Spreader dial conversion

Any Scotts spreader ⇄ any Scotts spreader

Pick the spreader your bag lists and the spreader you're using, then enter the bag's setting. Every conversion comes from 39 product labels, from Scotts and GreenView, that print settings for two or more Scotts spreaders side by side.

Bag lists

You're using

Bag setting

Reads 3¼ on the bag

What's going in the hopper

Results are rounded down to the nearest quarter mark, so a miss puts down slightly less, not more. Calibrate before you do the whole lawn.

Start the Elite at Inside label data

Your bag

BioAdvanced Complete Brand Insect Killer

This bag lists the Basic, Standard and Deluxe EdgeGuard, which all sit on Scotts' Broadcast/Rotary line. Here it is converted to the Elite. Use the rate the label gives for the pest you're treating.

Label rate	Deluxe EdgeGuard	Elite start	Weigh out for a 1,000 sq ft test
1.2 lb / 1,000 sq ft	3¼	3¾	19.2 oz (544 g)
2.0 lb / 1,000 sq ft	3¾	4¼	32 oz (907 g)

At the 2 lb rate the bag gives Basic 4¼ and Standard 4, which convert to 4½ and 4¼. Start from the Deluxe EdgeGuard line because it gives the lowest number.

Full conversion chart

Tap a row to load it into the converter.

Inside label data Rough Extrapolated Calibrate instead

Deluxe EdgeGuard	Elite: granules	Elite: grass seed

Before the whole lawn

Calibrate on a test patch

Mark off 1,000 sq ft. A 20 × 50 ft rectangle works.
Weigh exactly the label amount for that area and pour it in the hopper.
Set your spreader to the chart number. Walk a steady pace, about 3 mph, and overlap passes the way you normally would.
Product left over means the setting is low; go up a quarter mark. Running out early means it's high; go down a quarter. Repeat until the hopper empties right at the end.

Scotts uses the same factory check on its broadcast spreaders, the Elite included: set the dial to 3, hold the trigger, and a ¼-inch drill bit should fit snugly in the lower-left corner of the gate. If it doesn't, the spreader is out of calibration.

Where the numbers come from

How well each pair converts

Scotts doesn't publish a conversion chart, and it says dial numbers are specific to each spreader model. Its bags print settings in columns: Broadcast/Rotary, Elite, Wizz, Hand-Held and Drop. For each pair of columns, the page fits a line through every label that prints both numbers for the same product. Rows are what the bag lists and columns are what you're using. Tap a cell to load that pair.

Selected pair

Broadcast/Rotary to Elite

Solid lines cover the range the labels cover. Dashed lines extend them and are only a rough guide. No line means the pair doesn't convert for that material. Hover or tap a point to see the product.

Granular product	Rate or use	Label	From	To	Chart says

Grass seed pairs

Seed product	Use	Label	From	To	Chart says

Which spreaders share a column

Scotts labels print one Broadcast/Rotary setting for the Turf Builder EdgeGuard Mini, Basic, Standard, Deluxe EdgeGuard, EdgeGuard DLX, Lawn Pro and SpeedyGreen. Its EPA master label lists Basic, Standard, Deluxe EdgeGuard, Lawn Pro and SpeedyGreen together. The Drop column covers the AccuGreen and Classic Drop. Two spreaders in the same column take the same number.
Other brands sometimes test these models one at a time. BioAdvanced's Basic and Standard numbers can sit up to about ¾ mark above or below its Deluxe EdgeGuard number, and Pennington and GardenTech sometimes list the Mini apart from the DLX. When a bag lists several, use the Deluxe EdgeGuard or DLX number.
Handy Green and Easy Hand-Held go in the Hand-Held column, as The Andersons' labels group them. That column is made up of the Hand-Held numbers on Scotts seed bags and the Whirl numbers on GreenView bags.
If a bag already prints a setting for your spreader, use it instead of this chart.

Limits

Drop settings don't convert to or from the Broadcast, Elite or Wizz columns for granules. Across 13 products they barely track each other (correlation about 0.3), because drop flow depends on the product. Drop and Hand-Held track each other roughly, but only six labels show it.
Each direction gets its own fit. Converting A to B and then back can land a quarter mark away from where you started.
Some brands, including The Andersons, Jonathan Green and Yard Mastery, print the same number for the Elite as for Scotts' broadcast models. Current Scotts and GreenView labels set the Elite ¼ to 1 mark higher, and this chart follows them. Calibrate either way.
Left out of the data: settings the label tells you to apply in two or more passes; two bulky organics, Natural Grass Food and EcoScraps; SummerGuard, whose broadcast number differs between Scotts' own pages; and the Snap spreader, which has no published settings to pair.

Converter