WEN DT1516 16-Inch 15-Amp 2-in-1 Electric Dethatcher and Scarifier with Collection Bag, Black

First, buy a good quality 12 gauge extension cord. My yard is pretty big and thankfully I have a 100 foot long 12 gauge extension cord. Do not use a standard outdoor extension cord since most of these are only 14 gauge. Another recommendation is to use a dedicated 20 amp outlet. If you use a 15 amp outlet, make sure that nothing else on that circuit is using electricity. I noticed a difference in the sound of the motor when I was plugged into a 20 amp outlet on its own circuit breaker verses another outlet that is on a 15 amp breaker that is shared by other outlets in the house.Now for the de-thatching. I used the scarifier blade for my front yard because it hasn't been detached in years. This machine pulled up piles of thatch while also digging a bit into the soil, which later allowed me to more efficiently seed and fertilize. I filled five large contractor bags with thatch. When I cut the grass with the grass catcher on, I barely fill half a contractor bag. As other reviewers mentioned, the catching bag is much too small; it tends to quickly fill up. I pretty much ignored the catcher and let the thatch overflow, then I followed up with a rake. I still had to stop and empty the catcher, but that really wasn't a big deal. If I had rented a de-thatcher, I would have had to rake anyway and go through the hassle of picking it up, using it and returning it. For the price, I figure I only need to use this machine three times and I will have saved money. I switched to the de-thatching attachment for my back yard. It did a decent job without digging down into the soil. I'll probably use the scarifier the next time to pull up more thatch. Another nice thing is NO EXHAUST FUMES!!!! Yes, handling the extension cord was a bit of a hassle, but once you figure out how to swing it out of the way, it's not a big deal. Just be careful you don't run over the extension cord. Aside from destroying the (expensive) cord, you may get a dangerous and bad electric shock.It's a good machine and did a much better job than the gasoline powered de-thatchers I have rented in the past. It is well worth the investment. It's relatively light weight, folds up and can be stored on a shelf, under a table or some other dry place that is out of the way.

The Wen power dethatcher worked perfectly. Did my entire back yard in about 30 minutes where a dethatcher rake would take hours. The Wen is light and maneuverable and cinch to use. Changing the blade roller is a snap and should they be needed, Wen sells replacements on their website. Overall, very satisfied.

Wasn't sure how well this would work but after reading the reviews I decided to give it a shot. I was a little concerned about the light weight of the unit and the reviews about the bag filling up too quickly. While the bag does fill up very fast, (after about 20 feet of scarifying) it's because it pulls out so much thatch and undergrowth. Very impressive for the light weight of the machine. Worked like a champ and I was able to do my entire back yard in a couple of hours. Pulled out so much undergrowth that I completely filled two 96 gallon trash containers with thatch.Instead of removing the catch bag and then having to rake the entire lawn, I just emptied the back once I noticed the thatch no longer being picked up. Saved a ton of time on raking. In the end, I only had a few piles of thatch to rake up.I ran the mower over the lawn to help pick up any remaining thatch and then watered the lawn. Seemed to be taking water better. Will post some follow up photos in a few weeks once everything begins to fill in more.The only down side is the size of the catch bag. Not sure if it could be redesigned bigger and still work but that would have made my review a 5-star review. Honestly, that is the only thing I was not impressed with.Overall, this machine is awesome and I will be using again at the end of the season to get ready for winter. Much better than having to find one to rent and going through the hassle of picking up and dropping off in a set time limit. For the price, this unit was only about $50 more than renting a unit locally and now I can use whenever I need to instead of trying to deal with the rental hassle.Definitely recommend this unit.

First off, I really had a hard time put on the handle. I know that sound crazy, but it was like the holes didn't line up, just a little off and to screw it into the sides with adjustment, it was really a pain. Overall the product did a good job and very easy to use. So far it seems to be sturdy enough. The bag does fill up fast so I had a garbage can on wheels close by. I am having to do a good size backyard and with this it has been going fast and easy. Good value for the money.

Works great, used it to scarify my back yard. Easy to use, held up great. Very pleased. Saved a lot of time and sweat. Dug up moss and weeds with no problem. Highly recommend.

Way impressed with the performance. This yard has not been maintained correctly for years and it did a fantastic job clearing the thatch. There were some areas that I made a second pass through, but that had nothing to do with the machine itself. The cord is a little bit of a hindrance. Easy to use and took about 4-5 hours from start to finish. I kept the bag off to avoid interruption of emptying it every few passes making it easy to clean up afterward. Worth it!!

Recent Purchase of a Amazon recommended WEN electric dethatcher / Scarifier. I can see the thatch in the lawn,. Have tried hand dethatchers, Power (lawn mower) rake attachments which were either too much labor or poor results. Just powered up the WEN dethatcher / scarifier on a test area, small lawn section. Happy to relate I was surprized and amazed, regretting to not ave purchased one years ago. assembles with ease, stores easily. The results were impressive. I used the unit with the interchangeable Dethatcher attachement. The WEN comes with scraifier blade installed. Just three small strips of lawn on the test plot yield half a catcher of thatch. WOOHOO. Now to wait for Fall weather to work on front and back lawns.