Brush cutter: varieties and choice of tool

A hedge, shrubs and dwarf trees – all this decorates a suburban area, gives it comfort and the necessary shade. But only well-groomed plantings can be called beautiful, and, unlike flowers, shrubs need not only watering and fertilizer, they must be cut regularly. Only in this way will the bush retain its ideal shape, the hedge will not look like a hedgehog with thorns of different lengths, and the entire area will become the subject of admiration and slight envy of the neighbors.

A special tool – a brush cutter – can help the owner create an idyll in his own garden.. How to choose a brush cutter for your site, how these tools differ, and what they are capable of – read below.

What is a brush cutter

Probably, every person is familiar with such a tool as a garden pruner. This device cuts branches, creates a crown of young trees, removes excess or dry shoots, and forms vines.

The secateurs can cope with the cutting of several dozen branches, each cutting movement requires the muscular effort of a person. Therefore, with the help of a pruner, it will not be possible to form a hedge, cut tall or voluminous bushes – all he can do is trim the formed bushes a little.

A brush cutter has been created for larger-scale work. Its distinguishing feature is longer and more massive blades.. In addition, brush cutters are not only manual, often the tools are driven by a drive.

How to choose a tool for the site

To date, the following types of brush cutters are on sale:

• gasoline hedge trimmer
• electric
• battery hedge trimmer
• mechanical or manual instruments.

The choice of tool should be based on the characteristics of the suburban area and the green plants planting it. Before buying a brush cutter, you need to do a little analysis and answer the following questions:

1. What is the area of ​​​​the site and the distance of the bushes from the house.
2. What type of shrubs are planted on the site, what is the average diameter of their branches.
3. How long does it take to improve the hedge and bushes.
4. How often the owner will work as a brush cutter.
5. Who exactly will hold the instrument in their hands: a strong man, a fragile woman or a teenager, an elderly person.
6. What is the maximum height of bushes and hedges.

After analyzing these factors, you can choose the most suitable tool. Brief descriptions of each type of brush cutter will help in this.

Manual brush cutter

You can buy manual brush cutters only when there are very few green spaces that need regular pruning. For example, one lilac bush grows near the house and some other shrub in the garden.

It is clear that for such a front of work it is not worth spending money on automated tools, a mechanical brush cutter is quite enough here. It looks like a large secateurs, the length of the blades often reaches 25 cm, the handle is the same size.

When choosing a manual brush cutter, you need to rely on your own feelings – you need to pick up the tool and try it “in action”. If the handles fit comfortably in the palm of your hand, the brush cutter is moderately heavy, it is easy to open and close – this is what you need.

Electric brush cutter

A tool with an electric motor can develop power from 0,5 to 1 kW. The speed will be from 1300 to 4000 per minute. These characteristics indicate that the performance of the tool is quite high.

The cutting part of the tool resembles a chainsaw, only without the chain. Two knives are parallel to each other, the cutting effect is achieved by reciprocating the knives in opposite directions.

During operation, the branch falls into the gap between the teeth and is cut off by one of the knives. There are two types of knives:

• both moving blades;
• one stationary and one moving blade.

More functional and productive tools with two moving cutting edges. They quickly and accurately cut off excess branches, allowing you to perform large amounts of work.

Also, there are double-edged knives and blades with one sharpened edge. Of course, double-edged blades work faster, but experience is needed to master the skills of such work. After all, one inaccurate movement will lead to the appearance of a hole in the bush.

It is much easier to make a straight vertical or horizontal cut with a one-sided knife. But such a tool is not suitable for curly cutting; you cannot make wavy edges and complex elements with it.

The main advantages of electric hedge trimmers are:

1. Light weight – the mass of the tool ranges from 1,8 to 4 kilograms. This allows people with any build and physical strength to work with the device.
2. High performance – Compared to a manual hedge trimmer, an electric tool is much faster and more convenient to work with. A person can only make translational movements, the rest of the work is done by the blades of the device.
3. Slight vibration compared to petrol hedge trimmers.
4. Environmental friendliness – the tool does not emit exhaust gases.
5. Possibility of installing a telescopic rod and trimming high hedges.
6. An electric hedge trimmer with a small blade spacing can be used as a lawn trimmer.

Most often, electrical appliances can cut branches up to 20 mm in diameter.

The main disadvantage of an electric brush cutter is the wire. Without carrying, you can cut the bushes within a radius of 30 meters from the outlet. The live cable itself is especially dangerous: you can get tangled in it or cut the wire with a careless movement.

Feedback from owners of electric models suggests that devices often lack power.

Cordless hedge trimmer

The prototype of an electric tool, the improvement of which is to complete the battery. This solves the cable problem, but causes a few other inconveniences:

• regular charge – the cordless hedge trimmer is not suitable for seasonal use. If the battery is not charged for a long time, it will significantly lose capacity.
• Limited operating time – the device can cut bushes continuously for 20-40 minutes, after which it must be recharged.
• More weight – the battery adds an extra 1-1,5 kg to the hedge trimmer.

Gasoline hedge trimmer

This device is mainly used by professionals. The fact is that an internal combustion engine is much more productive than an electric motor – its power can reach 6 kW.

To operate a gasoline appliance, certain skills are required, and this applies not only to the haircut itself, the engine consumes a mixture of oil and gasoline, they must be able to mix and fill.

The advantages of a gasoline hedge trimmer are obvious – this is productivity and mobility, due to the absence of a wire. But it also has disadvantages:

• large mass – over 5 kg;
• the need for regular refueling;
• motor need for maintenance;
• traffic fumes;
• high price.

Reviews of happy owners of such devices speak of their high reliability. With this tool, you can cut branches with a diameter of up to 5 mm, as well as clear the area of ​​dead wood.

Results and conclusions

Just gasoline brush cutters can be attributed to professional devices, so their purchase is justified only when there are extensive amounts of work. For private houses and summer cottages, an electric model is quite enough.

With this device, you can quickly and easily decorate the bushes, giving them a well-groomed appearance and the desired shape.

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