Gasoline lawn mowers: varieties, rating and selection

Lawns, lawns and just adjacent areas should look beautiful. However, in reality, everything happens a little differently. Lawn mowers with a gasoline engine are capable of rectifying the situation. What they are, how to choose and use such a technique, we will tell you in this article.

It is easy to understand by the very word that a gasoline lawn mower is designed for mowing grass. This device differs from a trimmer and a scythe-litter in that it does not just knock down and cut grass stalks. He is able to work very smoothly and clearly, without violating the principles of landscape design. For tall grass, a lawn mower will do better than the finest hand scythe and the most sophisticated trimmer.

The body is made of aluminum, steel or special sturdy plastic. Most of the device moves on wheels. When the engine is started, it drives the shaft. From this shaft, a mechanical impulse is transmitted to the working parts (oversized scissors), which move at high speed. The stems are laid exactly where they were cut.

The objective advantage of mowers with internal combustion engines is that they are, on average, more powerful than electric and especially battery models. Moreover, the autonomy of the devices is guaranteed. They can work even where power supply has never been and will not be for a long time. The positive aspects, of course, must be considered both the increased productivity and the ability to remove the grass for hours. Finally, a gasoline machine is, in principle, able to operate even in the rain or on wet ground (although this is not recommended by any manufacturer).

It is useful, however, to know the disadvantages of gasoline mowers compared to electric technology. A more powerful motor creates naturally and much more noise. There is no escape from this - nevertheless, pure mechanics does not work otherwise. You will need to use personal protective equipment.

The internal combustion engine can hardly be called an environmentally friendly engine. Even the best technology will inevitably emit toxic exhaust fumes. You will have to prepare the fuel-oil mixture yourself. The use of fuel increases the fire hazard, especially when storing large quantities of fuel. Finally, internal combustion engines are heavier than their electrical counterparts, even with identical practical characteristics.

According to the results of studies carried out at the beginning of the 21st century, it became clear that a gasoline mower is difficult to consider an environmentally friendly device. Some experts have concluded that this device emits as much exhaust gases and other toxic substances (excluding carbon dioxide) per hour as a car in the 1980s that drove 1 km. According to other sources, the amount of emissions is 4 times higher. A similar situation is due to the fact that the motors of gasoline mowers are not equipped with cleaning systems, as is the practice in the automotive industry.

There are quite a number of types of mowers that differ from each other in a number of characteristics. Rotary, they are also disk, devices are designed to mow:

• artificially sown;
• grown naturally;
• lodged grass.

In all three cases, the mowed grass mass is laid in the swath. Disc mowers are suitable only for flat areas without stones or other protrusions higher than 0.03 m. The system is quite simple: there are a number of cymbal-like discs spinning in opposite directions. As soon as these improvised knives hit an obstacle that cannot be cut, the blades retract inside. But this rarely happens, because the cutting ability of the knives is very high.

Segment tine mowers are designed to operate on completely flat terrain. But it is worth using them mainly in a very large area. After all, these devices are not self-propelled and are designed to be attached to a tractor. But self-propelled (as they said before - self-propelled) equipment stands out:

• increased productivity;
• extended functionality;
• maximum effort savings on the part of the operator.

Gasoline mowers are also distinguished by engine design. All modern models are supplied with an electric starter. It is a small electric motor powered by a battery. It greatly simplifies starting the main engine. But models with auto-start are more expensive than manually launched ones, weigh more than them, and take up more space.

That's why this technical solution is mainly used in professional devices... There it is very important to start immediately as needed. Therefore, the additional load on your muscles and on your budget can, in principle, be neglected. Manual start is often provided. It allows you to start working even if the electric starter is broken or the charge of the built-in battery runs out.

On how powerful a particular lawn mower will be, depends:

• the quality of the work performed;
• productivity per unit of time;
• duration of continuous action.

A very weak engine is not suitable for tall grass and uneven terrain. And it does not cope very well with wet vegetation - it starts to lose momentum. The plants will not be neatly cut, but torn apart. Lawn vegetation will begin to ache and wither, which is hardly in the plans of lawn mower owners.

