What The Trimmer Consists Of

Petrol trimmer. Repair and maintenance
The gasoline trimmer has already become one of the main tools in the arsenal of avid summer residents. This device is increasingly becoming indispensable for owners of suburban housing.

Replacing spark plugs

One of the most common causes of a gasoline trimmer breakdown is damage or clogging of the ignition element. If the candle has received serious damage in the form of cracks in the body, the spare part simply changes. The work is done as follows:

  • The candle is dismantled with a special key and inspected.
  • If there are deposits on the surface of the body, the latter are cleaned with brake fluid or white spirit.
  • If the candle is critically damaged, a new one is inserted in its place, and then tightened firmly with a wrench.

Petrol trimmer. Device and repair

What The Trimmer Consists Of

Basically, a gasoline trimmer consists of a long tubular rod connected to a gearbox in an internal combustion engine. The inner part of the tube contains a shaft, through which torque is transmitted to the cutting device.

The trimmers come with a cutting line that attaches to the rotating mechanism. During the mowing of the lawn, the latter gradually wears out. Therefore, you have to periodically service the petrol trimmer. Repair in this case consists in removing the old fishing line and replacing it.

Engine failure

  1. Overheat. It manifests itself in engine failure after about 10-15 minutes of continuous trimmer operation. In this case, a rise in temperature can lead to clogging of the cooling fins or the starter grille with lumps of grass and dirt.
  2. Fuel. Sometimes it is not enough to fill the petrol trimmer on time for proper operation. Repairs are often required as a result of the use of insufficient quality fuel. As practice shows, it is extremely undesirable to fill trimmers with fuel with a lower octane number than AI-92.
  3. Clogged air filter. Cleaning of the specified item is a standard activity during routine maintenance of the unit. How to clean a petrol trimmer? Repair in this case consists in thoroughly washing the filter with detergents and reinstalling it.

Fuel supply system

The problem may lie in a clogged fuel hose. Its disconnection should lead to unauthorized leakage of fuel. Otherwise, you will have to clean or replace the fuel filter.

Features of operation

Particular attention should be paid to regularly cleaning the air filter from dirt and sawdust, tightening screws and nuts before using the unit.

As for the rotating head, it is recommended to use only special fishing line here, since the use of metal cables or wire as an alternative will lead to rapid wear of the mechanism. Over, the line must have the diameter recommended by the manufacturer of the existing model of gasoline trimmer.

The mowing head also needs periodic maintenance. A worn or deformed element can damage the petrol trimmer. Repair here will require replacing the shaft or gearbox of the unit, which will lead to serious expenses.

Petrol trimmer. Repair and maintenance

The trimmer is ideal for maintaining your backyard. Compared to traditional hand tools, the automatic mower is a pleasure to operate. However, any technique tends to fail. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to repair gasoline trimmers. Let’s look at what kind of breakdowns you can cope with on your own without resorting to outside help.

How a grass trimmer works

In order to improve parks, squares, lawns near a house or a summer cottage, it is customary to use different types of equipment that effectively cut grass and small bushes. The traditional lawn mowers, the device of which did not allow mowing grass close to trees, in hard-to-reach places, on difficult terrain, etc., were replaced by more advanced and multifunctional units. Trimmers. There may be differences in the trimmer design: the location of the engine (top or bottom), as well as the type of drive: gasoline and electric.

Device device

An electric mower differs from a brushcutter in the type of drive used in it, namely, an electric motor installed on it. Below is a diagram showing all the main components of the unit.

Electric trimmers can be produced with different engine positions.

  1. The motor is located at the top of the unit. This arrangement of the drive is used in devices, the power of which can reach 1.4 kW. Thanks to this, tall grass, including wet, as well as small shrubs with thin stems, are easy to cut. Usually, an electric scythe comes with a fishing line and a metal knife.
  2. Motor at the bottom of the unit. With this arrangement of the motor, the mechanical part of the apparatus is significantly relieved, since the use of a gearbox and a shaft that transmits rotation from the motor is not required. The cutting unit is mounted directly on the spindle of the electric motor, which increases the reliability of this design.

