ALKO 38VLE Combi Electric Scarifier

The scarifier works well! However, the collection systm is extremely badly designed:

The bag is too small

When full the machine is top heavy, falls over and releases all the grass

By holding it upright with one hand it is just about possible to remove the bag without losing the contents, however, unlike most mowers, you can't remove the bag up through the forks of the handle, it has to be taken to the side,risking losing the contents, and can also catch on the cable

Because of the narrowness of the forks, you can't open the flap enough to make fitting the collecter a simple task.

All in all, very frustrating, and I echo the comment that I bet the designer never used it!

I would not recommend one of these scarifiers (despite being a "best buy" from Which?) They do the job when they decide to work but they are very tempremental. I bought one in Spring 2008 after I suffered a slipped disc and wanted to protect my back from further injury. The thing worked intermittently but has now 3 years later given up completely. It is not worth spending the money getting it repaired for only a few uses a year. I am back to using the old fashioned garden rack. More work but more reliable.

Save your money

1. Very cheaply made from flimsy plastic!

2. The bag (if used) is extremely had to put on as the plastic lid you lift up doesn't allow it to fit correctly!

3. The bag if used doesn't actually pickup the debris! You will need to use your lawnmower afterwards!

4. It doesn't stand upright when not held it just falls over due to poor design!

5. It will rip your lawn to shreds pulling out grass as well as moss a thick green lawn will quicly be thinned out - I highly recommend a rake used with another type of spiked aerator!

You have been warned.

Good value machine. Works well -Plenty of power.

But:

Fiddly to clean - lots of cavities make it hard work.

Catcher cover makes life difficult when fitting catcher.

Rear wheels clog up fast. Front wheels sticky from day 1.

I bet the designer never tried the final product!

The Al-Ko 38VLE rake and scarifier worked better without the collector. I found it easier to first rake the lawn using the machine and then using my hover mower with the blades set high to pick up the rakings. Cleaning the machine after use was quite a chore as there are so many nooks and crannies for the cuttings etc to cling to during operation. Connecting the collector bag was fiddly and was a bit of a let down, I do not envisage using the rake with the bag fitted very often. Overall I am pleased with the results achieved with this machine for the first rake of the season on a lawn which had not been raked for a couple of years and was full of moss.

I've had my ALKO combi scarifier for just over one year and the performance is impressive, with effective removal of thatch and many types of weeds.

Having a fairly large lawn, the collector bag is of limited use, and I found it better to use the scarifier and then collect the debris afterwards using my lawnmower.

A motor bearing failed recently (repaired under the 2 yr warranty). I was surprised at the amount of dust, grit, grass and other debris that had got into the motor housing, which was possibly the cause of, or at least a contributory factor to, the failure.

Because of this poor level of protection of the moving parts from contamination, there could be a question mark over the long-term reliability of this product.

Therefore although I would recommend this product, it would be with qualifications.

In Use

I am very impressed with my ALKO 38VLE Combi Electric Scarifier. Nice throaty roar, it digs up thatch thoroughly, the grass bag holds a decent amount and the controls are easy to use. There are a few niggles though:

Design

The cable can get caught in the back cover when fitting the grass bag so it is best to run the cable on the outside of the handle. This is not explained in the instructions. It would have been better if the cable cut-out in the top cover had been 1-2cm nearer the side.

The long handle makes the machine top heavy and it easily tips over especially when the grass bag is full. When stored the grass bag fits neatly on the top cover and if the cable is kept in the bag the weight helps to balance the machine.

The back cover needs to be raised to fit the grass bag but this is fiddly. There is a central ridge but it only allows fingertip access and looks as if it is actually intended to stiffen the flimsy looking cover. A T-shaped handle in the centre would have been helpful.

Literature

The assembly instructions are in pictograms and are clear. However titles of pictures showing aeration and scarification in action are transposed (but then quite a few adverts for similar products make the same mistake).

Two copies of the user ' s manual were included but only one had instructions in English.

Tips

Don ' t allow the scarifier to run over the lawn edge onto a patio or path as the tines make unsightly scratch marks.

Return the level adjustment to 1 when not being used to make it easier to push and to save damage to the tines if they catch on surface irregularities.

Do not use when stationary, for example at the end of a run, or the tines turn into mini-excavators! It is better to switch off, turn the machine and then start again.

I have used the aerator only once so far and that was quite an experience as the blades act as extra wheels and I had to run to keep up with the machine. It digs out a lot of thatch but only scratches the soil surface. I am not sure that this will be a very useful tool but I will try again once my heart has recovered!