Side by Side Comparison of: Agri-Fab vs Greenworks

I have white pines and oak trees in my yard, so I thought I would give this a shot at getting the pine cones and acorns. There were a ton of little failed pine cones around the yard, and it did an OK job with them, probably scooping up 60%-80% of them after multiple passes on the shortest setting, which was good enough for me. It was a lot of work at the shortest setting, but it still beats raking.Then the big wind storm came through that covered my yard with sticks, twigs and leaves, and suddenly I was really glad I had this thing. I raised it up to a normal height and it scooped everything right up (not the bigger sticks of course but I wasn't expecting it to get those). It saved me a ton of raking and was much easier to push at a normal height, so I had the whole back yard cleaned up in no time. My lot is about 0.4 acres. I have a riding mower with bagger that I use for leaves, but this is a great supplement to that as it can get places my riding mower can't, or if there's a pile of something that's not worth getting the mower out for, this thing is a breeze. I went in on a chance and now I'm glad I got it.Still too early for acorns.... I'll let you know. I'm not that optimistic as the brushes tend to launch the pine cones out in front if it rather than scooping them up. Fingers crossed.

Great for picking up excess grass clippings and leaves.My regular lawn mower does not have a grass catcher, so this helps when I let the grass get too long to just recycle/mulch the grass clippings.Needs some attention to adjustment to start, but then works wellI found it easier to hand empty the bag, rather than removing and dumping for final removal.

Bought this for sweeping leaves and 1/2 inch seeds off of our artificial turf, and it works like a charm. We had previously tried raking, hand sweeping, blowing and vacuuming and this is the fastest solution, by far.One note is that after setting the sweeper height properly many of the seeds kicked out forward when we pushed, so we added a row of double thick duct tape (stuck back-to-back) to the bottom of the front edge between the wheels. This is stiff enough to contain the items and not get stuck in the brushes. It doesn't quite reach the grass.

Works like a champ!!! see picturesAssembly less than 10 minutes, depending on who is in a grumpy mood.Made 4 passes in one picture and one pass in the other. The single pass was up even ground and the bag was full. Had the bag been less full it would have picked up more leafs. The first picture I made 4 total passes, and that filled up the bag. But 4 may have been over exuberance on my part, as 1 pass did an adequate job. The catcher bag is a good size for it. Any bigger people would complain its to cumbersome. ITs easy to remove without dropping leaves and empties easily. The material of the bag seems like it'll wear quickly if you leave it outside in the sun and rain...so do not do that. but if it does tear or rip......duct tape will fix that up real quick.Construction of it feels stout but its not heavy at all. Easy to push and doesn't fling leafs in you face if you push sprinting pace.Adjustable brush height is handy if you got big leaves and don't want to touch your grass for some weird crazy person reason.If you edge you lawn the brush gets low enough that you can use the sweeper instead of a blower or broom....and that helps me drink beer!Works best on even ground, but if the first pass doesn't get it the second one will Even picked up a rock or two.5 stars is more than appropriate for this. If you read a review of someone complaining about the catcher size........pity the foolOverall its DA BOMB! a good buy in my opinion. Much better than your mower and better than the raking your kids will hate.

I ordered this sweeper and had to return it because the sweeper mechanism was backwards (sweep direction was reversed what it was supposed to be). It took me a little while to figure that part out. I returned it using the attached label. I got the replacement in only a few days and this one was correct. It took about 15 minutes to assemble (my kids and I already knew how to do it since we had assembled the first one).Immediately, we began sweeping the leaves in our yard. We have a level lot and the area with leaves only about 1/4 acre.Using the sweeper is very easy as all you do set the height and push. It took a little while to figure out what worked best for our yard to do the job with least amount of time and effort. The bag only holds so many leaves and got full quickly with all the leaves we had (quite thick cover of leaves since we hadn't done any raking). What we found worked for us was that we go in a line down the yard, then at the end of the yard, we flip the handle forward to the ground and dump the leaves. Then turn around and go back up the yard on a new line beside where we just swept (kind of like you do with a lawnmower) and then flip the whole thing over to dump leaves at the other side of the yard. When done, we have a line of leaves on either side of the yard. Later, we figured we just put a huge blue tarp on the ground to dump the leaves, then pull the tarp to the street and dump there for city maintenance to come suck up into the big leaf truck during the leaf season.We LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the yard sweeper. You figure out what height adjustment works for your yard and leaves, then start pushing. NO loud noise, No gasoline, No electricity, just people power. My 9 and 10 year old kids are quite experienced using the sweeper (and even compete to sweep the leaves) and I don't have to get up leaves anymore. The kids even enjoy doing that job. It is so much easier and more fun than using a rake and does not give you blisters. The kids were NEVER eager to rake leaves, but don't mind sweeping. We even got some looks from neighbors walking by wondering what in the world that thing was. They watched then wanted to know where they could get one. Once we got all the leaves up, it was quite easy to pull out and run over the yard as more leaves fell in the weeks to follow.Don't run it over strings of Christmas lights in the yard because they will get tangled up in there.I don't know how it works on all types of leaves, but on oak tree and and bradford pear tree leaves, it worked great. It might leave a few leaves here or there, but overall it gets the bulk of the leaves up and leaves the yard looking quite nice.

