How to choose an electric trimmer
A house outside the city or in the suburbs presupposes a personal plot with greenery and a garden. It is a good idea to create a natural landscape in front of the fence and inside the yard with a beautiful lawn. But the grass tends to grow quickly, and if the green area is significant, then keeping the lawn tidy can be quite laborious. To help amateur gardeners, special devices were created for various jobs, including an electric trimmer.
How to choose an electric trimmer. Consumer reviews
A house outside the city or in the suburbs presupposes a personal plot with greenery and a garden. It is a good idea to create a natural landscape in front of the fence and inside the yard with a beautiful lawn. But the grass tends to grow quickly, and if the green area is significant, then keeping the lawn tidy can be quite laborious. To help amateur gardeners, special devices were created for various jobs, including an electric trimmer. The reviews for this device are mostly positive, and therefore we will consider in more detail what this device is.
Trimmer – device for gardening
This device is a type of garden scythe, which is powered by a built-in motor. Depending on the type of drive, the following types of trimmers are distinguished:
- Lawn mower – has good performance, such as long-term operation (about 40 minutes), the ability to use in all weather conditions.
- Electric scythe – the duration of the work is short, but it is convenient to use in hard-to-reach places.
The best in terms of ecology is the electric trimmer. Consumer reviews on the Internet indicate not only easy use, but also low energy consumption and no harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
Trimmer types
In the gardening market, there are electric trimmers with different engine locations. Depending on this, the following types can be distinguished:
- Bottom engine: The advantage of this type of device is ease of use, since most of the weight is on the ground, and also low cost. This is due to the fact that such devices cannot be used in conditions of high humidity, otherwise a short circuit may occur, and the worker will be struck by an electric shock.
- With a top drive – work on such models is more convenient, since debris does not accumulate in the device, which excludes fire or overheating of the motor, and they can mow wet grass.
- Manual feed – when working on such a device, additional time is spent on stopping the engine and unwinding the line.
- Automatic feeding is performed when the motor starts.
- Semi-automatic feed – while the line is unwound when the engine is running.
Trimmer selection
- Trimmer manufacturers, as a rule, complete them with short cords, therefore, to work on large areas, you need to purchase an additional extension cord.
- Trimmers with an electric motor at the top are equipped with additional accessories that make it possible to modify this device into a delimber or cultivator, while you can save on the purchase of these devices.
- The trimmers are quiet and can be transported unassembled. They also do not smell like lawn mowers and can therefore be stored indoors.
- There are also models with an anti-vibration system, which significantly improves the technical performance of the trimmer. A pebble and other object guard will ensure safe operation.
Electric trimmer efficiency
Electric kos, which operates from a household electrical network, is relevant on a plot of four to six acres planted with trees, flowers, shrubs. It is convenient for it to neatly mow grass near the house or along the curb, mow paths, and an environmentally friendly motor that does not produce exhaust, gas and burning will even make it possible to remove weeds in any covered room. Greenhouse or greenhouse.
The trimmer cable limits the cutting radius, but can be extended with a standard extension. If this length is not enough for you, or the parameters of the electrical network do not contribute to the normal operation of the electric motor, then you can purchase a type of electric tool – a cordless trimmer. It works autonomously, the built-in battery lasts for half an hour or an hour of intensive work – quite enough to mow the trees in the garden. The trimmer motor can be positioned at the top of the tool or at the bottom. Upper motor trimmers work well on bumpy and uneven terrain. They are also perfectly balanced and can handle tall and wet grass – no short circuits. The convenience of working with it is also increased by a single-shoulder loop, which is hung on the shoulder. The lower motor trimmer should only be used on dry grass and on level areas. Often it is the lower motor trimmers that run on a rechargeable battery.
How to properly operate an electric grass trimmer
When choosing equipment for a summer cottage, it is not always worth chasing powerful and dimensional devices. The power of the tool is undoubtedly an important parameter, but it obviously carries with it the increased weight of the device, its large size, as well as the high price and increased fuel costs. But that’s not the point.
If you have a small garden with densely planted fruit trees or a small lawn with flower beds and shrubs, then clearing it of weeds and carefully mowing the grass is clearly an overwhelming task for any lawn mower. In such cases, even a hand tool – an ordinary scythe will not help: you simply cannot swing it, bumping into tree trunks.
The ideal solution in this case is a good and inexpensive electric trimmer. It is so light, comfortable and easy to operate that it always becomes a favorite of women and the elderly. A lightweight, quietly humming electric motor, a handle with comfortable grips and a nylon line tucked into a spool are the main components of an electric trimmer.
