A beautiful lawn is the face of a summer cottage, so most gardeners prefer to sow special silky grass on their land, which not only pleases the eye but also displaces intrusive weeds. In addition to feeding and watering, lawn grass needs care, and respectively, it must be periodically mowed. For these purposes, you can choose an electric trimmer or lawn mower. Many prefer trimmer. The reel with a fishing line is the primary tool of this device. It allows you to cut evenly grown grass quickly. Besides, with the help of trimmer, you can level the lawn in the most inaccessible places: in the sections along the paths and the fence, around the bushes, trees or well.
Regardless of whether you use a conventional tool, equipped only with a fishing line, or an electric trimmer with a knife and fishing line, sooner or later you will have to change some elements of such a device. Unfortunately, by this moment, the instruction from the portable lawn mower, where all the requirements are indicated, is already lost and many are faced with the question of buying the “right” line.
Trim line specifications.
To understand which trimmer line is needed for your mower model, it’s enough to determine its main parameters: thread thickness, section shape, composition. Consider all the components in more detail.
The thickness of the thread
You can find out the desired thickness by looking at the trimmer specifications or by reading the inscriptions on the universal spool. The most commonly used cords with a diameter of 1.2 to 4 mm. At the same time, for each model, there is a diameter of the line for the trimmer. The fact is that if the thread is thinner than the desired, then you will increase engine wear, due to the increased number of revolutions of the shaft. If, on the contrary, it is too thick, the rotational resistance will increase, and the engine will start to overheat and eventually fail. To determine the exact thread diameter, it is best to navigate by the type of trimmer motor.
Thus, the following is obtained:
- For an electric trimmer with a lower arrangement of the “engine” with a power of less than 500 W, a thread 1.3 mm thick will be needed. If you have not found one, you can use a 1.6 mm thicker fishing line, but not more.
- For electric trimmer with an overhead motor with a power of about 1 kW, choose a thread with a diameter of 2 mm.
At the same time, it does not matter what type of shaft the shaft has, bent or straight, which allows knives to be installed.
Tip! If initially a 1.6 mm diameter fishing line is installed in the tool, then you can put the thread on 2 mm, this will not affect the operation of the engine.
If we are talking about a gasoline model, then in this situation it is necessary to determine what kind of mower the shaft has for curved most commonly used threads with a thickness of 2 mm. But on the tool with a straight shaft set the fishing line for trimmer 3 mm or 2.4-2.5. The thickest fishing line is usually placed on more powerful tools (from 1.3 kW).
If we talk about which line copes better with young grass or perennial dead wood, we can conditionally divide the cords into the following categories:
- Fishing line from 1.2 to 1.6 mm. It is the thinnest thread that is used to trim the lawn.
- 2. 2.4 will allow you to cut as young grass, and more rigid. Suitable for occasional use.
- A thread from 3 to 3.2 mm will allow mowing the grass and thick stalks of weed or deadwood if you rarely leave the countryside.
Least of all there is a fishing line for trimmer 4 mm. It is because rarely anyone has to deal with such serious thickets. However, if you are the owner of a powerful gasoline “mower” and for several years did not appear in the country, then a 4 mm fishing line would be the best option.
Section shape.
There is a large selection of cords with different sections, depending on which trimmer can mow one or another grass:
- Cords with a round cross-section are the most popular, while such lines are cheaper than the rest, from 68 rubles (12 m). They are well mowing fresh grass, but worse to cope with dead wood and shrubs. The disadvantage of such a fishing line is quite a strong noise, which resembles the rumble of a running engine of a car.
- Spiral (twisted) cord noise is less, but does not have high strength. Therefore, this line is suitable only for thin young grass, for which you are constantly caring. There is such a fishing line from 100 rubles.
- Square, rectangular or stellate fishing line allows you to mow the lawn more smoothly with low noise. True, such products also can not boast of durability. This thread will cost about 147 rubles for 12 meters.
- A jagged cord with sharp edges is used for large weeds in neglected areas. In this case, the line will not make a lot of noise, and due to the increased aerodynamic properties, the mower will be given extra power. Such a thread costing from 200 rubles is suitable for a powerful trimmer. A notched cord is considered durable and reliable.
- A two-component trimmer line with an inner core with a round cross-section is considered the strongest of all. Thanks to the core, made of another material, the cord can mow even small bushes. True, this line is suitable only for gasoline trimmers. Due to the high cost (from 250 rubles) of such a cord, it is not advisable to use it daily.
The composition of the fishing line.
From the composition of the fishing line, it depends on how long it will last. Most often threads are made of nylon. This material wears out more slowly and is characterized by high productivity under conditions of high temperature and heavy loads. The duration of the work also does not affect the properties of nylon.
Coaxial fishing lines are considered the strongest. They can be distinguished by a dense core, thanks to which such cords will wear out longer than nylon ones. This line is difficult to cut with a knife, and in the process of mowing, it produces a minimum of noise.
The most expensive fishing line is the one in which the aluminum comes off, and more specifically, its inclusions. Such a cord appeared on the market relatively recently, but one can say with confidence that it is the most durable.
To sum up.
After you have chosen the right cord, you have to remove the worn part, clean the trimmer itself, remove the dirt and grass, fill the fishing line and you can proceed to beautify the suburban area.