By purchasing a gas trimmer, the owners of country houses and summer cottages receive a fairly powerful and autonomous tool for various agricultural work. over, manufacturers often offer various nozzles for them. brush cutters, dead wood choppers, blowers. Today we will talk in detail about the cultivator nozzle for the trimmer.
Design and mounting options
The cultivator nozzle comes in two versions:
- A disc, the cutting organs of which are a pair of cutting discs;
- Toothed, which is a series of cutters sequentially located on the shaft.
The fundamental difference lies only in the design of the cultivating unit. Disk nozzles are harder and therefore suitable for processing heavier soils, while toothed ones have a lower dead weight, but are designed for work on lighter soils.
The transmission of torque from the trimmer motor to the cultivator nozzle is carried out using a special shaft, which is arranged in a special rod (it will have to be purchased separately). This node is not interchangeable, and differs in the number of slots on the end of the rod: there may be seven or nine. Therefore, when planning to purchase a cultivator attachment, you need to understand that the Oleo-Mac attachment will not work with the Husqvarna trimmer, as well as vice versa.
The splined way of attaching discs or milling cutters to the shaft allows free movement of the cutting organs, which is ideal for cultivation, since it allows loosening the soil with a sufficiently wide grip (up to 200. 250 mm per pass), without requiring a large amplitude of movement of the rod. Also removed are the restrictions on the density of the beds located on the site. With the extension of the beds, the convenience of working with the nozzle in question increases, since the turns will have to be done much less often.
Features of the nozzle
Any cultivator nozzle for the trimmer significantly increases the weight of the entire device assembly (by at least 5. 6 kg). Therefore, long-term work with such an instrument is not for everyone. It is also necessary to introduce mechanical constraints on the power of the trimmer drive into the calculation. If the engine is designed for a power of no more than 1500 W, then the cultivator can only be cultivated with regularly loosened soil, or limited to hilling of breasts, potato bushes, etc.
Since the drive of gasoline trimmers is located behind the working one, and the drive rod is quite long, vibrations constantly occur during cultivation. Their value is determined by both the length of the rod and the changing load on the disks or mills. These vibrations are transmitted through the shoulder strap to the user’s hands, so it’s not always convenient to control the trimmer’s power button and hold the canopy. Therefore, prolonged soil cultivation using a cultivator nozzle is unsafe for health.
But not everything is so bad: the mobility of the gas trimmer makes it easy to cultivate the soil between the rows, and the absence of wheels on the mounted cultivator does not damage the plants on the beds.
The cultivator nozzle “does not like” compacted soil, and when it is first introduced into such soil, the rod drops sharply. Therefore, disk cultivators are equipped with a safety casing (toothed milling cutters are more likely to bend than break, although in this case a low protective shield from the legs would not hurt). The presence of a safety screen affects the visibility of the cultivator.
Is it worth it to do the cultivator nozzle yourself?
The price factor has a significant impact on the choice: whether to purchase such a nozzle, or to make it yourself. High-quality cultivator nozzles for the trimmer can be purchased at a price of 11,000. 20,000 rubles, which justifies itself only with large volumes of work. It is inappropriate to buy such a node even in cases when the cultivated soil is heavy (for example, chernozem or loam): the cultivator does not raise the soil, but only moves the clods of earth from one place to another, moreover, together with the roots of the weeds or grass pulled out.
The technology for caring for vegetation will change: first, with a nozzle-knife, it is worth walking through the beds, cutting grass, and only then use the cultivator nozzle.
Having decided on the independent manufacture of the cultivator attachment to the trimmer, you should first evaluate the following:
- The design of the outlet section of the boom: if it is a flexible shaft, then you will have to forget about the cultivator: it will not be able to withstand constantly changing torques in amplitude. The cardan transmission is more functional, and the most successful design is the multi-spline rod, moreover, direct, and not curved.
- Drive power: if it is less than 1000 watts, the engine will overheat, and cultivation performance will drop sharply.
- Fuel tank volume: energy consumption will increase significantly, since the cultivator nozzle will have to be made from improvised materials. Therefore, the tank must contain at least 1 liter of fuel.
- Handle design. Ergonomic experts believe that the most convenient is the T-shaped handle, which provides the most accurate and reliable direction. It is difficult to hold a gas trimmer with a cultivator attachment, which is common in some models with a J-shaped handle.
If the existing trimmer meets the above requirements, and its owner has sufficient experience in performing such work, then it is quite possible to make a disk nozzle with your own hands. As for the gear type nozzles, their independent production is very time-consuming, and will not provide the desired quality.
Video: How to Install a Trimmer Nozzle
The trimmer, whether it is gasoline or electric, is the only right solution for mowing grass in hard-to-reach places that cannot be handled by a wheeled lawnmower. As a cutting tool, trimmers use metal knives or a special fishing line, which is tucked into the trimmer coil. But, unfortunately, the trimmer heads during operation over time become unusable. Some malfunctions can be eliminated with your own hands, and some require a complete replacement of the mowing head.
Trimmer Coil Device
Mowing heads for trimmers come in many designs. both simple and complex. The picture below shows semi-automatic trimmer head from the Husqvarna lawn mowers (Husqvarna) disassembled.
This type of head is present in the configuration of most lawnmowers and trimmers, such as Stihl (Stihl), Patriot (Patriot), Champion (Champion), Bosch (Bosch), Huter (Huter) and others. The mower head is quite simple. It consists of the following details:
- mowing head base;
- button for semi-automatic cord feeding;
- a bobbin (reel) into which the fishing line is refueled;
- spring;
- eyes. through them the fishing line comes out;
- trimmer head cover;
- fishing line (cord).
There are also simpler trimmer heads shown in the following photo.
