In this video we take a detailed look at the most popular lawn spreaders I see in our DIY community
#lawncare #diy

Affiliate Links:
Earthway 2600 A Plus
https://amzn.to/3vKRvhJ

Echo RB60
https://amzn.to/3GtITAQ

Scotts Elite on Amazon
https://amzn.to/3GQu78K

Hand Spreader Video:
https://youtu.be/3vm9JWuzDRU

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Now in this video I'm going to give you A detailed look at some of the most Popular broadcast spreaders available 2sdi wires now when I say broadcast Spreader I mean one where the fertilizer Falls through a gate or through drop Holes lands on an impeller that is Spinning as you walk and that impeller Has these fins on it and that pushes Fertilizer evenly out across the front And the sides this style of spreader Delivers the most consistent application And is what you're going to find on more Expensive spreaders that professionals Use as well now if you take time and do The research which starts with this Video you should only have to buy one Spreader in your entire lifetime I mean Just think about it you fertilize your Lawn what like five to six times per Year maybe pre-emergent once or twice a Year some biostimulants or insect Control so what is that like 10 uses per Year so it's not like it's going to get Beat up and broken but then again when You do use it you want it to work Applying granular fertilizer to the lawn Should not be a frustrating experience So let me start off by saying this this Is not a place where you want to cheap Out if you can help it and when I say Cheap out I'm not talking about the Actual cost of the spreaders because in My opinion all of these are a little bit

Overpriced for what they are and that Brings me to the first spreader here That we're going to look at the Scots Edge guard mini this is one of the Spreaders in the lineup that I'm going To recommend 100 against completely it's 47 and it barely gets the job done now I Have thick Saint Augustine grass and to Be honest with you it's kind of Difficult to push this little thing Through it when it's got some weight to It these are Hollow cheap plastic wheels And you can kind of see they're inside The bucket width which makes this a Little wonky balance wise and it kind of It's easy to tip over not only that it Doesn't even spread Fert very well at All now if you have a super small on a Postage stamp I call it maybe 1500 Square feet in front 1500 and back Instead of spending almost 50 on this Just pick up a hand crank spreader You're going to get a much more Consistent even application out of it And it's going to be a lot easier and About half the price I did a full video On hand spreaders in fact this one which Is available at a big box store I'll Give you a link in the description below If you want to learn more about it so Remember if you have a super small lawn Or a larger lawn that's divided up into Small sections this is going to be a Much better choice than that Scott's

Edge guard mini all right now let's look At one of the most common spreaders that I see throughout the community and that Is the Scots Edge guard DLX now at 89.99 Once again I think this is way Overpriced I mean seriously ninety Dollars for this plastic Wheels it just Seems like a lot of money when you look At the build quality either way this Spreader can and will get the job done For you but I still recommend it for Smaller Lawns or ones like mine that are Easily broken down into small sections That are 2 000 square foot or smaller if You have large expanses to your lawn That are like say 5 000 square foot or More this is definitely not the spreader For you so let me take a moment and Mention that all Scotch spreaders use The same settings from that edge guard Mini to the elite the settings are Consistent if the bag tells you 5.25 Then it would be 5.25 on all three of These they have a convenient dial and Because Scots is the leader in DIY Pretty much every brand of fertilizer You buy is going to have the Spreader Settings for Scotch spreaders so if You're somebody like me that likes to Kind of mix up your ferts and use Different things it's a convenience to Know that you're going to have settings For your scotch spreader on pretty much Every bag you get for example here's

Magical and you can see right there they Got a Scots rotary setting on that one Here's an inset control and you can see Right there Scott's Edge guard settings they also do Tend to have Earth way on almost all These bags as well and so here's the Thing with this spreader and all Scout Spreaders they're not really very Consistent to begin with and that is Because the linkage is based on this Spring this linkage gets a lot of use And attention imagine if this spring Gets stretched out or this cable Kinks There's even a lot of play in it as you Can see right here now if this opening Right here is not consistent the Fertilizer won't fall through fast Enough or it could fall through too fast This is called the drop rate and Scott Spreaders are not very consistent here Now I'm going to show you later in this Video on these two higher end spreaders Right here they're engineered Differently so that they have a much More consistent drop rate now that Doesn't mean the spreader won't work for You it will you just have to be sure to Calibrate it properly at the beginning Of each season to see if that spring is Stretched out or maybe the cable's Gotten kinked or something and then just Compensate for that as you make Applications going forward now I make

