Bosch 060088A070 ALR Electric Lawn Raker, 900 W

After the heavy rains in January, the lawn was covered in lots of moss and needed some TLC so rather than doing it by hand, I bought this machine (chose this over the AVR 900 as more power and no small metal pieces to replace). Putting it together is fairly easy albeit, a little fiddly but simple once you work it out. Read the reviews on here and took some advice to ensure the first cut was not too deep. There are 4 settings - from (4) Skim the service to (1) Deep cut into the soil. I started at 3 as I wanted to clear the moss and thatch and not shave the garden completely. I have a fairly good sized garden and after the first minute of use (its light and simple to use), I was shocked to find how much it had picked up. The box was full - I looked back to confirm my grass was still there and it was. Green, clean, trimmed and smiling at me. Hang on I thought - the collection box must have been full before I started. There is no way this came from my garden! I emptied the box and did my second line/run. Again, few minutes later, the box was full. Cleared and started again. By the time I was finished, the garden looked amazing. Not only had the machine picked up all the leaves/debris from the garden but it had almost given it a new life. It really is that good. Next stage was to identify the really bare areas, drop the machine down to setting 1 or 2 and then run again. It scores the ground so you can complete it by adding some new seed. Many people have mentioned the size of the collection box and whilst I agree, it fills quickly, it proves how efficient this machine is. My second run did not fill up the collection box too quick so it really depends on the state of the garden. I feel having the box any bigger, would make the machine too large and diffcult to push. Cable is slightly short so ensure you have an extension reel available. Few pointers/tips 1. A week before, I put down some moss killer, etc. By the time I came to use the machine, the moss was black and easier to pull up. 2. Mow the lawn short before you use the machine. 3. Start at a high setting - I would recommend 3 possibly 2. See how 4. My lawn was damp not wet and found the machine ran really well. 5. Once complete, take the opportunity to overseed. 6. Water regularly. 7. Sit back and admire.

What a wonderful scarifying lawn rake. I have been labouring for years with a good old fashioned hand rake, scratching away for hours trying to get rid of the perennial lawn thatch that accrues over time. This is doubly so in my garden as we have 4 guinea pigs which run around a very large movable run on the lawn. With all the scraps of hay and other bits that get left behind, we move the run every 2-3 days, there is a lot of mess that needs picking up! I decided to give my arms a break this year and purchase this Bosch electric lawn rake and what a joy it is. Within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box, it was assembled and ready to go. I read up a little bit before hand, so had mown the lawn before to ensure it was the same height all over. The lawn rake has 4 height settings, so I started on the highest, level 4, not knowing what it would do. One quick pass over a small strip showed it will easily pick up most hay floating around the surface. Level 3 showed that it would scratch into the lawn a bit and I managed to half fill a recycling sack with one pass of another strip. I still thought that it needed a bit more so I ended up with level 2 which scarified just nicely enough to scratch into the surface and pick up a huge amount of thatch. I daren't try level 1 ! The amount of thatch it picks up is incredible and even though the lawn looks a bit ragged now, it looks so much cleaner. A week later, after a small amount of rain, the lawn is beginning to pick up already and looking a lot healthier. I am very keen to get out there and do it again, but this will apparently not do the lawn much good. I possibly will go over it every couple of months, on the highest level, just to tidy up after those pesky guinea pigs, but will leave the true scarifying for spring and autumn. For the rake itself, there are a number of metal sprung tines on a cylindrical rotating head, and the whole machine is deceptively light and manoeuvrable. I found that it was very easy to push it along at a rate of knots, but the best results where achieved when moving slowly and steadily. And it can be packed up as easily as it was put together, so very compact to store. All in all a thorough recommendation. Easy to setup, easy to use and easy to pack up again.

