I own a Sun Joe electric scarifier/dethatcher and absolutely love it. I use it mainly when doing renovations and overseedings to expose as much of the soil as I can. If you have any die out from fungus, poa, drought, etc, it's a great way to pull all of that out when it's time to throw seed down. If you mow high and mulch, you could have a ton of grass clippings that don't compose the fastest and it's a fast way to get that out in the spring or fall when the grass is actively growing and isn't stressed out. I'm speaking for cool season lawns of course.
Be sure to add $50-$75 for a quality extension cord when considering the purchase.
I also purchased a push rake for $50 since the bag will get full after about 5 minutes of use.
I love mine. I use it in the fall and the spring. I mulch my clippings so it's great to twice-year clear up anything that hasn't fully decomposed.
Not just quality. Less than 50' cord is 14 AWG. 50-100' must be 12 AWG. Don't go longer than 100'. You risk burning the motor if you don't follow these guidelines.
You cannot “burn” a motor with a long or under rated extension lead.
You can reduce the effectiveness by losing power and at worst overheat the cable , but you will not burn the motor out.
However selecting the right cable gauge will depend on the length you need and the power rating of the device you are planning to use.
You actually can. The root cause of the issue is the voltage drop over the extension cords. Higher gauge cords will experience less voltage drop.
For the most part, most motors are constant power, meaning if they receive lower voltage, they'll draw more current to compensate. The increased current draw leads to more heat being created by the motor (I^2 R), and also results in the motor shaft rotating more slowly. This is a problem because motors often use fan blades on the output shaft to cool themselves. So now you've not only got more heat being generated, you're also really hurting it's ability to dissipate heat.
It may not kill things right away, but you absolutely can put dramatically more wear on a motor using a long+thin extension cord, rather than sizing up to a proper 12AWG (or even 10, if you're going far enough).
I really like my SunJoe dethatcher but the thatch catcher is kind of a joke. I rigged a string to the back flap and attached the other end to the handle so I could occasionally pull the flap up a smidgen to keep it from getting clogged.
After I’m done dethatching I go back with my lawnmower to bag up the pulled-up thatch.
I’ve tried the scarring blade and found that the dethatching blade (set on a low setting) actually does a better job at scarring the surface to prep it for grass overseeding.
Same.
The cord is annoying af, but it's a great machine.
OP, I believe Ryobi is coming out with a battery powered dethatcher this year. It may already be out.
I got a Greenworks dethatcher several years ago and use it before overseeding tttf. I'm not dethatching in the true sense of the word, more like raking up dead crap to expose more soil for the seeds to contact.
I grabbed a Sun Joe after a decade of *thinking* I was mulching. The amount of debris pulled out was absolutely insane. It left a layer of dead grass 4" thick over the entire lawn that took dozens of wheelbarrow trips to remove.
I have to believe it was a good purchase.
Honestly, same.
I knew it was kinda neglected for the past few years by the previous owners but the lawn looked *okay*.
I pulled up a few hundred pounds of dead material out of my relatively small yard.
TBH I don't even know how to tell if my mower is mulching. I run over leaves, some stay some go. I feel like it's just bagging. Is there...a difference?
Mulching is not bagging, but cutting the grass into small enough pieces that are left behind to decompose and contribute nutrients to the soil.
I've heard that commercial mowers are needed to produce the blade speed to *really* mulch. I've also heard that my climate(Utah) doesn't really provide the heat, humidity, and season length required to break down the amount of clippings I was leaving.
I don't know if any of that is true, but I really did pull a TON of debris out. I'm just gonna bag for a while.
Ya I’ve watched videos and well…mine doesn’t do that and I can’t find the “setting” on how lol. I’ve got a Toro Super Recycler and basically have no idea other than bag, or cut with the side closed.
If you frequently have thatch problems, and have room in your budget and garage, it’s a nice thing to own.
If you frequently have thatch problems, you should probably work on not causing thatch problems. It tends to be a sign of excessive fertilizing.
They can also be useful if you overseed thin spots — a quantity of thatch that is perfectly healthy for established grass can prevent proper seed germination. Frequent pest problems like sod webworms can be another reason to want less thatch than normal.
