Scotts 71131 Wizz Hand Held Spreader Reviews Summary

Battery Life and Power

Pros:

• "Instead of expensive rechargeable batteries it uses 4 AA batteries which were included with the spreader."
• "I’ve been an Amazon customer since they only sold books!"
• "Make sure you blow this thing out after each use, like with an air can or your lungs."
• "The batteries really wear down so eliminating any resistance will make 'em last a little longer."

Cons:

• "The battery power isn't strong enough to spread even small seeds well."
• "It eats through batteries so fast you won't get more than 15 minutes on fully charged batteries."
• "This uses 4 AA batteries with no manual option."
• "I purchased one 2 years, first couple of months it was functioning well, but in long term the wheel that rotates to spread granules gets stuck."
• "The 4 batteries lasted less than 15 minutes."
• "This product is the worst I have purchased from Scotts."
• "The battery-operated Scott's Wizz spreader is *so* much easier than the hand-crank version because it allows you walk normally with your arms down."
• "The RYOBI spreader cost more and uses a powerful 18v lithium battery (that works with other RYOBI tools) that plugs into the back of spreader."

Reliability and Durability

Pros:

• "The selector switch makes using it very easy as you can apply many different types of granulars to this product."
• "It is also very durable and easy to store."

Cons:

• "Quit half way through second use."
• "I owned this for 5 seasons. I dreaded using it each time due to how fast a fresh set of batteries died."
• "Seems like a handy item to use if you don't want to have a push spreader on wheels."
• "Also the whole item is made of plastic - which again, may be good for seeds, but for ice melt, it tends to scratch and crack easily."
• "Motor is not strong enough to work when loaded."
• "Tried fertilizer and grub control and the motor would not work at all until it got down to a handful of product."

Performance and Effectiveness

Pros:

• "This unit was just the right size for walking and spreading my grass seed."
• "I think people with smaller laws would find this more useful than a larger rotary broadcast spreader."
• "I used it as soon as I received it and immediately thought the batteries died since it simply quit functioning after just a couple minutes."

Cons:

• "New batteries...motor is not strong enough to move salt."
• "Unless you're using ice melt with the grade of table salt to cover your driveway, this thing's gonna jam."
• "The spreader out of the gate seemed to jam up fairly easily by the fertilizer particles."
• "I resorted to only filling the hopper about half full to see if that reduced the pressure on the mechanical components - but to little avail."
• "I would improve this by giving it a much more robust motor."
• "The design and everything is perfect except performance is lousy."

Cost-Effectiveness

Pros:

• "If you are on a budget and have a small yard to weed and fertilize, the Wizz is the ticket for you."
• "I highly recommend this spreader as a low-cost alternative for small yards."
• "I purchased this spreader for my small yard and for occasionally spreading salt on my driveway in the winter."

Cons:

• "The Wizz Spreader is manufactured by yard products company, Scott, whose walk behind spreader was too expensive."
• "I was originally looking for a walk behind radius spreader but found them cost prohibitive."
• "This product gets high praise except for the challenges of feeding from the hopper."