How To Set Up A Lawn Mower

How to choose an electric lawnmower: tips from the pros Should your meadow become a graceful lawn? We will tell you about the difference between gasoline, electric and manual lawn mowers. In addition, we present to your attention 10 lawn mowers most popular among Amazon users.

Deck type

A deck is a part of a lawn mower with knives. Usually, the following materials are used for its manufacture:

  • Aluminum is a metal that increases the price of the device;
  • Plastic is the most profitable deck material;
  • Steel is a medium-priced option.

To increase the service life of your mower, choose the right model with an aluminum deck. It differs from the plastic version in increased strength, from the steel part. In lighter weight and resistance to corrosion. The plastic deck is used in the cheapest mowers. But, sometimes, when servicing a plot of 2-4 acres, it makes no sense to overpay. The engine of inexpensive and low-powered equipment will fail earlier than a plastic deck.

Mowing options

how to set up a lawn mower

Before choosing an electric lawn mower, it is worth learning about the recommended compliance of such a parameter as the mowing width of the plot area. The dimensions of the serviced area are related to the characteristics of the mower as follows:

  • For a summer cottage with a plot of up to 500 square meters, choose a model with a mowing width of up to 40 cm;
  • If the area is within 5-10 acres, the width should be 40-50 cm;
  • Maintenance of a plot of 1000-2000 sq.M. Will be provided by equipment with a mowing width of 50-60 cm;
  • For large areas, mowers with a strip width of 0.6-1.2 m are suitable.

The cutting height is a parameter that can be adjusted on most lawn mowers. Changing the characteristic is carried out by rearranging the axle or wheels, by pressing a lever or button. The easiest and most profitable option is to manually adjust the cutting height. The axle is installed in another hole in the mower frame.

The electronically controlled model will cost more. Although, if the mowed grass must always be at the same level, the more important is not the method, but the limits of height adjustment.

Manufacturer

Another criterion for choosing a good quality and long service life electric lawn mower is the manufacturer of the device. To buy the most functional and reliable model, you should look for products from the brands Bosch, Oleo-Mac, AL-KO or Gardena. Such equipment will last longer, and it will be easier to find a service center serving it.

You can find a lawn mower of good quality in the budget segment, up to 10,000 rubles. One of them is the Makita DLM380Z model with a 620 W electric motor. However, the area of ​​the serviced site is small. Only 270 sq. M. This means that the buyer of the mower will have to make a compromise between its performance, costs and reliability.

Step 1

Other items and accessories include a plastic drip tray, engine oil, and a waste oil container. Often a large piece of cardboard is useful, as well as an old rag or rag. Also note that this manual is intended for push or self-propelled mowers, not mowers. While some of the guidelines apply here, they are a different animal in common.

Clean dirt, debris and old grass from the blade area

Step 2: Clear

To clean it, start with a cold engine first. If your mower has a fuel valve, turn it off. Unplug the spark plug if you can. Then use a leaf blower to blow away old dirt and large debris. Place the mower carefully on its side and the tank lid. Also, try removing debris from the bottom of the mower.

You can use a garden hose to clean your lawn mower. The safest way, with the least risk of damage, is to clean it by hand.

I know that many people prefer to vacuum their mowers with a garden hose. I admit I did it. However, it is risky. If water gets into the wiring, air filter, or engine, you can actually cause some damage. The downside is hand washing with a damp cloth, but also your safest bet.

Some lawn mowers, such as the Craftsman 37705, have a washout function. It is essentially a garden hose that fits over the top of the round leaf. This allows water to be pumped into the blade assembly during engine start. This action has been designed to immediately wash away dirt and debris.

How to set up your lawn mower (just in time for summer)

Lawn mowers are complex. Like any machine, they need regular maintenance to do their best. Even worse, neglect can cause the mower to fail completely. Therefore, before the mowing season actually ends in summer, get your lawnmower ready. From cleaning, to changing the oil, to sharpening and balancing the blades, this guide contains the steps to get your lawnmower in top shape.

First, collect all the necessary tools and items.

Lawn Mower Control Basics

In fact, any of the lawn mowers is a motor with a pair of sharp knives mounted on the motor shaft. The entire structure of the motor shaft with the impeller is covered with a plastic or steel guard and fixed to the wheel cart. Despite the relatively large weight of the unit, in theory, any adult without special physical training can mow with a lawn mower. However, mowing grass is not as easy as the advertisements might look like.

