Customer Reviews for Scotts 25 lbs. 10,000 sq. ft. Turf Builder Classic Drop Spreader for Seed and Fertilizer

The first Scott’s lawn product that has disappointed us. Our Turf Builder Classic Drop lawn spreader appears to have problems with the rate control. When adjusting to the indicated setting, the cable that opens the hopper door is slack and the hopper door doesn’t open. One has to turn the rate control to indicated higher setting in order to drop product. My lovely bride usually does the seeding, feeding and weed control…. I just discovered this when I wanted to surprise her this weekend with all the yard work completed. Hoping that Scott’s has a solution to this problem.

During the first use spreading lime granules, they quickly got stuck between the bottom openings and the regulator bar that is plastic and simply deflected outward, thus plugging it up. This year I see that all the little plastic teeth/pegs on the rotating agitator that are meant to force the contents out the bottom holes were very worn down after only 2 summers' use! My old metal spreader lasted over 30 years, and this cheap plastic one hasn't held up for over 2 years!

I have a Scotts rotary spreader, but I bought this DROP spreder to specifically use along plant beds to overseed with grass seed. Past overseedings allowed too much seed to land in plant beds when using ROTARY spreader, requiring lots of vegetation killer the following spring. I had to apply some insect granuels several weeks before overseeding, so I tried out the Scotts DROP spreader. Everything seemed to work fine. When it came time to apply grass seed, the grass seed made the orange drum with fingers at bottom of hopper impossible to push the DROP spreader. The wheels refused to rotate. I had to remove seed several times until the orange drum was partially visable. Once I got moving, the spreader worked OK. Unfortuanetely, I had to keep stoping to add more seed. Good thing I didn't have to use this DROP spreader on my entire 1 1/4 acre lot. Not sure if Scotts designed drum to have as many little fingers on drum as they have for grass seed, but it doesn't work well with grass seed. I have not tried any granular fertilizers, but the insect killer worked fine. Since I may not overseed for another YEAR, I might start trimming some of the fingers on drum to see if spreading seed improves. I would think you would only need about 1/4 of the fingers. It's called a DROP spreader, so the fingers aren't forcing the material through the bottom openings.

I was so bummed. My 40+ year old Scotts spreader finally bit the dust. I can only hope this new fangled version can last as long. I already love the kick-stand better. I'm 6' tall, so the handle length was perfect. I considered a rotary spreader, but the cheaper version I would have to bend over as I walked.

Save your money! Piece of junk and planned obsolescence at its worst. After one season and a full cleaning before putting away inside sealed garage, wheels and cylinder barely turn even under hard pressure. Scott’s add some galvanized or aluminized metal to the all plastic monstrosity. With all the seed you sell, you should provide a simple handheld rotary spreader with 50 lbs sale or more. Homeowners generally use it just once in sowing season and then all plastic moving parts seize up making it virtually unusable even though bathed in WD40 and 3 in One. A shameful ripoff!!! Hire some engineers and quality control people!

Purchased unit from my local Home Depot. I had read the reviews prior to buying. Most seemed to complain of too much product coming out. I watched the calibration video from Scott's and followed the instructions when I got it home. Thinking this was everyone else's error I proceeded to fertilize my lawn. I noticed after completing the first section I had a lot of material falling even when the gate was closed. Long story short the product wedges itself between the basket and the gate. This creates a gap that allows fert to fall out all the time. I called Scott's in regards to their no squabble guarantee. They said to return it to the store. So I'm returning and cannot recommend. spend your money with another brand like Chapin or Lesco.

Th spreader is very easy to setup and use. Nice options for dumping various amounts of seed, fertilizer, sand, etc.

I thought this model from Scott’s would be an improvement over the last drop spreader I had from them that looked like it was made by a toy manufacturer. I was wrong. With this model you can’t see the product dispensing like I could on the old model and the rotary dial is WAY off. I calibrated it and it doesn’t help. The spring loaded door at the bottom doesn’t close tight enough therefore leaks fertilizer as long as you’re pushing the spreader. So you have fertilizer all over your walkways and cement. What a mess. I wish Scott’s would come out with a decent drop spreader.