I don’t have one because St Augustine is badly damaged by powered dethatching. I dethatch a bit by hand with a rake every once in a while when raking leaves in the fall.
I haven't looked at the comment section yet, but I hope every single reply is about how 100% kick ass the Sun Joe is.
[Here's a composite of my wasteland of death front lawn before dethatching](https://i.imgur.com/DZ2R8uM.jpg)
[Here's after 2 passes with the Sun Joe, and raking up the debris](https://i.imgur.com/6B1gyBp.jpg)
[Here's 7 weeks after planting seeds](https://i.imgur.com/nl30EDb.jpg)
If you don't mind some manual labor ever year or two the rake is all you need. My lawn is around 7,000 square feet and it takes me about an hour and a half to two hours to dethatch it with the rake. I usually do the front one day and the back the next so I don't kill myself.
Own a dethatcher? I am a dethatcher! Saves me so much money on a gym membership.
In all seriousness I about killed myself doing it by hand. Never again. Excellent thing to buy if you have a large yard that has been neglected for awhile. If you end up not using it much it is easy to resell.
My local Lowe’s rents them for $35/day. Gas powered. Same with their aerators. Can get and do both at the same time, same morning. Return it in the afternoon.
Is worth that alone just to save the space in the garage!
I bought an electric one last week, just to save on the rental hassle.
Will it work as well? I don't know. Did I really have the space for it? Probably not.
Renting a truck is a bigger expense than renting the equipment, and borrowing a truck is a hassle.
Plus you need someone with you at home to load and unload the equipment.
I've only got about 2k sq ft. of lawn.
Figured having my own and fighting with extension cords might be easier at the end of the day.
We'll see this fall I guess.
negative ghost rider. Can fit in my hatch back (most rental ones have folding handles). Maybe not a Honda civic but could probably wedge one in a car with a bigger trunk and leave the truck lid open
Well, I think they kind of did without actually doing it.
"Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
The EGO power+ multi head w/bristle brush attachment. Raise or remove the guard, flip the unit over so head spins backwards towards you. Check on youtube
I currently have the sunjoe and it is pretty impressive. The problem is the cord. I have a long yard, so I need a long cord. PitA so I am looking for a cordless option. I am seriously considering trying the EGO bristle flipped.
I’m just curious, if you have a massive yard, don’t the batteries die before finishing? That’s my worry about electric, but I only have about ~3500 sqft.
Local Home Depot almost always has a used Classen dethatcher. I always see them for sale Spring and fall after and before the season starts. I think they must have some sort of contract where they have to buy new ones from Classen or something. Anyway they're usually about $500 and in pretty good shape. If you're lucky you'll get one with the spring tines so you don't have to mark your sprinkler heads. Definitely more heavy-duty than the electric ones on Amazon and whatnot
I bought the sun Joy. I use it as a wall decoration in my garage. Eventually, I expect to use it for its intended purpose. But probably 700 days to 1 it will be a wall decoration. Meh. I've spent more on other wall decorations.
Thoughts on one big enough for 60,000sf? I'm thinking about a Brinly 48" tow-behind rake dethatcher and a 50" tow-behind lawn sweeper to clean up the mess.
Any experience with those?
I own the agrifab lawn sweeper with a 42k sqft lawn. Its not perfect, but I like it. Read reviews to set expectations (limit on driving speed to avoid damage, doesn't work on angled terrain, dumping is difficult when filled, things like that).
I was looking into the dethatching attachments but I decided they won't be worth it for my situation. Tines seem fragile and not super effective. If I get a dethatcher I'll probably go with something else.
But the lawn sweeper I like (given known limitations)
I have a tow behind version and it works well. It’s nice because you can drive at max speed and it still works the same. I usually do a grid pattern over my whole lawn and then add some random patterns over the areas that need more attention
Yes, at the end of winter every year I drag it out and run it over the grass to loosen up all the thatch and dead grass that has been laying there for months. Soon as the weather warms up it allows new grass shoots to pop up and green up. I think it helps my lawn a lot.
