As usual, Mownie's dissertation is right-on.

A few additional points

The plug aerator leaves little turds (plugs) on the lawn and therefore may temporarily offend you (depending on your sensibilities.

However, if you are going organic (or low chemical) these little turds will help cause bio-activity at the top level. This will serve to reduce thatch build up and promote healthy growth.

Thanks guys. I'll opt for the plug aerator. I think a 48inch from JD, Brinley and Agri-fab run about 250-300.

Plug is best. The dirt turds disappear after a week or so unless you decide to use your lawn roller after you aerate in hopes it will hasten the disappearing process. Trust me - it doesn't.

Another thing to consider, Plug aerators require a more substantial tractor to pull because of the resistance caused by the weight necessary to penetrate the soil. I use 180 lbs of weight on my Brinley aerator on clay soil.

Don

{{gwi:318275}}

{{gwi:318276}}

Plug aerators are far better than normal spikes, they are efficient and as the name says they aerate the lawn :) @ mownie has give the best detail and you should go for aerator, you can buy one new/used or rent one from your local home depot tool rental.

shill ?

Is it even worth it to use a spike aerator? I found one for $100 and thought if I used it twice a year it'd be worth it but if it doesn't even benefit the lawn, there's no point.

Might want to check if your lawn tractor is capable of handling a 48" core aerator. Adding the extra weight along with the core aerator itself could damage your tractor.

I bought a plug aerator 20+ years ago (Brinly) and the first weekend I had it I aerated about 10 yards of co-workers. Made enough money in two days to pay for it plus some profit. Only service on my Brinley has been a set of tines I wore out. Made a box for it to fill with water for whatever weight I want

Here is the winch in action, changed to a better limit switch later.

Nice leafenator. I had never thought of offsetting the higher cost of the plug aerator by doing paid work, but I like it. You can still give the neighbors a good deal and still raise the money.

Just watch out for sprinkler systems, I put a hole in one of my lines last fall.

Yeah, that could be a problem!

Any issues breaking or damaging sprinkler heads?

Mark the heads and go around them. The lines should be deep enough to not worry about. I had a line shallow by my buried utilities that I punctured.

A core aerator is by far more effective. However, the comments relative to needing a more robust tractor are valid...specifically with regard to the transmission. Some light duty lawn tractor transmissions may not be up to it. Most machines have enough HP. Also....you want to do core aerating when the turf is soaked with water and soft. The tines penetrate better / deeper than when it's dry and hard.