Chapin 8622B Made in The USA 2.2 Cubic Feet Tow and Pull Behind Spreader with Auto-Stop Dual Impeller That Stops When Not Moving, Designed for Farm and Tough Terrain, Hitch Pins, Black

I first bought the Agri-Fab 45-0530 and was disappointed. It's very cheaply made, especially the key part: the flow control mechanism. So I shopped and found the Chapin, which is almost twice the price.However, everything about the Chapin 8622B tow spreader is significantly superior to the Agri-Fab 45-0530. It’s like comparing a Yugo to a BMW. The Chapin is solid as a rock; really heavy duty constriction, made to last. It’s farm grade.When unpackaging, I examined the parts closely with glee. I kept hearing my Dad’s voice in my head saying, “You get what you paid for.” Yep. The frame, wheels, tub, and above all the two most critical parts -- the mechanism to adjust the volume, and the gearing mechanism -- are pro or farm grade construction. See the product image showing the cast metal gears; the gear housing even has a nipple to add grease. That seems like a small thing, but it's not. It an indication of quality engineering and design to last, not "planned obsolescence" as with so many throw-away products these days.Quite conveniently, it was nearly all assembled out of the box, also unlike the Agri-Fab. With the Chapin, I only had to assemble the tow assembly. It took 20 min. A customer wrote a review in April, 2023 complaining about the assembly difficulty. That certainly wasn’t my experience. A photo from a different reviewer, Doug, from June 5, 2019, shows how few parts there are to put together. If someone can’t figure that out, they probably have difficulty installing a light bulb. I agree with the rest of Doug's review too. Even the bolts and little parts come neatly packaged and labeled, not jumbled willy-nilly in a plastic bag, as his picture shows.I’ve used it twice on a 5000 sq ft lawn area and it works perfectly. When you stop, the flow of material automatically stops. To be sure, you have to get off to make adjustments to the flow if needed. And you have to set it to zero if you want to drive without material being spread. But I’m OK with that. The Agri-Fab does allow one to remain seated and try (TRY!) to make adjustments, but the Agri-Fab’s control mechanism is such a cheap piece of junk that doesn't work as intended. You can see how cheap the Agri-Fab is just from looking it after buying. It isn’t worth it.The Chapin also comes with a cover for the tub (nice!) AND notice the shape of the tub itself. Another example of clever attention to engineering detail. It’s not rectangular; it has a pointed middle so that you can just tip it over forwards and pour out any remaining content into a box or bag. Love It. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

The first time I used it the amount of material delivered was difficult to predict. The second time I used it, the impeller quit moving and now no material is being spread. Seems like junk for what I paid for it.Adding some new facts...I gave this product a 1 in this review. There was no option to give it a 0. If you are looking for a good quality and reliable spreader, look elsewhere.Here is a summary of why:1. September 2024 I purchased the Chapin 8622B tow behind spreader for my personal use from Amazon.2. Soon after that I used it to spread grass seed and starter fertilizer. It seemed to not feed reliably but I got through the task3. November 2024 I used the spreader a second time to apply a winterizing fertilizer. The gearbox stripped out and the impeller would not move. I used my old push spreader to complete the job.4. It was now outside of the Amazon 30 day return window so I contacted the manufacturer.5. They sent me a new gearbox and a Youtube video. Fix it yourself.6. In Late February 2025 I got time to repair the spreader. The first thing I discovered was a bolt that needed to be removed was stripped. It was kind of a special shoulder bolt that I could not purchase at a hardware store.7. I contacted support and again they sent me the hardware. Fix it yourself.8. March 2025, by now it was time to apply my spring pre-emergent. I used my old push spreader to do this before the weeds sprouted.9. April 2025, with the new hardware, I cut off the stripped bolt and replaced the gearbox. It seemed to be working okay.10. May 2025 I applied some broadleaf weed killer. Again, I experienced poor results. The gearbox worked okay but again the spreader did not feed the material well. Everything started good, but at some point I realized it had stopped feeding. Now I had no idea what I had covered and what I hadn’t. I ended up double covering some areas and burned the lawn.11. I’m fed up at this point and requested to return this product that had never worked correctly and receive a full refund.My request for a return/refund was denied. I was told “Unfortunately, we cannot process refunds if the unit has been used. We can only accept returns if the unit has not been used, and it is in the original box it was received in. I do apologize for this inconvenience.”That seems to be a really tidy policy that assures they will never have to take a return of their defective and underperforming products.1. Nobody keeps the box.2. In order to realize it doesn’t work, don’t you have to use it?After my experience I belatedly looked for some reviews. A popular theme was tipping, stripped gearboxes, and feeding problems. I looks like I’m not alone.Unfortunately, another trusted American brand is likely to disappear (much like Pan Am, Sears, American Motors etc.) It is inevitable with products this poor and such ineffective customer service.

This spreader is absolutely fantastic.1) The instructions to put it together were adequate but not 100% clear. It took me about an hour or so. Without power tools it would have been much longer with all of the bolts.2) The use of the machine is simple and extremely effective. I used it to put down grub preventer and killer as well as a weed and feed fertilizer behind a commercial grade zero turn. My grass area is about 3/4 acre. I was done with both in about an hour.3) The Auto stop feature is amazing. Absolutely no issues with piles of fertilizer anywhere. I used 3 as the spreader setting, and the delivery amount was perfect. When going from one area to another, where I didn't want any fertilizer, I set the spreader setting to zero.4) I have purchased hundreds of tools over the last 40 years. This is a top 5 purchase for sure and will save me huge time and money.