Another problem in such a situation is often the jamming of the knife. Power is also directly related to the duration of autonomous operation: if the engine does not have enough power, if it constantly operates at the limit, then overheating will often occur. Therefore, professional lawn mowers try to choose models even with some reserve. The next important aspect that is influenced by power is service life. Household versions up to 3.5 liters. with. inclusively, already for 3-4 years of work, they wear out significantly:

• lose the ability to produce high revs;
• spend more fuel on the same job as before;
• begin to emit more smoke (and smoke is not only a toxic gas, but also a sign of a drop in efficiency).

It is possible to cope with such problems, but serious and very expensive repairs will be required. The likelihood of these difficulties occurring with mowers from 4 to 7 hp is much less likely. with. inclusive. For greater convenience, it is customary to divide them into a number of classes, denoted by letters.The lawn up to 150 m2 is designed to be cleaned by "S" lawn mowers. The "M" mark indicates suitability for lawns over 150 but less than 400 square meters. m.

Gasoline lawn mowers for summer cottages can be with 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines... The first ones are more profitable in price and simpler in design, and simply lighter. However, the initial savings will quickly be lost due to the higher fuel consumption. And very few people will like the exhaust gases of increased toxicity. 4-stroke power plants are more expensive, however, they allow to save fuel and lubricants and break less with other parameters being the same.

It is not so important whether the mower is selected for large areas or for small lawns, whether it is made with or without electric start. The direct work is directly influenced by the mowing strip width. The larger it is, the faster the site will be put in order. Not only is the loss of time reduced, but also the consumption of fuel. Conventional home lawn mowers are designed to cut grass strips 0.33-0.43 m wide.

Professional mowing equipment cannot be cheap, but it allows you to remove from 0.43 to 0.55 m of grass in one pass. As for the cutting height, it can be adjusted according to the needs of the mowing. In one of the adjustment options, the wheels are simply rearranged using the holes drilled at different levels. Another option is to adjust by pressing the lever.

This circumstance also cannot be ignored when choosing a lawn mower. Throwing of cut grass can occur backward or sideways. A rear drop is suitable if the blades of grass are low and relatively thin. Thicker and taller stems are safer to throw aside. This solution allows you to reduce the cost of the design. However, mowers without a grass catcher have one significant drawback: you then need to harvest the cut grass manually.

If the cuttings are collected in a container, the mower will naturally be more expensive and heavier than the simplest versions. However, time savings are of great benefit. To dispose of the harvested "crop", you just need to spend 2-3 minutes to empty the container and return it to its place. The containers themselves can be made of dense plastic.

But even the best plastics are heavy, and their containers take up a lot of space. Cloth containers are more difficult to shake out and tidy up. But they are less massive and can be easily folded as needed. You also need to think about the size of each specific container. It is undesirable to overpay for a very large capacity, however, buying a product with a very small reservoir is also impractical - interrupting a haircut several times per session is very inconvenient.

Lawn mowers can not only collect grass, but also mulch it. The bottom line is that the cut plants are additionally crushed with a special knife. The mechanism then spreads the mulch on the ground. It will delay the evaporation of water and block the development of weeds. In addition, mulch becomes an excellent fertilizer, obtained as if along the way, without additional effort.

The increase in the diameter and width of the propellers affects the quality of the gasoline lawn mower only positively.This improves the flotation of the device on uneven ground or in areas where the grass has grown to a great height. In addition, the wider the wheel, the less risk of damaging the plants. The vast majority of models are equipped with four wheels. Only spindle lawn mowers are two-wheeled.

Hovercraft have no wheels at all - they don't need them. If, nevertheless, the wheel part is used, it can be represented by two types of structures - based on bearings and based on a hub. Bearing products last longer and are more comfortable to use. As for the material of the wheels, everything is simple here:

• plastic is lightweight and cheap, but not strong enough;
• steel is slightly more expensive and noticeably stronger, but also clearly heavier;
• aluminum is the leader in terms of weight / hardness ratio, but its price is very high.

If a gearbox is installed, then it will be possible to change the speed of rotation of the knife. Modern advanced models can be equipped with five-speed gearboxes. If a differential lock is also used, movement at an arbitrary speed on any surface is provided. The differential allows you to guarantee convenience not only when starting or switching, but also during direct operation. There is practically no point in choosing lawn mowers without a checkpoint - they are extremely uncomfortable.