I thought this sweeper worked very well. It doesn't pick up every little leaf/twig, but it does a really great job of picking up most easily. I read a lot of mediocre reviews for this before I bought it, so I was skeptical, but it's better than many reviewers give it credit for.Make sure to adjust the height correctly. That's the most important thing, and it's very easy to do. You should be able to feel the brushes brushing the ground. You want that to add a little resistance to your pushing but not so much that it's difficult to keep the sweeper moving. Level ground also helps as plenty of other people have mentioned, but it works fine on hills and slightly uneven ground.I disagree that it's only for light jobs. Our house backs up to a wooded area, and we get tons of leaves. But I could raise the sweeper to its largest height and pretty much tackle any pile of leaves. You won't get it in one pass by any means, but go over it a few times, lowering periodically if needed. It'll work. I actually think piles were easier than a large, light spread of leaves.The hopper is plastic and it fills up quickly. I don't get why this is a common complaint. It's a leaf collector. You want to it collect quickly. If it was any larger, it'd be unmanageable. It's a good size for transferring into a trash can/bag. You can fill up the hopper in about a minute, so you will spend most of your time emptying the hopper rather than sweeping. But that doesn't mean the hopper is too small. That's just how fast the sweeper works. As for the plastic durability, I haven't had mine very long at all, but it seems durable enough. It's made out of material like a common tarp, and we're just temporarily holding leaves here.The assembly isn't bad. Set aside an hour and you probably will be done early. The instructions aren't that difficult. You need some basic tools, really just a couple of wrenches. A hammer and needle-nose pliers will make your life much easier on the palnuts.This sweeper doesn't 100% pick up everything or eliminate the need to own a rake. In fact, it really works best if you rake leaves into little piles or rows that you can sweep over. My wife raked into rows that I swept over and we finished both of our seriously neglected, leaf-covered, not entirely level lawns in about 2 hours. That was 6 completely full 39 gallon trash bags of leaves. That would have been an all day project before.Clearing your lawn still takes some work, but this provides a massive reduction in the amount of that work. And it really doesn't take a ton of storage space when you're finished with it. It's easy to use and very effective. I highly recommend this product.

Sure does beat using the manual dethatching rake! Shortly after delivery I had this dethatcher assembled and working. Finished 2500-3000 sq-ft inside a couple hours. Definitely recommend a good extension cord. Bought a 100 foot 12 gauge cord which was perfect for my yard size. In addition I mowed the lawn (Kentucky Bluegrass) prior to dethatching at a lower height of 2-1/2".The unit is built well enough, but certainly is not commercial grade. Do not man handle it! Take your time and let it do the work. In my opinion the point where the lower push handle and main unit body connect is the weakest link. Clean up sticks and stones before using and be mindful of hard surfaces such as patios, sidewalks, and driveways. A leaf blower makes quick work with cleaning up thatch material.

This dethatcher is incredible. Yes, it's corded, but if you can deal with that, it's the most lightweight, easy to maneuver dethatcher I've ever used. And it seemed to do the job quite well.I almost knocked off a star because the assembly instructions are poor. They're out of order and missing information, so I had to assemble and disassemble it a couple times before getting it right.At the end of the day, though, it's another excellent GreenWorks product.

I paid $120 last year to have it done. This was after attempting to do it myself manually with a thatch rake. My back was having none of that so I searched for an inexpensive and easier way to get it done. Found this little gem! Arrived quickly, assembled easily and done with my small front and back lawn. Great product and no complaints here.

After receiving a professional landscaping estimate to repair my lawn for $8,000, I decided to become my own landscaper. I purchased the Green Works 27022 Corded De-thatcher after reading Amazon reviews. (One reviewer mentioned using the recommended heavy duty extension cord, so I purchased that too). I used the Green Works De-thatcher on the entire yard - a total of 4 times (yard is about 100'x110'). I filled 2-96 gallon yard waste containers and 12 Kraft bags (about 32 gallons each) with the debris. Then, my husband and I filled all the old mole holes and tunnel dips with 4 cubic yards of top soil. Next, we spread grass seed on the bare spots, and spread 5 cubic yards of compost over the entire yard. Finally the lawn was well watered. Photos show the results. It isn't the $8,000 professional lawn, but it has been significantly improved for $500 and a lot of hard work.

