Greenworks 40V (2-In-1) Dethatcher / Scarifier, 5Ah USB Battery and Rapid Charger Included, DT40B510

After realizing that dense thatch was likely the cause of my stunted grass' health, I decided to buy this machine. I leave the clippings on my grass, which likely caused TOO MUCH thatch. At first you'll think that $150 is too much money to spend, but if you are spending $400 a year on TruGreen or even $200 on DIY fertilizers, and you aren't dealing with the thatch, eventually your grass' health will plateau.If you have ever tried to rake out the thatch with a metal rake, you know that it is a back-breaking affair (if you are doing it right). Heck, you'd have to pay a college kid for 10+ hours to de-thatch the yard area that I just cleared in well under an hour. Multiply this cost times the # of uses you'll get out of it over the years (including friends/family yards if you're a nice guy), and it's a no-brainer. It really does a fine job of removing the thatch, and not tearing up your existing grass either (it does pull up "some" but not enough to worry about). It feels like you are "vacuuming" your yard, that's how easy it is to use this thing (it's self-propelling, just don't stop or dig in anywhere too deep).Also, I was going to overseed this spring, and if you watch how much you are pressing down into the grass, you can just scratch the top layer of dirt (especially in bare areas), so after you rake up the thatch, apply some fertilizer (with no weed killer obviously) then just spread the grass seed & water!! This will very lightly graze the surface (more so if you press down & dig in, ie on bare areas etc). No need to spend hours raking the topsoil...I mean, you could spend hours raking the top soil, and it would probably do a slightly better job, but do you really have hours to spend raking top soil? I just ran this machine, raked up the loose thatch, & threw down the seed in a few hours...if I had waited for when I had time to do a full weekend of raking, I would have missed the spring rains that are about to hit (to help the seeds). Throwing a big bag of grass seed down after using this to clear the thatch just makes sense depending on the condition of your yard. I'll try to post a photo in a month or two to see how much this helped.I uploaded a before/after pic, & here are some (hopefully helpful) tips:1. You MUST use a proper extension cord plugged into an adequate outlet. All the complaints on here about "over-heating" are from people that didn't follow the SPECIFIC instructions about cord gauge (or using an outdated outlet on an old garage etc). The instructions say that the machine WILL overheat if you aren't supplying the proper electricity.2. The instructions say that you aren't supposed to use this on hills over 15 degrees. I was able to use it on a steeper hill just fine (the machine basically propels itself up the hill). This is a tool and just like any other tool, you can use as needed once you understand how it works. Just going "up & down" the hill (not sideways) worked for me. Basically, don't dig in too long or deep at any time, just pay a bit more attention while on a hill is all.3. The little "kick plate" on the backside of the machine kept getting forced off the holding screws by a mass of thatch. So, I just left it off, works fine (better actually). Sure, if you run over some rocks they might get spit backwards at your feet, but hopefully you aren't wearing flip flops:)4. The machine will effectively "mow" your grass at the height of the spinning tines. If you are over-seeding, you are supposed to mow the grass as short as possible anyways, so that you don't have to mow for as long as possible to let the new grass grow in. This is perfect for that...the grass is basically cut short and the top layer of soil is very lightly agitated, which, saves you another hour or three from having to manually rake to loosen the soil. At least that's how it worked for my beat up yard, if you have picture perfect dense grass, you may not get this benefit, not sure...is the dirt "perfectly" loosened up by the machine? Probably not, but it's definitely better than the time I had available (none) to do it perfectly by rake (while at the same time, addressing the main thatch problem...a big bag of grass seed isn't that expensive, just throw it on when done with some fertilizer)5. The instructions say to start off with the height of the tines at the highest level, and then as they wear down, lower them (which makes sense). Also, the machine ships with an entire bag of replacement tines, which is really a nice touch. Another reviewer said to use the "high" level on the hills, and the "low" setting on flat ground to dig in more, your call...6. Instructions say not to have kids or dogs within 50? Man, the silly things companies have to say these days to protect themselves from lawsuits. My dog would be upset if I left him inside for a day of yard work...[...]

This thing is extremely light, assembles in minutes, and does a pretty darn good job! I've been dethatching my lawn for years with commercial grade rentals from the local hardware store. Usually I would rent a machine for a couple hours to do my 1/4 acre lot and that would cost me around $50-60 each time. I didn't think that price was unreasonable so I kept doing it for years. I found the Greenworks 10 amp electric model the other day for $90 and I thought what the heck give it a try! I'm glad I did!This was my first experience using an electric dethatcher so I wasn't sure how it would compare to a commercial gas powered one. At first I struggled a bit trying to keep the cord out of my path but that was to be expected. Once I figured out a system I was dethatching pretty efficiently. I will be the first to say I really should've cut my grass first to help with the whole operation but I was in a time crunch as it just arrived yesterday and there was rain in the forecast. With all that being said this dethatcher did a really good job(on the highest setting) of removing the thatch while leaving the good grass in place. After reading some of the reviews on here I was really careful not to pull the dethatcher backwards while it was running. Because it is super light it is easy enough to tip up and turn to go the opposite direction you came from.I really wish I would've stopped to take some pictures because this machine did pull up a significant amount of thatch. For my 1/4 acre lot I filled up my full size truck bed plus a couple more big lawn bags. Some asked if this is self-propelled and it is NOT but with the rotating tines you don't really need to push it either! It really is just a matter of guiding it along your path and making sure you are going at a slow steady speed to get all the thatch.Pros: Lightweight, pulls thatch without harming good grass, inexpensive, very easy to operateCons: It is corded so that is a bit of a pain, Only 14 inch dethatching path