How to use the trimmer correctly
The household trimmer is the easiest to use and at the same time very effective tool. It seems that there is nowhere easier – to plug in the tool and work. But still, there are some nuances that you need to know in order for the trimmer to work for a long time and efficiently.
1. Site preparation. It is necessary to carefully inspect the mowing area and remove all foreign objects – stones, glass, wire, etc. Having flown out suddenly from under the fishing line during operation, such an object can cause injury.
2. Installation of the cutting system. There are low-power trimmers that can only work with a line, cutting soft and succulent grass – they do not need to install a cutting system. But some trimmer models with a motor of 1 kW or more can work with a knife. If there are tough weeds or even a small overgrowth of bushes on the site, you need to unscrew the working attachment nut and install the cutting knife. Then tighten the nut firmly with a wrench.
3. Before starting work. It is very important to wear protective goggles when working with the trimmer, because even if you have removed the area from debris, plant stems and grass can fly into your eyes. The same stems, grass and branches can injure hands, so it is advisable to wear gloves. We simply plug in the electric trimmer, but the battery trimmer needs to be charged for several hours before use. Then, if there is a shoulder attachment, we hang it on the shoulder, the knapsack – on both shoulders. We conveniently grasp the trimmer by the handles: grasp the D-shaped handle tightly with your palm, and grip the garden trimmer with a bicycle handle (U-shaped) firmly with both hands. The trimmer should be held over the grass so that the line spool or knife is parallel to the ground. We turn on the start.
4. How to mow correctly. The cutting mechanism rotates counterclockwise. Thus, in order for the cut grass to fall onto the already mown area, easily, with simple movements, we carry the trimmer in front of us, from right to left. To remove the remnants of the grass, you should make a movement in the other direction – from left to right. If the area is flat and large, break it into imaginary squares and mow, moving along the outside of such a square. If the plot is on a slope, then you need to start mowing from the bottom of the lawn, passing across the plot – in one direction. Having reached the edge, you need to go back and mow in the same direction, parallel. If there are many trees in the area, only cut with fishing line, otherwise you may cut the tree trunk with a knife. In such a garden, it is best to mow around the perimeter, bypassing the tree in a circle.
Five. Completion of work. Turn off the engine and remove the shoulder straps. It is not yet complete completion. It is necessary to carefully clean the spool and knife from the remains of grass. Then fold the trimmer, if telescopic or collapsible, and hide it until the next mow.
Trimmer reducer device
A trimmer gear is a unit that transmits the rotational motion of the motor shaft to a knife or line. It is located at the lower end of the lawn mower bar. The transfer assembly is also designed to reduce the trimmer engine speed.
The mechanism consists, depending on the model of the lawn mower, of several gears rotating at high speed. As a result, they heat up due to strong friction. If there is not enough lubrication, or there is none at all, then the process leads to severe overheating and failure of parts, and, accordingly, the need to carry out complex repairs. To prevent this from happening, the transmission unit should be lubricated in time. The disassembled gearbox is shown in the photo below.
Gearboxes of modern trimmers of different models from different manufacturers differ from each other in design and size of the seat. It happens:
- Round;
- In the form of an asterisk;
- Square.
Lawn mowers are equipped with gearboxes with different types of gears:
- Conical;
- Worm;
- Spiroid;
- Cylindrical;
- Planetary;
- Wave;
- Combined.
The drive shaft and gearbox are heavily loaded trimmer assemblies that are subject to significant wear. Between them, the movement is transmitted due to the engagement of the teeth of the gears located at different angles to each other. The gear train works effectively only if there is no mechanical damage. In this case, the mechanism should not overheat, otherwise it may jam.
Gearbox self-lubrication algorithm
No preliminary disassembly is required to lubricate the transmission. A special hole for these purposes is already embedded in the device (it is shown in the photo below). In addition to gears, when lubricating, attention should be paid to the following elements of the mechanism:
- Bearing unit;
- Flywheel and starter coil pawl.
Lubricant injection hole
Fill in oil or add solid lubricant through a grease nipple closed with a screw. In this case, actions are performed in the following sequence:
- Clean the gear case from dirt and adhered grass, especially carefully the area around the plug so that debris does not get inside the mechanism;
- Using the appropriate tool (often it comes with a trimmer), unscrew the plug;
- Into the open technological hole, the selected lubricant is injected from a tube, or using a syringe, as shown in the photo below;
- Screw the plug into place.
Gear lubrication
If for any reason the gearbox needs to be disassembled, then the old lubricant must be completely removed from the entire surface of the gears and the housing, the shaft, and only then use a new one. It is convenient to lubricate the disassembled mechanism with solid compounds.
The entire gear lubrication process is demonstrated in the video:
Lubrication of the transfer unit is required at least once a year, but it is recommended to do this every 20 hours of intensive use of the lawn mower. If the first signs of malfunctioning with the mechanism appear, then the lubricant must be applied as soon as possible.