All this sound like a big deal and if You're a beginner I guess it can be but The truth is once you have applied Fertilizer with this spread or any Spreader a few times you'll be able to Tell if it's flowing right just by Looking at it and by feel and you'll be Able to adjust on the Fly seriously you Develop like this sixth sense about These things once you make a few Applications and truly learn your land So all that being said this spreader is Just fine if you have a small lawn that Is broken up into small areas of two Thousand square foot or less I want to Stress that it's not my first choice but In a lot of cases if you're at a big box Store and you need to get one this will Be your only choice and this is what You'll end up with and you'll be just Fine okay now let's look at the elite I Borrowed this one from a friend who I'm Helping with his lawn he picked it up on Amazon on sale last year for 69 and if You can find one of these for 69 then I Say go for it that's a good buy however The regular price for this spreader is 148 dollars and again in my opinion That's overpriced when you look at the Next two options here this spreader is Also over built in my opinion I mean who Needs two impellers but this one does Have a true trim guard on it or what Scots calls an edge guard basically a

Trim guard or Edge guard when activated It shuts off half of the spread pattern So you can get right up against the edge And not fling fur into the street or Flower beds every spreader that we're Reviewing today has a trim guard now I'm Not going to get into that much detail Here on trim guards except to say that There are only two spreaders in this Lineup that have a true trim guard that Actually cuts the drop rate properly at The same time the others they're just Blockers okay so back to the elite it's Got four drop holes And two impellers you'd think that gave It a great spread pattern but it doesn't It doesn't really throw too much better Than that DLX right there and when you Get to the end of a run if both sides Didn't drain out the same you now have An inconsistent application now it does Have rubber tires they're filled with Foam not air so that does make it easier To push through thick grass and it's a Decent unit again if you can get it on Amazon for that sixty nine dollars go For it I'll link it below if you want to Check out the price from whenever you're Watching this video okay now we're done Looking at Scott spreaders I know that Was a lot but they basically have the Monopoly on the big box stores but now We're going to look at two spreaders That are a little bit more expensive but

Are of a higher build quality and do a Little bit well a lot better job and They're still readily available one is Available at dealers and the other is Available easily online Okay so the First is the echo rb60 which you can get From your local Echo Dealer and the First thing I don't want to point out Here is there is no assembly the biggest Advantage that the scotch spreaders and Also that this Echo have is you don't Have to put them together they come Fully assembled the only thing you need To make sure of is that you fill those Tires were there somebody pointed out to Me last year that I didn't have them Filled it worked fine but once I Actually filled them with air it worked Even better So if you have a bumpy lawn or a thick St Augustine grass having air filled Tires or what they call pneumatic tires At the right PSI is a huge Advantage for You and it will make spreading much more Enjoyable now Echo is smart when they Contracted this build because the Settings that they use here those mirror Scots settings so in if the setting on a Scot spreader is like 5.25 or 5.5 it's Going to be exactly the same here they Mirror each other and they were very Smart about that so that's one of the Nice things you get if you buy the echo Is you can just use Scotch spreader

Settings on anything that you get and It'll work out just the same and for the Record this spreader is much more Accurate than those because of the way It's engineered let me show you why so Remember here on the scotch spreader the Opening is controlled by that spring in That cable right and I showed you that That can be off so the echo also has a Spring and a lever but it works on a Static stop or positive stop see the Adjustments down here and this is Actually a separate disk controlling the Opening That is independent of the disc that is Here all this one does there's a disc That's sliding under there when you open This it's just opening up the gate 100 Out of the way in the way out of the way In the way A separate disc is what's controlling How much Fert can fall through and this Separate disc doesn't move once you go So I set it there on whatever that is Eight and a half And you can see That's the opening and that's not going To change Because I'm not touching that down there That just stays where it is That's a positive stop or a static Setting This one It's it's simple in design because