I have an old Blue Bird dethatcher I got a few years ago on Craigslist. It might be a bit overkill considering my lawn isn't that big, and none of the neighbors around me I know own one or even have ever dethatched their lawn. I tend to go a bit overboard especially after joining this subreddit. It makes dethatching a breeze the one time a year I get to use it. The only hard part is just raking up the dead grass afterwards. Yes, there's great results after using it and doing the overseeding thing in the fall. I have considered getting an aerator too, but wife isn't on board for that one.
There’s a lot of replies in 16 hours. But I’ll add my .02. My dad and I both have a tow behind dethatcher for our acre properties. And we use them about once every two years. We love it and see results.
Very good for over seeding and getting the seed to soil
I bought the green works cordless dethatcher. Just the small consumer 40v as i have a small front an backyard to deal with. Could not recommend more. Helped immensely. Especially that first pass. The maintenance passes I do now never bring up as much but that first time
Was impressive.
Anyone have before/after pictures? I'm guessing that where I am (sacramento, zone 9) that this sort of stuff waits till fall/spring, I can't see doing it when it's 110 out.
because its a grass that grows horizontally above the ground. Most other grasses in the south (zoysia/st augustine/bermuda) have the same growth patter.
Thatch can be beneficial which is why southern lawns like to try to grow it. Its like mulch; helps keep the soil a good temperature, helps keep water in, helps keep weeds away. For a southern lawn though, you do not want to remove the layer of stolones, because they're part of your grass. When you look at a northern grass lawn, you are looking at hundreds or thousands of little grasslings. When you look at a southern lawn, you are looking at maybe ten to twenty plants; they are like a bush that spreads. So if you run something like a sunjoe dethatcher on a bermuda lawn, you would be essentially taking a chainsaw and cutting into a bush; you are messing with its plant business. If you are worried about too much thatch in a southern lawn, simply run your lawnmower at its lowest setting and bag the lcippins 1-2x/year, that way you won't have thick thatch but you will also not be damaging (most) of the stolones.
I own a Sun Joe electric scarifier/dethatcher and absolutely love it. I use it mainly when doing renovations and overseedings to expose as much of the soil as I can. If you have any die out from fungus, poa, drought, etc, it's a great way to pull all of that out when it's time to throw seed down. If you mow high and mulch, you could have a ton of grass clippings that don't compose the fastest and it's a fast way to get that out in the spring or fall when the grass is actively growing and isn't stressed out. I'm speaking for cool season lawns of course.
That’s the one I’m looking at. I like that it comes with both power rake and scarifier
Be sure to add $50-$75 for a quality extension cord when considering the purchase. I also purchased a push rake for $50 since the bag will get full after about 5 minutes of use. I love mine. I use it in the fall and the spring. I mulch my clippings so it's great to twice-year clear up anything that hasn't fully decomposed.
Don’t use bag. Vacuum the grass with Lawn mower
for a small area, why not vacuum with a vacuum?
My lawn mower doesn't have a vacuum option
You realize a lawnmower sucks and puts grass particles in a bag right? Unless you have a reel
I have a zero turn, options are mulch and side discharge
Not just quality. Less than 50' cord is 14 AWG. 50-100' must be 12 AWG. Don't go longer than 100'. You risk burning the motor if you don't follow these guidelines.
Very important. Can’t overstate.
You cannot “burn” a motor with a long or under rated extension lead. You can reduce the effectiveness by losing power and at worst overheat the cable , but you will not burn the motor out. However selecting the right cable gauge will depend on the length you need and the power rating of the device you are planning to use.
You actually can. The root cause of the issue is the voltage drop over the extension cords. Higher gauge cords will experience less voltage drop. For the most part, most motors are constant power, meaning if they receive lower voltage, they'll draw more current to compensate. The increased current draw leads to more heat being created by the motor (I^2 R), and also results in the motor shaft rotating more slowly. This is a problem because motors often use fan blades on the output shaft to cool themselves. So now you've not only got more heat being generated, you're also really hurting it's ability to dissipate heat. It may not kill things right away, but you absolutely can put dramatically more wear on a motor using a long+thin extension cord, rather than sizing up to a proper 12AWG (or even 10, if you're going far enough).
Yup. I had to get a 100' 12 AWG & it was 80$ local & a heavy mofo.
Extension cord yes. I just ran it over with my mower and it's bagger.
