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Customer Reviews for John Deere 40 in. Tow-Behind Thatcherator

Internet #100609657

Model #TA-40JD

Store SKU #1000591858

  • Designed to aerate the top layer of lawn's soil
  • Inline wheels to minimize footprint width & facilitate leveling
  • Features 2 rows of removable dual tine tips for easy maintenance

Customer Reviews

  • 4.5
    out of 177 reviews
  • 90% recommend this product
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Showing 1-30 of 177 reviews
Instructions and photos do not match. The instructions themselves are...
Instructions and photos do not match. The instructions themselves are terrible. The equipment is top notch well built.
by
  • Verified Purchase
I read a lot of reviews about JD dethatcher and was a bit worried. I agree that the assembly inst...
I read a lot of reviews about JD dethatcher and was a bit worried. I agree that the assembly instructions are terrible. And there were a couple missing nuts and bolts. I as most people with a few home owner skills always have a bucket of spare nuts and bolts so I was able to complete the assembly. I live on an acre lot and had no issue using it behind my L111 JD lawn mower/tractor. So over all i was pleased but more importantly my wife was pleased so it was a good purchase.
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  • Verified Purchase
  • Recommended
Five StarsVery satisfied with Dethatcher!...
Five StarsVery satisfied with Dethatcher!
by
  • Verified Purchase
I bought this Thatcherator today. I found a few errors in the instructions and the assembly. Thou...
I bought this Thatcherator today. I found a few errors in the instructions and the assembly. Thought I should make others aware of this. The bigest problem I found was when putting the front of the hitch bars together that the cross bolt to hold the hitch sides together was drilled and called out as a 5/16" x 1 1/2. The screw kist does not have a bolt this size but in fact appears to be a 3/8" x 1 1/2. This means you will need to drill the holes to 3/8" or buy a 5/16" bolt. I drilled mine out. The text part of the directions has a few errors like calling part G part A. Not a big problem there. The Thatchator does look like it will do the work. Sturdy construction.
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    • Recommended
    1 found this review helpful
    Once adjusted behind my riding lawn mower - it works great!! I have to wait for the arrival of th...
    Once adjusted behind my riding lawn mower - it works great!! I have to wait for the arrival of the lifting handle that was left out of the box when shipped - that arrived with 5 days. I would recommend this device to anyone.
    by
    • DIY
    • Verified Purchase
    • Recommended
    1 found this review helpful
    My local John Deere dealer told me this aerator was...
    My local John Deere dealer told me this aerator was worthless. But I'm stubborn and bought it anyway from HD. After going over the lawn many, many times and trying different height setting and weights I gave up. Rent a real de thatcher or power rake and get the job done right.
    by
    Response from BrinlyCustomerServiceJul 2, 2018
    Sorry to see that you are disappointed with your purchase. It sounds like the tines are too high off the ground. If they are too high, the tines will not flip the thatch forward. They could even be too low, then dragging on the ground. Try adjusting the tray assembly by loosening the 4 bolts that hold the tray on the towbars (see page 6 in manual). Ideally, the bottom of the tines should be 1/2" from the ground, if you were measuring on a flat concrete surface. A quick 5 minute job. Ensure your handle is in the D dethatch position, and you'll be good to go. Brinly
    • Verified Purchase
    1 found this review helpful
    Good quality, fast shipping....
    Good quality, fast shipping.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    Works great and didn’t take long to put together.,...
    Works great and didn’t take long to put together.,
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    Did an excellent job....
    Did an excellent job.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    It was a little difficult to assemble directions were terrible. The handle that controls the heig...
    It was a little difficult to assemble directions were terrible. The handle that controls the height is kind of funky it's very hard to move. It did the job though. Very well built John Deere quality.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    • Recommended
    As a number of other reviewers have noted, some of the photos in the assembly manual are complete...
    As a number of other reviewers have noted, some of the photos in the assembly manual are completely wrong. One of the best photos is the completely assembled colored photo of the unit where it is listed for purchase. I did have difficulty getting the control arm to shift from transport position to the dethatch position. I solved this by inserting 1 or 2 extra washers on the left side between the wheel assembly frame and the tow bar end attachment point. After you adjust the weight tray position so that the tines clear the ground properly in the "travel" position, make sure that the weight tray bolts are really tight. If not, they will loosen under operational load. When operating in heavily thatched areas, stop if necessary to clear thatch from the tines. It also may be necessary to make a second pass at 90 degrees to the original pass in heavily thatched areas. The unit is very rugged and did a good job on our large lawn with one cement block in the weight tray.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    • Recommended
    2 found this review helpful
    The unit works well, the only problem was missing bolts...
    The unit works well, the only problem was missing bolts and instructions for assembly wasn’t clear.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    1 found this review helpful
    I purchased this product because it was a John Deere product. Not sure what happened to the tech...
    I purchased this product because it was a John Deere product. Not sure what happened to the tech writer dept, but the pictures and instructions don't match the actual pictures shown on line. After several attempts to follow the directions, I tossed them and enlarged a picture and built the unit. Two parts were missing but I purchased them at a local hardware store. No big deal. The tine unit came pre assembled, but one set of tines, front right side are not bent like all the others. They are straight, which causes the tines to rip up the grass deeper than desired. Quality control was taking a nap on this unit. Also recommend checking all nuts for tightness, as half of the tines were loose. Good luck to others on this unit.
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    2 found this review helpful
