Frustrations
Pluggers can be a frustrating piece of equipment to buy, own or rent. They are typically only used for a few weeks a year, yet they cost just as much a as a heavy commercial mower that will be used almost all year. Based on that, you might think renting a plugger would be a great option, but the the rental companies have to charge an arm and a leg for rental because the pluggers sit around about 11 months out of the year not producing any revenue. To complicate things further, the right weather, not too wet, not too dry, each Fall will determine when everyone will want to use the pluggers. So even if you reserve a plugger months in advance, the conditions may not even be right to use it.
The Up Side
For customers that demand a nice healthy beautiful lawn, it has to be done, and they will have to pay what it takes to make it worth someone's while, which can make owning a ride-on plugger like owning the goose that lays golden eggs during that short window of time that they are needed. As a ride-on aerator owner, you may also find commercial cutters who don't own the right equipment to make aeration easy, who are looking to sub-out their aeration work. This can extend your use of the expensive equipment beyond your regular customer base.
The Evolution of Pluggers
Prior to 2012 when TORO/Exmark released the first popular ride-on pluggers, the landscaping world widely used walk behind aerators which were very strenuously demanding to use. A customer once told me that the TORO Ride-On plugger was 4x as productive as a walk behind plugger in the morning, and 8x as productive in the afternoon, indicating how worn out his staff were after using a walk behind plugger for a morning.
The Toro/Exmark Plugger was and is a very maintenance intensive machine, but it was gladly tolerated because it was so much more productive than other equipment available at the time. Most of the maintenance issues had to do with drive chains being exposed to dirt, dust and debris in the plugging chamber. Much more reliable Ride-On pluggers without chains in the plugging chamber, were released by Stinger in 2018 and by SCAG in 2023. The SCAG unit also delivered precision depth control, where as previous machines that claimed to have depth control, simply had a pressure adjustment, which didn’t deliver consistent plug depths across harder and softer areas.
TORO Emark Z-Turf Ride-On Plugger
Pictured above (lower left) is the TORO / Exmark / Z-Turf aerator which remains a very maintenance intensive machine that, while we are dealer for it, we don’t recommend because there are better alternatives available. What happens is dirt, dust, landscape netting and whatever else gets in the sprockets and makes the chains overtight and stretches the chains. Then after the machine is cleaned, the chains are loose. If the loose chains are not adjusted then they will start skipping on the sprockets which rounds off the sprocket teeth, eventually to the point that they no longer function, at which point the only solution is replacing thousands of dollars worth of parts. This can be avoided but it requires nearly constant cleaning, lubricating and adjusting.
Stinger Ride-On Plugger
Pictured above (lower right) is the Stinger aerator. Compared to the TORO this machine is relatively easy to maintain.
SCAG AerStorm Plugger
Pictured above (upper left) is the SCAG AerStorm aerator. This machine offers ease of maintenance as well as precision depth control.
TORO GrandStand Multi-Force Hooker Plugger
Pictured above (upper right) is the TORO GrandStand with a Hooker Aerator attachment. Because of the extremely simple appearance of the Hooker Aerator, without exception, people are skeptical that it can perform and deliver equally desirable results as the other machines on the market. It can deliver those results, and it can do so at a higher speed, with the least amount of maintenance, and we have yet to have a buyer disappointed in the job it does.
The weight of the GrandStand is not used to push the tines into the ground. Instead each of the six rows of tines has its own cast iron weight that can swivel up when it hits an impenetrable spot like an underground boulder or stump. Other machines that hit impenetrable spots at high speeds are more likely to damage a tine or abruptly rock the machine left or right, whereas the Hooker has what you might consider a suspension that allows continued smooth operation at full speed while one tine raises up as the other five stay in the ground.
The idea behind the Multi-Force platform is to have a Stand-On mower that can take attachments to perform other functions. The cost of adding this hydraulically controlled Aerator attachment is about $2500, a small investment in a small attachment that can easily be stored away outside plugging season, while the main machine can continue to be used throughout mowing season. There are also other attachments such as a Dethatcher, Turbine Blower, Leaf Plow, Snow Plow, Snow Blower, Snowbroom, Hydraulically controlled dumping mulch bucket, and probably more to come.
Price
The TORO/Z-Turf, Stinger and SCAG AerStorm are all in the same ballpark for price. The GrandStand MultiForce with a Hooker Aerator Attachment will be $4-5 thousand more expensive than the others. But when you consider it is both an aerator for aeration season and a Stand-On Z mower throughout cutting season, it's several thousand less expensive than two similar pieces of equipment. The savings grows to be even more as you add additional attachments, compared to buying dedicated equipment to perform the same functions.
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