How to properly mow grass with a line trimmer: tips and tricks

Bit theory

Before you solve the problem of choosing a lawn mower for working on the lawn, you should know that the lawn mower engine has two types:

Synchronous
. This is a motor in which the rotor and magnetic field rotate at the same speed. Synchronously. Even if the rotor receives a heavy load during operation, its speed does not decrease. The engine continues to run at constant speed. Use sliding contacts to achieve this result. Consequently, a synchronous motor is more complex in design and therefore more expensive.
Asynchronous.
A motor whose rotation speed does not match the speed of the magnetic field. The stator and rotor are separated by an air gap, without slip rings. It is simple in its structure, which means it is not that difficult or expensive to do synchronously.

It is impossible to answer which lawn mower engine is better. Both types of engines have their advantages and disadvantages.

For those who do not want to delve into the wisdom of electromechanics, we explain it very simply. Each motor has two key elements: a stator (stationary, with windings) and a rotor (movable). Current from the network is supplied to the stator. A rotating magnetic field appears in its winding. Thanks to it, the rotor also begins to rotate. And the rotation speed of the rotor is transmitted to the shaft of the device.

In our case, on a vertical shaft on which the cutting blade of the lawn mower is mounted. It turns out that the operation of the knife directly depends on the engine speed. Stable speed. The knife also rotates consistently and powerfully. Low rotor speed. The knife also begins to weaken and pulls up the grass. He simply does not have the strength to quickly and efficiently cut off vegetation. If we very briefly define which lawn mower is better, we will say this:

But all this is a little exaggerated, and in no way means that an asynchronous motor is worse. The asynchronous motor is the simplest and cheapest of all previously invented. Does not require complicated maintenance, does not heat up much, and has no rubbing contacts. Yes, and its reliability is within normal limits if the manufacturer is of high quality and has installed protective systems.

Instructions on how to use a gasoline trimmer, learning how to start the tool

Before using the tool, it must first be started. Let's look at how to start a lawn mower in detail. To begin with, the tool should be placed on a flat surface so that the disk attached to the shaft does not cling to anything. After this, we proceed to start the engine of the lawn mower:

Initially, you should pump fuel into the starting system. To do this, press the primer 4-5 times (soft hemisphere on the carburetor)
Next, turn the carburetor switch to “OFF” mode. This switch is responsible for opening and closing the air damper. Moving the switch to “OFF” mode allows you to make the fuel mixture richer during startup
There is a switch on the handle near the accelerator. He is responsible for turning the ignition on and off. Before starting, you need to set the ignition switch to mode “1”
Now you can launch. To do this, you need to hold the tool with one hand and sharply pull the starter handle with the other. If the scythe engine does not start the first time, then do not despair. Starting attempts must be made until the engine starts. Usually this should be done 2-3 times
If after 5 repetitions the engine does not start, then you should repeat the fuel intake using a primer and start starting again
As soon as the engine starts, you need to turn the choke switch to “ON” mode. This means that a mixture of fuel and air enters the cylinder
Let the tool run for 15-30 seconds at idle until the engine warms up, after which you can start mowing the grass.

The above instructions for starting the engine of lawn mowers and trimmers are appropriate for a cold start. If there was a pause while working with the tool, there is no need to close the throttle valve when restarting the engine that has not cooled down. You simply need to turn on the ignition and pull the starter handle.

This is interesting!
If the lawn mower is new, then do not forget that it cannot be used at full capacity until it has undergone the break-in procedure. This is important to take into account, otherwise engine parts will quickly wear out and fail.

Synchronous electric lawn mower

A synchronous motor always runs at a constant speed. Because of this factor, it is used where stable speeds are especially needed. In lawn mowers, this point is key and necessary. Synchronization with high engine power is also important. In mowers this is more than 1 kW. The blade in a synchronized lawn mower is placed on a separate shaft. This shaft is connected to the motor shaft by a belt drive. The weak point is the blade shaft bearings.

Low sensitivity to voltage surges.
Stable rotation of the cutting knife regardless of the load.
High efficiency and power factor

Exquisite design.
The brushes heat up during friction.
Difficult start. To facilitate this, the rotor is first started asynchronously and then it is adjusted to the magnetic field.

READ How to Replace the Bearing in a Grinder Video

Asynchronous electric lawn mower

Currently, asynchronous motors in lawn mowers are used more and more often. In this case, the knife is placed directly on the motor shaft. The result is a simple and fairly reliable design. There is no rotor winding. No brushes. Nothing complicated and everything works well.

Simple design No maintenance required. Easy repair.
Low cost of production and operation.
It heats up less. Even if it gets hot, it continues to work and loses power.

Efficiency and power factor are lower than those of a synchronous motor.
Difficult to regulate speed. Low control.
Turnover depends on the network.
Very sensitive to voltage surges in the fixed network.

Therefore, when choosing synchronous or asynchronous lawn mowers, you should be guided by considerations of low cost or decide which is more reliable in operation.

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Creating a beautiful lawn and maintaining it in order. The task is not easy. And to make this easier, you need a reliable assistant. Lawnmower. There are many good and different models on sale. And although they all have the same goal, they are different from each other in some respects. Let's try to understand them.

