The AndersonsYard Star Walk-Behind Broadcast Spreader

My 10 year old Earthway spreader finally corroded to death while I was in the process of putting down fall fertilizer. I wanted the replacement to be reasonably sized since it competes for space in my shed, and I wanted something with solid linkage instead of the cable that my old Earthway used (and eventually failed). A 50 lb hopper would be adequate for my 10,000 sf lot. I quickly zeroed in on the Earthway 2150 since it is well reviewed and is more robust than my 10 year old Earthway (which was equivalent of the current 2600A). I noticed the Anderson's Yard Star looked similar to the Earthway so I checked out the user manual on the Anderson's web site, and the user manual actually refers to it as an Earthway 2150. It was about $25 cheaper than the Earthway and it could be delivered a day earlier, so I ordered the Anderson's Yard Star. As a bonus, it comes with a rain cover whereas Earthway sells the rain cover for additional cost.Assembly wasn't too bad. There are a couple of YouTube videos showing how to assemble it and I recommend watching a video and using the installation guide as a reference. The unit I received was partially assembled - the upper handle with rate adjustment lever and the lower support and rear leg were pre-assembled, which saved some time. There were a few spare nuts and bolts in the package so I double-nutted the control rod during the calibration step to really lock it securely.Note: the Yard Star (and the Earthway 2150) have an adjustable height handle and it is pre-assembled in the lower height position. If you are taller and want the taller handle position, you will need to disassemble the pre-assembled upper handle and change the bolt positions.The Yard Star has 13" pneumatic tires, direct linkage and is more robust than my old Earthway. It's enamel painted instead of stainless steel, so it should be hosed down after each use to extend its life as long as possible. If you can afford it, the Yard Star / 2150 appears to be a quality unit.P.S. All the options available for the Earthway 2150 work on the Yard Star also. Check out the Earthway site for more information.Update: I've attached pictures comparing the old and new spreaders. Also ran 50# of fertilizer through and the Yard Star works great. The fertilizer bag had an Earthway setting so I used that. The throw appears to be 6 feet or so on each side, with a slight left bias. I didn't bother trying the edge guard control since my old unit never had one. I notice Earthway sells an optional cable + handle control for the included edge guard, which would make it more practical to use. Otherwise you have to reach under the hopper and fumble for the plastic slide tab to engage the edge guard. I don't really feel like paying another $50-60 for the feature right now, on top of $350 for the spreader. I just use my blower and blow off the over-throw as necessary. The unit feels really solid and controllable with those 13" pneumatic tires and the linkage to turn the spreader on and off felt very smooth. The Yard Star has a metal wing nut to tighten and lock the drop control lever at the desired position (as opposed to some less expensive units which have a plastic wing nut) and it never moved out of position as I opened and closed the spreader during operation. I'm happy with my purchase.

This is in no way an easy spreader to put together. What also made things worse is that Earthway that makes these units for Andersons missed putting in the box 2 nuts, a control rod that was not threaded to the end (I had to grind it down to get to the threads- a new one is being shipped to me) and an elastic top that does not fit (also a new one is being sent out.) With that being said it is the best spreader I have ever used. The large wheels easily move over the bumpiest terrain and the controls are super easy to use. Highly recommended if you don't mind taking time to put it together.

Easy to put together. A little tricky to set up so it does not stick in closed position, but you can make the minor adjustment for it to work fine after set up. I use many types of product and don’t necessarily have exact setting, and do not get into spending the time calculating this. But it does spread nice and good width. Just have to do a little guessing. Rolls nice and taller than box store brands, which hurt my back and just did not have the build quality and kept breaking.

I decided to finally upgrade from the cheap plastic Scotts spreader I bought 20 years ago. I have to say that I should've done it sooner. This spreader makes going through my yard so much easier. Over roots, rocks..etc. It also spreads the fertilizer much further than my old spreader. I also don't have to worry about the opening getting stuck and product dripping onto my lawn.Cons:The directions on putting it together is horrible. I used the video that is posted in the product description on how to put it together. That made it a 100x easier. If you get this spreader, use the video to put it together. I rated it 4 stars for assembly just because of the video. Thank GOD Andersons put this video out. Like I said, the directions are horrible...I referred to them only when I needed to know which screw to use. Rest of the assembly was done watching the video.

I bought this walk behind spreader because I buy predominately all Andersons products for my lawn. I live in NW Ohio, I have friends who work at their corporate office in Maumee (I try to by local whenever I can), and I just like their product the best. I'll pay for the results I get. But I did not have an Andersons spreader. It just made sense to me to buy a spreader that goes with almost all my granular products.As for assembly, up to the point of putting the spreader handle on, it was pretty straight forward. After that, I had to do some YouTubing to see what others were doing. (Of course they made it look easier than I had been experiencing). Anyway, I did eventually get it put together, but I have not been getting consistency in my spread. In addition, I have to "bounce" or shake the spreader every so often to get the granules to continue disperse. (And these are the Andersons smaller DG granules that do not clump.) So I am trying to figure out what is going on there.Bottom line is I think it is a good spreader. While I am not a lawn care expert per se, but I am not new to taking care of my lawn on my own. I am familiar with spreaders and calibrations. This still may have been a bit out of my league as it been my most trying lawn spreader to date. I am not entirely sure I trust what I am putting down just yet.Last thing is I need to order a cover for it as it does not ship with one.

The spreader seems to be of good quality and sturdy. Product arriver in a smashed box that had been inspected by amazon and repacked with about 100 feet of tape used to hold it together. No serious damage but can see where the hopper had been squeezed from the white areas of stress. The directions for assembly are awful, very vague and assume that you know lingo part names. It took me about one hour to assemble but I can see that some people would have a hard time.