Increasing the capacity of the gas tank can be helpful if you need to work on a large area. But at the same time, the mower becomes heavier and loses maneuverability. Typically, the tank has a capacity of 0.8 to 1.6 liters. A gas tank with a volume of 0.5-0.8 liters is sufficient only for very small lawns and for the local area. But devices over 1.6 liters in volume in the household segment are simply not needed, they are only occasionally used by professionals.

An important parameter when choosing a gasoline lawn mower is the speed of rotation of the knives and their total number. The vast majority of mowers are equipped with 5-6 knives. But to make the lawn really beautiful, you need a device with 8-12 cutters. Theoretically, any mower can simply cut the grass with high quality - if only the knives did 2000 revolutions per minute. However, under load, the driving speed can be noticeably reduced.

Therefore, it is really necessary to provide at least 2500-3000 rpm. Then even relatively large stems and tough twigs of shrubs will be cut without problems. The younger the lawn, the more urgent is the high speed of the blades. Due to slow cutting, unpleasant bald spots and omissions may appear, because the root system of young grass is still weak. Of course, you should also take into account the presence of a service center.

The next point when choosing is the difference between rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive models. Rear-wheel drive devices are most practical on descents and ascents, but on open flat areas, the maneuverability of front-wheel-drive mowers will be more valuable.

Some users need to form stripes similar to those on soccer fields. In such cases, lawn mowers with rollers come to the rescue, which provide a slope in the required direction. With regard to uneven areas, it is best to choose not biaxial, but uniaxial devices. However, they should only be used on really difficult terrain, since it is very difficult to maintain the product in the correct position. But design moments when choosing a lawn mower do not matter.

The top mowers include Hammer KMT145SB model... It is a semi-professional device, perfect for continuous use.A four-stroke engine is installed inside, the working chamber of which has a volume of 145 cm3, and the power reaches 3.5 liters. with. Overhead valve placement ensures excellent air cooling and low fuel consumption. A feature of the model is the air filter, which has 2 layers - plain paper and foam rubber.

The presence of a muffler, which reduces noise during operation, also helps to win one of the first places in popularity of this lawn mower. The device has 3 modes:

• dumping grass to the side;
• simple insertion into the collection box;
• mulching.

Japanese mower stands out in quality Katana KL-51B PRO... A non-self-propelled unit with air cooling removes grass in strips of 0.51 m. The mowing height varies from 0.025 to 0.075 m. Mulching and side discharge options are implemented. A crop collection box is not provided. The steel body is highly reliable. The total weight of the structure (without fuels and lubricants) is 27 kg.

Another model from the Land of the Rising Sun - Honda HRG 416C PKEH... It is equipped with a 50 l grass catcher. The four-stroke motor ensures mowing of grass 0.41 m wide. There are 6 different cutting height positions.

An example of a suitable German-made gasoline lawn mower is MTD Smart 51 VO... This design is designed for lateral discharge of cut grass. The manufacturer claims that the knives of this model cut the grass efficiently. The case is strong enough to avoid deformations. The durability of the motor is ensured by the manufacture of the cylinder liner from selected cast iron. Adjustment is made using a lever. Both axes must be adjusted separately. The total weight of the mower is 20 kg.

Alternatively, you can use MTD ThorX 35 OHV... Motor with a capacity of 3 liters. with. provides mowing of plants in strips up to 0.51 m. The height of the mowing line varies from 0.035 to 0.1 m. This height is manually adjustable; an electric starter is not provided.

Another high-quality German device - AL-KO Highline 42.5 P-A 119615... This mower is equipped with a capacious container, its filling level is indicated by a special indicator. The mowing height is controlled on each wheel in the range from 0.025 to 0.075 m. The designers have provided for the folding of the handle to make it easier to store and move the device. The wheels are designed in such a way that no extraneous traces remain on the lawn.