I really wanted to give this 5 stars, but there are a few things you should know about this lawn raker before you buy, to give you an informed viewpoint from another regular Amazon buyer with a very mossy lawn. I buy a lot of items on-line & always come to Amazon for the reviews first (& usually buy from here too). The "4.5 Star rating" sold this item for me, even though a few of the reviews weren't good. However, read on & make your own mind up... Background Info: My lawn has been suffering from moss for some time now. I have had "Green Thumb" here to kill the weeds & moss, & to feed & condition the lawn. But, I still have masses of moss partially hidden under the grass (which can't usually be seen when the grass gets longer). But, after cutting the lawn, the moss is plainly visible, & covers about 75% of the lawn area. I have been to various web sites & learned that moss stifles the grass at root level. If the moss is eradicated, the grass will grow stronger & thicker. I also learned that Autumn (August - November) is the perfect time to scarify the lawn. I purchased a moss killer, specially for Autumn use, & set about following the instructions... 2 weeks later, I was ready to cut the grass & use my new lawn raker / scarifier. The Good: This item is very easy to set up. Just follow the instructions & you'll be using it within 5-10 minutes. The option to collapse it without having to dismantle the whole thing is an excellent idea, especially if you have limited room in your shed. 4 large thumbscrews allow the handles to fold away, so, all fairly simple. The 4 height settings for the depth of raking / scarification are really easy to adjust - only 2 levers & you're good to go. The large capacity collection box holds a lot of moss, dead grass & leaves. Leaves amazing stripes in your lawn for a professional look. The Bad: Unless your lawn is perfectly even (tennis court-esk), the tines will miss some of the moss in the lower parts & dig into the soil in higher parts. I thought my lawn was fairly level, but soon found out that it wasn't by the moss left behind in places & bald patches in other places. Set on height level "2", there was a lot of moss left behind all over. But set on "1", cut a little too deep at times. Settings "3 & 4" didn't seem to catch anything, except some of the leaves on the surface. The electric cable isn't long enough for anything bigger than a small garden, however, if you have an extension cable for your mower, your already sorted. Although the collection box is bigger than some other lawn rake / scarifier's, it still fills fast (probably due to the effectiveness of the product). There isn't a viewing window, so you only know it's full when it starts to leave moss/grass behind. The Verdict: This isn't the "Quick Fix" that I thought it was going to be in terms of moss removal. However, as with all things, if you want a good job doing, you're going to have to put in the hard work. If you're buying this purely as a lawn rake, this is excellent. But, if it's scarification you want, be prepared to scarify every time you cut your lawn (according to the experts). This lawn rake does a good job, & for the price, works well - but doesn't remove all moss in one go & you'll find yourself using it more than you thought. Having not tried any other lawn rake / scarifier, I can't comment how good this is in comparison to the more expensive ones. Having said that, this does a more than adequate job, is within the price range of the average gardener & has many benefits that other makes do not have (Collapsible, Large capacity collection box, Jetstream, etc...). Weighing it all up, I would still recommend the Bosch ALR 900.

If you're using a scarifier with tines right now, you're not really prepared for how much rubbish is really in your lawn. I used a Flymo scarifier with tines and even at the lowest setting and walking very slowly, it never really got the job done - it eventually broke after less than 20 outings over 4 years (motor burnout) and I was advised I'd had a good innings. Hence the Bosch AVR 1100 Vericutter purchase... and what a machine this is. I've got a Bosch lawnmower and it's been great for a number of years, so I had high confidence in the Bosch name and build quality. As I only purchased this a few months ago, I do not have practical experience of how good this machine is for the long run but the build quality certainly seems to imply I'll be using this for a long time to come. There are 4 height settings, 4 being highest. At this level, it really acts as a very efficient hoover for the lawn, picking up all kinds of rubbish like small stomes (those with small children will know why you have small stomes on the lawn..) and other assorted debris. The blades just pick it all up without complaint - with tines, chances are you'd be needing to replace some pretty quickly. The lowest I have gone down to is 2 and this pulls up an amazing amount of stuff (I actually found myself smiling with the the amount of debris removed) . When looking down on the lawn from a 1st floor window, you can see the earth between the grass and it just looks ready for a bit of forking and overseeding. At this level, the motor seems able to handle it with ease. On my front lawn, have not seen the need to go to 1 and, to be honest, I am almost fearful of how much lawn would be left. However, my back lawn has been neglected for years and so I think level 1 will get used - my only concern at this time is where I will put all the stuff it will (justifiably) pull up. In summary, nice bit of kit with a good name and the build quality seems to match that. Very efficient, seems well up to the job it was designed for. You need to get comfortable with the perception that you are 'vandalising' the lawn horribly but sometimes this is required to grow a strong lawn. The debris collection is very efficient and, while I have read a number of reviews indicating the debris collector is 'fiddly', I see this as a non-issue - works fine and is trivial to remove/replace.