This is my new favorite yard toy! I bought it primarily for all the moss in my lawn and it works fantastically well! I've already worked over 12,000sf. It's light and really easy to use.

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...[...]

Assembly was a breeze. I don't know why others had difficulty, perhaps the design has been updated. It took me less than 10 min to assemble. Operation is acceptable and better with practice. Setting the sweeping height is key for smooth or bucking operation. I used to clean up gum balls and on each pass it would pick up 70-80%, kicking a few ahead. This is still way better than raking or picking up by hand. I would recommend this sweeper.

A good product. I want to give it 5 stars, but it has a little trouble with gum balls. My nemesis! It does sweep them up, but it takes quite a few passes to get about 75% to 80% of them. Which is still good, it cuts raking time way down. Which is why I'm torn about giving it 5 stars. It does work well and it does a really good job sweeping up everything else. It's just that the one thing I really need it to do well is sweep gum balls, which it seems only average at doing. A solid product overall.

I used it for at least 2 days for long periods to clear leaves. It picked up pine needles, sweet gum tree balls. It works better on flat ground and in short grass, but really works well. I used it to pick up heavy fallen leaves and it fills the basket quickly. I found that just flipping it and dumping it in a piles works best. I took off 1 star because the bag is already coming unravelled from the sewn corners. I would like to see better wheels since it is used mostly in the grass.I have been looking for something that picks up sweet gum balls and this works perfectly. If you've tried these evil balls cling to grass and are difficult to rake and blowers don't help either. Through plastic brushes they lift the balls out of the grass and throw them in the collection bag. Worth it for this feature alone.

I just received the sweeper today and already I love using it! We have a lot of large trees on about half an acre, so raking in the fall can be a nightmare. It is super easy to use and adjusting the brush height takes quite literally 10 seconds. Assembly took my husband and I about 10 minutes total. It won't completely clear your yard (especially in one pass), but my first run was on a yard almost ankle deep in leaves. Word of advice: try to start using this when the leaves just start to fall, not when you have a yard full of them. There is only so much capacity in the bag, so you'll have to stop often.One star off for the design. One of the rods that holds the bag in place in the back has a strange fitting that is nearly impossible to attach. My husband and I got creative, and it ended up working out well with our modified design.

 In order to use this sweeper effectively, you need to keep your grass short. It's adjustable, so it has a setting for longer grass, but then the older, deeper leaves won't get picked up. (The alternative is to adjust the sweeper for short grass and push with all your might!)It's not obvious how to dump the leaves, but after a few tries, I learned to flip it over and walk forward a few steps. That's enough to get 90% of the leaves out.It doesn't feel incredibly sturdy, but seems to put up with my abuse. After a season of using it (abusing it?) on my 1 acre of lawn, there's a very small rip in the bag, but otherwise, it's still great.I tried attaching the sweeper to my bicycle and attached a larger collection bag (did I mention the abuse?), to see how well it would work. It was a lot of fun, but pretty hard to pedal. See video.

Just got around to using this product after purchasing it about 6 months ago. It picks up leaves fantastically. My yard was in need of a good trimming which made parts of it difficult to sweep. The brush only goes so high (away from the ground). If the wheels were taller, it might alleviate this problem. The sweeper made quick work of picking up leaves, but be aware that you'll have to empty the bag every 5 minutes depending on how much leaves you have to pick up. The bag is honestly easy on, easy off. I'd recommend getting a "leaf and lawn chute" to hold the lawn bags open for easier dumping. Others say that this breaks down for storage. Yes you can take the bag off easily but it is an enormous pain in the butt to take the handle on and off. If you stand it upright, it has a pretty slender profile.I could not be happier with this purchase. Even with it's slight annoyances, it was worth every penny.*Tip for assembly* Put the three pieces of the handle together first before trying to attach it to the brush base. I couldn't get the crossbar on when I put the sides on first. Also, there are palnuts that need to go on the top (long) metal bar for the bag. These must be hammered on to the rod. The instructions say nothing about how to actually attach them. We set them on concrete and hammered them on. It can't be done by hand.

I have kikuyu grass - a common grass in SoCal. It is pretty tough to mow and dethatch. This little dethatcher did a pretty good job on its highest setting ("I" - pointing towards the ground).I dethatched it in one direction and made a second pass perpendicular to the first one. Took care of 2/3 of the total thatch in the lawn. I will repeat my detaching next week to get rid of the rest.I was surprised by this tool's performance. My neighbor did not think it would work at all on kikuyu grass. However, this little machine proved him wrong. Adding a pic to this review that shows the state of lawn after dethatching it.

