Sun Joe AJ801E 12-Amp, Electric Dethatcher and Scarifier w/Removeable 8-Gallon Collection Bag, 5-Position Height Adjustment, Airboost Technology Increases Lawn Health, 13 inch, Green

It took a good long while to get here, and as other reviewers reported, it does feel somewhat "too light to be sturdy" and rather flimsy at unboxing, but let me tell you, it packs a punch! Took all of 5 minutes to assemble; the main unit comes fully assembled with the sacrifier tool in place, you basically need to put in two Phillips screws for the handle posts, then it's just a matter of hand screwing the 4 handle bolts and voilà, ready to roll. Switching from scarifier to dethatcher is also a breeze and is done in a manner of seconds; simply flip the unit over (the "lightweight" is already coming in handy), unscrew both 10mm retaining bolts, switch "drums" and put the bolts back in, not too tight, just nice and snug. Deck height adjustment is quick and easy, and once underway, I was amazed at how much thatch came out of the seemingly "clean" parts of the lawn. I quickly found that the "catch bag" is rather useless if you're dethatching for the first time in a long time, you'd have to empty it every few feet. The best approach I found is to leave the bag off, make one complete pass on the whole section of lawn then blow everything out on the driveway with a leaf blower and shovel the resulting mountain of thatch in a trash bag (or compost bin in my case). The only real reason I could see the catcher being useful if is you have very little thatch but have some debris hidden away in the lawn ( little rocks, small sticks, stray pieces of mulch and whatnot), then it would be super useful... The fact that it's lightweight is in no way indicative of its sturdiness or effectiveness, it simply makes it easy to operate, and the fact that the drum turns in the same direction as the wheels makes the machine almost "self-propelled"; I found myself having to hold it back rather than pushing it when scarifying. It's also much quieter than the "commercial" gasoline unit from the tool rental place; this one actually sounds like a shop vac. Oh, one helpful little tip; always walk "away from the electrical outlet": start your passes closest to the outlet, and gradually walk away from it, that way you'll hardy notice that annoying electrical extension, and won't have to constantly fight it out of the way. I had a huge problem with chinch bugs this year, I solved the problem, the bugs are dead but so were big parts of my front lawn (approx 2000 sq.ft), this little machine was a huge part of bringing my lawn back by taking all of the dead grass out, then scarify the soil making it ready to re-seed. I did two passes (left to right then front to back) with both tools, picked everything up between each pass and cleaned up the driveway, all in an afternoon... This is by no means a "commercial grade" machine, and it's obviously not meant to be used all day everyday, but as a home owner, you'll only be using it a handful of times per year (and maybe lend it to your neighbour once in a while), and in that regard, it's a great little tool to have around. And, it's light enough to be hanged on the wall or tucked away on a high shelf when you're done. Couldn't be happier with it! 1 YEAR UPDATE: Still very happy with the machine, a real soldier! It managed the fall cleanup very well with the "rake drum"(picked up the leftover leaves and twigs nicely), stored it away for the winter in my un-heated tool shed, pulled it out last week for the full spring clean-up and I just finished renovating the side part of the yard using both drums extensively, and the "little scarifyer that could" never missed a beat. I even lent it to both my neighbours for their spring clean-up, and both were flabbergasted at how much stuff was coming up from their seemingly clean-ish lawns. I love this little guy, easily my favourite garden tool, if sadly it were to die on me (not that it's showing any signs of it), I'd bid it farewell, thank it for services rendered, and order another one in a heartbeat!

Funcional máquina para principiantes, muy buen costo beneficio! Gracias por su atención.

