Dethatcher

I attached the de-thatcher rail which was easy but time consuming attaching all the tines. If you use the de-thatcher there is a step to place the transport hook on the existing sweeper hitch brackets AFTER you've already assembled the 4 bolts and hitch together. I would recommend when you get to Figure 3 assembling the sweeper hitch brackets that you leave ALL the bolts loose if you plan to add the de-thatcher. It attaches easily to the sweeper with simple compression clamps that allow it to swivel down to the ground level as you sweep. The tines are very effective at lifting grass, leaves, and sticks so that the sweeper will catch them. When you only want to sweep and not dethatch the unit hangs easily from the bagger frame so it stays elevated above the ground. Overall it's a good value for the money and so far very useful.

Summary: This is a good accessory for the price, but I'm glad I didn't pay more, and will likely have to replace it after a few seasons. This came pretty beat up in the box - agrifab definitely didn't package this for shipping. I'd not be surprised if pieces were missing, but I lucked out. Oh, one of my tines came bent from shipping damage (though easily fixed). Assembly took me about 30-45 minutes, including install. Every last little piece needs to be assembled - bring two wrenches/sockets for the job. I attached this to an Ohio Steel Lawn sweeper (50") and it mostly installed well. It loosened up after it's first pass over about 2.5 acres of lawn, but was easily tightened. This is my first dethatcher, so im not sure how these things normally function, but in general it did it's job and the sweeper picked up a substantial amount of thatch and leaves, which was great. Cons: It caught a lot of sticks and clogged up with thatch and leaves, so I had to clean it out pretty often. Not sure if thats standard for any dethatching system, but thought I'd mention it here. It also doesn't seem particularly adjustable, but I might futz with it and try and lower it a smidge. The tines, while pretty sturdy, also can bend. On my first pass I slightly bent one, but it bent back with some force. Overall, it did what I needed and doesn't break the bank. I'm expecting to need to get another one in 2-3 years, and for that price, maybe it's just fine.

As you can see in the pictures the amount of thatch picked up. This is a 3400 square ft section. I ran it lengthwise, then across. I was going at a slow pace, had the sweeper set at the proper height and it was picking it up without any problem, a constant flow. I didn't have the mower engaged. I had mowed and swept the lawn the day before. Installed the dethatcher this morning and had to cut it afterwards because of the raised grass. Btw I pull the sweeper with a zero turn Ferris 400s. No problems, just don't turn tight and it don't mess up the striping either. The yard looks amazing afterwards. The only trick or advice I can offer, when you get ready to put the dethatcher in transport position, lift and tilt the bracket toward the front, it'll snap in with ease everytime.

THE GOOD - Picking up while scratching up. Great concept. - Once it got attached the yard sweeper the tines were acceptable and I could see some thatch kicking up into my Deere (made by Agri-Fab) yard sweeper. - I was initially unsure about the tines going over tree roots and rocks but they didn't bent were fine after logging about 5 hours of use. THE BAD - It is clear after multiple passes and adjustments this is only mid range option for picking up thatch. This is only one set of tines and most tow behind (independent of the sweeper) units have two sets. - The installation had to be heavily offset on my sweeper to correctly allow the device to lift up. The installation diagrams are not great and took some trial and error but the installation in the end were was not difficult once I bought the missing parts. THE UGLY - I had to go to local hardware store to pick up 3x 1/2" locking nuts that were not included. Box was not damaged and the usual hardware bags were intact. I am not sure if they were lost during shipping but there were no none included and they were clearly required. In fairness, I did not contact support about the missing nuts as it way faster for me to just get some to complete the installation.

I was skeptical about how well this thatcher head would work. I am pleasantly surprised that it worked as well as it did. I have it mounted to a 44 inch agrifab lawn sweeper. I am fairly mechanical and I use a good amount of common sense, i also use and understand written instructions. This unit took me about 5 minutes to assemble and about another 15 mins to properly attach it to the lawn sweeper. At the end of the day this is a very inexpensive alternative to standard tow behind dethatcher. By attaching it to the yard sweeper, saves you hours of manual labor.

