Sun Joe Electric Lawn Dethatcher & Scarifier

So, I purchased this item after my boss told me about it. He showed me pics of his usage, and I figured, why not? It was relatively inexpensive, costing about the same as a one-time rental of a dethatcher from the local rental place. I figured if I get 2 uses out of it and destroy it, I'm ahead of the game. Plus, I could use it at my convenience and not have to worry about returning it. We take pretty good care of our lawn/yard (it's not perfect, especially in the area that used to have an above ground pool, but we try). It's a larger lot (about 1/4 acre) in our neighborhood, and we mow every week with a push mower. We alternate weeks of mulching and bagging, so we really didn't think there would be very much thatch coming up. Boy were we wrong. We started off with my husband cutting and bagging the grass in one direction, and, as he moved to a different section of the yard, I started with the Sun Joe going in the opposite direction, using the dethatching attachment. I followed him around the entire yard doing this. Because we didn't use the bag on the Sun Joe (see "cons" below), he then went OVER the thatched material with the lawnmower to bag it up - first in one direction, and then he did the entire yard AGAIN in the other direction to ensure that it was all picked up. We were going to use our Billy Goat blower, but figured that would make an absolute mess, so we opted for the mowing route. Total time for about 9000sf - 4 hours. And well worth every minute. I should have taken photos, but rest assured that I was completely and utterly dumbfounded at the amount of dead grass and compost-like material that we raised, and it takes quite a bit for me to be impressed by a yard machine. Pros: - easy to assemble - only tool needed was a Philips head screwdriver (also, make sure you push the angled handle portions of the metal tubes ALL THE WAY into the body of the machine - many review complain about this, but I can see where the issue is not pushing in all the way). The rest of the handle is assembled using large, easy to turn plastic thumbscrews. Very convenient. - the height/depth settings are easy to change. Simply push the green t-handle in and move it to the setting you choose. I tried the "0" setting first so as not to damage any grass, and found that moving it to the "-5" setting worked even better and caused no damage. On the areas where we had moss, I moved it to the "-10" setting. Moss no more. - works exactly as described and as needed - they're not inflating the value of this machine, I can safely say. Cons: - the bag. As most other reviews stated, the bag is a joke. True, but we just left it off. See above for how we picked it up without breaking our backs raking. Notes: seriously - make sure you're using the right size extension cord. I used a 12 gauge cord at 100 feet and had ZERO problems. Machine didn't shut off, overheat, or otherwise explode. Also, you can use a tiny bungee cord to wrap around the handle to keep it powered as you move through your yard. The angle of the power switch can get a little uncomfortable over time. Overall - 5 out of 5. I wouldn't change a thing - even the bag. It would take a REALLY big bag for it to be convenient, and the only other option would be a giant vacuum, so I can't count that against them.