First off read the instructions if you do not want to be doing things twice. I used this dethatcher on an area of 80x20 and an area of 100x30 this machine does the job. but be sure to pace your self for best results. I would not lower the spikes unless you know exactly how much you want to remove. the machine is shiped with extra spikes if you need to have them replaced. The machine is not heavy at all making it easy to maneuver this is the first year I used it an it worked great.

Did my ~1/4 acre lawn in a couple of hours. None of the reported overheating issues, pulled up about 3 50-gallon bags of thatch; I'd just mowed, and only cut down about 2-1/2 bags, so I was surprised how much was underneath.I did use a large-gauge cord, the one I use for my compressor and electric mower, so I suspect the comments elsewhere that people with overheating problems were using too-light cords has some truth.It seems to have helped; I had a couple of thin spots that I thought were just dead, and they're greening up nicely. Both are low spots, so I guess the combination of thatch and standing water drowned the grass there.

I have centipede grass in my yard and when we moved in I noticed a pretty thick thatch layer over my whole yard. I ran this across my entire back yard and ended up with 4 Lowes yard bags full of thatch. I even used the highest setting to try at first and I think I still need to do it again, but not until after summer. This thing does the trick! It even comes with a bag full of replacement splines. I used it in my thick centipede grass and didn't break a single one but I assume that after a few seasons use some will eventually break. It took some getting use to pushing this around and trying to find the right angle you should be pushing it. One of the gripes I have with it is the fact it has a safety button you have to awkwardly press to initiate the lever to turn it on. I understand they have it there to keep from accidentally engaging the machine, but where it's at requires you to use two hands; one to press the button, the other to pull up on the lever. By the time you've positioned your hands to start pushing, the machine has been on for almost 2 seconds and you can NOT leave this in one place for long or you will pull up too much grass and create a small bald spot. It took a few tries to get it right, but I got it down and only left one or two spots in my yard but they're not noticable. For the price of this machine vs. the price of the gas powered ones, there's no contest. This does the job, and it does it pretty well. With a small learning curve, anybody can dethatch their yard and be amazed at how much thatch gets pulled up!

This product arrived relatively quickly, the order placed May 28 (2014) and arrived June 6. It wasn't in a plain-vanilla brown box like one would expect, but in the product box itself, with an inconsequential dent in it.Inside were all of the parts, the clear plastic bag for the extra tines opened with some of those tines having popped out. A medium brown product "how to" book, including unpacking and assembly instructions, is all you get. It's one of those of the color that if you took a copy of it without adjusting the brightness, it would come out dark. There didn't seem to be any reason for doing so, but so be it.Read the important safety instructions, most are common sense, but most important here are not using in wet or damp areas. Keep this in mind if you're aerating your lawn (best done after it's been damp) as part of your "lawn servicing." They also suggest a lawn height of 2 inches/.05 meters. It's also a good idea to wear eye protection, and they suggest a dust mask as well, which they call out both under "Specific Safety Instructions" and "Specific Safety Rules." They note to not use the product on slopes greater than 15 degrees, which may influence whether some of you could even consider this product. A couple of other things they place elsewhere in the instructions include selecting the depth setting "I" when transporting the unit and not pulling the dethatcher backwards while in use...in other words, not like a lawnmower.The assembly instructions, which starts on page 11(!) were lacking, as the parts list was incomplete, general, e.g. "knob & bolt," and most of the times without numbers. However, way back on page 22/23 is a complete product list. The picture of the completed product, on page 10, was darkened due to their choice of paper color, so I found myself looking at the white with green product box for how the item should look like when I encountered vagueness/use of unfamiliar product words with the instructions, but I was able to get it put together the way it's supposed to be done.Operating the product was a cinch. It is reasonably light, certainly lighter than a lawnmower. It operates at about the loudness as I remembered my electric lawnmower to do (not too loud), yet it pulls forward a bit like some lawnmowers do. Just let it pull you along and remember that you shouldn't pull the dethatcher towards you, and you'll be fine. I had procrastinated too long on buying this before my lawn had reached the "dry and dusty" level, but we did have some early summer rain a week before, thus it could have been worse. It's too soon to say whether the use of an aerator and this product will together make a difference in my long-neglected lawn, but I'm moderately optimistic, particularly if I do a soil test to see what my lawn needs before the next go-around (which I haven't done yet).

