lawn barber

At the beginning of the past century, the lawn of the football field at the famous Wembley Stadium in London was «cut» by sheep. By plucking the excess grass, they left behind an immaculately flat field. Today you can get a lawn on your site no worse than at Wembley, without resorting to the help of pets.

Machine lawn mower with ARM 32 electric motor (Bosch) has a special engine start lever and a grass catcher full indicator light.A beautiful green lawn is an indispensable attribute of every “ennobled” site. We do not mean dandelions, quinoa, plantain and other weeds, but a specially selected and lovingly grown grass.

A good lawn requires constant care, which, among other things, consists in periodic (1-2 times a week) mowing of grown plants. This work can be entrusted to specialists involved in landscape design. However, many site owners prefer to manage on their own. Firstly, not everyone likes it when strangers walk around their favorite, picturesque piece of land fenced off from the whole world for a whole season, loudly rattling with cars brought with them. Secondly, lawn care with the help of special equipment is rather not a heavy burden, but a pleasant duty of a respectable landowner.

As for machines and tools for cutting grass, there is no shortage of them today. There are about 20 companies on the Russian market offering several models of lawn mowers — different in design, purpose, technical characteristics and, of course, prices. And although all devices do the same thing — they cut off excess grass from the lawn, leaving an even green «hedgehog» of the desired height — they perform this operation in different ways. Depending on the method of processing the site, lawn mowers are divided into mechanical, machine and cord (trimmers).

There are few of them, but they are the most…

Electric hovercraft lawn mower ALM 34 (Bosch) is equipped with a Multi-Swing cutting head, which allows you to mow slopes, uneven areas of the lawn and other hard-to-reach places.Power lawn mowers (some manufacturers call them manual) look like two-wheeled carts with which retirees visit shops and wholesale food markets. At the bottom of the cart, between the wheels, there is a long (over the entire width of the mower) fixed knife. Above it is a drum with spirally curved knives. Strictly speaking, they are absolutely not similar to knives in the conventional sense of the word. Each is a steel strip about 5mm wide with a very blunt cutting edge along its length. The angle between the planes forming the edge is slightly less than 90, therefore, even with a strong desire, it will not be possible to get hurt about it. When the mower is rolled across the lawn, the cutting drum, connected by a pair of gears to the wheels, rotates 4-5 times faster than they do. The curved blades grab the grass, press against the lower fixed blade and cut off gradually, like ordinary scissors.

Handling such a device is indecently simple. It is enough to roll it in front of you, trying not to run into insurmountable obstacles (boulders, bushes, trees, poles, etc.). Bricks, bottles and other medium-sized objects that accidentally get in the way cannot slip into the drum and ruin the knives, as they will reveal their presence by impact or resistance to the movement of the mower. But rods, trimmings of ropes and wires are the worst enemies of the unit.

Petrol lawnmower — self-propelled model SP 48 HWM (MTD).Mechanical lawn mowers are designed for cutting grass on flat areas of well-groomed lawns where there are no plants with hard stems (burdock, chamomile, wormwood, etc.). Not suitable for work on slopes, in ditches, near buildings and fences, near bushes and trees. But on the other hand, these are the easiest to manage, cheap to operate (require neither gasoline, nor oil, nor electricity) and, importantly, safe devices. Pushing the «trolley» in front of you, it is physically impossible to put your arm or leg into the knives. In addition, mechanical mowers are reliable and convenient, as they are able to cut any (dry or wet) grass in any weather (even in the rain, if anyone likes it). In one pass, they mow (depending on the model) a strip with a width of 28 to 46 cm. The cut height can be adjusted (3-4 steps) in the range from 19 to 40 mm.

They make very few such mowers, in specialized stores there are only 2-3 models each (for example, VD 28S, WOLF GARTEN; TR 201000, TALON; Exclusive 5400, HUSQYARNA). The weight of the device is 8-10 kg, the price is from $ 75 to $ 115.

