de-thatching

17 years ago

I am going to buy a dethatching blade tonight and fit it to a Lawnmower I found in the garbadge that runs, it just needed the pull start rope fixed. Apperently it is a bad Idea to use them with a lawnmower you care about as damage to the mower may result. My neigbor has suscessfull done his yard last weekend.

Is there any truth to the rumors or is it just hearsay?

The trash mower will be a dedicated dethatcher from hear on out. It's a Craftsman with a Tecumseh 4.0HP.

The deck shows surface rust but is seemingly solid. I think the carb linkage binds a little. It generally needs a good night of TLC.

I am going to buy a new air filter for it too. Man, you should see the one thats on it! It looks like something straight out of a Steven King novel.

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Kelly Borowski

3 years ago

See he never posted...

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Comments (7)

1saxman
17 years ago
A thatching blade probably does more damage to the lawn than the mower.
bill_kapaun
17 years ago
I bought a thatching blade and then decided against putting it on my Honda.
There just wasn't any easy way to make sure the blade would be well centered and I didn't want to risk any extra wear & tear on the BBC.
If you have an old beater mower, give it a try. Use a lower throttle position. I wouldn't use one full speed.
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Be very careful using those power rake machines, if there're not set properly they will tear up your lawn in no time. Most lawns are not perfectly even like golf putting greens, so when yo go over with the verticutter or power rake, you can easely dig/damage the soil surface and many grass plants in the process. Thatch consist of many layers of undecayed grass between the soil the grass plants. Thatch is primarily composed of roots, rhizomes, and stolons; and NOT grass clippings like most people think. Thatch formation is a natural part of the growing cycle, in which grass plants age, die, and decompose. The problem occurs when something upsets this natural balance causing thatch to build up quicker than it can break down. Excessive lawn growth is the major cause, and over fertilizing and over-watering are the biggest culprits. They produce excessive amounts of grass clippings preventing the normal/natural breakdown of thatch. Of the cool season grasses, Perennial Ryegrass and most Fescues produce little to no thatch, Bluegrasses and Bentgrasses produce the most. Warm season grasses produce the most thatch, with Zoysia being the worst. I have used the power blade mower attachments with great success, however, it killed half the lawn in the process. I didn't matter to me because I was overseeding with a different type of grass, your case might be different. You are up in Indiana, so you must likely have a Kentucky Bluegrass, which if over watered and over fertilized it will produce excessive amounts of thatch - specially if you live in an area that gets plenty of rain during the growing season. My advice to you is to Aereate the heck out the lawn, then topdress with Humus. Then change your fertilizing schedule to 3 to 4 feedings per year max with at least one organic application instead of synthetic man-made. I hope it helps. Auteck
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stripped_threads
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, I have a good beater Lawnmower from the trash. I would not put it on my 2 year old Honda HRR.
Why would it damage the lawn?
Apperently it's good to de-thatch once in a while. I wouldn't do it more than once a year.
canguy
17 years ago
The dethatcher blades make the engine labor and the dust is terrible. Also, I have ripped my hands numerous times on broken springs embedded in the bag or plastic chute on mowers brought in for service. A rented power rake will do a much better job. .
fairyprincess
17 years ago
Stripped Threads:

I have used dethatching blades on my lawnmowers for more than 20 years.

When you buy a brand new dethathcing blade, they come with adapters that assure centering on the 2 different blade mounting hubs I have on my 2 different Snapper blade mounts.

Among the things you have to do is have a fairly flat lawn, wear long pants, eye protection, and develop a feel for the speed you run at.

Up until last year, I ran my dethatching blade alone on my 20+ year old aluminum deck Snapper with the original Briggs Classic 3.5hp engine using the side discharge chute.

Last year I started using the Snapper with the high lift cutting blade installed and the dethatching blade installed on the bottom of the cutting blade.

My dethatching blade has bracing holes that normally fit on the newer white metal shear pin types of blade mounts.

I install bolts through those holes and position the dethatching blade so that the bolts shoulder up against the cutting blade so the dethatching blade does not spin on the mounting shaft. I also use a bagging attachment which saves me one more step and the system works great for me.

Some things that will help:

Wear a dust mask if the ground you are working on is dry.

If you are going over new ground that may have pebbles or other hard or sharp objects in it, be sure the deflector the lawnmower should have on the back of it is on and wear high top shoes or shin guards.

The safety glasses are for ricochets and I wear them and ear muffs even for regular mowing with regular blades.

I live on a corner lot in the city and the springs last for one job so I always buy new springs for the next year. If you try to save the $5 for new springs by lowering the mower so that they can do the job, you will not like the results so spend the $5 per year.

My Snapper is self-propelled and I use it at the slowest speed and am happy with the results. If you use a push mower or one that goes too fast at its slowest setting, you will have to figure out your own method for a good dethatching job.

With the blade properly centered and if you don't have bumps in your yard that would jam a regular blade, you won't jam the dethatching blade either.

The flex of the spring that does the actual dethatching keeps the engine from being excessively stressed, but does tax it a little more than just cutting grass.

I HAVE NOT lost an engine yet to my dethacher, but in my younger days have bent crankshafts with regular blades because I used to scalp my lawns. Everything I cut now is 3+" inches high so that even frost heave mounds can not hurt the mower.

The dethatching blade WILL NOT do as good a job as a POWER RAKE, but the convenience, low yearly cost, availability, and self-propelled bagging features of my Snapper makes the dethatching blade more practical for me.

Fairyprincess
stripped_threads
Original Author
17 years ago
I did indeed go to Rona L'entrapot last night and naturally they were sold out. It seems EVERY time I want to buy something there out of stock. I'd almost like to charge them for wasting my time and gas. Expessially when they send a flyer to the house advertising they have them!
Anyway, I tightened the loose wheel, changed the oil, and replaced the pul start handle. The other one had burrs and I ended up bleeding!
Anyway, when I get the blade I will post results.
Thanks for the input so far.

de-thatching

Kelly Borowski

Comments (7)

1saxman

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de-thatching

Kelly Borowski

Comments (7)

1saxman

bill_kapaun

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