Agri-Fab 45-0462 Push Broadcast Spreader,Orange & Black,130-lb Capacity

Product arrived in the original box about 30x30 without damage. We did extensive research on spreaders before deciding on the Agri-Fab 45-0462. The area to be covered by the spreader is between 10,000-15,000 sf of turf. The grass type is St. Augustine. We fertilize between 6-8 times per year as we are in Florida so durability of the spreader is important. The primary fertilizer we spread is Milorganite.Initial impressions: Unit arrived quickly without damage. Opening the package the product is shipped in pieces and packed sufficiently to reduce damage. The parts are of a substantial quality and the finish appears durable. The hopper is fairly large for ease of filling and the amount of material it can hold. The tires and wheels are fairly heavy duty. The frame coating and painted surfaces appear to be a powder coated steel with substantial thickness for durability.Assembly: Unit requires full assembly. You will need a socket set, small rubber mallet and needle nose pliers. Since the gear box is sent without grease you will need to take it apart to grease it. It is very easy to gain access to the inside of the gear box as it only involves 3 clips. I used synthetic grease for the gear box. It took me about 2 hours to assemble the unit and it was easy. You will want to spread all parts out first and review the diagram carefully. Follow instructions!Use: Spreader feels balanced and smooth during use. The spreader rate is very easy to use and change as it involves a wing nut with a calibration scale. I set mine at about 3 for the Milorganite. The spreader stops material sufficiently when you move the lever to off with no leaks. A clip rotates material in the hopper to prevent clumping. Material appears to spread evenly and is dependent on speed of the operator and the opening size. Unit is very easy to clean after use as all parts have sufficient clearance to clean properly. I use a garden hose and blow the unit off with a blower that is used on the driveway.Conclusion: The unit works extremely well and is well built for heavy use. It has no flimsy cable that either goes out of adjustment or break. Plan to take time to put it together. If you have basic hand tool skills this is a very easy task. If you don't take the time to construct the unit properly you will not have satisfactory results. Those of you looking for a well built mid grade spreader will be happy with this one. Remember to keep it clean. Take care of your tools they will take care of you.

The 130 lb. 45-0614 Agri-Fab spreader is a well designed spreader that wasn’t to complicated to put together. The video on You Tube was of some assistance and made the assembly a breeze. The spreader is made of quality parts and will last a long time. After assembly I used it to put fertilizer on the lawn and it works flawlessly throwing a 10 foot wide path and cut my work time down considerably. It’s easy to push and a pleasure to use. – Thank you Agri-Fab for a job well done.

First off, buyers should know that they will be receiving a large, heavy box of unassembled parts and a couple of bags of fasteners. It's not like spreaders I've had in the past where you just take it out of the box and bolt the handle on. As the buyer, you will be assembling this product from scratch, just as it would be assembled on a factory assembly line. I've done mechanical work for many years, and consider myself pretty handy. I thought it was a pain in the tail to assemble, and it took quite a bit longer than I thought it would. The instructions were mediocre. If you don't have some skill with tools, this may not be the product for you.The parts in the box were not really protected very well and the paint was rubbed/scraped on several of the parts, which will lead to premature rust.Assuming you manage to get it assembled, you will find that it's pretty sturdy spreader. Not a Lesco, but better than the average home center product. It is big--much bigger than the average spreader and will take up more room in your garage or storage building. I do wish it had a folding handle to make it easier to store for the winter. I've used it a couple of times, and because it has big tires, it's relatively stable and easy to push compared to previous spreaders. I haven't tried it filled to the maximum capacity since my yard is on a hill. Mine has an annoying squeal that I'm going to have to locate and lubricate. The lever actuator assembly is far better than the cheesy cable/lever assemblies on the home center models. All in all, the positives outweigh the negatives, and I expect this spreader will last for a long time.

This spreader is very well constructed, with powder coated metal frame, inflatable tires with easy to access valve stems, and a sturdy polymer main hopper body. The fastening hardware is good quality, and I found assembly to be very easy (takes about 1 hour if you take your time). The instructions are clear, and there is even a series of steps you can use to calibrate the opening and closing of the dispenser hatch.So far I am using if for salt spreading, and it seems to work well. There are no gates hanging down, so it casts a very wide dispersal pattern of granular material. The wheels move smoothly without binding, and the controller is linked by a solid strap of metal (no cables). Metering is fairly precise using the handle mounted controller. The operating position is at a good height, and is ergonomically very comfortable. This will hold at least two bags of rock salt. Note, it does NOT come with a grate or cover, but I never found those to be terribly useful.The gear box is sealed, but the manual advises you should open it up for oiling every season. I have not had any problem with the flow through hatch clogging and have experienced no bridging of material. It has a open "slot" for dispensing, not one of the flimsy rotating disks. I think this aids in keeping the material flowing freely.All and all, an very solid and dependable spreader.

Put 100 lbs of grass seed in it and it worked perfectly.Makes a huge difference having real tires on it and not plastic ones.

It is a nice quality product. During assembly you can see that it is built like a tank. Some people using it to spread even salt at winter time.

I bought this spreader for de-icing salt and gravel. It is much larger and sturdier than the ones that were available at my local big box store.It took about an hour to assemble and the instructions were decent but not great.I find that the agitator is much too small for this size spreader. It's just a coter pin so damp sand did not flow at all. Even with dry salt I needed to shake the machine a lot in order for the salt to flow. I would like to rig up something to vibrate the hopper while pushing the spreader. That would solve the problem but it will be a project for another day.My other criticism is that since there are no deflectors, an equal amount of product flies back at your legs as flies outwards. Not great if you don't like being cover with salt.All in all, this is a large sturdy spreader with a few flaws that Agri-Fab could probably solve quite easily.

only used it once but worked well

Great push spreader! Much better quality than the cheap Scotts ones from the big box stores.Very well built, heavy duty and exactly as advertised. Used in a field setting. Only issue so far was that I was missing one bolt for assembly. Other than that it has been perfect.