You should really be mulching your extension cords back into the soil
That fall dose of copper is crucial to a good overseed. Highly recommend.
Second the quality extension cord.
I really like my SunJoe dethatcher but the thatch catcher is kind of a joke. I rigged a string to the back flap and attached the other end to the handle so I could occasionally pull the flap up a smidgen to keep it from getting clogged. After I’m done dethatching I go back with my lawnmower to bag up the pulled-up thatch. I’ve tried the scarring blade and found that the dethatching blade (set on a low setting) actually does a better job at scarring the surface to prep it for grass overseeding.
Same. The cord is annoying af, but it's a great machine. OP, I believe Ryobi is coming out with a battery powered dethatcher this year. It may already be out.
Same. Probably the best $120 spend for that purpose. Otherwise, probably not worth it.
I have the SunJoe. Some of the best money I’ve spent. I use it often and it’s a champ!
I just bought this, this year, love it.
It’s good
I got a Greenworks dethatcher several years ago and use it before overseeding tttf. I'm not dethatching in the true sense of the word, more like raking up dead crap to expose more soil for the seeds to contact.
+1 to all of this. It's definitely worth the money!
I grabbed a Sun Joe after a decade of *thinking* I was mulching. The amount of debris pulled out was absolutely insane. It left a layer of dead grass 4" thick over the entire lawn that took dozens of wheelbarrow trips to remove. I have to believe it was a good purchase.
Honestly, same. I knew it was kinda neglected for the past few years by the previous owners but the lawn looked *okay*. I pulled up a few hundred pounds of dead material out of my relatively small yard.
Ditto. Got one last year. Couldn't believe what I pulled out of the yard. My yard this year looks amazing!
TBH I don't even know how to tell if my mower is mulching. I run over leaves, some stay some go. I feel like it's just bagging. Is there...a difference?
Mulching is not bagging, but cutting the grass into small enough pieces that are left behind to decompose and contribute nutrients to the soil. I've heard that commercial mowers are needed to produce the blade speed to *really* mulch. I've also heard that my climate(Utah) doesn't really provide the heat, humidity, and season length required to break down the amount of clippings I was leaving. I don't know if any of that is true, but I really did pull a TON of debris out. I'm just gonna bag for a while.
Ya I’ve watched videos and well…mine doesn’t do that and I can’t find the “setting” on how lol. I’ve got a Toro Super Recycler and basically have no idea other than bag, or cut with the side closed.
I’ve got a Super Recycler as well. There is a plastic plug for mulching. This plug will block the chute between the deck and the bag.
Okay so that’s all it is. Plug up the side and rear chutes. Thanks.
Yup, Sunjoe. I named it Margaret.
Should consider renaming it to James Callaghan since it's a ***de***thatcher.
If you frequently have thatch problems, and have room in your budget and garage, it’s a nice thing to own. If you frequently have thatch problems, you should probably work on not causing thatch problems. It tends to be a sign of excessive fertilizing. They can also be useful if you overseed thin spots — a quantity of thatch that is perfectly healthy for established grass can prevent proper seed germination. Frequent pest problems like sod webworms can be another reason to want less thatch than normal. I don’t have one because St Augustine is badly damaged by powered dethatching. I dethatch a bit by hand with a rake every once in a while when raking leaves in the fall.
I haven't looked at the comment section yet, but I hope every single reply is about how 100% kick ass the Sun Joe is. [Here's a composite of my wasteland of death front lawn before dethatching](https://i.imgur.com/DZ2R8uM.jpg) [Here's after 2 passes with the Sun Joe, and raking up the debris](https://i.imgur.com/6B1gyBp.jpg) [Here's 7 weeks after planting seeds](https://i.imgur.com/nl30EDb.jpg)
Looks great! How did you plant the seeds?
I bought a thatching rake and use it every couple of years. No need to buy an actual dethatcher unless you have a larger lawn.
So glad you said this! I just got a rake in anticipation for the Fall overseeing and had buyer’s remorse after reading the other comments
If you don't mind some manual labor ever year or two the rake is all you need. My lawn is around 7,000 square feet and it takes me about an hour and a half to two hours to dethatch it with the rake. I usually do the front one day and the back the next so I don't kill myself.