Run away from the agrifab dethatcher attachment, screaming. What a complete piece of junk, shoddy materials, poorly designed mounts, useless retainer hook. I have been meaning to do a review, but it has me so depressed to own this garbage, I just couldnt face thinking about it until now. Worst piece of junk tractor/sweeper accessory I have had the displeasure of getting. In 6 hours of usage on a 1 acre lot (ie 3 mowings/sweepings/dethatchings), 2/3s of the tines bent, no, make that twisted and disfigured so completely, they are unusable. They are not just bent, mangled, contorted in a manner that will have you wondering what material could they be made of that they are so malleable? The hook for raising the bar up into the inactive position, is of no use. It is so shallow, the dethatcher bar drops off at the slightest jostle. You may think you could tweak the retainer hook to make it functional, but it is too shallow and too short to be altered to make it work. When it disengages and dethatches when not intended.(often) the dethatcher times that are not gnarled tear at the lawn and dirt if the lawn has already been sufficiently dethatched. This is particularly undesirable when the yard is saturated from rainfall, essentially tearing the grass the soil up in row-lets, thinning your grass. The mounts are so poorly designed for round tube mounting overall, that the tines can easily snag surface roots or track into dips in the lawn, flipping the entire bar underneath the sweeper. This results in a terrible gash(s) in your lawn whose length is only determined by how long you do not realize it has flipped under the sweeper. Yes, it was tightened appropriately. Having sat on this review for some time, I have used the sweeper with the dethatcher attached, but bungeed into the up position. Here I discovered the true hazards of the dethatcher bar. Having the bar mounted to the sweeper, in the up position! When driving in tight radius turns (we have a Deere x304 all wheel steering tractor) with the bar up, the tines will rub the tires. If you have the wheels turned just right, the tines at the right spot of the tread, and a nudge into reverse, the tines catch where the tread meets the body & stab into the tire....unnoticebly. Took me a few weeks to figure our why I was getting repeated flats FYI, I had a Brinley dethatcher attachment and sweeper for 14 years that was to use the vernacular 'DA BOMB'. Unfortunately the sweeper wheels finally wore out to a point where I couldnt repair them. The dethatcher kit that brinley offered for that sweeper series had been phenomenal. Much to my chargin, they no longer make a dethatcher that fits their current sweepers, or I would be all over those. So, this dethacher attachment is such a complete letdown in both quality and design, I had to just warn you. I should have returned it last October ('14 season), but I didnt Now I have a piece of scrap metal to remove from my sweeper.

I don't know why, but it seems that the majority of these lawn implement companies sell garbage. Go look at reviews. It's made me scared to buy from any of these folks. Fortunately, I've made out pretty well. The big appeal of this dethatcher is the space-saving. Rather than having another two-behind taking up room in the garage, this just bolts to the front of the lawn sweeper and it makes the whole dethatching chore a one-step process. I have to have a sweeper because my riding mower is horrible at mulching, so this was a no-brainer. I actually mowed, dethatched, and swept all in one circuit. I've only used it once, so keep that in mind. It did what it was supposed to. It picked up a lot of stuff. You do have to stop occasionally and clean out the tines, but that's with every dethatcher of this style. So no big deal. There were two different mounting methods in the box so it's probably about as universal as it gets. I thought my sweeper was another brand, but it's Agri-Fab so it used the easier of mounting methods. Looks easy to take off the sweeper if needed, but I've been mowing with it on there. There's a way to lift it up and hang it off the two-bar. All in all, for $75, I'm a happy camper.

Added Agri Fab dethatcher to an Agri Fab lawn sweeper. Satisfied with quality of unit. Issue I found by adding dethatcher you lose 12” of draw bar length. When you turn short the lawn tractor rear tires catch on the thatcher tines, bending them or ripping outside tine off. The fix, relatively easy, was to buy new piece of 1.5” sg tube 12” longer than original and build new draw bar. 12” was perfect length and no issues….. As both dethatcher and sweeper are made by Agri Fab they should understand this issue and supply a longer draw bar with the thatcher kit.

Je suis émerveiller de voir comment ce produit ma faite sauver du temps et surtout beaucoup de jus de bras Merci Amazon

Easy assembly and fits on the front of my sweeper (42") with little problem - other than missing the bolts for the placement holder brackets. Works well and does an acceptable job. Need to make multiple passes as the tinges are spaced out a bit wide. Gets a 4 star for missing parts and spacing on the tinges - otherwise great product.

This arrived 4 weeks late, a month after I needed it. Finally opened and assembled it last weekend only to find it was missing 1 of the 7 tynes, agri-fab wants $50 for a single replacement Tyne.