I looked for a lot of inspiration for this online in different forums so I thought I would throw some pictures of what I did in here in case it helps someone else down the road.
Note: I only use the aerator in straight lines and have it in the slowest gear so I don't torque anything unnecessarily. I also used what I call fake float with my bx2200 and leave the 3 point lever all the way down so that it drops if needed as moving. It's gravity dropped so it doesn't break anything that way.
I started with a craftsman aerator that looked exactly like this one below.
It was used so I tore the whole thing apart and cleaned up the axle and greased everything up. My Dad also helped me use some angle iron to attach a 2" receiver tube to the unit on the bottom. I also used the bar that was used to lower and raise the axle to secure the axle and keep it from flexing under use. It was bolted through the angle irons and the receiver tube.
Once we got everything back together I kept the portion that secures the wheels on the outside with the intention of securing water containers. Those don't rotate so it worked out perfectly. I decided to use 6 gallon water jugs from menards that fit perfectly with a few pieces of 2x2 wood secured to the metal sidewalls. You can also see the strap attached to hold everything down. The only thing I will add is some kind of rubber between the cans and the aerator as there was some wear from where the cans moved a small amount. My fear is that over time it may wear slowly away at the plastic on the bottom of the jugs.
Finally I decided to make something to lower the unit onto and move around when in storage. In reality it's a self made dolly with 2x4s to hold the unit. With this being in the garage I didn't want to take a chance one of the kids tripped and fell into it if it had ever sat or got rolled over with the spikes sticking out.
It's maiden voyage went well, didn't see any undo wear and everything held together well after 2-3 hours of use (my lawn has some ruts so it isn't always a smooth ride)
Anyways hopefully this helps give someone else some inspiration and feel free to ask me any questions!
Note: I only use the aerator in straight lines and have it in the slowest gear so I don't torque anything unnecessarily. I also used what I call fake float with my bx2200 and leave the 3 point lever all the way down so that it drops if needed as moving. It's gravity dropped so it doesn't break anything that way.
I started with a craftsman aerator that looked exactly like this one below.
It was used so I tore the whole thing apart and cleaned up the axle and greased everything up. My Dad also helped me use some angle iron to attach a 2" receiver tube to the unit on the bottom. I also used the bar that was used to lower and raise the axle to secure the axle and keep it from flexing under use. It was bolted through the angle irons and the receiver tube.
Once we got everything back together I kept the portion that secures the wheels on the outside with the intention of securing water containers. Those don't rotate so it worked out perfectly. I decided to use 6 gallon water jugs from menards that fit perfectly with a few pieces of 2x2 wood secured to the metal sidewalls. You can also see the strap attached to hold everything down. The only thing I will add is some kind of rubber between the cans and the aerator as there was some wear from where the cans moved a small amount. My fear is that over time it may wear slowly away at the plastic on the bottom of the jugs.
Finally I decided to make something to lower the unit onto and move around when in storage. In reality it's a self made dolly with 2x4s to hold the unit. With this being in the garage I didn't want to take a chance one of the kids tripped and fell into it if it had ever sat or got rolled over with the spikes sticking out.
It's maiden voyage went well, didn't see any undo wear and everything held together well after 2-3 hours of use (my lawn has some ruts so it isn't always a smooth ride)
Anyways hopefully this helps give someone else some inspiration and feel free to ask me any questions!