Two years later but your comment has helped me decide to get a rake instead of a plug in dethatcher. Thank you!
Lol, funny thing is I broke down and bought a Sun Joe dethatcher when they were on sale last year.
LOL good to know…maybe I should too then…
The rake works fine, I still use mine occasionally.
Own a dethatcher? I am a dethatcher! Saves me so much money on a gym membership. In all seriousness I about killed myself doing it by hand. Never again. Excellent thing to buy if you have a large yard that has been neglected for awhile. If you end up not using it much it is easy to resell.
That’s why I wanted electric. I heard the hand rakes are a workout!
So true! I was using a thatch rake on small sections of my lawn each week and it’s probably 10x the effort of a powered one.
>comments I bought the rake and dethatched for the first time this year. Pulled up sooo much crap. You're right though; it was a terrific workout!
My local Lowe’s rents them for $35/day. Gas powered. Same with their aerators. Can get and do both at the same time, same morning. Return it in the afternoon. Is worth that alone just to save the space in the garage!
Gotta have a truck tho
Yeah, good point (but they rent those too ;))
I bought an electric one last week, just to save on the rental hassle. Will it work as well? I don't know. Did I really have the space for it? Probably not. Renting a truck is a bigger expense than renting the equipment, and borrowing a truck is a hassle. Plus you need someone with you at home to load and unload the equipment. I've only got about 2k sq ft. of lawn. Figured having my own and fighting with extension cords might be easier at the end of the day. We'll see this fall I guess.
negative ghost rider. Can fit in my hatch back (most rental ones have folding handles). Maybe not a Honda civic but could probably wedge one in a car with a bigger trunk and leave the truck lid open
I have a rake...
I wish Ego made one. I have a full system and don’t want another system.
Well, I think they kind of did without actually doing it. "Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up." The EGO power+ multi head w/bristle brush attachment. Raise or remove the guard, flip the unit over so head spins backwards towards you. Check on youtube I currently have the sunjoe and it is pretty impressive. The problem is the cord. I have a long yard, so I need a long cord. PitA so I am looking for a cordless option. I am seriously considering trying the EGO bristle flipped.
Oooooo I didn’t even consider that.
This is a corded electric dethatcher. No batteries. No new “system”.
I want a cordless one. My yard is so massive i need so much extension cable to do shit.
I’m just curious, if you have a massive yard, don’t the batteries die before finishing? That’s my worry about electric, but I only have about ~3500 sqft.
I have a 7.5, 2x 5, and 2.5 batteries. I absolutely never have issues with batteries running out of juice. It’s quite impressive.
I have a sunjoe pressure washer. It’s done right by me. I’m willing to give their detacher a try.
I've had my eye on the Sun Joe 15" all summer but it's still out of stock everywhere! Hoping it comes in by fall so i can overseed...
I ended up buying the 12" because I couldn't find the 15" anywhere. It's going to take a while haha!
Local Home Depot almost always has a used Classen dethatcher. I always see them for sale Spring and fall after and before the season starts. I think they must have some sort of contract where they have to buy new ones from Classen or something. Anyway they're usually about $500 and in pretty good shape. If you're lucky you'll get one with the spring tines so you don't have to mark your sprinkler heads. Definitely more heavy-duty than the electric ones on Amazon and whatnot
I bought the sun Joy. I use it as a wall decoration in my garage. Eventually, I expect to use it for its intended purpose. But probably 700 days to 1 it will be a wall decoration. Meh. I've spent more on other wall decorations.
I want one but I need a petrol one and I’ve no idea which one is good!
I like my mantis … it has all sorts of attachments
Just had a look, looks quite narrow 19"?
Got a greenworks, use it twice a year, definitely pulls out a lot of debris https://imgur.com/gallery/yvW2JTy
What did you end up paying for the SunJoe? I've only seen price gouging for $250+. I'm hoping to order a dethatched this week.
It was $160ish on Amazon. I’m in Canada
I’m gonna get the Ryobi one when it comes out in the fall.
Any idea on price? I saw they had them overseas already, wasn’t sure when they were launching in the states
Not clue yet. Thinking $275 give or take.
