Sun Joe AJ805E 15-Inch 13-Amp Electric Dethatcher and Scarifier w/Removeable 13.2-Gal Collection Bag, 5-Position Height Adjustment, Airboost Technology Increases Lawn Health + 3 Martha Stewart Tools

I’ve never used a dethatcher I didn’t know what to expect. I’m a 5’2”and 105 pound female and I have done a lot of yardwork and landscaping and gardening in my yard.My father bought a blade that you attach to your lawnmower and used it on my lawn. That didn’t go so well for him. He said it was really hard to push the lawnmower. And can only do about two rows at a time and then had to take a break. He did get up some dead grass.I went over my whole lawn with this dethatcher, including the areas where my dad did. My mother saw how much thatch this little machine brought up and said it was more than what my dad got up. My father was impressed and wants to use it at our lake home.This thing pulls you forward and you actually have to pull back a little bit to prevent it from going too fast. It was actually fun and easy. Also, it’s not hard on your hands to grip the handles. I had just had carpal tunnel surgery on both my hands and was able to do this.This purchase is definitely worth the money.I did use the bag but it filled up quickly since I haven’t detached my lawn since I bought it three years ago. That’s why I decided to just do my whole line and then rake. So, hopefully when I use it again, I can use the bag and avoid raking.!For reference, My lawn is about 4500 ft.². And I probably could detach my whole lawn in about an hour to an hour and a half with one pass. If you watch YouTube videos, you’ll see that people do several passes when the thatch is thicker.There is a right way to do this with the cord attached and the directions show you how to do that so you can maintain a flow without having to start and stop after each row and move the cord.However, I do think it would be easier if a second person was there to help manage the cord safely. Again, this does go really fast so that second person wouldn’t have to stand around too long.!

I decided to try this out after reading several reviews and watching some YouTube videos. It was easy to assemble and to use on my lawn. The handle on the depth adjustment felt firm and easily locked into the different positions. I have a 6000+ sqft lawn that has a lot of thatch and moss. I ran this across it twice, in different directions. I was amazed at the amount of thatch and moss that it pulled up. Like many have said, the bag does not hold much so I opted to use my lawn mower for bagging up all of the thatch and moss. I am hoping to see positive results in my lawn within a few weeks. I have not tested the scarifier attachment. I will do that in the late summer when I decide to reseed my lawn.Also note: make sure to use the correct gauge extension cord so the motor does not get damaged. I bought a 100ft 12/3 gauge cord due to the size of my lawn. The cord was heavy but did not impede the workflow of the SunJoe dethatcher.

Very easy to assemble and operate. Instructions are clear. Used a hex head socket to speed up changing out thatcher/scarifier drums. Aside from the annoyance of being a corded machine with a very small collection bag, it works incredibly well. Removed a tremendous amount of thatch and debris. Hard to complain about the machine for the value. Well worth the price based on the results.

The sunjoe worked perfectly. Beautifully recovered our lawn which has heavy traffic from 5 dogs. The hand tools are trash and rusted after the first use. Hand tools were cleaned, dried, and oiled and still rusted.

We saw our neighbor using this and couldnt believe the amount of dead grass it thatched from the lawn. Our lawn is greener and thicker and we've had really crappy weather this summer. We will continue to use this each season and very reasonably priced.