In order for the home garden to please the eye, throughout the spring-summer-autumn period on the lawns and between plants you need to regularly cut the grass. Hand braids have not been used for this for a long time, since in the era of mechanization of labor they have many worthy alternatives. What grass trimmers are, how and when they should be used, and what are their features, we will consider in our article.
Purpose and principle of operation of the trimmer
Mechanical hand braids do an excellent job of cutting grass and greatly benefit in productivity and labor costs compared to the grandfather’s hand braid. In addition, lawn mowers are available in places that simply cannot be reached by another tool. A soft fishing line, playing the role of a knife, is not afraid of stones, tree trunks and other solid obstacles. lawn mowing, it is much easier than a lawnmower or manual scythe to process a site with an uneven ground.
What is the difference between a trimmer and lawn mowers
Along with the name of the lawn, the term is often used. "grass trimmer". Because the word comes from the English verb "to trim", meaning to trim by cutting, to cut. then it is equivalent to the word lawn mowing. In practice, it is customary to call simple lightweight modifications as a trimmer, and the term lawn mowing is used for more professional and powerful models.
The main purpose of the trimmer is to trim the top of the grass. But the grass cover is not always kept in perfect condition. With sloppy work. the lower part of the grass is clogged with dried plant residues from past mowing. And among the delicate thin stalks of grass, coarser skeletons can be found. The fishing line may not cope with them.
All lawn mowers work on the same principle: a rapidly rotating fishing line knocks down the stems of grassy plants, thereby reducing the height of the grassy "carpet". The rotation speed is very high, reaches 10-12 thousand revolutions per minute, so that even the thickest thickets of grass, as a rule, are inferior to the onslaught. For weeds, a solid knife is used instead of fishing line, which on occasion can crush even small bushes.
As the engine, a gasoline or electric motor is used. A diesel power unit is extremely rare and only on professional devices.
Which trimmer is better. electric or gasoline
The main advantage of a gasoline engine is autonomy. For his work you need only fuel, which he spends very economically. In addition, the specific power per unit weight indicator of an air-cooled internal combustion engine is higher than that of electric ones. Therefore, gasoline lawn mowers are usually more powerful than electric ones.
Types of trimmers, differences
The gasoline engine has several disadvantages:
- due to the lack of a muffler during operation, the brushcutter creates a lot of noise;
- gasoline is explosive, therefore it requires observance of safety measures during transportation and use;
- for the preparation of fuel, in addition to gasoline, oil is also required in a strictly specified proportion;
- the exhaust of an internal combustion engine is difficult to combine with the natural beauty of the surrounding nature.
Petrol lawn trimmer
The electric motor is more convenient to use, therefore, at present, gardeners are paying more attention to electric grass trimmers.
Video: How to Clean a Grass Trimmer
- practically no noise when using;
- easy to start with a simple switch;
- the device of an electric trimmer for grass is much simpler than gasoline;
- the cost of processing a unit area (at the cost of an electrician) is significantly less than that of a petrol brush.
But it can’t do without flaws:
- power supply required;
- mains voltage is life threatening, which requires special protective measures;
- a working knife, and fishing line, can easily interrupt the power cord in the grass;
- the area of the treated area is limited by the length of the power cord.
The color of the trimmer cable matters!
The black wire of the extension cord is easily lost against the background of earth and green grass. So that a manual electric grass trimmer does not become source of danger to life. we recommend using wires of white or orange color.
Despite the shortcomings, the rating of electric grass trimmers is very high today, and we will continue to consider them.
Design features of trimmers
In different trimmer models, the motor is located at the bottom or at the top of the boom.
Lower engine trimmers
Lower placement of the motor greatly facilitates the mechanical part of the structure, so such trimmers are usually cheaper and more reliable. The cutting unit is mounted directly on the motor shaft. There are no gearboxes in such trimmers and there’s practically nothing to break there.
But, the absence of a gearbox leads to a fairly low speed, which reduces the quality of the haircut. Therefore, such devices can cut only not very thick, preferably young and tender grass.
Electric grass trimmer with lower ComfortCut 450-25 engine
Since during operation the electric motor is in a thick cloud of moist vegetable dust, it has to be carefully closed with a sealed enclosure, which in turn leads to rapid overheating. Therefore, it has to be stopped periodically to allow it to cool and simultaneously clear of adhering moist grass mass. In addition, for reasons of electrical safety, a trimmer with a lower engine cannot be used to cut wet grass after rain.
Garden trimmer with lower motor placement is suitable only for small areas with a small amount of grass cover. The power of such a device usually does not exceed 600 watts, which is clearly not enough to perform serious tasks.
Electric grass trimmer, top engine
Overhead motor placement solves many problems.
- Due to the internal impeller, air cooling is organized. And this allows you to increase the power of the power unit.
- The engine is moved outside the wet zone, which increases the safety of using the device.
- The rotation of the cutting unit is carried out through a booster gear. This allows you to raise the knife speed to the optimal 8-12 thousand per minute.
- The engine balances the weight of the cutting head and the bar, moving the trimmer’s center of gravity closer to the center of the bar. That is why working with such a lawn mow is much more comfortable and convenient.
Top lawn trimmer electronic for lawn
Unlike the simplest cheap models, more serious trimmers are equipped with solid. three, or four blade knives. As a rule. safe plastic. Special durable plastic makes it possible to cope with large weeds and even with young bushes.
How to choose an electric grass trimmer
The trimer is selected according to the tasks that it must perform.
For large open areas with dense grass, trimmers with an upper motor, a long telescopic adjustable bar, with a belt over the shoulder, and better with a knapsack harness for more even load distribution are more suitable.
For small areas where there is little grass and she regularly cuts, a cheaper and lighter trimmer with a lower motor is sufficient.
It is already known from experience that trimmers with a power of at least 900 W have more or less normal parameters. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the fastening of the belt or harness, to the convenient placement of the trimmer in the working position, to the correct balancing of the center of gravity.
reliable is a straight-bar trimmer. They use a rigid gear shaft. In curved rods, rotation is transmitted by a steel cable. This increases vibration and noise during operation, and also reduces trimmer life. But in work. braids with a curved shaft are more convenient.
For greater convenience, choose a trimmer with a swivel head. Also pay attention to the type of reel with fishing line (automatic or semi-automatic), to complete the device with a hard knife and other additional accessories.
In conclusion, I want to say that there are definitely no bad or good models. Each option is designed to solve its problems, it must be used in its own niche. Therefore, the choice should be based on your needs and wishes, but taking into account the capabilities of the device.