«Workhorses» on wheels

1. When choosing a lawn mower, you should consider the size of the lawn, its topography and location. If finances allow, it is better to have a wheeled mower for flat areas and a grass trimmer near buildings, fences, benches, flower beds, ponds, alpine slides, on steep slopes and in other hard-to-reach places. For processing areas up to 300 m² mowers with a working width of 33 cm are suitable. The larger the area, the wider the grip of the device should be and, accordingly, the more powerful engine.

2. It is strongly recommended that before mowing the lawn, take a walk on it with a bucket and remove all unnecessary. Of course, this will take some time, but, believe me, much less than repairing a lawn mower.

A machine lawn mower is a more serious unit on four wheels. Mounted in a rigid case (it is also called a deck) made of durable ABS plastic (Royal, HUSQVARNA model), aluminum (MR534TK, EFCO) or steel (GE 47, OLEO-MAC). An electric or gasoline engine rotates a metal knife with two sharply sharpened blades parallel to the ground. Such models are called rotary. The grass cutting height is adjustable from 20 to 100 mm (the number of adjustment steps is from 3 to 14), the width of the mowed strip— from33before60 cm. Comfortable handle allows you to effortlessly roll the mower in front of you. Hermetically sealed ball bearings ensure easy rotation of the wheels, which are «shod» in one-piece (monolithic) rubber tires. The diameter of the latter is from 18 to 23 cm, due to which a good cross-country ability of the mowers is achieved. The cut grass is either thrown onto the treated lawn strip or accumulated in a grass catcher with a volume of 16 to 40 liters. It is made in the form of a soft box and is fixed on the handle.

Electric lawn mowers are equipped with engines with a power of 0.8 to 2 kW and operate from a 220-230 V mains supply or from batteries. Those tied to the network can only function where the «leash» allows them. Cordless mowers are able to mow the lawn anywhere and at any time until the batteries run out. For example, the GFC 1234 mower from BLACK DECKER with a 12 V battery with a capacity of 12 Ah allows you to process an area of ​​​​about 300 m², but then the car will have to be connected to the network for 20 hours to recharge. Electric lawn mowers are not recommended for cutting wet grass, because water can damage their engines, and repairs are troublesome and expensive.

The Auto Mower (HUSQVARNA) is an automatic cordless lawn mower equipped with an on-board computer and a touch sensor system. The machine automatically mows the lawn in the area limited by the perimeter of the wire with low current. The on-board computer monitors the need to recharge the batteries, and the mower itself connects to the charger.Petrol mowers are more mobile and are not tied to a power outlet. They are equipped with four-stroke air-cooled internal combustion engines (KAWASAKI, HONDA, BRIGGS STRATTON, TECUMSEN, etc.) from 3.5 to 6l.With. For 20-30 hours of operation, 5 liters of A-93 gasoline are enough for such devices. For most models, the engine start is manual (with a sharp jerk of the starting cord). The most expensive cars (for example, MR 534TBYE from EFCO), like a cool Mercedes, are equipped with a starting battery and require only a slight turn of the ignition key (you will have to pay $ 100 extra for comfort). However, all these «horsepower carts» have to be pushed in front of you by hand.

It is much easier to take care of the lawn with the help of self-propelled mowers (RD 21E from MTD, etc.), in which not only the blade rotates from the engine, but also a pair of driving wheels. As a result, the machine itself moves and mows the lawn. The lazy owner can only direct it along the desired trajectory and make sure that the useful toy does not leave him. With such a mower, you can block the rotation of the front wheels, and, as on autopilot, it will move strictly in a given direction. In some models, speed control is provided — from the modest “pensioner” 2.4 km / h to the “youth” 5 km / h (MR 534TB from EFCO, etc.). All controls are located on the handle of the self-propelled gun. On some models, you can adjust the position of the handle and even fold it when storing and transporting the machine.