I have a 250m sq lawn in a walled garden. Laid down in 1836, not maintained other than being cut since 1960s. The lawn has been gradually dying and been taken over by moss, made worse by the hot summer last year, from which it never really recovered. This is scarifier no3 that I've tried so far - the two cheaper ones I bought were hopelessly underpowered, so this was the last ditch attempt at getting the lawn back to grass. It worked brilliantly; at its lowest setting it removed all of the moss and thatch - 19 big bin bags of thatch and moss - around 150 kilos! - without doing too much damage to the actual lawn. This is my little success formula: 1) I mowed the lawn first. 2) I picked a day when the ground was damp but the lawn had managed to dry out. 3) I went over the lawn twice, in two directions, at 90 degrees - the lowest setting got me back to grass and bare soil. The collection system is really good but as soon as material comes out of the back (rather than in the box) empty the box - its full. 4) When I had finished, I raked the lawn. I wanted t get as much of the thatch out that I had cut but not managed to get with the collection system. 5) I mowed the lawn again, and raked again. Every bit of loose material will go back into the lawn and restart the problem you are trying to correct, so its important to get as much out as you can. 6) When I'd finished, I treated the lawn with a moss killer (no rake), Because any bits of moss I had missed would have spread spores all over the place. I then watered the lawn thoroughly. (It must have been wondering what had hit it) 7) A few days later I overseeded with a good quality grass seed - I used Miracle Gro general purpose. 8) I now have the makings of a fantastic lawn; moss - free, no springyness, all a uniform colour. And I learnt a few things the hard way: 1) Don't underestimate the effort involved - this machine is brilliant but you will remove a lot of material. The time actually using the machine is small compared to emptying the collection box (at one point I was emptying the machine every four paces), and removing debris that the machine did not pick up because I'd let the box get full. 2) Have a lot of bin bags (or whatever you use) handy. You will be amazed at the amount of material you will remove. 3) Put some beer in the fridge beforehand - you'll need one when you've finished. 4) This is the biggy - The only reason you're buying this machine is because you want a perfect lawn - you won't be disappointed but the chances are, like me, you've already put a lot of effort into maintaining it before you thought of buying this. Be prepared for your lawn to look worse afterwards; it will keep you awake the first night but within a few days you'll really see the difference. This machine is highly recommended - it really does the trick. My only regret is that I wish I'd bought this first, before I wasted time end effort with cheaper ones.

Ok so I wanted to improve my lawn from the yellow, sparse weed infested patch to a lush green bowling type surface! Earlier in the year I had hired an electric lawn rake which did a reasonable job of taking out the thatch, but for the repeated hire charges in the long term I thought it better to get something of my own, hence the verticutter. It arrived and was very quick to put together, although I know there are other comments about the wing nuts and the collecting bin, I don't think they are such a big deal, but I can appreciate the comments. The thing that surprised me a bit was the overall size of the unit itself. I thought I was going to get quite a compact thing, smaller than a lawnmower, but it is not small at all, and is at least the same size as a Bosch Rotak lawnmower, so be aware of that! It does, however, fold down and the collecting bin unclips to store on top of the main unit as a sort of 'hat' when being stored in the garage, overall its not too much of an issue. I used it last week, and it was a pleasure! It removed loads of crud out of the lawn and left nice stripes and lines where it dug into the soil. The collecting box does fill up quickly, but then I think it is supposed to if its doing the job right! The motor has no problem, and I can see me using this a few times a year to good effect. An excellent unit, with the usual Bosch build quality.

OK ord 18 Mar arrive 21 Mar not much more to say which hasn't been said elsewhere. It is nice and robust, strongly built and has enough power. I've used it frequently since to keep the moss etc at bay and I'll be using it to deal with fallen leaves etc. I use it to straighten up the grass before mowing and then afterwards. Not one tine has broken or come loose. You just get it out of the shed, plug it in and away you go without any fuss. I've got a nice Hayter lawnmower but it still leaves stuff behind for the lawnraker. I have found that using the old sturdy rake after the lawnraker will still serve to rake up more debris so its not perfect but I now know that in the years ahead when I'm too old to consider raking my 320m2 lawn by hand this together with my faithful lawnmower will keep the lawn just fine. For the record from memory this lawnraker does the whole lawn in about 40 minutes, maybe less. Whereas raking the whole lawn by hand seemed to take a lifetime. OK update 21st Nov. I'm doing this since I found such updates useful. Used all year and not a tine lost. Used in September on the lowest setting to help with over seeding the lawn. Cut grass to minimum and used this to take off all the surface clutter and it also did a little shall we say scarifying, enough to allow me to simply scatter the seeds on (broadcasting I think is the term). Done with trepidation since I felt sure it would muck up the tines etc but no not a tine lost so in April I'll repeat the process. I should say I had my lawn levelled and re-turfed about ten years ago so its still flattish. This month (November) using the top setting clears off all the leaves. The more I use it the better it gets.

I’d been looking at buying a scarifier for a while and eventually bought the Bosch Verticutter 1100 as a drunk purchase whilst away from home! When I got home I went to assemble it and I thought it strange that there were no instructions as to how to do this - but it is quite straightforward and easy to do. Putting it into action on the second highest (0mm) setting I was staggered at the sheer volume of material it was pulling up! I had read that the 50 litre collection box was an advantage - but I found that it filled up within a few metres of operation - which probably speaks volumes about why I thought our lawn needed scarifying. Eventually it picked up 2 bulk bags of waste; to put this into context, when a well known lawn maintenance franchise scarified our lawns a few years ago they generated less than half a green waste bins worth of material! This was achieved on the second highest setting so there must still be more to go if you’re brave enough… Overall I’m very pleased with how effective the Bosch Verticutter 1100 worked and would recommend it to anyone looking to thoroughly scarify a medium sized lawn.