    looks goood but still not put together i didnt receive a manual or assembly books.and i believe i...
    looks goood but still not put together i didnt receive a manual or assembly books.and i believe ive been shoted some nuts and bolts so im going to have to purchase my own/
    by
    Response from BrinlyCustomerServiceMar 29, 2018
    Kim – We are so sorry for the missing parts and manual! Please give us a call at 866-218-8662, we will be glad to send these parts to you at no charge. Brinly
    • Verified Purchase
    • Recommended
    1 found this review helpful
    Was loose in the box, some screws and bolts missing,...
    Was loose in the box, some screws and bolts missing, springs were warped. Got the bolts from my own stock and ordered replacement springs from Brinley
    by
    • Verified Purchase
    Dethatcher
    It works great assembley is another story instructions suck, cant see pics bc its soo dark which makes it bery difficult to assemble
    by
      • Recommended
      1 found this review helpful
      works well, would buy again
      works well, would buy again
      by
      • Pro
      • Verified Purchase
      • Recommended
      Works good for raking pine needles and other debris. It...
      Works good for raking pine needles and other debris. It would be nice to have it a little wider and it is a bit cumbersome when removing the collected debris but in the long run it works great! Very happy with the product and my John Deere garden tractor x570.
      by
      • Verified Purchase
      I did not give this product a 5 star rating due to the difficulty putting the unit together, the ...
      I did not give this product a 5 star rating due to the difficulty putting the unit together, the instructions need to be written better and the pictures that accompany them need to be clearer. The unit works great, but there were a few choice words when putting it together.
      by
      • Verified Purchase
      • Recommended
      2 found this review helpful
      My husband said it was very straight forward to assemble. It worked fantastic pulling out the tha...
      My husband said it was very straight forward to assemble. It worked fantastic pulling out the thatch from our lawn. It's very sturdy and worked better than we thought. We would highly recommend this product.
      by
      • Verified Purchase
      • Recommended
      John Deere Thatcherator
      Directions are horrible. Once product is put together it does what it's supposed to. The lifting mechanism to raise and lower the unit could use refining. Worth trying and if you own a John Deere riding mower. Great addition.
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        • Recommended
        1 found this review helpful
        Thatcherator
        We bought this to help keep our horse pasture clear of weed take over so we could get grass to grow plus breaking up and spreading of horse manure to help as fertilizer. It is working like a charm and we haven't even had to add weight. The only draw back was the instruction could be better.
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          • Recommended
          1 found this review helpful
          Does the job
          Overall, happy with the product, and it did a good job although I've used it once at this point. I wish the handle used to engage for de-thatcher operation was easier to use. The unit itself is made of high quality steel, and heavy enough to use without the need to add concrete blocks in my case. As for the instructions, I wished the photo's were more clear, but putting the unit together was still pretty easy and straight-forward. Now, if they could only invent a de-thatcher with a built-in sweeper that would be great!!
          by
          • DIY
          • Verified Purchase
          1 found this review helpful
          well liked BIRTHDAY PRESENT
          VERY GOOD PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.EASY TO HANDLE. LITE WEIGHT. MY SON LIKES IT.
          by
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          1 found this review helpful
          Better than average quality .........at a price!
          Once this attachment and I get properly acquainted, I believe it will do the job. It lived up to its reputation as being miserable to assemble....I had a Home Depot assembler put it together and I still went home with a ziplock of extra miscellaneous parts.
          by
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          3 found this review helpful
          Does the job!
          Never realized there was so much accumulated thatch on my lawn. The thatcherator is easily pulled by a John Deere X320 and kicks up thatch and acts as a spring tooth harrow. I reseeded the lawn and now have beautiful green grass. Take time to completely read the instructions and use photos from JD website before assembling unit. Once adjusted, tighten bolts snugly except for the lift lever. I have used the thatcherator three times with no problems, and plan on using it each spring and fall prior to overseeding. When used with the JD plug aerator, my lawn looks like it has been professionally maintained.
          by
          • DIY
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          3 found this review helpful
          Great Thatcher!!
          The instructions were not clear on some of the assembly, but once I figured out how to adjust the leveling and tighten in place....this thatcher is awesome!
          by
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          2 found this review helpful
          Probably the best tow behind dethatcher made.
          The dethatcher took a little time to assemble, but not a problem. I have had other dethatchers in the past and I feel none can compare to the quality of this one. This unit is extremely heavy duty and will outlast me. I would highly recommend this product. I don't know if I would pay full retail price for it (overpriced), but I got it on sale 1/3rd off.
          by
          • DIY
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          4 found this review helpful
          well built, but one flaw
          Easily assembled, fairly well built, but when you put the unit in transport mode, the cog vibrates out and the tines drop and engage. Haven't spent enough time with it yet to decide how to improve it, but other than that, good unit. Better built than the competitors small dethatchers.
          by
          • DIY
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          1 found this review helpful
          Good Product, Lousy Directions
          This product could be greatly improved with some simple and inexpensive changes to the directions. It should have step by step explanations with illustrations.
          by
          • DIY
          • Verified Purchase
          • Recommended
          1 found this review helpful
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