Where does the cut grass go? There are options here. The most troublesome, but cheap — when the mower drops it on the lawn. Then the grass has to be raked manually (with a fan rake). You can also collect it with special garden vacuum cleaners (or rather, «grass suckers») with electric or gasoline engines. The prices for these devices vary. For example, the PY PLV1100 «grass-sucker» of the Japanese company PYOBI costs $ 95. Mowers with grass collectors with a capacity of 40-70 liters are very convenient. Some models (for example, the Royal 43S from HUSQVARNA) are able, at the request of the owner, to either throw the cut grass onto the lawn, or send it to the grass collector, or grind it like in a coffee grinder, turning it into natural fertilizer, and only then spread it over the lawn. Mowers with gasoline engines are somewhat louder than electric mowers, and spoil the environment with exhaust gases. To reduce the content of harmful substances in the exhaust, many companies equip their engines with catalysts.

Petrol lawn mowers

* — self-propelled; ** — on an air cushion; — the number of steps for adjusting the cutting height is indicated in brackets.

Electric lawn mowers

* — with battery; ** — on an air cushion; — the number of steps for adjusting the cutting height is indicated in brackets.

On the lawn with kilowatts in hand

Getting a neat lawn with a manual, even a very sharp scythe, is almost impossible. After all, the scythe cuts the plants to the very root. At the same time, it has to be waved at a high speed (2.5-3 m / s), otherwise the blades of grass will only bend down to the ground. Lawns are often mowed, removing only the soft tops of blades of grass and leaving stalks 5.8 or 10 cm high. Therefore, lawn grass can be cut only with lawn mowers.

To care for small lawns (for example, on a modest six acres), light and comfortable cord lawn mowers are used. They are also called trimmers (from the English word to trim — cut, cut). These devices are quite simple. A cutting head is fixed at the end of a metal pipe-rod. Its main part is a plastic reel with a supply of special fishing line (cord) inside. Before work, two pieces of fishing line of the required length are pulled out of the reel and fixed. The reel with protruding «whiskers» is driven by an electric or gasoline engine with a frequency of about 10,000 — 12,000 rpm. In models of low-power trimmers (type CL 340 from BLACK DECKER) uses only one piece of fishing line.

Under the action of centrifugal forces, the «whiskers» are pulled into strings and turn into sharp knives that move at a speed of about 26 m / s (95 km / h). Thus, a fishing line with a diameter of 1.6 mm can handle not only soft lawn grass, but also non-lignified shoots of raspberries, plums, etc. The cut width ranges from 23 to 40 cm. At first glance, this is not much. But an experienced owner mows a strip 0.8-1.2 m wide in one pass. His actions are very reminiscent of the work of a sapper, feeling the ground in front of him with a metal detector. Only, unlike the error of the sapper, the error of the «lawn hairdresser» is absolutely safe. Even if he accidentally tries to «cut» a stump, a boulder, a metal post or something similar, this will at worst lead to a break in part of the fishing line.

Electric trimmer with bottom engine ART 23 GF (Bosch).However, even during normal operation, the line gradually wears out and eventually breaks. You can restore the normal length of the mustache in different ways: automatically (as, say, in models 549 from SKIL or UMT 24D from HONDA), semi-automatically (TR2021, TALON) or manually (GL320, BLACK DECKER). In all cases, the line of excess length is cut off on a knife fixed on the protective casing of the mechanism. The height of the grass when mowing lawns with a trimmer is literally in the hands of a person (at what distance from the ground he holds the device — this is where the cut is formed). So that the sharp «mustache» does not inadvertently whip on the legs, and the cut grass does not fly to the «hairdresser», the reel is closed with a plastic protective casing.

Electric models use motors ranging from 0.22 to 1.1 kW. Low-power motors (up to 0.5kW) are located in the cutting head directly above the reel, which allows the trimmers to be compact and lightweight. For example, the ART 23G model of the company Bosch, providing a cutting width of 23 cm, weighs only 1.4 kg. In some cases (GL 550 from BLACK DECKER) it is possible to turn the cutting head relative to the horizon at an angle of up to 90. This is useful when cutting the side walls of ditches, leveling curbs, etc.

