Sun Joe Electric Lawn Dethatcher & Scarifier with 13.2-Gal Bag, 13 Amp, 15 Inch, Black/Green – Heavy Duty Gardening Machine and Equipment for Lawn, Yard, and Grass, AJ805E
[IDEAL]: For revitalizing small to mid-sized lawns.No Load Speed (rpm) 2990.Length of Cord (ft.) : 1, Deck Cleanout : No.
[POWERFUL]: 13-amp motor rakes a 15″ wide path to get your job done faster
[SCARIFIER]: Function to cut grass roots for thicker growth, healthier lawns
[AIRBOOST TECHNOLOGY]: Spring steel tines for maximum thatch pickup
[MAINTENANCE FREE]: No gas, oil or tune-ups
Customer Reviews
11 reviews for Sun Joe Electric Lawn Dethatcher & Scarifier with 13.2-Gal Bag, 13 Amp, 15 Inch, Black/Green – Heavy Duty Gardening Machine and Equipment for Lawn, Yard, and Grass, AJ805E
TomInOregon –
Rated 5 out of 5
It’s lightweight but has plenty of power. Great for small to medium yards. I just wish the bag was a little bigger.
ChadCutsGrass –
Rated 5 out of 5
Easy setup, easy to push, and super satisfying to watch all that junk come out of the ground.
joshua –
Rated 5 out of 5
Pretty sold work pulled up lots of thatch, bag is useless like everyone said but I too the bag and reset it up to where it keep the door open and made a guard for flying debris coming out the back worked well all in all a good product just hoping the seed i put down gets enough seed to soil contact from the dethatching , we shall see soon.
Hard_Boiled_Greg –
Rated 5 out of 5
I looked at renting a dethatcher from my local Home Depot. They wanted $96 for a day. This Sun Joe dethatcher was just around $150, so I figured it’s cheaper than renting twice. I have the space for it, so that wasn’t an issue. Now, the quality of this thing is cheap. It’s really low quality. That said, I detached my front and rear lawns (around 5,000 sq/ft) with no issues. The machine did the job and did it well. If I get one more year of use out of it, I’m financially ahead. So, given that, I think this was a great buy.
LucyFromPA –
Rated 5 out of 5
Used this before seeding and wow—made a big difference. Seeds settled in better and my lawn came back fuller.
Noel –
Rated 5 out of 5
Why did you pick this product vs others?:
Thought I would try the brand, not disappointed, did a 1 acre yard front and back
Works great
ecoLawnDad –
Rated 4 out of 5
Love that it’s electric—no gas, no fumes. Quiet enough to use in the morning without annoying the neighbors.
lawnMom74 –
Rated 5 out of 5
Super easy to use, even for someone like me who’s not into yard tools. Plug it in and go. Definitely brought my lawn back to life.
greenThumbJoe –
Rated 5 out of 5
I had no idea how much thatch was choking my lawn until I ran this machine over it. Pulled up a crazy amount of dead stuff. Lawn looks 10x better now.
DebsYardWork –
Rated 5 out of 5
I was a little skeptical at first, but this dethatcher is the real deal. My grass can finally breathe again.
MarkTheYardGuy –
Rated 5 out of 5
(no endorsements here. Just my two cents)
_My yard was getting worse. I had to research how it fix it soon.
I had thinning grass. To many worm hills. possible fugus. And other issues.
_I came across a you tube video by a guy who calls himself the “the Pest and Lawn Ginja”. He was entertaining and packed with tons of knowledge. (As goes with most of his videos) One video had a review on this device and it got me interested to learn more. Looking at the reviews here, it seemed somewhat of a gamble, as many were saying how this device is not sturdy and breaks.
_ Well. I’m here to say. Mine was REALLY put to the test and won with flying colors!!! I had heavy debris and made about 6 passes in the front yard and about 4 passes in the back. I have about 1500 square feet in front and about the same for the back yard. So the use was equivalent to about a single pass on a 1/3 acre of land!!
My hopes were- if this unit just held together to the end of this project, it would have served it’s main purpose. But I can happily say that this has worked far more than that!
_I had to get this project done with less work involved so that I could continue with my lawn renovations/repairs. My purpose was to aerate and pick up the dead debris that was choking out the grass and creating a fungal issue. I decided to bag my debris instead of putting in my compost area. If there was any fugus that was damaging to my lawn, and I used this compost again for a later lawn fix, I would just reintroduce this fungus into my lawn. There ended up with much more debris that I had thought. It did a REALLY GOOD JOB!!! _As the aforementioned video states it’s a good light duty unit that’s far cheaper than a commercial unit but an extra pass does the job. I thought that if it’s light weight enough, this is a good compromise from buying or renting a professional unit. I was hoping that this unit will pay for itself in the first use. Any time I needed it after that, it would have been a good investment. I am happy to say that it has been a good investment so far. I like this unit and how affective it is. I might use this every year to keep things well groomed.
