How To Mow Grass With A Gas Mower

DIY garden

Working with a trimmer is quite simple. Simpler than with an ordinary scythe-Lithuanian. But everywhere there is a specificity, therefore, before mastering a new technique, you should do what many leave for later. Carefully read the instructions. This is already enough to roughly understand how to use the trimmer, refuel it, figure out how to charge its battery or connect it to the mains.

Getting started with safety

Of the protective devices, glasses and gloves recommended by the instructions do not interfere, but the most important is the protection of the legs. A cutting tool, especially when mowed with a gas trimmer with metal knives, rotating at high speeds, picks up debris, pebbles and scraps of vegetation that fly apart at such a speed that they can cause injury to humans. Therefore, it is advisable to work in trousers and closed shoes or boots.

What will happen if you don’t protect your legs?

As for ear protection, a tangible need for this arises only for the “loudest” gas trimmer. Based on a two-stroke engine. They are usually equipped with special headphones with a headband necessary to reduce sound pressure on the eardrum.

Preparing the trimmer for work

Preparation of the trimmer for work begins with a check of the condition of all parts and assembly according to the instructions. At the same time, you need to make sure that there is lubricant in the gearbox, and that there is enough oil in the crankcase of the four-stroke gasoline trimmer. The fuel, depending on the type of engine, two- or four-stroke, is a mixture of gasoline with special oil in a ratio of 40-50: 1 or, accordingly, pure gasoline. After the fuel tank is full, it remains only to open the faucet and you can try to start the trimmer, not forgetting that before mowing it is necessary that it runs at idle for 2-3 minutes.

With an electric cordless tool, everything is simple. After checking for grease, just insert a charged battery into the appropriate socket so that it is ready for use. If the tool is powered by the mains, then an extension cord will be required to the intended place for cutting. The wire must be placed outside the range of the possible action of the trimmer knives.

The site should be maximally free of foreign objects: glass, stones, wire, snags, etc. The presence of people closer than 15 meters is also undesirable. Depending on the capabilities of the particular trimmer and the intended work, you need to choose the appropriate cutting nozzle. You can use a mowing head with fishing line for grass, metal knives for weeds or harvesting hay, or a saw for shrubs. Mowing should be planned in such a way as to advance, moving away from buildings and people.

How to mow with a trimmer

The trimmer should “lie” well in the hand. Many people prefer a rather light tool that can be used “on weight”. Otherwise, it should be well balanced, on a convenient belt or knapsack suspension, since it is impossible to mow correctly with a trimmer without this. A tool with a bicycle handle is very convenient, when mowing it is easy to hold the mowing head at about a constant height, and the tip of the cutting tool at the right distance from the ground. In order for the fishing line to last longer, it is undesirable to bring it close to fences, borders, brickwork and other hard objects. In addition, do not touch the ground head unnecessarily.

How to choose a trimmer for a summer residence? Which is better: gasoline or electric? Find out here.

General principles of grass trimmer

As a rule, the cutting tool rotates counterclockwise, so you can work with a trimmer in the same way as an oblique casting, doing 1-2 strokes from right to left with a gradual advance of 15-30 cm. Then the mowed grass remains on the treated surface on the left. Since the line cuts best with the tip, the sweep speed and grapple are selected empirically. With quick wiring, the cut occurs along the entire length of the cutting tool, in which case the motor is overloaded too much, and the grass is often wound around the head.

Flat lawn

If the site is large and even, and the grass is quite soft, it is more convenient to mow along imaginary squares, mentally breaking the entire area into them. After preliminary mowing the grass around the perimeter of the first, continue to work along the tapering square spiral clockwise until the site is completely mowed. Then proceed to the next square. With this method, mowed grass always remains on the treated surface on the left side. In order to mow vegetation at the very root, it is necessary to keep the cutting plane at an angle of 30 °, with the tip of the fishing line almost touching the ground.