But still, such a structure of the unit with the absence of a gearbox affects the speed of the cutting tool. Due to insufficiently high speed, such a machine can only mow young and not very dense grass.

There are also cordless trimmer models. But these devices are not able to work for a long time, and besides, they are low-power (used only for grass, not very thick and young). Since the battery needs periodic recharging, a spare battery is required to use the unit more efficiently.

Because of their quietness and mobility, cordless trimmers are often used in places where noisy machines cannot be used, such as hospitals, holiday homes and hotels. They are also very convenient to use for cutting grass in hard-to-reach places and when working on terrain with various obstacles. Elements of landscape design, where an electric cable would interfere with movement.

Petrol trimmer

This type of trimmer has an indisputable advantage over the electric one, since it is not “tied” to an electrical outlet and can be used in places far from the electrical mains.

Rigging

Gasoline trimmer cutting elements are usually supplied with the unit or purchased separately, depending on the type and complexity of the work that will be performed with its help. In most models, a special spool (bobbin) is included as standard, into which a cord (line) is wound, serving as a cutting tool.

The bobbin design allows adjusting the cord length almost in a semi-automatic mode: just hit the stopper lightly on the ground, and the blockage from the inner spool is removed. Further, due to centrifugal force, during the rotation of the bobbin, the cord comes out, and since there is a special knife on the protective cover, the excess edges of the line are cut off.

To mow thicker plant stems (reeds, sedges, shrubs), you will need to use metal knives and cutters. They usually differ in the shape and number of cutting surfaces (petals). There are cutters that resemble a circular saw in appearance, which are successfully used on powerful units. A disc trimmer is usually used when cutting young growth of trees.

Also, to expand the functionality of the brushcutter, you can purchase (if not included in the complete set) special attachments shown in the following figure.

You should know that such attachments can only be installed on a trimmer with a collapsible bar. In this case, the device can turn into:

  • Brush cutter,
  • A chain saw (you can cut branches in trees),
  • Brush (you can clean the tracks from snow and dirt),
  • Cultivator for tillage (surface).

Unit device

There are a huge number of models of gasoline trimmers on the market. But, despite this diversity, they are made according to the same principle. At the very top of the trim tab there is a gasoline engine (1), a fuel tank (2) and a starter (3) for manually starting the drive. The motor is connected to the working tool by means of a rod (4), inside of which there can be either a flexible shaft or a rigid one. The bar often consists of several parts (sections) and can be either collapsible or one-piece.

The handle (5) can have different shapes. It contains controls (6). The control module (6) is connected to the drive by means of a cable (7). A gearbox (8) is installed at the bottom of the device, the task of which is to transfer the rotation of the shaft to a spindle with a cutting tool (9) consisting of a reel with a fishing line (cord) or a special knife. For the safety of the user, a guard (10) is installed above the cutting tool.

This switch makes it easier to start the unit. It can be used to quickly warm up the engine when the ambient temperature is low.

In turn, the handle with control elements has the following device. In the most visible place of the handle there is a button (1), which interrupts the ignition circuit. It is used to stop the engine if the need arises. The throttle trigger (2) is used to control the carburetor throttle, which is responsible for the amount of fuel supplied to the engine. The button (3) located below the Stop button protects against accidental pressing on the gas. Until the safety button is pressed, the gas trigger will be locked. In order not to constantly hold the throttle trigger with your finger, if a long trimmer operation is required, a stopper button is used, which fixes the control key in the pressed state.

Belts

The method of securing the mower to your body during operation should be taken seriously. This is due to the fact that the weight of the unit with a gasoline engine cannot be called small. And if a large amount of work is performed with this apparatus, then its weight causes fatigue in the back and muscles of the shoulder girdle of the user. Belts are of the knapsack type and shoulder straps. Most home trimmers use padded, wide shoulder straps.

First start

Before the first start, the operator assembles the mower, the procedure is described in the instructions that come with the product.

If the trimmer is gasoline, it must be checked before use. The fuel tank is filled up to the neck.

