightly bent one of the Aerator prongs. Sometimes both prongs were jammed due to small rocks in the soil of the lawn. Use of a screw driver to poke out the blocked prongs worked well. Other than that I am very happy with the tool. Overall it worked well and my grass is actually greener looking now.

27.) Labor-intensive, but flawless!!
Reviewed by: Seth Firkins
Rating:
It's back-breaking work, but hey....great looking lawns always are! Works exactly as you would expect, and within a week my lawn perked right back up to full green....no small feat since the winter months are already here!

28.) Works good
Reviewed by: Ray Salazar Laredo, TX
Rating:
I decided to try this product because it's concept made sense. Before I used it when I would water my lawn the water would soak in to the ground very little. Now the water soaks in much better and my grass is greener. Great product recommended if you have the time and energy. Yes the holes do get plugged up but I use a big bolt and a rubber mallot the clear the holes.

29.) Aerator
Reviewed by: Mr. Wesley Rogers
Rating:
I have enjoyed my aerator very much but if I had a large yard it would not be too great. It gets tiresome to use for an extended period of time. I actually purchased three others to give as gifts and one as a spare for myself.

30.) Not bad
Reviewed by: Jeremy R. Gleason
Rating:
I bought this to aerate my seriously compacted clay soil lawn I have here in NC. It is a chore, but this thing works pretty good. It will take a LONG time with a larger yard (I have a 50x60 back yard) but it can be done. I did not have many problems with the plugs getting stuck, but I would recommend watering the lawn in the morning and allow it to dry up some. I can see how an overly wet lawn would cause the plugs to get stuck. When they got stuck for me I just kept going and they would eventually work themselves out. My only gripe with this aerator is that the handle is kinda flimsy, so care must be taken when pushing down. Just don't force it and it will be fine! Amazon's packing really stunk to, but it did ship fast! Other than that A++

31.) Works as advertised.
Reviewed by: Peter P.
Rating:
The item is very well built. I have a very large lawn so I did a little at a time. It's a full body workout so be prepared to work hard. The lawn is starting to respond. With a little fertilzer and lawn seed my lawn should look spectacular by earl September. Can't wait!! Worth the investment, but wouldn't recommend for huge lawns.

32.) Works good
Reviewed by: Mark
Rating:
I've used this on my lawn a couple times now. Works good. You have to keep an eye on it and make sure the plugs of dirt are coming out the top. I had to clean out the holes several times because they plug up and then you are defeating the purpose. I have not had any problems with bending or breaking. I have probably spent around 8 hours using this with no problems other than it plugging up a few times.

33.) Be careful
Reviewed by: Chris New York
Rating:
This aerator works great. It's a little time consuming but if you do a small area at a time, it's worth using. My only complaint is that when I received it, I used it that night - it worked great, and the following morning. Unfortunately, the handle snapped that morning. You have to be careful and not put too much pressure on the handle. Use your foot on the core base to drive the cores into the ground.

34.) Of little use on sod over clay
Reviewed by: C. Galvin Columbus, OH USA
Rating:
Probably a great tool if you have actual soil beneath your lawn and have patience to boot. I live in one of those sprung-up-overnight bedroom communities miles outside an urban beltway, where they cheaply threw sod over pure clay. Parts of my lawn are horribly compacted, and even after a hard rain, this tool can't get enough depth to kick out the previous core. If you're in that situation, apply the cost of this instead to a service call from a professional with a big machine.

35.) Works okay, tends to get clogged a lot for me
Reviewed by: rob Madison, WI
Rating:
Works okay, the metal tubes get clogged easily. Maybe that's par for the course for these things. What's not par for the course is the tubes denting already which can't help the clogging - it bends in on the end.

For the money, I don't rate it a great bargain by any means, but if you're having trouble finding an aerator - it does get the job done.