Lawnmower

What is a lawn mower?

According to the method of movement, Lawn mowers are divided into:

Manual trimmers, which are held in the hands while mowing,
Wheel bracket for transportation on the lawn,
Traverse.

Based on the type of drive motor, there are mechanical, gasoline and electric lawn mowers.

Mechanical mowers on wheels are easy to operate, do not require electricity or gasoline, but require significant muscle effort. They are environmentally friendly, silent and allow you to adjust the height of grass mowing. The cutting mechanism is a cylindrical knife driven by wheels. This tool is good for maintaining a young lawn, as the low blade speed prevents the removal of grass with a fragile root system.

Regular grass cutting

A mature lawn is usually mowed once or twice a week, depending on the intensity of grass growth under different weather conditions. Regular and proper mowing strengthens the grass, makes it lush and prevents weeds from thriving. There are standards that establish the height of grass stands based on their biological characteristics. The mowing height for thin-leaved lawn grasses is not lower than 3 cm, for broad-leaved grasses it is 5 cm.

The most common tools for cutting the lawn: lawn mower, trimmer, cordless grass shears.

Mow should be done in dry, cloudy weather. The “mow while it’s still wet” rule can be a bad joke with modern lawn mowers. The fact is that wet grass clumps together and sticks to the plastic, which leads to clogging and does not allow the grass to freely fall into the grass catcher. However, mowing grass in the scorching sun also has a negative effect on the green surface, the grass turns yellow, and the tips dry out. In sunny weather, the best time to mow the lawn is in the evening. During prolonged drought, do not mow the lawn too short; try to maintain the height of the grass stand about 5 cm. This mowing height will protect the soil from drought and the lawn will look well-groomed.

Trimmers

Manual lawn mowers (trimmers) are suitable for regular mowing of a small area of lawn, even with an uneven surface, as they can be mowed at any angle. Trimmer. This is a holding bar with a line cutter at the lower end. And at high power. Additionally, use a round knife. The mower hangs on a belt on the operator's shoulder, literally making the job easier.

Trimmer

The trimmer can be equipped with an electric or gasoline engine . Electric is located at the lower or upper end of the rod, and gasoline. Only on the top.

The safety guard limits the sloped edge and protects the mower's legs from injury. During operation, the left hand holds the handle of the boom (adjusts, if necessary, the height of mowing the grass), and the right hand holds the handle using the motor control button.

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Trimmer

The main advantage of trimmers . Possibility of mowing grass on uneven areas, near bushes and trees. But maintaining the same mowing height will not work.

Electric trimmers

An electric trimmer is powered from a household outlet. His credits may include:

Gasoline trimmers

The gas trimmer is designed to work over large areas. Therefore, it is especially in demand by summer residents, owners of country estates and utility workers. . However, working with it requires some preparation.

Gasoline trimmer

This type of lawn mower offers mobility, increased power and practicality . It can be used to mow not only lawn grass, but also weeds and shrubs. And professional models can cut stems up to an inch and a half thick.

However, even with a small fuel tank the following assembly is possible:

Weighs quite a lot
You need a mixture of gasoline and oil,
Pollutes the environment with exhaust gases,
Noisy

But it can work in any weather .

The convenience of cutting grass with a trimmer is determined by several points, and one of them is the location of the engine.

engine underbody trimmers on sale. Most often they are rechargeable low power. They overheat quickly, so they need frequent shutdowns. Protection from moisture and mechanical influences is poor. They cannot work in the morning dew and immediately after rain, otherwise a short circuit may occur. Engine trimmer

Top motor trimmers are more practical, more balanced and more powerful, requiring less effort when mowing and therefore more comfortable to use. They have good cooling (less overheating) and therefore greater performance.

Top engine trimmer Among trimmers with a top engine, I would especially like to highlight backpacks . Their motors are mounted at the back (like a school bag), which greatly reduces the strain on your arms and limits your movement much less.

Backpack petrol trimmer

A good version of the trimmer has an anti-vibration system . This reduces vibration on the shoulders and arms and protects the hands and rear of the mower.

Powerful gas trimmers reduce the strain on your hands and are equipped with an ergonomic handle that looks like a bicycle wheel. The right handle has buttons to control the operation of the tool. When purchasing a trimmer, make sure that the handle and button layout on it are comfortable for you.

Comfortable bicycle handle

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A mechanical lawn mower is designed to level grass on small areas of land. This device is easy to create a smooth lawn. This is an environmentally friendly garden tool with minimal noise. One of the cheapest types of garden tools for lawn care.

READ How to Check a Lawn Mower Motor

Basic rules for mowing the lawn

Owners of neglected lawns are wondering whether it is correct to mow tall grass with a lawn mower. Judging by the reviews, a high-quality gasoline wheeled unit with a spacious hopper for collecting cut greenery can cope with this task in several passes. But the work is unpleasant: loud noise and harmful emissions.

Using a trimmer to mow a neglected lawn is much faster, but after completing this work you need to collect the mowed greens with a rake.

Hence the conclusion: owners of lawn mowers should not allow the grass to grow high.

