Reply With QuoteI have the Macallister one from B&Q for a small / medium lawn. Not a lot to say about it... does the job fairly easily!
Figured for the 1 / 2 times a year I use it I don't want to be spending loads.
Looking to get a lawn scarifier for our medium sized lawns. Based on the reviews from the Bosch AVR1100 seems to fit the bill. However I've also noticed the VanHaus at approximately half the price.
I'm not familiar with the brand but given it will only be used 2/3 times a year any thoughts please
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I have the Macallister one from B&Q for a small / medium lawn. Not a lot to say about it... does the job fairly easily!
Figured for the 1 / 2 times a year I use it I don't want to be spending loads.
My Bosch one went for years on a fairly large lawn twice a year
Over one winter the main spindle bearings seized and would have cost about £40 from Bosch
I measured them (once removed) and replaced with SKF ones off eBay for £4.15
It went on for a few more years with me then it was given away to my neighbour when I moved house
It’s still going strong apparently
Tip: take the collection box off and rake up the removed thatch afterwards or you’ll be start/stopping it every couple of metres run. Also spray some WD40 over the bearings after every time you use it.
It is amazing how much you’ll remove
Iirc it cost about £65 on line somewhere
Thanks for that. Much appreciatedOriginally Posted by Miocene
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Some good tips in your post, many thanks. Prices have moved a little in the world of Bosch. The one I'm looking at is about 3x the price you originally paid for yours !!
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I had a pro-performance one and this was utter pants. It use to eat the belts like no tomorrow and after replacing 5/6 the plastic cogs wore so much that the belts failed to grip the cogs. Had this just over a year so not in warranty when it packed up and belts were not covered by the warranty (B & Q).
Tried to get it repaired but was told it’s garbage as the cogs are the weak pint and would fail again in the near future.
The moral of the story is to try and find one with metal cogs or pulleys.
B
Depending on the size of the task I would seriously consider hiring a professional petrol machine. You don't have to contend with reliability, storage etc. and they'll do a far better job.
Electric will rake out the surface moss. A petrol machine will also break the soil surface and promote a healthier lawn - comes at a cost though vs electric.
I use a tine rake trailer in the back of the mower - any expert views as to whether a stand alone machine is better/worse/just something else to store and service? Thanks (and sorry to slightly threadjack)
I have been intending to purchase this all in one raker and scarifer but have been waiting for a discount code or voucher to be posted out by Screwfix as part of a marketing mail shot.
Although I am expecting the electric cable will get in the way and annoy me.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/wr6002-15...240v/296fg#_=p
I’ve done big lawns (big lawns) with both domestic electric and hired petrol. TBH the domestic electric was “easier” work and did a neater job. Set up right both will get massive volumes of moss out of a mossy lawn, in fact unless you’re working two-up you spend most of your time moving moss to a heap somewhere. (Try tipping out onto a tarpaulin and dragging the tarp if you can.)
Don’t expect either method to give you a complete solution to your moss though. It is only a tool in the battle against the never ending problem.
I think I’d go for a little electric one.
(I run a small, part time commercial grounds’ maintenance business.)
I don't have a scarifier so I can't really comment.
However when it comes to garden equipment, never ever go for bottom end tat as it is always a case of second class performance and buy cheap buy twice.
I still use the same Felco hand pruners I bought 30 years ago. I have decent lawn mowers that last forever and a petrol driven Honda hedge cutter than can cut through anything and I don't have to worry about cutting through cables.
My golden rule is only buy from a local specialist and avoid garden and DIY centres like the plague.
I have the same one you are looking at and for the last three years it has not missed a beat.
Will either nuke the lawn on the lowest setting or take off just a small amount of Moss on the highest setting.
Just to clarify. Is that the Bosch or the VanHaus
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Start at the highest and work down. I 'nuked' a lawn once, and soon had a large crop of dandelions growing in the newly revealed gaps in the grass.
I import garden machinery, tried most of them over the years, spend a little extra and get the alko. If you can’t find one locally I can do £140 delivered.
https://www.al-ko.com/shop/uk/al-ko-...-incl-box.html
Thanks for that. Ill do some morr research. Presumably you can get spares for the rake tines / scarifying elements ?
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Yeah, Alko is a good company to work with. Typical Germans, precise and do what they say. Italian factories, that’s another matter.