Of course, it is better to mow even lawns with a lawnmower-cart, which allows you to make a more even cut and collects the mowed grass in a special grass catcher. This lawn mower is described in this article.

High grass

In this case, it is more convenient to mow in both directions. The first pass is from left to right, cutting the tops of the grass, and then, lowering the tool to the desired level, the lower part is cut off by reverse movement. Mowed grass also remains on the treated surface on the left side. If the thickets of weeds are too high, then in order to reduce the likelihood of winding grass on the drum, you have to mow several times from top to bottom, but this is fraught with increased consumption of fishing line.

Slope processing

The slope is also treated according to the principle of “mowed grass to the left”, choosing the direction so that its top is on the right. When they reach the end of the site, they return to the starting point, rise higher by the width of the swing and mow the next strip.

Trees and bushes

In the area where there are many similar obstacles, the trimmer is simply irreplaceable, since mowing the grass with an ordinary scythe is not enough scope, and the lawn mower is too large. The fishing line is best for this. Before you begin to process the site, you need to cut each tree or bush from all sides. In order not to damage them, you need to hold the trimmer with a protective cover almost close to them, slightly tilting the head to the ground and going around from left to right.

Pruning

It is convenient to trim the flower beds, lawns and paths along the edges with a trimmer with a lower engine, since its cutting plane can be set vertically. For an even greater effect on the cutting line, it is useful to dig a groove of about 4×4 cm. Then the line will cut the grass below ground level without touching its surface. The result is a very clean, flawless vertical haircut.

Wet weather

If there is a need to trim with a trimmer in any weather, then it should definitely be gasoline, since it tolerates wet weather well. Although, according to the instructions, work in the rain or on wet grass by some manufacturers of such gasoline equipment is also prohibited. When choosing a trimmer, it is also worth paying attention to.

The electric motor is the most vulnerable place for moisture in battery trimmers. Accordingly, if it is located on top, then there is less chance of moisture getting there from the grass, but in rainy weather they can’t work either.

Typically, water gets from wet grass to the extension cords, where an electric arc can occur that could ignite the insulating plastic or cause a short circuit. Such a defect is “fixed” by buying a new extension cord or replacing the plug, but moisture entering the engine or control circuit leads to irreversible damage to the trimmer. In addition, working with such an instrument in the rain is simply dangerous, since there is a high probability of electric shock.

Storage and care of the trimmer

Special care is required petrol trimmers. In addition to cleaning and lubricating cutting and rubbing surfaces from plant sap and dirt, you must also take care of the engine. The air filter is most likely to clog him. The frequency of cleaning is approximately 10 hours. Besides, engine cooling radiator fins are sometimes dirty, why it quickly overheats, and this can lead to its jamming. How to clean the radiator and air filter is described in the instructions for a particular gas trimmer.

Before leaving the trimmer for long-term storage at the end of the season, all fuel should be drained from it., then start the engine and wait for it to stop. This ensures a complete lack of fuel in the tank and carburetor. After the motor cools down, you need to unscrew the candle, pour 30-40 ml of two-stroke oil into the cylinder, slowly crank the crankshaft with the starter cable so that it spreads over all the cavities inside the engine, then tighten the candle. After this, you need to disassemble the rod, if it is disassembled, cover with a preservative lubricant all metal parts that may rust and then store the trimmer in a place protected from moisture.

After finishing work at electric trimmers it is necessary to wipe and curl the wires and extension cords, and for batteries, put the battery on charge, since it is not recommended to keep the trimmer even for a very short time with a discharged battery. This leads to a quick failure. Thereafter the head should be removed, since the protective cover and the inside of the drum itself will have to be cleaned. If this is not done, the grass juice may dry on them and cause the bobbin with the mechanism that fixes the fishing line to stop functioning normally the next time it starts.

Preparing electric trimmers for long-term storage is much easier. The main thing is to protect them from moisture from getting inside the control circuit and the engine, as well as from rust on unprotected metal elements using preservative grease. Be sure to charge the battery before storage, then your spring trimmer will be as good as new.