Greenkey Rolling Lawn Aerator, Manual 300mm Spiked Roller, Green, Mixed Materials, Compact Style

Well, I'd read the reviews (positive & negative) I decided to buy it anyway. So... here's my review...Arrived very quickly.. so top marks on dispatch time.I quickly unboxed it and removed all the components from the box.I needed a 14mm spanner and an 8mm spanner in addition to the 10mm spanner that is included in the box.. not a problem.Now to assembly.. I recommend you bolt the spikes on to the wheels first. That puts to bed most of the components & simplifies things. The rest is easy to work out (don't forget to fit the spacer at the bottom of the pole where the pole mounts to the brackets - this spacer strengthens the mounting.If you don't know how to change a light bulb, haven't got a 14mm & 8mm spanner or you have to 'call a man in' to assemble a your flat pack furniture then maybe you shouldn't buy this, as you'll probably be unable to work out to assemble it (it does come with instructions which are easy to follow!).So, in less than 10 minutes it was assembled..Now on to the effectiveness....You will need to have a bit of upper body strength to push it down & along - If your soil is like concrete then you'll have to push a bit harder. If you're less than 5ft 8", weigh less than 10 stone, physically disabled or are seriously medically unfit then give this a miss - It requires a bit of a push & physical effort to make it work.Within 30 minutes I'd completely done my lawn (which is about 20 metres by 8 metres, worked up a slight sweat and was very pleased with the results.I'll be aeriating my lawn fortnightly until I get it back to how it used to be.. This is an easy to use tool.. don't be put off by the negative reviews.... It's a great piece of kit, cheap as chips and gets the job done. Gardening isn't without a bit of work, so anyone that expects this to 'do the job for them' needs to hire a gardener. This works - period.By the way, I'm affiliated with the seller - I'm an IT guy who loves his garden and because of bad knees I can't use the spikes that fit on your boots as this would cause pain, but this requires very little pressure on the knees, as it's all about weight to push down & along (or maybe strength if you're a skinny tough guy!)So from unpacking the item, within 40 minutes I've aeriated my lawn. RESULT!!

Having read the reviews for this I had my doubts about assembly and ease of use.Assembly: I found it easy to put together, using an adjustable wrench for the spikes. It also comes with a small metal 'spanner'.Use: I read a lot of reviews saying it needed more weight. I'm 5'6 and weigh 8 stone and for me this is already heavy enough, yet it still does the job of aerating. As long as you do it on moist soil it works well (probably helps that I have wet clay soil).Con: I did find the plastic t piece handle had been constructed incorrectly - it had two internal ribs which meant it would not slide onto the metal shaft as it was too tight. I had to spend a lot of time hammering it on which broke up the ribs. Even then I can't manage to secure it on with the screw, so used tape. Having assembled it I didn't want to send it back.

This lawn aerator is well designed and built. Unlike many other comments, I had no problems in putting the various pieces together. Even the spikes were easy to fit. So, I assume, the manufacturers have either recently improved the design, or maybe I was lucky to have an easy to assemble unit?Nevertheless, I do agree with lots of comments about the lack of weight. It is best to use this after rain, or if no rain, at the very least, a good wetting with a sprinkler or hosepipe. As it rains nearly every other day in England, this should not really be a problem. Having said that, I still think the addition of some weights would make the task of lawn aeration easier.I notice some comments about adding weight lifting disks to the bottom of the handle bar. I think this is a great idea. But as I did not have any of these, and they are quite expensive to buy, I thought I use whatever I could find in my garage workshop. Almost all the material used was found surplus to requirements left overs from previous jobs. (However, I doubt the cost would have been unacceptable even if all had to be purchased from DIY stores or Amazon.So I design and built a cradle out of 2m x 25mm aluminium flat bars, which are held together with small 5mm nuts and bolts. I use a 45cm bungee cord to secure a lightweight breeze block to the cradle. The breeze block can easily be fitted and removed after use for storage in a few seconds. The weight of the breeze block is about 7kg 15lb. This seems to be enough weight to sink the spikes fully into the lawn after rain without any extra downward pressure, which would be necessary without any weights. I have a few mini paving slabs to add more weight if the ground becomes too hard. Don’t use too much weight as it becomes more difficult to use. Only just enough to get all the spike lengths to penetrate the ground, so try different amount of weights to get it just right if the ground is a bit on the hard side.The supplied small spike protectors are easy to lose, so I found some 4mm (inside diameter) by 6mm (outside diameter) clear plastic tubing in my garage, which I cut to size to fit completely over all the 30 spikes to be attached when it is in storage. Without these protectors, the spikes could cause an accident as they are very sharp.(I left the tubing on one of the spikes, which can be observed the photos.)