What is the difference between an electric rake and scarifier

Keeping a healthy lawn means using garden tools beyond your mowers, such as lawn rakes and scarifiers. However, often being used interchangeably, scarifying and raking are, in fact, quite different.

Read on to learn about these garden tools, their functions, when to use them, and more. A lawn rake is a garden tool designed for moss removal from lawn surfaces to prevent diseases. Rakes use springbok or wire tines, capable of eliminating unwanted material, such as dead roots. Excited to see if I have a green thumb or not! The primary purpose of a lawn rake is to promote a healthy lawn , allowing it to breathe by removing moss. Moss can build up without consent and is a problem for many lawns, as it blocks nutrients and water from absorbing into the lawn.

Low nutrients and lack of water can be dire if the soil level is low heading into summer. Lawn rakers also reduce the need for a chemical moss killer that may poison lawns. Some people use lawn sand, which covers moss and makes the lawn green, but it is temporary and requires additional costs. Because a lawn raker is more gentle than other options, such as a lawn scarifier, you can use a rake multiple times a year and after you mow.

Spring raking removes grass blades that did not make it through winter. At times the snow accumulates mould and clumps within the lawn, inhibiting new growth.

Autumn is an excellent time for raking to remove leaves and other debris. It will ensure your lawn can breathe throughout the summer. They are competitively priced have a quality build and spare parts are readily available. In fact, these manufacturers all have lawn scarifiers in the Amazon.

In fact, in our test, it removed as much as the electric lawn scarifiers, albeit with a little more effort! The most popular scarifiers are electric, this is because the majority of domestic lawns are under square metres length x width and are only scarified once a year, so does not really warrant buying an expensive petrol machine.

I have seen some basic electric scarifiers churn through thick thatch on large domestic lawns, so they are more than man enough to do the job. Lawn scarifying with a lawn raker can be very effective on small lawns.

Done regularly, lawn rakers will keep the lawn free from thatch. Angled prongs on springs are attached to rotating drums, which comb out the loose thatch. This action does not put too much strain on the machine. They are, however, designed to cope with moss and dead grass so avoid sticks and stones if you possibly can.

All machines come with a collection box, although useful, thatch is bulky stuff and will quickly fill the box. So, the larger the box the better, the capacity of the box is measured in litres. This enables the machine to go deeper into the grass to pull out more thatch. A Quick Tip , when you start to scarify, test the machine on a piece of the lawn first. Start the machine on the highest setting and lower the setting until it starts to pull the thatch out.

You need to avoid the blades hitting the soil, as this puts unnecessary pressure on the machine, shortening its life. The most expensive part of these machines is the motor. If you have a medium-sized garden then you would be wise to get a more powerful motor around watts plus.

Not because it will do a better job, but because it will be able to withstand a longer running time when it is under load raking the lawn.

Smaller motors for example, under watts are designed to work for short periods of time and for light use in small gardens. The majority of machines use brushless motor technology. In simple terms, this means the motor has less friction and only uses the power it needs at the time.

Old electric motors used to run full pelt all the time and could burn out after a few years of use. Electronic technology senses how much load is needed on brushless motors and delivers only the necessary power required, extending the life of the motor.

Electric scarifiers and lawnrakers can be quite light in weight and have a few simple components. Click to see full answer Besides, when should I Rake and scarify my lawn?

Light de-thatching or scarifying and moss removal can be done in spring and or autumn. Autumn: Heavy Scarifying. Ready the Lawn for Scarifying or Raking. Also, are electric lawn rakes any good? Electric scarifiers are the most popular because they are light weight with considerable power. An electric lawn scarifier is best for small to medium-sized lawns. They do a great job of hauling the moss and thatch from your grass with minimal effort on your part.

A lawn scarifier , sometimes referred to as a 'dethatcher', is a garden tool that is designed to cut through the soil, helping to remove dead moss and other debris like grass cuttings. The consequences of not scarifying your lawn and keeping up with other maintenance jobs can be devastating. However, when it gets too thick it prevents important nutrients such as water, fertiliser and oxygen from getting to the grass roots. The result is a mossy and spongy lawn.

Scarification removes most of the surface thatch and should be a feature of any good annual lawn maintenance programme. Yes, you can scarify a lawn too much or rather at the wrong time, but that's easily avoided. You 're right about the general principle of scarifying but it's not just to remove dead grass. Done well, it should remove most of your moss and damage those lawn weeds which are creeping in habit.

It is good practice to mow the lawn after Scarifying ; this removes any tufts, levels off the grass and may lift off a little more loose moss and thatch. Once spring comes do not wait until the whole lawn is recovered before mowing.

So, like it or not you had best be prepared. Lawn scarifiers use steel blades to cut out thatch; hence it is also known as de-thatching. In machines these will rotate whilst manual tools like the rolling lawn scarifier will not. Lawn thatch by its very nature is removed more easily by this cutting action and the result is a firmer lawn that allows the passage of air, nutrients and water easily into it. Take scarifying a step further by letting the scarifier blades cut into the soil and you will open the soil surface and make an ideal seed bed for introducing new grass seed to your lawn.

This pruning, just like pruning a bush or plant causes extra shoots to grow thus thickening the turf.