So, I purchased this item after my boss told me about it. He showed me pics of his usage, and I figured, why not? It was relatively inexpensive, costing about the same as a one-time rental of a dethatcher from the local rental place. I figured if I get 2 uses out of it and destroy it, I'm ahead of the game. Plus, I could use it at my convenience and not have to worry about returning it. We take pretty good care of our lawn/yard (it's not perfect, especially in the area that used to have an above ground pool, but we try). It's a larger lot (about 1/4 acre) in our neighborhood, and we mow every week with a push mower. We alternate weeks of mulching and bagging, so we really didn't think there would be very much thatch coming up. Boy were we wrong. We started off with my husband cutting and bagging the grass in one direction, and, as he moved to a different section of the yard, I started with the Sun Joe going in the opposite direction, using the dethatching attachment. I followed him around the entire yard doing this. Because we didn't use the bag on the Sun Joe (see "cons" below), he then went OVER the thatched material with the lawnmower to bag it up - first in one direction, and then he did the entire yard AGAIN in the other direction to ensure that it was all picked up. We were going to use our Billy Goat blower, but figured that would make an absolute mess, so we opted for the mowing route. Total time for about 9000sf - 4 hours. And well worth every minute. I should have taken photos, but rest assured that I was completely and utterly dumbfounded at the amount of dead grass and compost-like material that we raised, and it takes quite a bit for me to be impressed by a yard machine. Pros: - easy to assemble - only tool needed was a Philips head screwdriver (also, make sure you push the angled handle portions of the metal tubes ALL THE WAY into the body of the machine - many review complain about this, but I can see where the issue is not pushing in all the way). The rest of the handle is assembled using large, easy to turn plastic thumbscrews. Very convenient. - the height/depth settings are easy to change. Simply push the green t-handle in and move it to the setting you choose. I tried the "0" setting first so as not to damage any grass, and found that moving it to the "-5" setting worked even better and caused no damage. On the areas where we had moss, I moved it to the "-10" setting. Moss no more. - works exactly as described and as needed - they're not inflating the value of this machine, I can safely say. Cons: - the bag. As most other reviews stated, the bag is a joke. True, but we just left it off. See above for how we picked it up without breaking our backs raking. Notes: seriously - make sure you're using the right size extension cord. I used a 12 gauge cord at 100 feet and had ZERO problems. Machine didn't shut off, overheat, or otherwise explode. Also, you can use a tiny bungee cord to wrap around the handle to keep it powered as you move through your yard. The angle of the power switch can get a little uncomfortable over time. Overall - 5 out of 5. I wouldn't change a thing - even the bag. It would take a REALLY big bag for it to be convenient, and the only other option would be a giant vacuum, so I can't count that against them.

What I liked was that it came with a scarifier blade. Don't need the dethatcher tines. The scarifier gets down to the soil level and prepares it for taking seed. In doing so it also dethatches at the same time. This is very light weight and did a much better job than I could have managed with a rake. I'm too old for that! This machine worked really well on our front lawn which has been neglected for many years. This was the first time is had been dethatched in over 20 years. It is lightweight so I can easily lift it up to get to different levels of our lawn. It is foldable and easy to store when you don't need it. I do recommend a heavy duty extension cord to prevent the motor from bogging down and overheating. I bought an AmazonBasics 12/3 SJTW Heavy-Duty Lighted Extension Cord and it worked really well. There were no real problems or complaints but at this price you need to have realistic expectations of what you are getting. It feels really flimsy because it really is. A few times the machine couldn't pull through the thatch and uneven ground and when I twisted the handle to free it, there was a lot of flex. The motor is very strong, up to the job, and never stalled out, but the chassis is questionable. Still it got the job done and am satisfied with the machine, so not a deal breaker for me. I didn't want a big heavy steel machine that I couldn't lift. The catcher on the back is almost useless. It works but has a very small capacity. I kept a bucket at each end of the lawn and emptied it after each pass. I just hate raking that much! Our back yard lawn was in much better condition so I just left the catcher off and did a light raking afterwards. Still not a deal breaker for me. A bigger catcher would mean bigger stronger chassis and a heavier machine which is not what I wanted. I'm only going to use this once a year so it was ideal for my purposes. So knowing what I know now, I would definitely buy it again. The scarifier blade works great. Relatively easy way of preparing the lawn for overseeing and Spring cleanup. Just remember to get a 12 gauge extension cord.

I bought the Sun Joe Electric Lawn Dethatcher & Scarifier after reading positive reviews on Amazon. At 70 years old, I was reseeding part of my lawn that had been overrun with nimblewill. I tried dethatching manually with a rake but found it exhausting, so I decided to give this machine a try—and I’m very glad I did. Unboxing & Setup: The unit arrived in its original Sun Joe packaging, well protected and clearly labeled. Assembly was simple and only required a Phillips screwdriver. The instructions were clear, and everything fit together easily. It even comes with a separate scarifier attachment for slicing grass roots to promote new growth, which I haven’t tried yet but appreciate having included. Performance: I used the dethatching roller on a section of my lawn, and the results were excellent. The machine was easy to push and handled the job quickly and efficiently. It lifted a surprising amount of thatch without bogging down, and the motor showed no sign of strain. I do recommend mowing the grass quite low before using it—it helps the machine work even better. Pros: Very effective at removing thatch Easy to push and maneuver Straightforward assembly with good instructions Solid power for an electric unit Great value for the price Cons: The collection bag is small, but I simply used the dethatcher without it and raked up afterward—it worked fine for me. Value & Verdict: Considering the cost of hiring someone to dethatch my lawn, this Sun Joe has already paid for itself. It’s easy to use, saves a ton of physical effort, and I expect it to last for years based on the solid performance so far. Highly recommended for homeowners of any age who want to keep their lawns healthy without the back-breaking work of manual dethatching.