Land Pride CA2560, CA2572 manual General Operation Instructions

Table of Contents

Section 3: Operating Instructions

General Operation Instructions

By now you should have read your Operator’s Manual and properly installed your Land Pride 25 Series Core Aerator on your tractor. If you haven’t, please do so now.

Using the Core Aerator is a fairly simple task but there are a few things you need to consider before beginning. If you are aerating in an area that uses a sprinkler system, you will need to mark the sprinkler heads with small warning flags so they can be avoided. Also you will want to avoid any sizable rocks or foreign material that might be embedded in the soil that could cause damage to the aerating spoon. Most important, do not work over underground electrical wiring or gas lines.

With very little practice you should become very proficient and effective with your Land Pride 25 Series Core Aerator.

At the completion of the aeration task the Aerator should be washed, cleaned and lubricated. Any lodged cores should be cleaned out of the spoons. Units being put up for the winter should also have water drained from the weight tanks and storage stands should be put in place. Store in a dry and well drained area.

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Do not work over any underground electrical wiring or gas lines. If there is any doubt, call your public service agency. Be sure to ask how close you can work to their flags or marks. Making contact with electrical wiring or gas pipes can cause serious injury or death.

Now that you know where you are going to aerate and what precautions need to be taken, it is time to start the tractor and travel to the site where you intend to aerate. It is best to start in the middle of the field and gradually work your way to the outer perimeter with each pass. This will also help keep you from compressing freshly pulled cores.

Begin by lowering the three-point hitch until the Aerator is fully on the ground with all the weight off of the tractor. Put the three-point in float position and pull ahead slowly to get the spoons into the ground. Gradually increase ground speed to approximately 5mph. Do not make sharp turns with the Aerator in the ground as equipment damage may result. At the end of each pass lift the Aerator out and off of the ground until you have realigned the tractor for the next pass. Look back often to observe your pattern and to make sure you are getting good soil penetration. If you aren’t achieving the desired penetration, you may need to add more weight or wait until after a rain or after irrigation has been applied to softened the ground.

Usually allow about twelve to twenty-four hours after pulling the cores before pulverizing the solid parts left on the ground with a drag mat. The pulverizing action of the drag mat breaks up the soil portion of the core which is redistributed into the undisturbed thatch layer setting off a microbial action that accelerates thatch breakdown. The vegetation portion of the core remains on the surface for debris collection or destruction by a mulching mower.

12/06/11 CA2560 & CA2572 Core Aerators 325-020M 13