60 lbs. Heavy-Duty Spreader

I purchased this 2 weeks ago to replace my small Scott's spreader. It assembled easy and performed fine. My only complaint so far is after one use the plastic plugs in the bottom of the tubing both fell out. I was able to find both, but now I have to decide on a fix to keep them in place. I shouldn't have to do that on a brand new product.

This spreader is completely suitable for residential use. Please ignore the self-proclaimed product "engineers" out there who have modified the agitators or created a coat hanger pull to close off flow. First, the agitator: I would NOT recommend modifying the agitator by adding PEX or other tubing…WHY? After watching some of the videos online, I put some 5/8 clear tubing and 3/4 CPVC sections on my unit - these had a tight enough interference fit to stay on the agitator while in use, but still be easily removed. While this mod does eliminate the gap under the agitator, and might be OK if you only plan to fill the spreader 1/4 full or less. Any more than that and the modified agitator will have a REALLY hard time rotating due to greater surface area of round tubing (vs original design). This puts extreme pressure on the drive mechanism and will impact the life. With my unit only half full of grass seed, the modified agitator would barely move and the unit was was hard to push. I removed the tubing and CPVC, and it worked fine. Other agitator mods such as zip ties or angle brackets might work, but not sure they are really needed since a bit of shaking while pushing (or just pushing if you have a bumpy lawn) allows the unit to fully empty. Next, the tires. Some of the geniuses out there were complaining about the tires being pneumatic-this is a fact However, they are desgined to run on low pressure (like run flat tires) so shouldn’t cause any problems. And, because they are wide, they make the spreader easier to push and more stable on all sorts of terrain. Huge improvement vs. Scotts plastic garbage. Now, on to the plates (flow gate) not closing and needing to modify the handle / cable / springs. This should be a non issue if you just keep the spreader clean (and dont spread lime while its pouring!!) Rinsing the unit after each use (which you should do anyway due to incompatible materials) should mitigate these issues. Lastly, the frame plugs on the bottom keep falling out - this was mentioned in several reviews, and is spot on accurate. My RB-60 lost both plugs on its inaugural flight. Small miracle that I found both and glued them in. Problem solved. I dont like the fact,that the cable and handle assembly aren’t repairable - you,have to by the whole upper frame assembly to fix which is almost half the cost of a new unit. Would prefer that this be serviceable. Anyway, if you’re looking at spreaders and comparing Scotts and Echo, buy the Echo. The Scotts are lawn toys - if you want a spreader for your 4 year old nephew to push around the yard, then go for the Scotts.

It is a heavy duty spreader with nice durable tires and a hopper BUT there is a major flaw. The gate holes get stuck open because the fertilizer pellets jam between the two plates! You wind up burning your lawn or losing a ton fertilizer on your driveway etc. etc. it’s happened every time! Just a buyer beware Do a little digging online and you will see the hundreds of comments about this. Also the agitator misses a ton of the fertilizer at the bottom of the hopper when your are low on product.

I chose this spreader as an upgrade from my Scotts and the fact that it matches Scotts settings, and I needed pneumatic tires. Disappointed on the often documented agitator issues as well as the settings adjuster "bounces" out of setting often when I don't even notice. I was forced to put stress on it with a bungee cord from adjuster handle to lip of hopper. This keeps it accurately engaged. Next time I guess I'll spend more.

Good and bad features. Compared to others, the balloon tires and wheel base are vastly better suited to pushing a load around a yard, especially if the yard isn't perfectly flat and smooth. It is not tippy and rolls easily. The cheaper units look like they were designed by guys who were only using it on indoor-outdoor carpet in the design shed. The RB-60 also throws a nice even pattern. On the down side, like many of these spreaders, a little grit gets between the feed plates and the door to stop the flow gets stuck open. Several YouTube videos mention this and one guy even worked out a coat hanger fix for it (ha-ha!) This design flaw is made worse in all these spreaders in the under $300 price range by the fact that it is not designed to be disassembled for cleaning!!! I used the spreader once so far to spread 200 lbs of pelletized lime and the feed cut off jammed several times. I finished my yard spreading 20 lbs of fertilizer and a small bag of grass seed using a hand spreader. I'll just use the hand spreader whenever possible and recommend a hand spreader for most folks. Although spreading 200 lbs of pelletized lime with a hand spreader could be a little tedious, nearly 1\4 of my quarter acre yard is steep 1:1 slope that can only be done that way. It's not that bad. Try a cheap hand spreader first!!!

First impression is that it is a nice spreader Filled the hopper set to number 8 and started to spread fertilizer. Nothing coming out with the handle pulled Emptied the hopper and pulled the handle. It only opened about 1/8" - 3/16" with the handle pulled all the way to the grab bar. The cable & spring were too long. No means to adjust it. Removed the spring and added some wire rope to shorten the cable and now it releases fertilizer

I appreciated the review by Nyjett32. His analysis of this product was spot on. My approach to the agitator began by following his suggestion of using 1 1/2 " pieces of 3/4" Pex to decrease the distance from the agitator to the hopper floor. Hopefully this will help push product into the slots in the bottom of the hopper. I did not want to buy a can of insulating foam to attach the Pex. The foam can is pricey and you can only use it once. I had a piece of 5/8" ID vinyl hose that just fit inside the pex. This then tightly slid over the agitator arms. While it was a tight fit I then used two 3/4" #8 self-tapping screws to secure the Pex to the agitator. Very secure and I didn't have to buy a can of foam. I'll install the 1/8" links and spring and I should have a dern good upgraded spreader.

It would be nice if it had an “cruise control” latch. My 62 year old hands get cramped holding the latch open for long periods. I frequently lose the tube plugs on the stand on the back tubes. See picture.

Spreader is smooth and professional grade for a lot cheaper holds a lot of fertilizer

So far it's pretty good. I've only used it one time this season. It's definitely way better than the scotts dxl spreader I had for a couple of years. The pneumatic tires are way better than the scotts hard plastic wheels. I'll see how it holds up after a couple of years use. More affordable than a lesco spreader. Some spreader prices are ridiculously priced for what they do.