_The solid tines that come with this unit could be useful but I wasn’t interested in scalping my existing grass. I did reseed, but I used tons of new topsoil so I didn’t need to use it. Plus, my thatch wasn’t to bad and I didn’t need to aerate the old soil before I put the top soil down. But if the thatch does get a little to thick in the future, I’ll look forward to using this Sun Joe for my next reseeding. I will update this review if I do.
_Also Note: Core aeration is something I do yearly. But not this fall. Aeration is very popular for this claylike Colorado soil. I serves a real purpose here. But the holes are often to deep to use this practice for over seeding. So the solid tine attachment will be more useful for proper soil contact and germination in my future. And aeration will be left for the seasons I don’t seed.
_Also Note: Some people out there have been misusing the term dethatching. Thatch is the dead root system and other dead debris that is IN THE SOIL not ON THE SOIL. This layer is has some soil nutrients, but to much of it can cause the rest of the healthy and living root system to suffocate (among other reasons).
The spring tines are to pick up the debris. Which is the dead grass and stuff on the surface of the soil. That was what I had. I also have WAY TO MUCH worm activity and it was destroying my grass and surface. It was hard to walk on. The tines helped knock down these hills to provide me with a more flat surface.
_Work day one: Easy enough to assemble. I like the light weight so that I can lift and maneuver with less effort. This was especially important because I had a solid TWO FULL days of other heavy work to accomplish this task, and I didn’t want to put more effort into this than I had to.
HOLY COW!! I knew I had a lot of debris, but this was a lot more than I was expecting. First off. Others who had problems with their unit. I saw what they were trying to mow threw grass that was way too tall. THAT’S RIDICULOUS GUYS!!!
Use your tool wisely!
_So plan ahead_ Mow your lawn 30 percent lower, then wait a few days. Then continue until you get the last mow down just above the crown so you can start with this task. If the lawn is to tall, I wouldn’t be surprised that you end up over taxing this device.
_The other reason for device breakage: Improper setup. Watch a video on how to use this correctly. Be aware the correct way to install the tines. And don’t go to deep. Start high and be aware of your various yard surface heights and adjust accordingly so that you are not going to deep into the surface.
_overall observations_
Flimsy: but use with care and this is not much a problem
Light weight: can be thought as cheap. But simple is best here. It’s much easier with less effort to get the job done. and is more affordable this way. A product that is not under designed, just not over designed. Yes there are better units for heavier use (like commercial). But this is not my use.
Easy installation: Be aware how to correctly install the tines.
Corded hassle: Yes. I hate cords with a vengeance. But it still is the lesser of evils compared to a heavier, more expensive unit.
Durability: well. It might be if used correctly. Time will tell. But I’ve used mine about 11 times so far… I believe it’s paid for itself. So that’s a WIN for me. 🙂
Handle/operation: As said before. light flimsy. And the power ON feature needs your attention to correctly activate with side button (as a safety measure obviously) but still a little clumsy.
_overall_ great value.
I’ll try to post some before and after pictures. I power raked with this Sun Joe on September 18th on a hot summer day. And my after pictures are in chilly November 19th!!! One word. Success!!!
🙂
TomInOregon –
It’s lightweight but has plenty of power. Great for small to medium yards. I just wish the bag was a little bigger.
ChadCutsGrass –
Easy setup, easy to push, and super satisfying to watch all that junk come out of the ground.
joshua –
Pretty sold work pulled up lots of thatch, bag is useless like everyone said but I too the bag and reset it up to where it keep the door open and made a guard for flying debris coming out the back worked well all in all a good product just hoping the seed i put down gets enough seed to soil contact from the dethatching , we shall see soon.
Hard_Boiled_Greg –
I looked at renting a dethatcher from my local Home Depot. They wanted $96 for a day. This Sun Joe dethatcher was just around $150, so I figured it’s cheaper than renting twice. I have the space for it, so that wasn’t an issue. Now, the quality of this thing is cheap. It’s really low quality. That said, I detached my front and rear lawns (around 5,000 sq/ft) with no issues. The machine did the job and did it well. If I get one more year of use out of it, I’m financially ahead. So, given that, I think this was a great buy.
LucyFromPA –
Used this before seeding and wow—made a big difference. Seeds settled in better and my lawn came back fuller.
Noel –
Why did you pick this product vs others?:
Thought I would try the brand, not disappointed, did a 1 acre yard front and back
Works great
ecoLawnDad –
Love that it’s electric—no gas, no fumes. Quiet enough to use in the morning without annoying the neighbors.
lawnMom74 –
Super easy to use, even for someone like me who’s not into yard tools. Plug it in and go. Definitely brought my lawn back to life.
greenThumbJoe –
I had no idea how much thatch was choking my lawn until I ran this machine over it. Pulled up a crazy amount of dead stuff. Lawn looks 10x better now.
DebsYardWork –
I was a little skeptical at first, but this dethatcher is the real deal. My grass can finally breathe again.