The motor must run in to fuel, so the first time it is started, it must run for a few minutes without load. Then start mowing the grass.

How the trimmer works and how to use it correctly: refueling and first start

Brushcutters are devices that make it easy to maintain lawns. The question of how to use the trimmer is asked by those buyers who are just going to purchase a garden tool. The industry produces devices of different types, so when choosing, you need to pay attention to their characteristics.

We mow under hay

It is better to mow hay not with a fishing line, but with a metal disc. The grass is cut at the root, keeping its length as much as possible.

Wet Weather Operation

Electric mowers must not be used in the rain, there may be a short circuit. When the precipitation stops, you must wait until the grass dries up.

Not all gasoline mowers are protected against moisture, so some manufacturers prohibit the operation of mowers in the rain.

How to use the trimmer correctly

Garden trimmers are effective. Newbies think it’s easy to operate a lawnmower by plugging it in or pouring fuel, but that’s not entirely true.

The efficiency of the garden tool and its service life directly depend on the operating conditions. Therefore, before using the trimmer, you need to do some preparatory work.

The lawn from which you need to mow the grass is carefully examined. Glass and large stones must be removed. If they fly out from under a running mower, they can injure a person. Wire is removed from the lawn, because it can wrap around the rotating element and break the mower.

After that, proceed to the installation of the cutting system. There are low power trimmers on the market that only use line. It is designed for cutting juicy and soft grass. But there are models with a capacity of more than 1 kilowatt, on which metal knives are installed. They cut off sow thistle and other hard weeds, trim young shrubs.

In order to replace the cord with knives, you need to unscrew the fastening nut, install the cutting element. Then the nut must be returned to its place, tightened with a wrench.

The operator must take care of his own safety. Mow the grass in heavy protective clothing. Special goggles are used to protect the eyes; they will protect against dust, grass and flying debris. Hands are covered with gloves.

The electric trimmer is plugged into the network, and battery models are charged for several hours before use. The petrol mower is filled with fuel.

Hold the mower with the spool or knife parallel to the ground. When the tool is in the correct position, turn on the motor. Turn off the mower after the grass has been cut.

Principle of operation

If we consider the principle of the trimmer, then it is similar to a hand braid. The difference is that it is equipped with a motor, with its help the cutting element is rotated.

Manufacturing companies produce the following mower models:

  1. On which a gasoline engine is installed. These garden tools have a fuel tank, which is their distinguishing feature.
  2. Devices with an electric motor. These tools are lighter because they do not have a fuel tank. But when choosing such models, you need to take into account that a power source is needed for their operation.

All electric streamers can be divided into those that run on batteries and models that are connected to the mains. Each type has its own characteristics, but they affect the power supply unit. If you do not take it into account, then the rest of the design is similar in different devices.

If you take any trimmer model, then it consists of elements such as:

  • Motor;
  • Fuel tank (electric brushcutters do not have one);
  • Levers with which the mower is controlled;
  • A knife for cutting grass;
  • Barbell;
  • Spool with wound fishing line, which is used for cutting grass;
  • Protective cover;
  • Bevel gearbox.

The motor is placed near the mowing head and can be mounted from below or from above. The gearbox is only available for models with a straight bar. If it is bent, then the main bearing becomes the connecting element. It consists of 2 bushings.

The choice of the cutting element depends on how hard the grass will have to be mowed. Most often, a fishing line is used, it is called a cord. There are products of various shapes on sale; among buyers, spiral and round ones are in demand.

The line is wound on a spool, it is inserted into the bobbin, while the 2 ends of the wire remain free. When the mower motor starts running, the bobbin rotates and the free line ends cut the grass.

How to choose a trimmer?

When buying electric or brushcutters, it should be borne in mind that its performance depends not only on engine power, but also on the radius of the bevel, as well as the material and thickness of the cutting element. The power of electric trimmers rarely exceeds 1100 W. It is enough to install metal knives on the tool. However, they can only cut thick enough grass, no more. He cannot cope with shrubs and young trees. The bevel radius of electric trimmers is between 10-20 cm. If a fishing line is used as a cutting element, it should be the thicker, the harder the vegetation in the serviced area.. For knives and discs, it is advisable to use stainless steel. However, it is quite possible to use conventional alloys or even plastics.

