John Deere Broadcast Spreader

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

Now that I realize that my acre plus of lawn needs so much lime and fertilizer I’ve been looking for larger capacity spreaders that I can tow behind my John Deere mower. My darling wife first said “NO WAY” to my idea of spending $219 on a tow behind spreader. Now that she’s thought about it a couple of days she realizes that if I purchase this type of spreader my job will be one in a quarter of the time and I’ll have more time to help her with the kids. How’s that for a good reason to buy some new yard equipment?

So here’s the stats on John Deere 3.5 cf tow behind broadcast spreader:

– 175 lb box capacity with a volume capacity of 3.5 cubic ft
– All stainless steel interior hardware, shaft and agitator to prevent corrosion
– High speed, 6:1 reduction glass-filled nylon gears provide the widest spread pattern at the slowest speeds
– Fully enclosed gearbox eliminates down-time and maintenance
– Autoflow feature stops the flow of materials automatically to prevent burns
– Directional spread-pattern control feature provides positive shut off along sidewalks and driveways

About the author

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

All posts by Todd »

Not what you're looking for?

Search for more articles here. Enter keywords like, 'insulation' or 'kitchens' etc to find your topic.

18 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    bought one used it 3 times flow control is plastic and it broke. John deere cannot find parts for this spreader. The plastic flow controle is no dependable. wish I bought better spreader.

    • Dex says:

      What a piece of crap! One use and the plastic nib in the flow control broke! Must be DESIGNED and MADE in CHINA. No respectable engineer would design something like that. Buy another brand.

  2. Anonymous says:

    gear stripped in mine. Contacted JD for parts and was directed to local. Neither had the part.Still working on it. Any suggestions for parts?

  3. Todd says:

    Not sure….i’ve used mine many times with no problems. Have you tried to order the part online from JD? I know you can order any part online and have it shipped to a local dealer.

  4. Anonymous says:

    same with our control,cheap plastic.
    we fixed it with a piece of flat stock that we drilled a 1/2″ hole in and a small hole at the bottom to accept the cable. put two 1/2″ flat wshers on either side of the flat stock when you replace the original control handle for support.
    WORKS GREAT. also use a hose clamp or two to secure the cable to the handle so it does not break

  5. Greg says:

    Brinly makes this spreader for JD. Check them for parts. BTW, if someone wants one of these go to HD and buy the black Brinly. Same exact spreader off the same line. $60 cheaper because your not paying for the green paint and name.

  6. Jim says:

    The small plastic gear in the gearbox stripped after less than a year of use. The rate selector control is very unreliable. JUNK!

  7. mike says:

    Pins kkep breaking on axle and now the gears stripped and I can’t get the parts. I also had the plastic control break and had to replace it with a throttle cable for a lawn mower. JD told me they do not make these and did not know how to get parts. This thing was a bad purchase as it is junk.

    • Todd says:

      @ Mike – You’re not the first to make the same comments. I have used mine now for 2 years with no problems. However, it seems more people comment on the poor quality. It seems another manufacturer is building these for JD. It’s a real shame that JD is not standing by the product.

      • BILL Conner says:

        Same problem here,gear stripped and have not ordered parts
        but it look like no need.I guess i will just scrap.

        • Todd says:

          Bill – Sorry to hear that….mine is about to start it’s 3rd season and so far (knock on wood) I haven’t had any troubles.

  8. rich says:

    i purchased this John Deere pull behind spreader and my third time using it ,it broke. come to find out the pin that holds the plastic gears in place backed out and stripped my gears. does anyone know where i can buy another gear box assembly for this ?

  9. greg says:

    Good luck finding replacement parts!! This is a piece of junk… Same problems other guys are having. The flow calibrator broke, cheap plastic. I’ve been brought up to believe that if it is green you have a reliable, strong product with no headaches. It has really made me think b4 i spend a lot $$$ on junk. where was this made anyway??? If it USA I’m sure I would not be writing this, and I could easily find parts….

  10. Bob Julian says:

    First, I am a Farmer, My goal was to change out all my equipment to John Deere brand. The Key word is “W#AS”. Here this.. John Deere. I have a John Deere 310E Backhoe, numerous attachments to my tractor (which is an old non John Deere product. Then I purchased this Spreader LP22756, to fertilize my yard and spread seed for my deer food plots My Flow Control assemble is also screwed up. I spent hours searching the web for parts, to no avail. Tomorrow I will dissemble the controls and attempt a modification.

  11. Aaron says:

    Sound like this is a common peice of junk … I’ve had 3 years now and I’ll give it credit it worked great for 3 years but the flow controller busted apart into 4 pieces. I’ll try to manually jerry-rig something to see if I can keep this stupid thing working. SIGH…. very disappointed in John deere when I went to store looking for parts and they looked at me with eyes glazed over then I mentioned the spreader model #.

  12. John says:

    Absolutely terrible….. Cheap plastic all the way around. Glad I bought my spreader cheap on a farm sale. Wish I would have seen these reviews sooner.

  13. Johnnie says:

    Just saw these posts. I bought the JD spreader today (LP22756). My selector broke as well. Anyone have any luck finding a replacement part or even one from another manufacturer?

  14. bill says:

    bought one two seasons ago it is a pieace of cheap crap same problem everyone else here is talking about. Why JD would put there name on this product I cant imagine. Maybe they just don’t care about quality any more just the profits.

Leave a comment

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2009-2023 Front Steps Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Home Construction & Improvement™ is a Trademark of Front Steps Media, LLC.