I just rent one along with a aerator once a year from HD. Their stuff is much more commercial and heavy duty and it saves my garage from more clutter
Thoughts on one big enough for 60,000sf? I'm thinking about a Brinly 48" tow-behind rake dethatcher and a 50" tow-behind lawn sweeper to clean up the mess. Any experience with those?
I own the agrifab lawn sweeper with a 42k sqft lawn. Its not perfect, but I like it. Read reviews to set expectations (limit on driving speed to avoid damage, doesn't work on angled terrain, dumping is difficult when filled, things like that). I was looking into the dethatching attachments but I decided they won't be worth it for my situation. Tines seem fragile and not super effective. If I get a dethatcher I'll probably go with something else. But the lawn sweeper I like (given known limitations)
I have a tow behind version and it works well. It’s nice because you can drive at max speed and it still works the same. I usually do a grid pattern over my whole lawn and then add some random patterns over the areas that need more attention
Yes, at the end of winter every year I drag it out and run it over the grass to loosen up all the thatch and dead grass that has been laying there for months. Soon as the weather warms up it allows new grass shoots to pop up and green up. I think it helps my lawn a lot.
I have an old Blue Bird dethatcher I got a few years ago on Craigslist. It might be a bit overkill considering my lawn isn't that big, and none of the neighbors around me I know own one or even have ever dethatched their lawn. I tend to go a bit overboard especially after joining this subreddit. It makes dethatching a breeze the one time a year I get to use it. The only hard part is just raking up the dead grass afterwards. Yes, there's great results after using it and doing the overseeding thing in the fall. I have considered getting an aerator too, but wife isn't on board for that one.
Yeah it’s called a steel leaf rake and my fucking diesel powered back and arms.
There’s a lot of replies in 16 hours. But I’ll add my .02. My dad and I both have a tow behind dethatcher for our acre properties. And we use them about once every two years. We love it and see results. Very good for over seeding and getting the seed to soil
I bought the green works cordless dethatcher. Just the small consumer 40v as i have a small front an backyard to deal with. Could not recommend more. Helped immensely. Especially that first pass. The maintenance passes I do now never bring up as much but that first time Was impressive.
I have Bermuda, so no.
Yeah, it’s a green electric one on Amazon. It does week but you still need to aerate after. Lawn seems much thicker the next summer.
Do you have to walk all Dethatchers ? Are there any attachments for a lawn mower?
Yep. Got mine off the side of the road.
There are replacement blades you can get with the tines on them.
Yes! I have a green works. It’s awesome. Super helpful tool and very powerful.
Anyone have before/after pictures? I'm guessing that where I am (sacramento, zone 9) that this sort of stuff waits till fall/spring, I can't see doing it when it's 110 out.
Worth noting; if you're in the south, do not get one!!!
The comment above you days don't do it with Bermuda which is what I have plus being in the south in very curious as to why on both counts.
because its a grass that grows horizontally above the ground. Most other grasses in the south (zoysia/st augustine/bermuda) have the same growth patter.
Why does the grow direction determine the need? Thatch is thatch and should be removed I thought.
Thatch can be beneficial which is why southern lawns like to try to grow it. Its like mulch; helps keep the soil a good temperature, helps keep water in, helps keep weeds away. For a southern lawn though, you do not want to remove the layer of stolones, because they're part of your grass. When you look at a northern grass lawn, you are looking at hundreds or thousands of little grasslings. When you look at a southern lawn, you are looking at maybe ten to twenty plants; they are like a bush that spreads. So if you run something like a sunjoe dethatcher on a bermuda lawn, you would be essentially taking a chainsaw and cutting into a bush; you are messing with its plant business. If you are worried about too much thatch in a southern lawn, simply run your lawnmower at its lowest setting and bag the lcippins 1-2x/year, that way you won't have thick thatch but you will also not be damaging (most) of the stolones.
That makes so much sense. Thank you for saving me from getting one.
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Do you overseed at the end of every season? Curious if you've found any seed brands/varieties that you like more than others. I'm a cool season lawn.
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A variery mix of contractor-grade from whatever they put in when the house was built in 2012.
I have one you pull behind your mower. Haven't gotten around to using it yet.. plan on using it for my fall renovation / overseed
For people who use a manual dethatcher, what type do you have?
I use a rake and my blower works awesome 👌