VonHaus Lawn Scarifier/Aerator/Rake Electric 1800W – For Dethatching/Raking Grass of Thatch, Moss, Dead Leaves and Aerates Soil – 55L Collection Box, 10m Cable, 5 Cutting Heights, 38cm Working Width

I have had a problem with Moss growing in my lawn and it was quite spongy to walk on At the beginning of August I treated my lawn with Miracle Grow 4 in 1 which gave me excellent results and within 3 weeks the moss had turned black I did look into hiring a Grass Scarifier but found that it was going to cost me about £97.00 for a one day rentalSo after reviewing different manufactures I found the VonHaus 1800w Scarifier, Grass rake Aerator this item has a 2 year warranty and its Made in the UK before I purchased it I did watch a excellent video of the product on You tube I must add that I am really impressed with the quality of this machine, It certainly does what is described Its relatively easy to assemble its lightweight ,sturdy and has excellent performance I was also very impressed with the amount of all of the moss has been removed from my LawnOf note I used the grass rake for removing the dead grass and moss firstly on the no 3 setting and did a second pass on the no 4 setting This machine is excellent value for money and I would highly recommend it I am really impressed with the achieved results Now all I have to do is do a over seed of grass seed

This is a well made and effective piece of garden machinery. It’s pretty simple and easy to operate. Straightforward mechanics mean there is less to go wrong, and it's easy to clean after use. The 1800w motor gives plenty of power for demanding scarifying operations. Changing the blades from rake to scarifier is very simple and quick. It’s not self-propelled, but that isn’t a disadvantage, and on the heaviest cuts it’s sometimes necessary to restrain the scarifier from pulling itself forward too quickly. As with all scarifiers, the thatch collection box is limited in its use. Heavy cuts fill it quickly and operating without the box and raking up the thatch after is preferable. For lighter use in dry conditions the collection box works fine. The machine folds up easily for storage too.

Had old scarifier so ordered this to replace. As others found, instruction/user book only showed diagrams which for me, were not clear. If there is a way to open a box the wrong way up -that's me so here goes. Cardboard box cumbersome but managed to haul the carriage part eventually out of the box then came the fun part. Some helpful reviewer left instructions as to how to remove and change the raker to use the scarifier which indeed meant using the Allen key, so here's a reminder. Do turn the machine upside down first and you will find the white plastic cover holding the raker in position [because it arrived with raker not scarifier attached therefore like others, I needed to swap over] so use the Allen key to unscrew and simply pull out the white plastic cover then tug on the raker to remove it. Notice first the rakes position though on the left side prior to removal because there is an entrance for the scarifier to be pushed into, so attach the scarifier starting from the left side and then slot it in position on the right. Remember to re-tighten the screws on the white plastic cover using the Allen key. You will only ever use the Allen key for the white plastic cover but keep it safe for future use. I felt great. Everything was going nicely. My cockiness soon dissipated. What did they mean by tension clips? which ones went where? why two hand bars? Then, having scrutinized the diagram, realized it was needed to stabilize the eventually built long handle section. Of course, I commenced assembling the handles first - well, why wouldn't I. Stop laughing. Then eventually came attaching it all to the carriage, only again to realize that the handle was too heavy, cumbersome, had the electric switch section with electric cable dangling and no way could I screw the handle to the section next to the wheels, especially with my Rheumatoid fingers. Of course common sense [if it had been in motion] would have prompted that the lower part of the handle next to the wheels should be positioned first. I had to remove all the screws from each handle section and start all over again. Just what were the long screws for I asked myself and just where did they go in somewhere near the wheels? Then decided to see if there were any pictures online which showed the side view which I found and consequently enlarged it. Aha -great then I also recognized I had put all of what appeared to be the yellow plastic corrugated clips pointing outwards whereas the picture showed them all pointing inwards so took them all apart again. Only then did I discover that the inner female metal part which the screw went through was moveable enabling me to push it horizontally to start off the screw and then move the plastic corrugated handle downwards and continue to screw in. So that is a tension clip! WOW! So, after hours and I do mean hours and hours of work trying to put the pieces together, I finally succeeded.Not so fast! Don't get hasty! What about the basket, the carriage for collecting the raked/scarified grass? Aha. Got you now. The only way to attach the sides plus the front long piece of the material to the black wired casing which eventually forms the basket shape to hold the waste grass material because unfortunately it also arrived not fully built, was for me, having tried brute strength to push the plastic into the metal, was to boil a kettle of water. Yes, I needed a hot cup of something, preferably by that stage with a bottle of brandy added to it. I poured boiling water all over the edges of the basket and also along the black wires which enabled the plastic to be easily pushed in to the wire. Well at least my fingers wee warm- a bit boiled but warmed. Then, checked if the appliance worked and YUP! it did. Overall, not a bad effort in assembling the appliance for an elderly female with RA over aged 70 years. A male would likely have put it all together in 30 minutes though. Did I really get a real sense of achievement? Well NO. It was a full day of time lost which I won't ever get back. In addition, when I attached my 50M electric cable to the machine because my lawn is long, it failed to work so changed the plugs Amp and then my b........ RCD socket also failed to light up which meant buying both, being mindful of my safety and after all, the cable was old. Anyway, I will not try using any cable without an RCD being mindful of H&S. Boy did I need that Brandy. Forget about me mentioning the HOT DRINK . I SUPPED WITH GLEA. Next day scarified only half of the lawn because it took far longer than other reviewers claimed and the basket failed when only half full leaving most of the debri on the lawn. I didn't go in for hand raking or shoveling it up so kept on emptying the basket at every straight line cut, going over the same line at least twice which anyway, was recommended by professional gardeners online. The machine is light when in use, propelling itself easily along. Just wish it would now stop raining so that I can complete the rest of my lawn. Hope this review helps others in assembling the machine. Yes, you may now lough at me. I'm not bothered.

Brilliant bit of large Kit. powerful and effective. I have only used the Aerator attachment so far but it literally eats up the terrain effortlessly. 600m square lawn covered (one pass) in less than an hour. Excellent value.

Arrived when expected. A bit fiddly to construct but worked a treat! From a quick try it collected up so much thatch and old grass debris. Was very impressed even on setting 1! It’s my new toy! Couldn’t believe how many time I had to empty the basket for such a small space! Very impressive. A longer cable length would be better but not complaining as an extension lead worked perfectly

Purchased to replace a Bosch scarifier that had given up the ghost. It arrived this morning, I put together and used it this afternoon. I used it with the aggressive roller left in place and started on the front lawn. I started on the lower settings but soon got fed up with that and set it to maximum (Setting 4). This machine got up loads of thatch, moss etc easily. Amazing! There was so much that the collecting basket could not cope. The best way I found was using the machine for four rows, without using the collecting basket (Easy). Stopping and then picking up the results, which proved to be the hardest bit. I used a lawn rake and a leaf collector to pick up the bulk before picking up the remainder with a lawn mower. Tomorrow I will change the roller and give the lawn a gentle rake before re-seeding. It really is incredible how much rubbish this thing gets out of your lawn - A builders bag and a half in my case. Well pleased! UPDATE: Used again today for raking as planned - this time I raked the whole area and then used a Gardena Leaf Sweeper to pick up the rubbish. Really time saving and efficient. You can find one for £99 online - Thank me later!