Move Over, Aerators: A Cheaper Solution You Can DIY With Old Lawn Equipment

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Lots of homeowners are convinced that the key to a lush lawn lies in knowing how and when to aerate their lawn, but affordable spike aerators often do more harm than good, and core aerators can be expensive and hard to come by. There are a lot of ways to avoid pricey aerators with DIY solutions using tools you already own, but at a glance, few of them can outperform TikToker jskenterprise's DIY roller aerator, made with an old brake rotor from his truck and some bits of old lawn equipment.

The DIY aerator build is straightforward and requires no welding. He assembled his aerator from a lawn vacuum handle (which is virtually indistinguishable from a push mower handle), homemade tines held on by U-bolts, the rotor, and plastic wheels of similar diameter to the rotor, added for stability. He also mentions using a Hayward pool filter backwash valve, probably as a hub to keep the rotor tight to its axle.

The creator made a wise choice by building his aerator around a brake rotor. Core aerators (also known as plug aerators) need a fair amount of weight to push their tines into the ground, and a front brake rotor for a Ford F-150 (which fetches $10-18 at a junkyard) might weigh a little over 30 pounds (rear rotors will be lighter). A core aerator with a single row of tines needs 30-50 pounds to hold everything down, and a single brake drum gets you into that range.

The design of jskenterprise's DIY aerator is brilliantly simple. For example, you can simply flip over the handle to switch directions rather than having to repeatedly turn the heavy device. However, there's always room for improvement, and there are a couple of ways to make this design even more functional. 

@jskenterprise

I built this from old parts in my garage and shed. #diyproject #coreaeration #aerator #jskenterprise #thesteadygardener

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Since a single rotor might be on the light side, a two-rotor design with the tines sandwiched in the middle will probably get the weight into a more effective range. There's at least one product on the market, the Amick Doubledisk Rollaerator ($159), that's made in this very way. Tracking down a rotor with an attached hub might give you a sturdier option than something improvised from thin or plastic parts, and the added expense isn't outrageous. Salvage rotors cost around $10 without a hub and $18 with one, depending on your area. In addition, the creator had his roller cable-tied together, and it might make sense to bolt the thing together instead. 

In terms of both time savings and effectiveness, using replacement tines meant for other aerators could be a smart move. A 12-pack of Shiosheng Aerator Core Tines runs $42.90 on Amazon. Just keep an eye on costs when making one yourself, since you can pick up a Lxuziud Core Rolling Lawn Aerator of comparable design for $219.99 and a LawnVigor Rolling Lawn Aerator (with replaceable tines and weight that can be adjusted by filling a drum with dry sand) for $229.99. If that's scary, remember that a quart of liquid lawn aerator can retail for around $50.