Repair and lubrication of the trimmer gear
With frequent, intensive use of lawn mowers, the gearbox may start to warm up or make sounds unusual for its normal operation, such as grinding sounds. This indicates that the mechanism needs to be lubricated. If this is not done on time, then more serious problems will arise (for example, gears will quickly wear out and need to be replaced), up to jamming. Other breakdowns also occur with the transmission. You can repair and lubricate the gearbox yourself – for this you just need to familiarize yourself with the features of these works and stock up on some of the available tools.
What kind of lubricant should I use for the trimmer gear?
In the process of operation, the mechanical part of the trimmer is loaded by contact forces on the teeth, resistance reactions from adhering grass (sometimes with dirt), dynamic, shock loads due to constantly changing torque. Lubrication for the trimmer gearbox must fully take into account these features, so the selection of the brand must be strictly individual.
The following factors are taken into account:
- Manufacturer’s brand. Each brand reasonably focuses on its own lubricants (you can talk about cheap Chinese products later). This applies to manufacturers such as Husqvarna, Stihl, Huter, Makita, and others. The only exceptions are domestic-made trimmers: for example, the Caliber in the user manual does not indicate the brand of lubricant at all
- The viscosity of the lubricant. As you know, all lubricants are divided into three groups – high-viscosity (colloidal systems containing various additives), universal plastic compounds and solid lubricants that soften during operation.
- Good adhesion to the surface of the gearbox parts, as a result of which the grease is not squeezed out into the gaps or out of the unit.
- The rate of grease consumption by the gearbox. Here you have to rely on your own experience and the recommendations of specialists, since some trimmer manufacturers, relying on their own service centers, do not give clear recommendations at all regarding the period of operation of the gearbox between two lubrications.
Lubricant consumption also depends on the temperature at which it retains its lubricity. When the gearbox is heated to 40 ° C, it is considered that its operating conditions are satisfactory, and there is sufficient lubrication.
It is believed that there is no universal lubricant for the trimmer gearbox, but this is not entirely true. In fact, a suitable lubricant will be one that contains the following components:
- Lead-free antiwear additives;
- Solid lubricants with the presence of graphite or molybdenum disulfide (the latter is preferable, since in this case the lubricity is fully retained for a wide range of shaft revolutions);
- Only mineral (inorganic!) Oils, highly refined.
These requirements are fully met by Gear Grease OREGON or Champion EP-0 lithium greases, domestic compositions Oleo-Mas, Litol.24, or Azmol 158, as well as those recommended by the manufacturer of a particular trimmer model.
Lubricant for trimmer gear. How and how to lubricate?
Occasionally, in the midst of an intense mowing operation, your trimmer will make an unpleasant grinding noise. This complains about the lack of lubrication, the gearbox is the most heavily loaded unit of the device. And soon these "warnings" may be followed by a jammed drive
How to lubricate the trimmer gearbox?
In the upper part of the body, where the gear unit is installed, there is a technological hole, which is plugged with a screw during trimmer operation. This screw is unscrewed, and 1.5 2 ml of lubricant is injected into the hole using the spout on the tube. If the lubricant was purchased in a different package, then an ordinary disposable medical syringe is also suitable for this operation.
After that, the screw is installed in its original place. This procedure, regardless of the user’s recommendations, should be performed every 10 15 hours of operation of the trimmer in working mode. Other reasons for updating or replacing the gearbox lubricant are the independent performance of minor routine maintenance (for example, cleaning and flushing the gears of the gearbox before the start of the summer season), repairing the unit, preserving the trimmer for the winter, etc.
If the gear unit is disassembled, it is recommended to completely remove the remnants of the old grease from the surface of the parts, even if it does not show any signs of oxidation and contamination. And only then apply new lubricant. After applying the lubricant, it is recommended to rotate the shaft several times by hand, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed over all parts of the gearbox.
When lubricating, pay particular attention to the following elements:
- Flywheel: as a rule, grass remnants stick to its surface intensively, and thickening grass juice creates additional resistance.
- Pawl of the starter coil, which in the process of turning on the drive constantly contacts the grooves on the flywheel. In this case, not only mechanical wear occurs, but also mechanochemical corrosion of the “flywheel-dog” connection, since the materials of this pair are different (the flywheel is aluminum, and the dog is steel).
- Bearings, if their seals are worn out, and through them, the remaining grease is squeezed out. In this case, the unit begins to vibrate intensively when loaded. This happens with Chinese-made trimmers, so in the long run it is worth thinking about replacing the bearing assembly with a better one, for example, from the Swedish company SKF.