Edit/Update: Wow it has been 5 years already that I have owned this. I use it twice a year - once in late summer/early fall, and next in spring. I use it with every other row of tines removed (as shown in my photos). I only go over my Floratam lawn in one direction per dethatching. I found that if you pull the machine backwards while the tines are spinning and in contact with the ground, you will eventually break the tines. It is so much easier to pull in back as you would a mower as you make turns, etc., but the tines don't like that. I made an effort to avoid that altoghether, and have not experienced one broken tines since.The amount of back breaking raking this has saved me from is unbelievable. It is still fun to operate - it just pulls itself along while plucking up lots of dead crap.I haven't been able to keep up on all questions asked, and see others have stepped in to answer. One question was how long did it take my lawn to recover. In the fall when our lawns are mostly dormant, it looks a little beat up for 2-4 weeks. In the sping, maybe one week.Why I bought it followed by how it worked for me.If you don't want to read on, here is what I have to say. I abused it on a very tough 5000 square foot St. Augustine lawn, that was somewhat damp at the time, and it did great. I was shocked at how well it did. I was expecting it to fail based on reviews of other similar de-thatchers.WHY I BOUGHT IT:My lawn is St. Augustine and requires a special de-thatching machine/process/tools so as not to kill the lawn.A rental ( vertical mower with tines spaced 2"-3" apart ) was not available in my area nor do landscapers have these on hand. Rentals cost [...]. Two healthy adults using modified de-thatching rakes with some tines removed could only cover 300-400 square feet in an hour and the results weren't great.I was skeptical in this purchase, but also tired and desperate, so for [...] with free shipping I decided to take a chance.It appears the Craftsman model is more expensive and has complaints about its motor failing. The craftsman reportedly uses a 10amp motor as does this unit. I was worried that this unit might be under powered.My lawn was green and growing like mad for two years prior - the envy of all the neighbors. I wasn't shy using fertilizer. I had to mow every 5th day. Last summer, I couldn't find a way to keep the lawn alive. Fertilizer didn't really help. Watering as recommended didn't help. Insects invaded despite my use of pesticides that had worked in years prior. It wasn't long before large areas of dead grass formed and mushrooms popped up all over. My lawn was also very spongy to walk on. You can only cut St. Augustine so short before killing it, so I was hesitant to cut it below 2".I finally determined that my problem was with excessive thatch - a problem I probably created by over fertilizing and not bagging the grass clippings. Thatch can stop water as well as fertilizer and pesticides from getting down where it needs to, and provides a great environment for fungus and insects.HOW IT WORKED:I'll be frank. When I un-boxed it and took a look at the tines on the roller, it appeared so cheap I felt I would be making a mistake if I didn't return it right away. They don't picture the bottom of the unit or the tines. Had they, I probably wouldn't have bought it. It just doesn't look like it has a chance of getting the job done. The roller resembles a large vacuum brush roller, and is driven by a cogged belt attached to the motor. The tines are thin and short. These look like super heavy duty paper clips.When put to use, It removed a lot more thatch, more thoroughly, in less than 5 minutes, without breaking a sweat, than 2 physically fit adults with rakes spent an hour trying to de-thatch. And, the grass and thatch were damp at the time I used this unit.Someone posted a video online of a similar de-thatcher (possibly the Craftsman) in use, with tons of thatch being left behind as the unit moves forward. That is exactly how well it worked for me.If you don't use an adequately sized extension cord, (or plug it into an outlet than can actually deliver the 15 amps it should be rated for) you may end up overheating the motor from low voltage issues and damaging it. I used a 100 foot, 14 gauge cord plugged into a 20 amp GFCI outside outlet and had no problems. The motor never hinted at bogging down.I started out with the thatcher in its highest setting as per the instructions, but found it did a better job for me on its lowest setting. I think the difference between high and low is less than ½ an inch. You wouldn't think it would make a difference, but it did.I began by de-thatching 300 square foot sections at a time, stopped to rake it all up and bag it. At the end, I just ran this over the remaining 3000 square feet of lawn non stop - about 20 minutes time - and the thatcher had no issues keeping up.The spinning tines are all that propel this forward and it takes little effort to control the pace, but if you intentionally go slow, be prepared to see it remove a lot of grass - probably more than you want. This works fast.It isn't recommended that you pull this backwards while using it - one reason being that it is hard on the tines. I did this regularly as it just made it easier to maneuver and helped kick out any excessive thatch built up under it or around the wheels that it didn't discharge on its own. I frequently ran this over a pile of grass I already de-thatched as I maneuvered it around, and it just kept humming away.The end result for me on my lawn: about 35 minutes of run time on the de-thatcher did a better job than two adults with rakes could have done in 14 hours. Thatching 5000 square feet of area left me with thirty, 33 gallon garbage bags full of all the crap it pulled up, the vast majority of which was dead grass and thatch and very little healthy green stuff.I would expect this to make short work of any lawn not resembling the vine-like thickness of St. Augustine.The pictures (if I can attach some later) show the modified hand rake used at first along with the underside of the power de-thatcher. Because St. Augustine is supposed to be de-thatched with a vertical mower with blades spaced 2"-3" apart so as to reduce the chances tearing up the vine-like structure of the grass and killing it, I removed every other set of tines on the roller to get the spacing I wanted. As the pictures show (hopefully), each set of tines is two wires sticking out from a single spring wound tine mount. Three of the sets each lost a single tine wire and I wouldn't be surprised if it was from my abuse. Since I removed some of them before I started, I have spares.This saved so much manual labor, had it died on me after one round of de-thatching, I'd still buy another one when the time comes. And most importantly, the thatched areas have new grass popping up all over. This did the trick for me.My only con, maybe the tines could be a thicker gauge.

