Chapin International 8400C 100 Lb. Capacity Made in USA Professional Spreader with Stainless Steel Frame, Red

This is such a quality spreader. Great components and stainless steel frame. It was not really that challenging to put together, you just have to study the drawings and replicate them. After reading a review about a different Chapin spreader, I heeded their suggestion that you should use washers and lock washers on all of the bolts. Some reviews have noted that these spreaders can loosen up and the nylon nuts don’t really stay secure. I bought 1/4” stainless steel washers and 1/4” stainless steel lock washers to secure all of the bolts (see the photos). I used these washers on the head end of the bolt as well as on the nut end. The frame tubes are all rounded and the heads and nuts don’t have a flat surface on which to seat. It feels really solid after putting mine together this way. The only problem about the instructions that I still haven’t clarified is the large washers. It only says “use the washers as needed.” They are intended for somewhere along the wheel/axle/wheel assembly to take out any back and forth slack, I just don’t know where. I’ll call Chapin again tomorrow. They have been very helpful when I called with questions. The other nice thing about this spreader is that it has two different augers—one regular style flat auger (but not a simple thin piece of metal), and an auger that is like a drum with wings on it. The manual says the drum is for applications of minerals (that tend to clump) to lawns. I regularly apply gypsum to my yard as it helps with clay soil. The gypsum clumps badly, and I know the drum will help in applying it. This is a spreader with quality parts, good design and so easy to use. The open/close of the holes is solid with no slack—just strong and gets the job done, without question about whether it had. One last thing, this thing is FN HUGE. I didn’t realize it was so big. I won’t have to reload so often for my 5000 sq ft lawn. I love it!!!

Works good. Better than Tractor Supply.

American made but Chinese instructions! Very disappointed in the assembly instructions for this product. Even the online YouTube videos were not that good. It is very easy to create some very clear instructions. Somebody should look at the instructions for a saw stop tablesaw to give you an idea of the quality you can create. Although these are manufactured in Taiwan, the instructions are the best I have ever seen. Somebody please take note of this as the instructions here look like they were written by a child in the fourth grade. Maybe not even that good. The product itself works as advertised. It is a heavy duty product and I think it should last a number of years. It is not easy to simulate what the spreader settings should be when compared to products from Scott’s or some other manufacturer of big box store spreaders. These are the only downsides as far as I can see. Please improve instructions dramatically and also create some form of comparison chart between the fertilizer products readily available at big box stores and your product.

This was not the easiest nor the hardest to assemble, but I absolutely respect the thought and engineering that went into the design and instructions. It did take longer to assemble than I expected but I am okay with that based on the end result. This should be the last spreader I ever own, assuming I wash it, lube it when necessary and no one steals it. I have about an acre and a half of lawn and trees that I will use this unit on. The terrain varies, so a pull behind with my lawn tractor is more trouble than it is worth at this point. The design is very well thought out. The machine has a nice wide stance, the spreader can be adjusted to spread left, right, center or any comination of the three. The materials used for construction are stout, not just good looking but flimsy.

Unbelievable materials quality. I just leave mine out in the weather next to the air-conditions next to the house and my spreader looks like new. But there is this... The tank that holds the fertilizer doesn't funnel the material to the holes in the bottom very effectively. The result of this is that quite a bit of fertilizer is still in the hopper when the spreader stops dispensing material. I end up having to tip and shake the spreader for far too long to get the last bit of fertilizer out. The entire time I find myself asking, "how could you design a fertilizer spreader that doesn't funnel the chemical to the holes in the bottom?" This seems like a huge oversite to me... And it's not just me. I lent my spreader to my neighbor. When he returned it I asked him what he thought. He said, "Really nice... but not all the fertilizer comes out". Obviously if you keep the tank full you will never experience this. If you put two 40 pound bags in the hopper, you won't notice this shortcoming until the hopper gets towards empty. If you are using this spreader for home use and only put a single 40# bag in it (or less), you may find this quite annoying.

This arrived fast. I purchased it to spread salt on our parking lot. It was left in the box until the fall when I went to assemble it. First, the axle was BENT. How that could be is anyone’s guess. Ok I straightened that since that’s what I do is fix things. Normal people could not have fixed that problem. Next there is a rod that connects the feed lever to the bin. It’s supposed to have a hole drilled in it for a clip to go through. NO HOLE. It’s a stainless rod so very hard to drill. I have cobalt drill bits and a vise, and a center punch and,,, a drill press which allowed me to drill a hole. Not sure how many purchasers could drill stainless. No washers included where there should have easily been maybe 12 or 16 included. I purchased some stainless washers to make the assembly more professional and to give the product a longer lifespan. Quality control is pretty poor. All said and done a fair product if someone was watching the Night Shift. 🤔 it works good. Just so you know the instructions say do not use rock salt. Fairly difficult to assemble. Look closely at the assembly PICTURES! Then it’s possible to do.

The bolts were too long and and had to be cut off so the impeller could turn . The pattern adjuster also had to be lifted with a zap strap so it didn't hit the impeller .

I bought this unit to salt our parking lot. Unfortunately, the hole the salt goes through is too small and not really designed for that. The salt always jammed up which eventually jammed the unit up.