Electric trimmers are supplied with a battery or power cord. The former are convenient when working at a distance from home, but require frequent recharging. Models of the second type have higher performance, but they make you mess with the wires. Motokos are preferred by owners of large land plots with varied relief and vegetation. Such trimmers are equipped with 2 or 4-stroke engines equipped with a power take-off shaft, from which, using a transmission shaft or a metal cable, the torque is transmitted to the cutting part.

The cutting radius of the petrol cutter can be up to 30 cm. Most of the models available on the market allow the installation of both a line and plastic or metal knives or discs as a cutting element.

Moto and electric scythe: design features

The trimmer consists of two elements. An engine and a mounting bar. The cutting end of the tool is driven by a transmission shaft connected to the motor shaft. It consists of a rotating head with a fishing line attached to it, less often a special disc or several knives. The engine can be placed both from below, in the immediate vicinity of the cutting part, and from above. Models of the second type are equipped with a more powerful but heavier engine. Bottom-motor trimmers are used for trimming even lawns with fine and soft grass.

The brushcutter bar can be either detachable or one-piece and is supplied with handles, belts and an emphasis. The choice of this or that model depends on the individual preferences of the user. As for the dimensions, weight and configuration of the tool, it should be suitable for both height and weight and be “hand-sized”, that is, as convenient as possible in work.

Types of trimmers

The world owes the invention of the brushcutter to the Houston businessman George Bollas. One day, while driving his car through a car wash, he noticed how the nylon bristled washing rollers worked. They didn’t leave any scratches, and Bollas decided to apply the same principle when mowing the lawn in front of his house. For a long time he was haunted by the thought of how to mow the grass in hard-to-reach places without damaging either the scythe itself or the tree bark. When he returned home, he took a tin can, made several holes in it, passed a couple of lengths of thick fishing line through them, and connected it all to the motor of his lawnmower. A few minutes later, he gazed in surprise at the neatly trimmed lawn with untouched bushes and trees. Soon, in 1972, his invention, nicknamed the Weed Eater, was mass-produced.

There are two types of trimmers on the market today. Gasoline and electric. Both are used to maintain areas inaccessible to conventional lawn mowers. Usually these are the edges of lawns, areas next to curbs and fences, around bushes, trees, etc. There are plenty of such places on any land plot.

The brushcutter is a portable device. Its weight rarely exceeds 5-7 kg, which is a significant advantage over rather heavy motor lawn mowers with their own wheelbase.

Trimmers: design features and tool care

The trimmer is nothing more than a manual motorcycle or electric trimmer. Today, almost every household has such a tool. Relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain, trimmers are reliable and very useful helpers when maintaining lawns, flower beds and backyard plots. But, like any petrol and power tool, they are subjected to intense loads, therefore, require timely and competent maintenance and repair.

Caring for motorcycle and electric braids

When using the trimmer, due to the design features of a particular model, as well as the intensity of work and the manner of handling the tool, various malfunctions and malfunctions may occur. In this case, do not immediately get upset and send it to the service center. Most of the troubles that may arise in the process of caring for the site, you can eliminate yourself. The only thing is that if the engine breaks down, it desperately needs a qualified repair, which is often impossible to carry out with high quality with improvised means.

The most frequent breakdowns of trimmers and how to fix them:

  1. The stop wire has come off the mowing head.

This element can be installed in place by tightly tying it with flexible copper or aluminum wire to the support rod. However, if a nylon wire is installed as a cutting element, you can work without it, however, observing increased caution.

  1. Fired on / off toggle switch.
  1. The bar is broken or bent.

In this situation, you can try to gently unbend the bar or fix its parts on wooden slats, metal staples, etc.

4. The line in the drum of the mowing head is torn.

The original cutting line can be replaced with a nylon or nylon line of the same thickness. To wind the line, you will have to disassemble the cutting head drum, and then carefully reassemble it.