MarkTheYardGuy –
(no endorsements here. Just my two cents)
_My yard was getting worse. I had to research how it fix it soon.
I had thinning grass. To many worm hills. possible fugus. And other issues.
_I came across a you tube video by a guy who calls himself the “the Pest and Lawn Ginja”. He was entertaining and packed with tons of knowledge. (As goes with most of his videos) One video had a review on this device and it got me interested to learn more. Looking at the reviews here, it seemed somewhat of a gamble, as many were saying how this device is not sturdy and breaks.
_ Well. I’m here to say. Mine was REALLY put to the test and won with flying colors!!! I had heavy debris and made about 6 passes in the front yard and about 4 passes in the back. I have about 1500 square feet in front and about the same for the back yard. So the use was equivalent to about a single pass on a 1/3 acre of land!!
My hopes were- if this unit just held together to the end of this project, it would have served it’s main purpose. But I can happily say that this has worked far more than that!
_I had to get this project done with less work involved so that I could continue with my lawn renovations/repairs. My purpose was to aerate and pick up the dead debris that was choking out the grass and creating a fungal issue. I decided to bag my debris instead of putting in my compost area. If there was any fugus that was damaging to my lawn, and I used this compost again for a later lawn fix, I would just reintroduce this fungus into my lawn. There ended up with much more debris that I had thought. It did a REALLY GOOD JOB!!! _As the aforementioned video states it’s a good light duty unit that’s far cheaper than a commercial unit but an extra pass does the job. I thought that if it’s light weight enough, this is a good compromise from buying or renting a professional unit. I was hoping that this unit will pay for itself in the first use. Any time I needed it after that, it would have been a good investment. I am happy to say that it has been a good investment so far. I like this unit and how affective it is. I might use this every year to keep things well groomed.
_The solid tines that come with this unit could be useful but I wasn’t interested in scalping my existing grass. I did reseed, but I used tons of new topsoil so I didn’t need to use it. Plus, my thatch wasn’t to bad and I didn’t need to aerate the old soil before I put the top soil down. But if the thatch does get a little to thick in the future, I’ll look forward to using this Sun Joe for my next reseeding. I will update this review if I do.
_Also Note: Core aeration is something I do yearly. But not this fall. Aeration is very popular for this claylike Colorado soil. I serves a real purpose here. But the holes are often to deep to use this practice for over seeding. So the solid tine attachment will be more useful for proper soil contact and germination in my future. And aeration will be left for the seasons I don’t seed.
_Also Note: Some people out there have been misusing the term dethatching. Thatch is the dead root system and other dead debris that is IN THE SOIL not ON THE SOIL. This layer is has some soil nutrients, but to much of it can cause the rest of the healthy and living root system to suffocate (among other reasons).
The spring tines are to pick up the debris. Which is the dead grass and stuff on the surface of the soil. That was what I had. I also have WAY TO MUCH worm activity and it was destroying my grass and surface. It was hard to walk on. The tines helped knock down these hills to provide me with a more flat surface.
_Work day one: Easy enough to assemble. I like the light weight so that I can lift and maneuver with less effort. This was especially important because I had a solid TWO FULL days of other heavy work to accomplish this task, and I didn’t want to put more effort into this than I had to.
HOLY COW!! I knew I had a lot of debris, but this was a lot more than I was expecting. First off. Others who had problems with their unit. I saw what they were trying to mow threw grass that was way too tall. THAT’S RIDICULOUS GUYS!!!
Use your tool wisely!
_So plan ahead_ Mow your lawn 30 percent lower, then wait a few days. Then continue until you get the last mow down just above the crown so you can start with this task. If the lawn is to tall, I wouldn’t be surprised that you end up over taxing this device.
_The other reason for device breakage: Improper setup. Watch a video on how to use this correctly. Be aware the correct way to install the tines. And don’t go to deep. Start high and be aware of your various yard surface heights and adjust accordingly so that you are not going to deep into the surface.
_overall observations_
Flimsy: but use with care and this is not much a problem
Light weight: can be thought as cheap. But simple is best here. It’s much easier with less effort to get the job done. and is more affordable this way. A product that is not under designed, just not over designed. Yes there are better units for heavier use (like commercial). But this is not my use.
Easy installation: Be aware how to correctly install the tines.
Corded hassle: Yes. I hate cords with a vengeance. But it still is the lesser of evils compared to a heavier, more expensive unit.
Durability: well. It might be if used correctly. Time will tell. But I’ve used mine about 11 times so far… I believe it’s paid for itself. So that’s a WIN for me. 🙂
Handle/operation: As said before. light flimsy. And the power ON feature needs your attention to correctly activate with side button (as a safety measure obviously) but still a little clumsy.
_overall_ great value.
I’ll try to post some before and after pictures. I power raked with this Sun Joe on September 18th on a hot summer day. And my after pictures are in chilly November 19th!!! One word. Success!!!
🙂