36.) Average Joe trying to aerate lawn
Reviewed by: joe south texas
Rating:
First off, bad packaging. Looked like someone just found an old box through in the yard butler and place a single piece of tape to close it. When i picked it up the box looked smashed and was partially open. Anyways, I got the yard butler out and it felt very solid (well made). As for the performance i would have to say that depends on your lawn. The type of soil and how dry it is limits the performance of this tool. I have clay soil and i watered my lawn a day before. Got the yard butler out to put it to the test. The first few feet it worked great, the tool was making holes and plugs were falling on the lawn. Then it got clogged with the clay soil. So i spend a few minutes unclogging it, which is hard to do. You have to drive a screw driver to clear it out and even then the soil stick to the sides. Tried spraying with water hose and even that didn't work. Did the best i could to clean it and continued making holes, but after a few succesfull holes with plugs coming out it got clogged again. Got tired of cleaning it so much so i decided to just make holes without plugs.
I would have to say that given the type of soil i have, i would not buy or recommend this product to a friend. I would rather rent a gas powered aerator.

37.) Good product for a small lot
Reviewed by: L. Cheng Long Island
Rating:
A good tool for a small lot. Make sure that you follow the instructions, e.g. water the lawn thoroughly before using the tool, wear a sturdy pair of working boots and don't push down with the handle. Right after aeration you can put lime and fertilizer down. Also do it before rainy weather is helpful too. I also used a file to sharpen the points frequently. A long screw driver helps push the compacted soil out.

38.) Don't bother
Reviewed by: T. Clyde
Rating:
Horizontal bar bent first time I used it. Straightened that then the spike bent. Straightened that then the spike cracked. Got 10 good holes out of it, but the materials are just too weak for this kind of tool.

39.) Clog City
Reviewed by: Laserdie San Jose, CA United States
Rating:
I tried using this tool with my lawn wet, dry, and moist. Under each condition the cores became clogged. Unclogging the core is time consuming and a royal pain. I contacted Lewis Tools for advice, but never received a response.

I tried to save a few bucks and aerate the lawn by myself, but it is definitely easier to rent a machine or hire someone.

40.) Broke after 10 minutes
Reviewed by: Charlie
Rating:
Huge disappointment. It sheared in half after only 10 minutes of use. It's made of steel, but in at least two parts: the shaft is joined to the fork with a light solder. So unless you apply perfectly even downward pressure, the joint isn't going to hold. By the way, this isn't the first core aerator I've used. I borrowed my neighbor's for two seasons of heavy-duty use and had no problems. Wish he hadn't moved.

41.) Very poorly made
Reviewed by: yard guy Washington state
Rating:
I used this product for three minutes before one of the tubes bent. I was able to bend it back and use it for another minute before it bent again. The tubes aren't even welded around the entire tube, only on two sides, hence the bending and eventually breaking. i returned it the first day. I found the Fiskers Aerator online, ordered it, and it appears to me that it will last forever(it is built to last a lifetime). I whole-heartedly recommend the Fiskers brand aerator.

42.) This thing stays clogged up
Reviewed by: Jeff Dallas
Rating:
The item worked fine the first few days and then started clogging up so much that it was useless. I have tried it when the yard is wet, dry and every where in between. Lewis Tools said some were defective but they have offered no resolution.

43.) Great if it worked
Reviewed by: John Hobby Austin, TX USA
Rating:
My Yard Butler core aerator broke the first time I used it. The metal is too weak to handle hard compacted soil, even if damp. Considering I bought this exclusively to use on hard compacted soil, I was a little disappointed. The vertical metal bar bent after only a few steps. It was still somewhat usable, but just barely.

Features of Yard Butler D-6C Core Lawn Aerator

Pulls out two 1 2" cores of soil 3 1 2" long. Structured steel rod construction with vinyl grips. Lets air, water, and fertilizer to the roots. 40" overall length. Tips made of hardened steel.

1.) Core aeration reduces compaction and thatch to let air, water and fertilizer down to the root zone. Core aeration also stimulates root growth by "pruning" the roots and deposits valuable micro-organisms on the lawn surface.;
2.) Reduces soil compaction, water run-off and puddling. Lets air, water and fertilizer get down to the roots;
3.) Your lawn will look better with less water and fertilizer Breaks down thatch;
4.) Promotes vigorous root growth, strengthening tolerance to drought and heat stress extra durable, all steel construction;
5.) Professionals recommend using the yard butler core aerator both spring and fall, depending on the type of grass, but aeration is good for lawns anytime. Your lawn care professional can tell you the best times to aerate in your climate zone;

Package Height x Length x Width: 36.7 in. x 36.7 in. x 9 in.
Package Weight: 3.7 lbs.

Accessories for Yard Butler D-6C Core Lawn Aerator