Value - 2 1/2: Paid $140, should be under $100 for quality. Mostly plastic, handle seems flimsy though a handyman could beef it up. Bag is light vinyl.Effectiveness - 4: Light Autumn load. Was happy it picked up maple seeds(helicpoters) that even the lawnmower wouldn't. It DOES sweep up leafs. 2hr rake/bag job done in 40 mins.Ease of use - 3: As said in other reviews, height adjustment is key(which is easy). We have bumpy uneven turf, adjusted a few times. About as much effort as manual lawnmower. Bag filled pretty quick, even w/a lighter leaf load, but a bigger bag would be heavier/harder to unload.Overall It seems to work as advertised. Good for light/med loads. If you wait till leafs are ankle deep this will be useless as you'll go 8' and have to empty the bag.

It was a struggle to use at first the wheel kept sticking. It would pick up but was not easy to push a friend came by and did some adjusting now just waiting for leaves to fall to see how it really will work. The rod seems to keep slipping off and have to keep stopping to fix it.

Unit arrived with all hardware missing. Had to contact customer support to receive replacement hardware, which they sent promptly so +1 to customer service. Performance is mediocre, though it does sweep. I mainly tested with lawn clippings, which while it does pick up, it ends up spewing half of the clippings in front of it. Should work okay for leaves though. Wheels have very poor traction and doesn't work well in the lower settings. Overall wouldn't recommend for the asking price as there are many cheaper units available.

Takes a while to learn to hold and adjust the level. Lumpy grass is a challenge, it will pick up about 60 % of the leaves on my cement tennis court. But you get better with practice. I'd like to find either a 4 cycle gas or electric vacuum that has a wide (at least 24 in) width for better leaf clean-up that isn't a ton of money.

When it arrived it was missing a part which rendered it useless. I called Agrifab and they sent the missing part. Took about 1.5 weeks to arrive.Works ok.In a perfect lawn I guess it would be ok but in my yard the brushes get hung up on grass "runners". It has a hard time with bamboo leaves also. I was looking for an easy alternative to raking as I have a bad back. Would be nice if handle was a little higher. Probably go back to raking by hand and post it on Craigslist. Sorry.

It was easy enough to assemble. You NEED the wrenches, you will NOT need the Phillips screwdriver.Figuring out height adjustment is key. I have patches of St Augustine and other places where it's super thick. First go around, the Sweeper won bc I just couldn't get it right. It'd stop dead in it tracks. But I was also trying to pick up asuch as I could.Once I got a rhythm it got WAY easier. I filled 3 large waste cans in no time.This is perfect for me bc I have oak varieties that drop SOMETHING year-round. ..it gets the large and small acorns, and even fine, thin crepe myrtle leaves.HOWEVER, the plastic ends keep popping off the lower legs as I'm removing the bag.

Waste of money, to use once a year, spend the money and rent one that will actually do what it is designed to do. This barely skimmed and scraped the top surface of my lawn, virtually no actual penetration into the lawn to allow seeds the needed depth to be covered.

Overall its a great concept and machine but unfortunately the manufactures went cheap in a few critical areas and used plastic parts instead of metal, most notable where the handle bars attach to the machine.After about 30 minutes of use the flimsy plastic and cheap screws that came with the unit detached and the handle bars came flying off the machine. I was able to retrofit some metal parts I had laying around to ensure a more secure fit between the handles and the machine and now it works great.Just wish GreenWorks had put $10 extra into building this machine to begin with to ensure it can handle the rigors of the job its designed for.

Had to return my first one after the motor stopped working the first day I tried it. When it did work, it worked Very well. I could not believe how much thatch this thing could produce out of my lawn. I went easier on my replacement unit and it has continued to work for a few months now without stopping and producing similar excellent results. I think as long as you take it easy with this unit it will last but build quality is only ok so still not sure about it's long term survival.

Just got this...the cord is annoying but I am not factoring that into my rating since i already knew about that downside before buying it. I may be doing something wrong but my complaint is that the dead thatch doesnt seem to be ejecting out the back as it should....it is accululating under the machine and then i have to lift the machine up to get it out. I'm trying to understand if that back lid should automatically open as thatch is pushed through it or is it suppose to somehow stay open while in use ? Also I am wondering if my wheel setting labels are marked incorrectly because when i have the 3rd setting III at the bottom of the knob (closest to the ground), then the base of the machine is actually closest to the ground. When I turn it to 1, then the machine is highest off the ground. That seems backwards according to the directions right ?