I have the same one and it does a really thorough job. This is compared to a manual wolf garten moss rake. Only downsides as others have mentioned is the small collection box. I removed it and zip tied the rear cover open. The lowest setting is quite aggressive and gouges a trench in your lawn!
Thanks for that. I had a look at the reviews, which suggested you can't get spare tines for this make. Might have just been a few disgruntled users skewing my perception through
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My Bosch one, is a tad annoying to empty the hopper so often, but better than allowing it all to blow clear.
Always start it flat on the ground (not- with the front slightly raised) as otherwise it will gouge the earth when it is lowered.
I find scarifying a lot of work, while being strangely therapeutic - albeit ..... not as good as snow blowing.
First time I got a mob in to do it (3 guys with a petrol machine) - you’d swear that machine was actually MAKING the thatch! Cost was £120, and I still had to get rid of 20+ bin bags of thatch.
Well worth buying one and making the effort yourself
Bought a B&D one from Tesco Direct before closed online,half price at £40.
Done my own (small) lawn a few times,due to a build up during winter,but was bought to do the Girlfriend's fairly large lawn which was a "mosspit" due to overgrown conifers leaving the Lawn in near total shade for certain times of the year.(and 70% pure moss)
Long story short,its did a great job,had a few setting,so could go as low as -2mm so take nearly all the moss.
Bad points,tiny front hopper,forever emptying every few feet,and in the end had a skip full of moss ( You'll be surprised just how much its pulls out) and took a good few hours,mostly emptying out.But now the worse is done,will probably only use it a couple of times a year so didn't see the point of spending big on something that will hardly get used?
As most will come with a warranty,or at least a 28 day return,personally I would get a cheap one,try it,and if poor return it.In the end after the first time getting the worst of it out it will possible only be used a couple of hours a year.
(Well,in my case,anyway)
Sorry Bosch
Aldi newsletter advertises 1500W one with 3 year guarantee for £60!! This week only!!
Did you kill the moss first? I believe that if you don’t - then the moss spores spread when you scarify.
Iron Sulphate is the stuff for moss-killing.
Apologies if you knew that already.
- - - Updated - - -
Did you kill the moss first? I believe that if you don’t - then the moss spores spread when you scarify.
Iron Sulphate is the stuff for moss-killing.
Apologies if you knew that already.
Only used a general weed,feed mosskiller,sand type and then reseeded.
A small amount has returned,maybe 10% but there will always be a yearly problem due to part of the garden lawn getting a lot of shade.
I pretty much have to scarify,reseed with shady place seed each year but it is getting better each time.
First time round the lawn was 50% moss,now less than 10,and only in certain spots.
Doubt I will ever cure it completely without spending a few more quid on it..I can live with an hour titavating the lawn once or twice a year.
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I bought this old B&D rake for a tenner years ago at a bootsale, I use it once or twice a year as my lawn gets covered with moss, It's amazing how much it removes, It can't get it all though as it always reappears!!
Ha ha!!, It looks like the lawn is covered with clover in this pic!!
john
Just bought this one, let's see what happens
I bought this one - mainly on account of the 3 year guarantee given my bad experiences previously with other gardening equipment!
https://www.aldi.co.uk/electric-rake...11974261079700
PS Not taken it out of the box yet, obviously!!
Last edited by David_D; 1st April 2019 at 16:14.
Not being the gardening type, I hadn't heard of a lawn scarifier before. So whenever I see this thread pop up in the new list, I just imagine it as the Tsar Bomba of lawnmowers. So powerful that you never actually need to use it. The mere threat of having it around is enough for the lawn to keep itself in order.
I’ve got one of those, it has a busy weekend although the collector gets left until I get to the cleaning up bit. I just scarify the grass in small areas building up a huge pile which then is scooped into big bags, the wee remnants are then gathered in the box, weed and feed the day after ( it getting rained today, braw) and if needed a quick run over in a few weeks to catch any stray, spring and autumn.I bought this old B&D rake for a tenner years ago at a bootsale, I use it once or twice a year as my lawn gets covered with moss, It's amazing how much it removes, It can't get it all though as it always reappears!!
Ha ha!!, It looks like the lawn is covered with clover in this pic!!
john
Trimmed a tree down the other day too, 12’ high became 2” and holes bored into the roots filled with battery acid. She’s not impressed with my “trimming” technique though.
They definitely make your lawn look thoroughly trashed in the short term! One of those worse before it gets better things.
I also suspect that the post-scarification treatment is important to get the best results.
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