I bought a bag of 16 16 16 What setting do I use with my Scotts 3000 nothing on the bag tells me?

I bought this this drop spreader a few weeks ago and used it today for the first time to overseed with Scott's New England Mix grass seeds. The spreader wheel would not turn at all with a reasonable amount of seed in the hopper. It would only work with about 1/2 to 1 inch depth of seed and my full weight pressing down on the unit to make the wheel turn. When empty, it turned perfectly, but that its not what I bought it for.

I bought this last September 2023 to apply starter fertilizer to my new lawn. The big issue I had with this product was that the fertilizer pellets would get wedged between the hopper and the shutoff bar (the molded black plastic bar that pivots when the trigger is pulled). I followed the instructions to calibrate the spreader before first use. I have the classic drop spreader so I calibrated it at 8. Even with calibration the pellets would get stuck. The result was that the spreader would drop more pellets than I wanted and would drop pellets without the lever being pulled. I tried this product again last week after calibrating and the pellets still got stuck. I'm not using Scott's brand fertilizer but that shouldn't matter.

Bought this today and used it to put Scotts Foundation on my lawn. It was very hard to push. Very exhausting. THe right wheel tends to skid. There is something wrong with this spreader and I can't recommend it. Unless Scotts can tell me how to fix it, I plan to return it.

Not happy with this spreader. The design allows the body to sit too low. So when grass is damp, as per instructions, the weed and feed clogs up and won’t come out thru the holes. The spreader is worthless and it’s past time to return it.

This may be the most poorly designed product I have ever bought as it does not function. As numerous reviewers have commented, as soon as you add product to the feed chute, the mechanism basically becomes inoperative. So, I can't really evaluate the flimsy plastic or hollow wheels because it could not even function. Went back to a vintage Scotts broadcast spreader - which is not what I wanted to use - that I've had for year. What a change for the bad over the years!

Used 6 times and the wheel fell off can’t find a replacement

Wish it had a cover to put on the top. Some times you have to make sure it rains before applying.

I have been using my Scotts classic drop spreader for almost 10 years and it is still in great shape. I love it because it is so easy to use. I wash my spreader after every use and have not had a problem with clogging but I think there is too much slack in the line so the drop rate is not accurate.

This spreader drops fertilizer even when lever isn't pulled. Scotts knows this and regularly sends out parts that owner needs to install. They should redesign this spreader because they get so many 1 star reviews.

I like having more control of how much fertilizer, too expensive to use too much. I saw in the comments the previous version had metal impeller, which would be nice upgrade. Probably not good idea to use for other lawn products like Ironite or pelletized lime, I’ll keep old broadcast spreader for those jobs.

Great product, spreads evenly, I wish they would put larger rubber wheels on for rough terrain.

Worst spreader I have owned. Replaced a Scotts metal spreader I had for 20 years. The calibration for the drop is incorrect and varies depending on the product. Constantly clogs on wet grass no matter the height of the grass. A simple fix would be bigger tires, but this option is not available. Do not buy this product.

This is my second try, maybe it won’t accept a one star! Had for several years, it cost so much I keep trying and wasting money on Scott’s products! Constantly clogged even when doubling the setting!

I have had the spreader for several years and if it didn’t cost so much I would have trashed it before now! Clogs so bad it’s worthless! Even if I lived in the desert with zero humidity it wouldn’t spread evenly! And applying fertilizer requires wetting the lawn! Going in the trash, it doesn’t feel right to sell it!

Replaced an earlier one that died in 5 or 6 years

Purchased to replace previous identical spreader. It was replaced because the metal axel rusted, causing wheel to fall off. Scotts is providing a refund when I send them a picture of one of the parts. Apparently, there is a guarantee up to 20 years. Anyway, have always used drop vs. the broadcast kind. Giving this a Good rating since the price for a mostly plastic spreader is way too high (about $90). Otherwise they hold up for a long time. Could have also obtained the part to fix per Scotts. They appear to be a good company.

Is high humidity supposed to affect this spreader’s ability to drop product? It clogs way to often.

ehh, could be better. For the pricepoint it's not as great as it could be. overall, this is a decent enough option