  1. Strong vibrations occur during operation.

It is likely that the lack of lubrication was the cause. Disassembling the trimmer and checking the lubrication system is as easy as shelling pears, and the tool should be lubricated at least once a year.

  1. Plastic knives or cutting disc are deformed.

Do not forget that with a careful and accurate attitude, the tool can last much longer than the period released by the manufacturer. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of the trimmer. After work, clean it from grass residues and plant sap, and also perform engine maintenance, incl. Seasonal.

The device of petrol cutters and the purpose of its nodes

Schematically, the petrol cutter device can be represented as a bar, on both sides of which there are functional elements. In the lower part there is a gear unit, and in the upper part there is a power unit. To control the tool, a handle is attached to the rod, the position of which can be adjusted. Also, to unload the operator, there is a special belt in the kit (it can be of various types), which distributes the weight of the tool. Let’s take a closer look at each element and the functions it performs.

Petrol cutter device: bar

The rod is a hollow elongated cylinder, inside which there is a shaft or a cable that transfers rotary motion (torque) from the engine to the gearbox. At the ends of the shaft there are special splines, by means of which it is attached through bearings, respectively, in the engine and in the gearbox. In the device of most petrol cutters, the bar has a straight, non-separable shape. This design allows you to perform almost all types of mowing work. The collapsible bar offers greater ease of transportation and the ability to use additional attachments. However, the reliability of the one-piece design is much higher. The curved shape of the boom makes it somewhat easier to mow under trees, along fences and walls, but its ease of use on level ground raises questions from most users.

Gas cutter device: cutting elements

Various cutters and a cord nozzle, which are fastened by means of different nuts, act as a working body in the device. If the nozzle can be tightened by hand, then the cutters must be installed and secured with a key, otherwise a situation may arise in which the connection will lose its strength. When installing the cutter, you should pay attention to the presence of a special washer that will protect the cutter from impact on the ground surface.

Gas cutter device: engine

The power unit is in most cases (for domestic use) a two-stroke internal combustion engine running on a fuel mixture of oil and gasoline. The motor power offered by the household brushcutter market today ranges from 0.5-0.8 hp (horsepower) to 2-2.5. An important characteristic of the engine in a petrol cutter device is its cylinder volume. It is on this value that the productivity of the mowing work will depend. The larger the engine size, the higher the cutting speed and, accordingly, the faster you can mow a given area. Usually, a power unit is enough for standard mowing work, the cylinder volume of which is approximately 30-40 cubic cm.

The starting system in the petrol cutter device can consist of a large number of elements (their number and functionality depends on the proprietary developments of each company that produces the tool), but among them the main ones are the power button (1), the starting cable (2), the carburetor flap (3) and fuel pump (4) (primer). There are 2 types of starting petrol cutters. With a cold engine and with a warm one. In the first case, it is necessary to move the button to the “Start” position, the shutter to the “Closed” position, pump fuel 3-5 times with primer, after which you can pull the starter cord, making sharp and quick movements with your hand until the engine starts. Then you need to move the damper to the “Open” position and you can start work. Starting a hot engine requires no primer or choke manipulation.

Gas cutter device: reducer

The gearbox consists of two bevel gears and acts as an adapter, in which the rotation of the motor shaft is transferred to the working body. A trimmer attachment or cutters. For correct and long-term operation of the tool, the gears of the reducer require lubrication, which is carried out through the hole provided for this, located under the screw. The gearbox must be lubricated at least once a year. Carrying out this procedure significantly reduces the wear of the gear unit parts.

The device of petrol cutters and the rules for working with it

Today, almost every gardener-gardener has gasoline tools in the arsenal of his gardening equipment, among which the gasoline trimmer takes one of the first places. But does everyone know the device of petrol cutters in the volume necessary for its maximum useful operation? After all, it is no secret that only complete information about the instrument will allow you to use all the potential inherent in it. Let’s take a look at what a gasoline trimmer consists of and how each of its structural units works.