All these attachments do not allow changing the length of the fishing line in semi-automatic mode (after pressing the button). In the event of a break in the cord, you have to stop the mower and change it manually.
Basic coil faults
Trimmer users and lawn mowers often encounter a problem with a semi-automatic mowing head. Coil malfunctions can be as follows:
- the fishing line does not automatically extend;
- the cord spontaneously exits the coil.
The fishing line does not automatically extend
If the line does not lengthen with a light touch of the trimmer coil button on the ground, the reasons for this may be as follows.
Option 1. a bite occurred, i.e. clamping cord between turns. This problem usually occurs if the user wound the fishing line on the reel unevenly, with the intersection of turns, or wound it with insufficient tension. In the latter case, when the mowing head rotates at high speeds under the influence of centrifugal force, the cord begins to drag out, as a result of which it is possible to twist the fishing line. To fix the problem, you will have to disassemble the coil on the trimmer and rewind the cord correctly, that is, in even turns with good tension.
Option 2. too short ends protrude from the head. The fishing line may not come out when it hits the ground, if its ends protruding from the head are of insufficient length (short). In this case, centrifugal force is not enough to stretch the line. Therefore, it is necessary to stop the unit (turn off the engine or disconnect the trimmer from the mains) and pull out the fishing line manually by first pressing the button.
Option 3. fishing line soldered inside the mowing head. This causes the coil to stop and not spin when the button is pressed. Basically, this happens for several reasons: poor quality of the cord, overheating of the coil during continuous operation of the unit, impact of fishing line on solid objects.
- In the first case, the cord of third-party manufacturers can be made of low-quality and low-melting materials that do not withstand mechanical and thermal stress. Therefore, preference should be given to “branded” fishing lines.
- But, if you nevertheless acquired a fishing line of unknown quality, and it often gets soldered during operation, then you can follow the example of some users who, after refueling the cord into a coil, moisten it either silicone grease (from spray can), or mineral oil. This procedure greatly reduces the likelihood of soldering between each other turns of fishing line.
- Also, the fishing line can be soldered if during mowing it hits a solid object (stone, fence, dry branch, etc.). As a result of this, it stretches a little and is pulled back into the head at high speed. The cord heats up due to friction, and its coils stick together. The only thing that can be done to eliminate this malfunction is to open the trimmer coil and rewind the fishing line.
Cord spontaneously lengthens
There are situations when the trimmer user notices very fast consumption of fishing line. However, he never hit a button on the ground to lengthen the fishing line. The reason that the fishing line spontaneously lengthens, cutting off a special knife on the casing of the device, can serve lack of spring in the mowing head. Often, novice users of mowers, trying to charge the fishing line into a reel, forget to install the hold-down spring in the head, or even lose it when the lid is opened, and in the future, they are not even aware of its existence.
How to remove the reel and replace the fishing line
Owners of trimmers, mostly novices, are confused, bordering on panic when it becomes necessary to change the cutting tool or fishing line in the reel. Very often, when trying to unscrew the mowing head, users simply render it unusable, not suspecting that it is unscrewing in the opposite direction. To prevent this, if you need to replace the tool, it is recommended that you read the step-by-step instructions below.
- Before putting the fishing line into the reel, turn off the engine of the lawn mowers or de-energize the trimmer to avoid injuries that might occur if the cutting tool is accidentally started to rotate.
- Unscrew the nozzle attached to gear shaft. To do this, the shaft must be locked by aligning the holes on the washer and on the axis, and inserting a metal rod or screwdriver into them.
- Unscrew the nozzle. You should know that the thread on the shaft is left. Therefore, twist the trimmer coil to the right, that is, clockwise.
- Disassemble the mowing head. Most often, the head cover is attached on clips. To remove it, you will need to drown these clips into the body, squeezing the edges of the lid. If your trimmer has a semi-automatic mowing head with a button on the bottom, disassembling the nozzle should be done carefully, since you can lose the spring, which sometimes flies out when the cover is removed.
- Cut the required amount of fishing line. Usually its length is 5 meters. Use a cord of the diameter specified in the tool manual. It is not recommended to exceed the maximum diameter of the fishing line, as this will lead to increased engine load and higher gas mileage.
- Find the middle of the cord segment, folding it in half. You will get a loop.
- Cut through the coils special grooves (there may be holes). Insert a loop from the fishing line into this groove.
- Wind the line onto the reel by turning it counterclockwise. It is necessary to refuel the cord as evenly as possible, the turns should lie down without overlapping and with good tension. When the winding is finished, leave the free ends of the fishing line about 20 cm long and fix them in the grooves located on the sides of the reel.
- Assemble the mowing head. Before you finally assemble the nozzle, do not forget insert spring and washer (if available). Install the coil in the housing, and thread the ends of the cord through holes or eyes.
- Put on the cover and fix it with the latches.
- Screw the nozzle back onto the gearbox shaft, also locking it with a screwdriver. Spin the trimmer coil to the left (against the clockwise arrow).
Is it possible to make a coil on a trimmer with your own hands
- Take a piece of plywood or textolite and draw a circle on it with a diameter of about 14 cm.
- Cut the disc with a jigsaw or hacksaw for metal.
- Drill a hole in the center of the disk that matches the diameter of the gearbox shaft. Before installing the disk on the shaft, do not forget to put the washer on it.
- On the edges of the disk, you can screw small corners or make 1-2 holes on opposite sides. They will serve to refuel fishing lines in them.
- To fix the fishing line, several screws can be screwed into the plywood.
Such a homemade mowing nozzle is mounted on a shaft with a nut. Tighten or unscrew the nut without fixing the shaft will not work. To replace the cord, it will be enough to release the screws, insert a piece of fishing line of the required length and press it again.
Also, a mowing nozzle for attaching fishing line to it can be made from a metal sheet. How to do this, you can understand from the next video.