One of the most common questions asked is how does an electric scarifier fare against a high powered petrol unit.
At SAWMI we are committed to results and transparency and what better way to show the capability of an electric scarifier by doing a side by side in a yard with electric vs petrol.
I had my thoughts on how it would go but even surprised myself. The lawn we ran the test on is Kikuyu and the thickest stuff I’ve scarified in ages so was a good testing ground. The owner said it had never ever been scarified.
We split the lawn into 2. The left side was electric and right side petrol with the Ryan Ren-O-Thin petrol scarifier.
Photos below show what each did. First shots after 1 pass then the final product.
I usually do 2 passes when I scarify but given how thick and spongey the lawn was we did 4 and over a trailer load of grass came out.
Why was I surprised?
I expected an electric scarifier to require an extra run to get the same result however we did the same amount of runs. Secondly we gave everyone using the scarifiers the option as to which scarifier to use, electric vs petrol. After having used the petrol unit once everyone went straight for the electric unit as the petrol unit is so heavy and hard to push it does require some effort. The electric one is so lightweight that it propels itself and if anything requires you to hold it back to prevent it from getting away. Maneuvering it is a breeze.
From a scientific point of view, the results shouldn't be so surprising once looking under the hood and comparing apples with apples. The Ryan Petrol scarifier is a commercial unit rated at 7 Horsepower. The latest SAWMI petrol scarifier is a 2 Horsepower unit.
The petrol unit is far wider with far more blades attached.
When you consider amount of power per blade the results are relatively comparable, hence why the SAWMI scarifier could perform with the same overall passes.
Of note a narrower scarifier didnt necessarily mean it would take longer to cover the same area as 14 kilograms vs 50+ kilograms meant it was more nimble and maneuverable.
VERDICT: For domestic use an electric scarifier of sufficient power rating will be more than capable to do a full and deep major scarification.