If you have the wild Bermuda (wire grass) lawn, you want to skip this one. It works pretty well with sodded lawn of Tifway Bermuda, Fescue and Zoysia.When I built my house, the front yard was partially occupied by wild/native Bermuda grass. I knew they were hard to get rid of. So I decided to fertilize the lawn using it's schedule. Now the front yard is fully covered with that. It actually looks pretty nice. The backyard has the Tifway Bermuda sod. The machine works fine with the Tifway Bermuda on the backyard, but doesn't work well with the native Bermuda grass on the front yard. After every a couple of minutes, the machine shuts down, maybe due to overheating. The wire grass gets stuck between the wheels and the drum. It is not easy to get rid of the grass. So I have to give up working on the front yard.After working on about totally 2 acre, I opened up the machine for cleaning. The clips and dust are all over the motor. There are two pieces of filters, but apparently they didn't serve their purpose, and the motor is not encapsulated. I wonder how long this machine will last.I still like to give it 3 star because it does its job very well. I will try to post a couple of photos.

I have a 1.25 acre lot, of which only 0.3 acres has grass. I chose this thing because it was significantly cheaper then the gas powered one and although the green factor seems all nice and dandy, it didn't play that much of a factor in me chosing this.It works wonders on my grass, pulling out thatch I never knew I had. Left the grass intact, which was a bonus. Unfortunately, it would run for about a 60-90 seconds, and then shut down due to overheating. I would have to wait 60-90 seconds again to reset the engine, and then keep going. This made what should have been a quick half day job into a full day deal just because I kept fidgeting with the resetting button waiting for it to stop overheating. (and yes, I had the height set at the highest level).I eventually got the job done and my grass looks fantastic. I would have given this two stars for the overheating problem had not my grass came out looking so good and the price is just so much better than a gas powered one.Next time I use it, I'll probably cut the grass a little shorter than I usually have it just saw that the tines aren't working so hard, and maybe then I'll have less overheating problems.

I'm not impressed with this sweeper. Even at the highest setting, it's extremely difficult to push across the grass. If you hold it at EXACTLY the right angle, you can usually get it to work. But forget sending the kids out to pick up grass. They can't get it to budge. It's much less effort to just rake than use this. I wish I'd gone another route and maybe paid extra for a pull-behind model.For me the packaging and assembly wasn't a real problem like other reviewers have mentioned.

Proper height adjustment is key to the sweeper working well, but not easy to accomplish especially if your lawn is not perfect. Also, if you have a lot of leaves be prepared to spend a lot of time emptying the sweeper. I returned mine and plan to buy a gas powered leaf mulcher someday.

I have about a 1/3 acre with 7 fully mature, very large trees. Normally, I use a blower/rake to put leaves in piles, then bag the leaves.This product simply requires FAR too many bag changes to be efficient. It's nearly impossible to bag leaves with this when you're solo.Best method I've seen is to sweep until full, dump leaves in a pile, bag from the pile. Since I have a blower that works quite well, this item is relatively useless.I can see the value for someone who doesn't have a lot of trees, or doesn't need to bag, but in my situation, this was not worth it.Construction seemed alright. Nothing great. Not "industrial" strength, at all, though. To be expected at this price point.

I would not recommend this sweeper for anyone who has an uneven yard with lots of trees and slopes because it doesn't work well. In flat areas it works just ok. We sent it back because it didn't work well in our type of yard.

The sweeper itself is decent - I would describe it as "OK." It definitely makes getting the leaves and ficus nuts off the yard much easier. You won't be able to throw away that broom (this thing won't edge), but that's hardly a complaint.I see a lot of negative comments about the size of the catcher. It does fill up quickly, but I found it was roughly enough to fill a standard brown trashbag. I, too, would love to have a Bag of Holding for my yard waste, but that's just an unreasonable expectation.Big penalties for the packaging. Amazon, or Agrifab, or whoever shipped this thing - the product container is not suitable as a shipping box! The package arrived ripped and dented, with one of the rods sticking out of the box. All of the nuts, washers, and bolts were loose in the box. A few of them were missing - I presume they escaped through some of the holes in transit. Luckily I could get close approximations at Home Depot (I didn't want to hassle with shipping it back if I didn't have to), but I have to consider myself fortunate that more pieces weren't lost in transit.