The question is also often raised whether it is possible to mow wet grass with a gasoline lawn mower. The rules say: it is not recommended to use a lawn mower in the rain or after watering, since such mowing is not of high quality, and there is a risk of getting unsightly stripes on the soggy soil

In addition, there are other rules that must be followed when mowing the lawn.

A hot summer day is not the best time to mow grass. Fresh cuttings dry out quickly, and their yellow color spoils the appearance of the lawn.
It is recommended to mow the lawn in the morning or evening in dry weather, a day after rain or watering, when the soil and grass are dry.
It is necessary to ensure that the lawn mower blade is sharpened. Working with dull knives is fraught with troubles in the form of jammed leaves and uprooting of grass.
Before mowing, you need to collect fallen leaves, tree branches and other debris with a rake, and level out any earthen mounds formed as a result of the activity of earthworms, ants and other insects.
You should decide on the direction of the haircut so that it is at an angle to the previous one. Otherwise, the appearance of the lawn will be associated with a washboard.
When mowing, you need to maintain parallelism and not leave narrow stripes, paying attention to the grass under the wheels.

How it works?

The user, choosing a flat area with growing grass, places the lawn mower in front of him. From the support wheels, movement (rotation) is transmitted to the working shaft, and a horizontal and stationary knife is installed in front of it. In this case, the grass rests on a horizontal knife, and its uniform cutting is carried out by the blade in a spiral. If the lawn mower is in contact, the blades also maintain an edge when touched.

The design of the mower is based on:

Plastic or metal case;
The moving wheels are mounted on plug-in bushings;
Cutting elements under the body.

Modern manual lawn mowers are divided into:

Household. Light weight The average cutting blade width is 34 centimeters. Ideal for processing vegetation no higher than 45 millimeters.
Professional. Processing large areas. The average width of the cutting blade is 40 centimeters. It handles vegetation up to 5 centimeters well.

How do lawn mower blades work?

Most often, rotary blades are used in lawn mowers. This cutting tool consists of one or two flat blades, similar to propeller blades, that rotate horizontally. This is an inexpensive, convenient and productive option that, among other things, allows you to cut even tall and tough grass, as well as adjust the mowing height within a fairly wide range.

An alternative to a blade is a fishing line, which is wound onto a bobbin and cuts the grass with a free rotating end. Unlike a knife, a fishing line doesn’t last long, but it’s inexpensive and allows you to mow where you can’t reach with a blade: for example, near hard objects or along fences. Fishing lines come in a wide variety of sections and diameters, so choosing the right one is usually not difficult.

Cylindrical or drum knives are less common and cost more than rotary knives. Such a tool is a rotating horizontal drum with several - usually three to five - blades. They are complemented by one fixed knife. This system is not very suitable for tall grass, but it provides the most even and neat mowing.

Types of lawn mowers

According to the type and technical characteristics, lawn mowers are classified as spindle and manual.

The spindle lawn mower is used on a small and flat lawn, ideal for a typical garden. The definition comes from the spindle blade in the design. The knife was put into operation sluggishly. In particular, after the wheels move.

This type of mower is divided into two types:

Contact Information. During the mowing process, the cutting blades interact with each other, cutting off the grown lawn.
Contactless. The distance between the cutting blades is calculated; during the cutting process it is more correct to set a certain speed. Simply put, you need to “get used to” this type.

The manual version of a mechanical mower must be equipped with a cylinder with working blades. Controlling the speed of this cutting device is much easier. Any model has an element for adjustment.

The lawn mower was pre-set to the desired comfortable speed so that the area would not be covered twice. Optimum speed 4 km/h.

Pros and cons of mechanical lawn mowers

About the advantages of this device:

The quality of the haircut depends on the user. An experienced gardener manages the lawn very smoothly, leaving a beautiful stripe.
Profitability. No need for fuel or electricity.
Environmentally friendly. Fuel cells do not settle on the grass. Thanks to this, the treated surface retains its freshness longer. The grass becomes even denser, covering the ground in an even layer.
Mulching. The cut processes remain on the ground as fertilizer.
Collection of small herbs. The grass catcher is installed on branded models. This saves time on cleaning, and a small amount of grass from it is suitable as an organic fertilizer.
Quiet operation.

When cultivating the area with your own hands, a good mechanical lawn mower will preserve the user’s health and provide comfortable and easy lawn care.

About the shortcomings or minor shortcomings:

Frequent lawns or lawn care. This should be cut back once the grass has grown a few inches.
Move the mower at a certain pace. If you drive very slowly there will be no cut. The cutting knife will begin to “chew” the processes.
It is impossible to grow old weeds.

Mechanical lawn mower on video:

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Brands and ratings

Despite the fact that all manual mechanical lawn mowers are designed and operate on the same principle, the quality of grass cutting and the reliability of the device largely depend on the brand under which the model is made.
In addition, when choosing a specific mower, it is necessary to take into account not only its technical characteristics and descriptions available on the model page in the store, but also its position in the ranking of the most popular devices.

You will find a lot of useful information on these issues here: Rating of mechanical lawn mowers.