Trimmers with an electric motor located at the lower end of the boom are not allowed to mow wet grass. But powerful motors (from 0.5 to 1 kW) installed in the upper part of the device (FE55 from STIHL, TR60E from OLEO-MAC, etc.) are not afraid of moisture. For ease of use, the bottom of the rod in these models is curved, and the rotation from the engine to the cutting head is transmitted using a flexible steel cable. Although such trimmers weigh between 3.1 and 5.5 kg, their weight is distributed along the entire length, which ensures easy and maneuverable control of devices. Instead of a reel with a fishing line, nozzles with plastic or metal knives can be installed in the cutting head (as, for example, in the 8100 model from EFCO). In this case, you will be able to process not only any grass (burdock, sedge, etc.), but even not very thick (up to 5 mm in diameter) bushes and branches.

Petrol trimmer 227 LD (HUSQVARNA) with an overhead engine. On this model, you can install special nozzles, thanks to which it turns into a beveler or delimber.Gasoline trimmers are arranged in the same way. They are equipped with single-cylinder two-stroke gasoline engines with a volume of 20 to 50 cm³ and power from 0.7 to 2.6l.With. For powerful models, the rod is straight, the rotation to the cutting head is transmitted by a steel roller. Special multi-toothed steel discs can be installed in the heads, which can cope even with relatively thick branches. Such «generalists» weigh from 3 to 8 kg. Walking slowly and slowly “waving” a half-pood device in front of you is not a very fun activity. Therefore, in order to make work more comfortable, devices are usually equipped with a comfortable handle in the form of a bicycle handlebar and are equipped with special ergonomic shoulder straps (models RBC 30b from HOMELITE, 8510 from EFCO, etc.). If engine noise is getting on your nerves, you can try working with special hearing protection headphones. By the way, HUSQVARNA, among other attributes for users of its products, produces hearing-protective headphones with phones for the player and with an FM radio. The harmful effects of exhaust gases are minimized: the trimmers are equipped with special two-stroke engines with low emissions of harmful substances and additional catalysts (for example, model 332L from HUSQVARNA).

Dowry for lawn mower

Manual lawn mowers, as the «most-most», do not require any additional costs. For a mower with an electric motor, you will need to purchase an extension cord that will connect it to the mains and allow you to cut grass in remote areas of your lawn. A domestic-made extension cord for 1.5 kW with a length of 20 m in a skein costs about 300 rubles, and a more convenient one, on a reel, costs about 600 rubles. The same, but imported wires are 1.5-2 times more expensive, although mowers work with them no better than with domestic ones.

For trimmers, you definitely need to buy additional fishing line, because when mowing grass, it is constantly consumed. The price of 15 m of fishing line with a diameter of 1.6 mm is approximately 60 rubles. A spare spool with a wound line will not interfere with the household (for example, for an Imola-250 trimmer it costs about 190 rubles).

Owning a trimmer or mower with a two-stroke gasoline engine, you should have a special engine oil in stock for preparing the working mixture. Depending on the brand and place of purchase, 1 liter of such oil costs from 140 to 200 rubles.

And when you stock up on everything you need, walking around the site with a trimmer or mower, the smell of freshly cut grass — all this will give you real pleasure. Such work refreshes the head and heals the soul, and the sight of a smooth lawn, tidied up with one’s own hand, is pleasing to the eye.

Electric trimmers

* — with the top arrangement of the engine; ** — it is possible to install knives.

Petrol trimmers

* — it is possible to install knives.

The editors would like to thank the representative office of HUSQVARNA in Moscow, TD Instrument and ROBERT BOSCH LLC for their help in preparing the material.

• Source: Ideas for Your Home Magazine#42

Material prepared

Vladimir Zakonnikov