wrote in message
.. .
A few serious questions Stevo et al.

I too, am considering an aerator. I own a 10,000 sq ft world class
croquet lawn, Tif Eagle Hybrid Bermuda turf grown on a 12" sand base with
6"gravel subsoil drainage layer. I need to aerate 3+ times a year.

Please feel free to fill in any gaps in my logic on this important
purchase decision

As of now, these are the pros and cons. (IMHO)

The Pluger is cheap: ~$1600 to $2800 (Brand New) depending on model. . New
Ryan Greensaire? ~$12000+. Used: maybe $1500 to $3000 depending on
condition, ~ 8+ years old.

My biggest concern is surface disruption. Depending on stress, summer
months my court is normally cut between 0.125" (1/8 inch) to 0.140" (9/64
inch) with my 1994 TORO 3100 Triplex. The entire playing surface was
laser leveled within 1/4 inch. I don't need an aerator that will leave
mounds around each hole which will dull my mower reels in about 10
seconds. I'm not so sure the Plugr will fit my needs on this I tried a
Ryan rotary aerator. It was terrible. It cost me an expensive reel grind
on my mower and took months of top dressing to become level again. (we
drag a 12 ft ladder diagonally behind a mower while topdressing)

OTOH a very old borrowed Ryan Greesaire was exceptional, my court was
level with only one heavy topdressing. It comes with small (1/4"??) tines
and larger (5/8"?) tines. Disadvantages: It was heavy, bulky and could
not aerate while negotiating curves or hills . I was admonished: "use
it only on my sandy court, never on my other lawns" (clay) which might
have an occasional stray piece of gravel or "it would sustain SERIOUS
DAMAGE". Is this really true? If so, that would severely limit its use
as far as most homeowners/lawn professionals are concerned.

It would be a bonus to have an aerator I wouln't have to baby. The Plugr
website http://www.plugr.com/ (of course) says it is vey durable, the
second best thing to a Ginsu knife (VBG) It says you can use in on any
soil, around curves, and across slopes without concern.


Lastly Stevo, I agree Ryan (and my personal favorite: Toro) make great
greens aerators , but new they are $12,000. Most used ones are in need of
costly repairs. The Plugr is new, I'm not buying someone else's problem
machine. Other than owning one, do you have any other reasons to buy a
Ryan? More importantly, have you ever seen (or used) a Plugr in action?
If so, will it fit my needs? I sure would like an inexpensive (non used)
alternative to Ryan/Toro. Can you provide specific reasons not to buy a
Plugr?

Dr. J








Hey, Dr. J.

Check out this guy....
http://www.mauicroquetclub.org/galle...anglewoodFarm/

He has an awesome court.

You could ask him what he does maintainence-wise. When I saw his court, it
was awesome.


HtH