To operate the lawn mower correctly and safely, you must:

  • Correctly service the device, adjust and prepare the mower for work;
  • It is good to navigate the terrain of the mowed area. Before starting work, inspect the area and remove stones, large branches, any debris that can break off the cutting edge, knife and engine;
  • If there are flower beds or shrubs on the lawn, plan the mower’s route and where to unload the cut grass container in advance.

How to mow without blunders

First of all, you need to mow without putting excessive unnecessary force on the control handle. The lawn mower was designed without taking into account this overload on the rear axle. For the front-drive version of the mower, this will impair the mowing quality. When working on the rear-wheel drive version, this “help” wears out the transmission and leads to the appearance of potholes in the lawn, it becomes more difficult to mow. In addition, it can easily damage the knife, motor or cut grass on the ground.

The art of lawn mowing comes with practice. Most often, the direction of movement is corrected by moving the handle to the left or right. In particularly difficult cases, you can mow even on difficult paths by slightly tilting the mower body to the left or right, increasing the traction of the wheels on one side and loosening on the other. The controls are simple, but require practice and skill.

It is considered most difficult to mow near a curb or fence. Such work requires precision and a good eye. Most often, damage to the knives occurs when trying to mow in areas interspersed with gravel or under the edge of a stone blind area.

Models with a piano suspension of the front pair of wheels are best mowed in such difficult conditions. For complex edge configurations, mowing with such a lawn mower is much easier.

Handle adjustment

Modern lawn mowers make it possible to adjust the position of the handle for any height or features of the constitution and physique of a person. The easiest way to mow and steer the cart is if your hands on the handle are at the level of the center of gravity of the body or 2-3 cm higher.

With a large mass of the lawn mower, the control handle has a lot of force, so when choosing a model, choose a design with an aluminum or steel tubular frame.

This is especially true for front-wheel drive lawn mowers. Owners of front-end mowers like to hang the front axle, thereby reducing traction and adjusting the direction of travel of the machine by turning the body on the rear axle in the desired direction.

Hand model

First of all, what I would like to draw your attention to is the fact that manual electric lawn mowers are suitable only for areas where there are not a lot of stones and potholes, and the land is rich in gorgeous green grass, which actually needs to be brought in order, as they say.

There is no doubt that such a mower on such an area will perform its work smoothly and efficiently. But many owners are wondering: how to choose an electric lawn mower for their summer cottage?

However, let’s now actually talk about the very choice of this kind of device. Since, knowing all the necessary nuances to which you need to pay attention, you can make the right choice of the tool in your direction without any problems.

It is also important that, for example, unlike motocross, such devices can be used exclusively for cutting short grass, since if the growth of grass is too high, then this device will simply not be able to advance in this area.

Naturally, the power that mowers of this direction have can not be left without due attention. In addition, when choosing a tool you should carefully study how high the grass is capable of mowing this or that model, as well as the bevel width.

It should be noted that in most cases the lowest height that this kind of mower is able to “take” is 20 mm, and the highest is no more than 75 mm.

In addition, during the choice, you must be prepared for the fact that her cannot be used when it rains, the manipulation itself will be carried out in a radius that allows you to directly install the cord, which is connected to the outlet itself, and also such devices have a certain time range of operation.

Self-propelled

Many landowners are interested in the questions: what should be a self-propelled gasoline lawn mower, how to choose, the price of the device also does not leave without due attention. Now we will try to provide you with all the necessary information regarding the choice of such a mechanism. So.

Furthermore important in this case is the width of the wheels themselves. However, there are peculiarities of this choice, because if your lawn has a decorative direction, in this case, large wheels will simply accept the grass itself during the operation of the device, so here it is more advisable to choose small and not wide wheels. There are different variations of petrol-powered lawnmowers on wheels, which we will discuss in this article.

The next thing you should pay attention to is the engine, namely its power, since this feature directly affects both the performance of this device and the quality of the direct haircut.

You must remember that the more power the engine has, the more beautiful and accurate the work will be, moreover, the quality also depends on the speed that the engine can “accelerate”.

Below are the main points that you need to pay attention to when choosing and buying this kind of irreplaceable tool. So:

  • Motor power;
  • The collection of herbs should have such a design that would allow its easy cleaning and uncomplicated removal;
  • Wheel size (thickness, diameter);
  • Knife design;
  • Starter type (battery, electric, manual);
  • Adjustment of the very height of the grass cut;
  • Cost.