Difficult to push through grass even when the grass is short. It picks up stuff fairly well, but it's just too difficult to use so it's on Craigslist waiting for some other sucker to buy it at a fraction of what I paid for it. I think that it is overpriced even if I was happy with it.

two stars, for the number of times i was able to use the machine. on the second use, the machine snapped one of two screws holding the tine spindle in place. the screw snapped just below the head, leaving the shaft in the plastic screw hole, and no way to back or drill it out. and the "warranty" requires the purchaser to pay for shipment costs. will contact customer service tomorrow (of course, closed already today) and see if they will repair unit without forcing me, the purchaser, to eat costs to ship the unit back to their factory to fix their poor work/materials. will update review after that conversation.

It was working pretty good in the beginning but it stopped working after second use.

When it works it works. But most of time i get got dead grass & healthy grass out. I tried all setting but most of time it did not work & it pilled out healthy grass. Returning to seller

Package was delivered in an previously opened box re-taped for re-sale. Printing on some parts (height adjustment) was partially worn off as if some soap/solvent was used to clean the parts after prior use.

I was expecting better.about 10 feet and the rubber flap was lying in the yard.I am not sure but the flap on the rear, spring loaded I was assuming would open and the grass would come out the top not just ball up inside the unit. So what is that spring load flap for? The tension is too strong for this little thing to push the grass out of.If you walk with the back picked up about 3-4 inches the thatch will lay on top of the grass, else it just makes noise and doesn't look like you did anything. Its like its just pull out the thatch then taking it and putting it back into the grass, again it works it you hold the back off the ground.Overall no a happy customer.I was using a 100ft heavy gauge extension cord and never tripped in thick zoysia grass.

The build quality of this was good, but it was too harsh on the lawn, ripping out as much live grass as dead grass. Had to reseed just to fix what it did to the lawn.

Works well on level grass. If ground is uneven the wheels/brushes jam which is really annoying. One has to constantly adjust the brush depth because it leaves leaves behind having to go over twice. Tried on flat blacktop drive at the next to lowest brush setting useless. Any small twigs cause wheel locking. Better off with a blower or leaf rake. Total waste of money. Can see why it was reduced in price

fell apart during use. Literally collapsed. Screws didn't match, this was a hot mess.

Maybe my grass is too tall but the thing only picks up some of the leaves and is to small to be effective on my lawn. I have to empty it to often.I would not recommend it.

As it concept, it works great. As a practical matter, the components do not hold up. For example, the top of the bag is already ripping where the top rod goes thru.

I purchased the product to sweep my new synthetic lawn of leafs that fall from the tree. What I found was that is pushes the leafs in front more than into the basket. I tried moving at different speeds and when I move really fast not quite a jog it perhaps captures 20% of the leafs. My lawn is flat and even, the synthetic grass is a soft variety and not very tall. I tried adjusting to different heights with the sweeper. This product might work when you have deep pile of leafs. It's not for me

Hard to push. Cheap materials. Extremely over priced. Bag ripped. Front wheel bent. Very disappointed. Wish I could give it zero stars.

I ordered this item and it was missing the entire lower half of the handle. I will be returning it.

It does ok for what it is. For the price I could rented a professional one for a full day. Not worth the money

Motor quit after 10 minutes of use. Going to return. Even during the 10 minutes of use didn't pull up much thatch. Not worth it- get what you pay for.

I used it once and it worked as expected. Removed most of the hay from my new construction lawn. Stored it neatly in my garage and pulled out a few months later to work on my backyard and the motor wouldn't turn the tines. I tried for an hour to clean and plug/unplug it back in hoping when i pushed the button and pulled the lever I would hear the thing start, but nothing. I even inspected it to see if a weed had wrapped around it or something was obstructing it but couldn't find anything. Save your money, wish I had mine back. #disappointed

I, the husband, bought this product because my lawn desperately needs to be dethatched, and I would always rather own something than rent it. Since similar gas-powered dethatchers are ~$600, I thought an electric one might be a suitable alternative. And it very well might be; however, this particular product is garbage. I should have known at the price it's sold that it wasn't going to be high-quality, but it got so many decent reviews that I thought I would try it out. My mistake.It was broken right out of the box. The "baling handle", which is the thin, metal handle you see attached to the main handle bar which engages the tines was broken when it arrived. That alone would not have warranted a 1-star review. Upon close examination, it became apparent that the critical piece of this baling handle (the location inside the little control box) that engages the spring, which completes the electrical circuit and then the tines, is made of plastic and was completely sheared off. Before ever being used. So even if the company replaced that whole assembly for me, the critical piece to making the whole thing work is made out of plastic instead of metal! Which means it's just a matter of time before it fails again.Don't waste your money or more importantly, your time on this. If you're going with an electric model, try the Homelite. As for me, I'm going to Lowe's to buy the Stihl gas-powered dethatcher.

Cut my grass. Not a good product. Seeking a refund. It cuts the grass. Need other methods to remove the thatch.