Everything relies on this so the gate The opening the drop hole everything Relies on that one gate that's it There's no positive stops or anything so Can you see how with this one every time You get to the end of a run and Re-actuate the setting has to kind of Reset itself or refine itself Where with this one the setting is Static it doesn't move so every time you Get to a run all you're doing is just Closing the gate and then reopening the Gate but the setting itself stayed Static it never moved that means less of A chance for error and that's why this Spreader is more accurate because the Setting is independent of the gate Opening a couple of years ago this Spreader suggested retail price was 99.99 today it's up to 149.99 now I'll Leave it to you to make a decision on Why that is but a 50 increase in 24 Months is pretty steep and it could Account for why the Scott spreaders are Also super expensive either way the rb60 Is a solid choice for any DIY wire and Is what I consider to be one of the best Options available to us it's not perfect But even at 149 dollars you're still Going to get your money's worth because This spreader will last you an entire Lifetime of applications as a diy-er It's also easy to get at any Echo Dealer Okay now lastly let's look at the

Earthway 2600 this has been for a long Time my favorite spreader it has a true Trim guard called side spread control Which it's a little bit of a pain to get To they redesigned this recently Probably to keep their patent intact I'm Not I'm not a fan but either way this is A true trim guard that actually cuts the Rate let me show you So let's see we'll turn the trim guard Off You can see All of the holes open right see that now We'll put the trim guard on And now you can see two of the holes are Cut off and only one is open and what That effectively does is it lets Fert Only come out of that side and not that Side that's a true trim guard or or they Call it side spread control it also has Air filled tires and a round Hopper Which I prefer because I can get a Better line of sight on where my Fert is Going but most of all it drops Consistently and spreads really nicely Now there are no springs though you Basically just open and close it with That latch right there so you open you Push and then when you get to the end of A run you close it easy peasy okay the Only drawbacks are number one if you're Taller than 511 you're going to need to Bend down to use this spreader however If you're short five eight like me it's

Perfect for you the second drawback is You do have to put it together which for Me was a two beer experience or about an Hour now I enjoyed that and it helped me To learn the spreader inside and out Which directly translates to better Applications as you assemble the unit You start to understand how it works Even before you get out into the lawn And I like that but then again that is Why you're never going to see this in a Big box store they definitely don't want To deal with the hassle or customer Service involved with something that has Takes an hour to put together now the Price here is 191 dollars which is quite High but then again as you've seen all The prices are higher than expected in Today's world here's the thing this Spreader I am 100 sure is made in the USA in Bristol Indiana and I'm willing To pay a little bit more to get made in The USA which I did and I wanted to say Right now every spreader in this video Has been purchased by me none of this is Sponsored one thing that is funny is Almost all these manufacturers will sell A lot cheaper on Amazon at different Times of the year than they even do on Their own websites I have no idea why They do that but they do so I'll give You links in the description below to Each one of these on Amazon and Depending when you're watching this you

Might catch one of these on sale and get A much better deal so at this point you Might be wondering which one of these do I recommend well again for super small Lawns even a lawn like mine that's the Bigger 8000 of square feet but divide Into small sections I I just use a hand Crank because it's super easy but you Are going to have times when you do need A walk behind or a push spreader and if That's the case my number one if you're Willing to spend the money is the earth Way this delivers the most consistent Most beautiful spread pattern again I've Told you all the reasons why I like it Made in the USA so right there 191 Dollars you cannot go wrong this will Last you the rest of your life but again The rb60 also an excellent option and You will not be disappointed so those Are the two I recommend I'm not a big Fan of the Scott spreaders even though I Don't want to I don't want to crap on Them they work fine they get the job Done they're just to me you're going to Make this purchase one time you might as Well get something good and that's where I say get that Earth way or get that Echo I'll give you full links to all These in the description below so once Again I hope this video has been helpful To you go look in the comments below Because a lot of folks in the community Will tell you their opinions on these

Spreaders as well and you'll learn a lot There as well as if you have any Questions please leave those and I'll do My best to answer them with that I'm Alan Hanna on care not thank you so much For watching hope you have a great Season and I'll see you in the lawn