Ratings & Reviews for Scotts Turf Builder Broadcast Spreader 5-lb Capacity Compatible with Ice Melt, Salt, Fertilizer, Seed

Fine for a small yard, until it broke

This is great for under 10k square feet of grass (i.e., a small yard) and eliminates the need to store a full size spreader. Also effective at spreading ice melt. However, after a few uses, the two sides of the bottom part started separating and the gears would get misaligned. Eventually it got jammed up and the handle broke after using only moderate force to try and free the mechanism. Good idea, bad execution.

Works Well

I bought this product to use for spreading ice melt. Despite reviews that state it broke after the first use, I had good luck with it. It's certainly not heavy duty, but I used it 3 days I a row in below freezing temperatures and it worked well. In setting number 5, it threw enough ice melt to reach across the width of the driveway, so with only a few passes the job was done. Definitely beats applying by hand!

Grass seed

The lower feed settings do not workl. You either get setting 4 working intermittently or 5 works well but over seeds. Setting 1-3 basically don't work, or you might get very little and inconsistent seed distribution.

Not a good choice for ant baits

I have a house on a 2 acre lot. This spreader would be perfect for broadcasting fire ant bait (Amdro) but is not made well. The gears wore quickly and jammed. I even took apart the unit and applied WD-40 but the gears continued to stick then the handle broke. Frustrating.

The handle in uncomfortable and the crank does not work well and hang up. Better off sewing grass by hand.

Not a good buy

I know this is not what most people buy this for but regardless it should still work. I have turnip seeds 75 LBS that I needed to put out over 15 acres, the seeds are too small for the tractor and you only put out 3lbs an acre which is about a coffee can full This seeder worked fine for about 10 minutes but then it just got too hard to turn, I am guessing it was not designed for this much use and has all plastic guts which got hot and failed but its just not worth investing money in unless you ...

Its junk

Bought one. Couldnt turn the handle after first few minutes. Handle then broke, Save your money. Spread by hand.

Great with nothing in it

Works great for the first pound then slows down and very hard to turn. would work great if you wanted to build up your arms. Jams easy reverse action not so bad over all went threw two in two days.

Very poor quality

I literally used this item once. It worked great for the first 5-10 minutes then it became hard to turn clockwise. I was able to effortlessly use it the other direction for a few minutes after that. The gears seized even after fudging with the feed output and using different amounts in the hopper. I had to spread the rest of my lawn by hand (2/3rds of .25 acres). When I was done, I tried finding out what went wrong and the handle sheared off the outer piece because the gears wouldn't turn whatso...

Works as it should

This works okay, for me I found if you set it on more then 3 it was hard to keep turning the crank. other then that is worked as it is supposed to I do like the rest that goes behind your wrist so your arm is holding the weight of it works well for the price next item will be a push spreader.

WOrks decently - but watch for a couple of things

This spreader is pretty easy to use, and I had no issue with the quality/durability. Beware, as you finish up a hopper full of fertilizer, there will be a significant amt that will pour out when you tip it (powdery). Also, when you refill, you'll find a heavier spurt of fertilizer will be emitted. I have seen no impact on my lawn because of this - just don't be surprised when it happens. :)

Works at first, but fails hard.

Worked at first, got sticky halfway into my first (20lb) bag of feed, and still worked but cranking VERY hard. Looking on the exterior, the (all plastic) components had loosened a bit, and tightening helped it go back to smoother operation. Halfway into the 2nd bag it jammed completely and the handle broke off. I popped it open and found the main drive shaft is entirely plastic, which had worn down, causing the jam. So, you'll basically have to clean this thing after every single load you put in...

Complete Piece of Junk!

I bought this hand spreader to spread clover seed in food plots on my farm. I did not even get done with one small 1/4 acre plot and the handle broke off. I then remembered that this happened with the last one I bought. I would not recommend this product to anyone as my experience is that they are cheap and always break.

Good for small areas

I used this to spread pesticide around the foundation of my house. Worked great. Throws 15 or 20 feet. Good design to reduce wrist fatigue. Not sure how the plastic impeller and gears will hold up.

Scott's Broadcast Spreader is awful!

This is probably the sixth spreader we've bought and they DO NOT LAST LONG. Last weekend, we bought yet another, and it broke the first time we used it. It's a terrible product.

Do not recommend

I tried two of these units. Both of them became unusable on the first use. I don't know if the internal gears are plastic, however, the crank became jammed before I could spread a single bag of fertilizer. I bought this unit as a replacement of my Ortho Whirly Bird spreader which was purchased way back in 1981. This is not a typo, 1981. This unit did not make it through a single application. Sorry Scott.

Turf Builder 5 Lbs. Broadcast Spreader

On the cheaper side of spreaders with a nice hand held design but you must intermittently release the trigger feed so the flow does not get clog.