I have a very large yard and can no longer do the heavy raking of the thatch in the spring. I was sceptical about buying this but thought if I got two years out of it that would be about the same cost as hiring the job out. Starting in the front I was amazed at how well it worked on the first pass, easily pulling a lot of dead grass. For interest sake, after raking that up I did a second pass and it pulled even more. I did the whole yard in about an hour and the machine did not heat up at all. It comes with extra tines, which is appreciated. As noted by others there is a small trick to putting it together, though in reality it goes together easily, and if you are thoughtful you will be plugging it in in about 15 minutes. Now it sits for year, though it is small and doesn’t take up much space. It is light enough to hang on a the wall or from a ceiling. It is one of the purchases I have made recently that allows me to keep doing my own yard work. I give it a 5 star rating, but will adjust if it doesn’t make a second year. Oh and the condition of my lawn has improved significantly as water and fertilizer can now do there job better.

I agree with previous reviews that this little machine works well. It is also quiet and lightweight I can lift it with 1 hand- I am a senior citizen ) , but effective.It is not hard to assemble, and I consider myself a klutz. The raking and bagging of the thatch will take much longer to do than running this machine.I bagged 7 large bags.Be careful of long running vines which wrapped up the motor drum and caused it to stop. Several rounds of vines wrapped around at either ends of the motor drum - I removed them with scissors, needle nose pliers, thin knife for prying and poking. Once I severed a portion, I twisted and tugged to unwind that portion.The male receptacle for the power cord plug is housed in a round cylinder which was too small in diameter for an old fashioned power-cord connection !! I had to borrow a more current connecting power cord whose connecting head could fit. I have cleaned it and stored it for next year. I wait to see what results de-thatching, aereating and fertilizing will do for my lawn which really had very little actual grass but mostly ground cover of moss and amounts of grass blades.

For years, I have had to remove my lawnmower blade and replace it every spring with a thatching blade from which I received mixed results. This small and inexpensive Thatcher is far more convenient and does a better job than my thatching blade. It did an excellent job of removing all the dead grass without any damage to the soil. It is already been borrowed by my neighbor. A nice feature is that it it basically pulls itself by design, even though it is not a self propelled unit.The only suggestion I have is that there could be pilot holes for when you have to screw the handle into the machine. As it exists right now, you drill straight into the plastic housing. Problems may occur when attaching the handle if you do not drill straight. To be clear, this unit is not for heavy duty operations. However, for the average urban homeowner who enjoys a nice lawn this is a great product.

I used it last night on both lawns and it did an impressive job. We have hired power rakers before and they didnt do as deep of a clean as this. I used it on the highest mode and even that ws super impressive. Pictures cant do it justice of how much dead grasses and embedded rocks was lifted up. We used a lawn mower with bag attachment and slowly followed the dethatcher and the mower sucked up the fluffed up dead grass. this device made our lawn look like it can breathe so much easier now and ready for spring seeding and watering. No amount of hand raking would have done such a clean job as this. I had so much fluffy dead grass at my feet as I was dethatching that I feared I was removing every bit of grass, but nope, just the dead/compressed grasses adn leaves (after winter snow compacted it). The end result makes our lawn look so fresh compared to our neighbours whos iss till compressed from the winter/snowfall. WELL WORTH BUYING.

I have about 4,000 sq ft of lawn part of which is a sloping ditch area and also is on a long curve so it’s a bit of an irregular shape. In the past I have used dethatchers from rental stores and believe me that every time I used one I swore I’d “never do that again!!” Well my lawn was getting pretty bad again so after watching several reviews on YouTube I decided to try the Greenworks machine. It worked really well and was much easier to use than the much bigger and heavier machines and I’m sure removed just as much thatch. Afterwards we blew it all into piles with a back pack leaf blower and took away probably 24 heaping wheelbarrow loads to my compost pile.The only downside is having to maneuver the extension cord which in my case was a bit of a chore as I was using a 12 gauge 100’ one which is probably more than needed but a heavier cord is recommended by Greenworks anyway. Next time I will get some help from my wife to handle keeping it out of the way. Yes, I would certainly recommend this machine, it may take a little longer than a rental unit but you won’t be nearly as tired when you’re finished!!