Customer Reviews

Hound Dog Products HDP3-8 Turf Hound Aerator

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

My Turf Hound Aerator was purchased in Feb. 2008. I waited until after the rainy season to aerate my lawns in April and May. Very easy to use: grab the top handle and step on the bottom crossbar to punch holes in the lawn (with the two sharpened tubes on the bottom). That facilitates air, water, and fertilizer to reach the root systems for greener lawns.

Some things I've noticed (as have others):

Works best in semi-moist soil. Too dry and cutting becomes difficult; too wet and the soil plugs get stuck and don't come out the top of the tubes.

Try to step in the middle of the crossbar so the cutting tubes are perpendicular to the ground for even holes, less bending of the sharpened ends of the tubes, and less clogging.

When the sharpened ends of the tubes get bent, the soil plugs don't come out. Simple solution: don't try to pry out the stuck plugs with a screw driver, that may roughen the inside of the tubes or bend the cutting edges. Rinsing with water doesn't push out the stuck plugs either. Rather, go to a patch of lawn with slightly moist soil, step a few times and the moist plugs are pushed out. Now turn the aerator over and tap on the crossbar with a rubber mallet to get the remaining soil plugs out.

When the sharpened ends do get bent from tough soil/grass/rocks, I use an 10" old steel tubing just slightly smaller in diameter than the cutting tubes and tap it through the top with a rubber mallet. That straightens out the bent edges somewhat uniformly.

The Turf Hound Aerator does have a lifetime exchange guarantee so one can get a replacement at the cost of shipping it back to the manufacturer.

One last note: I DON'T leave the extruded soil plugs in my front lawns because they resemble dog doodoo and some thoughtless neighbors may mistake them as an invitation to use my front lawns as a pet porta-potty.

Check out my lawn in the customer submitted pics. Good Luck!

Unfortunately, the device is virtually worthless on clay or semi-clay soil. Do not make the mistake of following the directions to water your lawn the day before aeration. MOSITURE is the killer for this device. Moisture in clay soil becomes slimy and sticky and will plug the aeration tubes causing lots of frustration. If the tubes are getting plugged, your soil is likely too wet.

Those with sandy soil should be fine. Those of us with claylike soil need to disregard the directions and plan very carefully. The wet springtime is likely NOT a good time to try to use this device (or others like it). Even though I waited three days after a mild spring shower, the soil was still too wet.

I decided to stop aerating until summertime when I can find a good solid week of hot, dry weather. Then I'll keep from watering the entire week and try aerating again. Right now, only about 40% of the time, the plugs even come out at all. Only about 10% of the time does a full 3-4 inch plug come out. Most of the time it just makes a hole which compacts the soil around it even worse than it was before using the product. When I feel the plug, it is sticky and wet. Not good.

I'm sure this device works as intended if the soil you are working on is just very slightly moist and crumbly. If it is sticky or wet (as most clay soils are), you will not be happy. Trust me. I will give the product three stars at this point because it appears to work on sandy soil. However, I will deduct a couple of stars since the advertisements and documentation is very weak on how to handle clay soils (if it's able to handle clay at all).

I will update this review in the summertime when I've had a chance to dry out my clay soil sufficiently to try the product again.

This plug aerator works by "pushing" a plug out throught the top of a cylindrical tube located on either side of the step plate on the bottom. a well thought out design, the loop handle allows your knee to be above the push plate, making it easy to step on the device with enough force to cause the plug to push another through the tube. Although designed for a small space, I plan to use it to aerate my 7,000 square foot lawn this summer. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but it's good exercise, and the lawn gets aerated. It's sturdy without being heavy, will probably last forever (or at least longer than I'll be using it).

Hound Dog products I've used seem to be great. I have the flat faced shovel and the weed hound in addition to the core aerator. Making plugs is nice and easy. The limiting factor is how hard or rocky your soil is. It is best to do the coring when the soil is moist, otherwise the effort goes up.

The 2-core aerator can easily do trouble spots and also small areas that commercial plug aerators cannot access. It seems to be well made and works very well.

The Hound Dog turf aerator is very simple to use. You can practically walk with it held in your hands and a foot on the hound dog and cover a large area rather quickly. The only problem I found was roots. Roots can clog it up very easily, tree roots that is. Keep a half inch stick handy to unclog it. I doubt it will ever wear out.
JL

Mine also clogged after the first row (about 30 plunges). I unclogged it and tried again, but the cores did not pop out. First it was one side that was clogged then the other side about 10 times later.

The reason for the few stars, is because I called the company on their 100% guarantee, several times, left 2 messages and have yet to get a response.

I purchased the turf hound because I wanted the convenience of a core aereator for trouble spots or to do my whole lawn without renting or buying a power aereator.. The soil needs to be a little wet (not soaked) and it works great. I was a little concerned about how much effort would be required - no problem.

I purchased this product to aerate my lawn at my convenience and for it's size. Small fits anywhere in my shed and very light...I hated having to rent those big gas aerators twice a year. I've aerated my lawn twice and had my daughter do it once as well. It is a good workout...which I enjoy, and I'm saving money on those gas contraptions. The aerator works best if you lean left and right as you step down, and the clay plugs that come out seem to already help my thatch. Also, make sure you work with this device after a good rain, it helps when the soil is wet.

In my townhouse's small backyard, I needed to aerate the heavily compacted soil on the cheap. This tool is so simple, sturdy, and just plain perfect for the smaller yard I have. Make sure the soil is a little moist (not wet) before using to let this job go really quickly.

Very sturdy, solid steel. Heavy Duty but not heavy. This tool will easily out live me. Easy to use. Cores pop right out of the top and the tapered core tube didn't allow anything to get stuck inside. You wouldn't want to do a large area with any hand held aerator but the convenience of having one for high traffic or other problem areas is very satisfying. A great value.