If you need the smallest lawn mowers, then you should pay attention to Champion LM4215... The manufacturer claims that this device is simple and easy to implement. The bearings built into the wheels provide the necessary smoothness of the ride. The enlargement of the rear wheels guarantees optimum maneuverability compared to other models. The setting of the required mowing height is carried out using the central control lever.

Quality Chinese model Champion LM4215 develops an effort of 2.5 liters. with., and the total weight of the product is 22 kg. The mowing height ranges from 0.025 to 0.07 m. The internal volume of the grass-catcher reaches 40 liters. The working volume of the motor is 99 cubic meters. cm. The width of the cutting strip is 0.42 m, the mulching mode is not provided.

Deserves attention and lawn mower CMI C-B-40... It mows grass in strips of 0.4 m at a cutting height of 0.025-0.075 m. The grass-catcher capacity reaches 45 liters. The device is perfect for mowing medium-sized lawns in summer cottages and near houses. Thanks to the folding handle, storage and transportation of the device is greatly simplified.

If you need a three-wheel lawn mower, you should pay attention to Stihl MB 3 RT... The mulching device features high power and all-wheel drive. Maneuverability is enhanced by the swivel design of the front wheel. Therefore, it will be easier to clean grass near trees, bushes and on complex-shaped lawns. A no-mulching mode is available, with a simple side discharge of the grass.

Reliable American lawn mowers also deserve approval. For example, Patriot PT 42LS 512109004... Its main purpose is not so much a full-fledged haircut, but rather trimming plants. The mowing height is regulated by the central apparatus. The mower moves very confidently and calmly thanks to the all-wheel drive. The grass catcher can be removed and the handle can be folded; therefore storage and transportation do not cause any problems.

Other parameters are as follows:

• steel body;
• grass catcher made of soft material with a hard top;
• implemented mulching option;
• rear wheel drive;
• four-stroke motor;
• cutting strip width 0.42 m;
• total weight (excluding fuel and lubricants) 27 kg.

The American model DDE LM 51-60 DBE Serenade 910-287... This lawn mower has a 1 year original warranty. The device is equipped with an electric starter with a button that provides instant engine start. The mower is designed primarily for medium to large areas. It implements 5 standard functions.

But among inexpensive side discharge lawn mowers, it stands out Champion LM4630... Like many other modern industrial products, this product only formally refers to American brands, but in fact is assembled in China. The creators deliberately abandoned the intention to achieve any record figures. They decided to make just a solid mower for everyday work.

Easy start-up is ensured by the fact that there is no need to do anything with the primer or air damper. The automatically adjustable motor power adapts to dense or very damp grass. The oil filler neck is high, which is very convenient for users. The air filter can be changed without additional tools. Mulching and discharge of grass to the side or back are provided.

If you really need a budget lawn mower with a gasoline drive, then you can pay attention to AL-KO 119617 Highline 46.5 SP-A or on Daewoo DLM 45SP... This is a solid South Korean product that can last a long time without frequent repairs. The company not only manufactures equipment, but also designs it. It is difficult or even almost impossible to find the products of a well-known company at a better price.

Coming back to AL-KO 119617 Highline 46.5 SP-A, it is worth pointing out that at the stated price, its characteristics are very decent. A modern Austrian lawn mower has the following parameters:

• especially durable construction materials;
• the ability to work even on hilly terrain on tall grass;
• lawn height adjustment from 0.03 to 0.08 m;
• 7 levels of mowing;
• the ability to mow 1400 sq. m of area (before cleaning from blockages);
• impact-resistant execution of blades;
• option for mulching the land.

Choosing a lawnmower doesn't mean you can use it however you want. It should always be remembered that a sharp blade or line is a source of increased danger. As in the case with any other complex equipment, before starting work, you must familiarize yourself with the instructions and technical data sheet. You can refuel the mowers only with the mixture of gasoline and lubricating oil, which is described in the accompanying documents.Otherwise, a quick failure of the device is almost inevitable.

Of course, refueling is carried out only after the motor has completely stopped, when all parts of the mower have cooled down... It is advisable to do this work away from combustible materials, from houses and fences, from trees and fuel supplies. It is recommended that you refuel the mower in an area free of static electricity. At the slightest suspicion of him, it is better to move to another place or wait.

It is highly advisable to remove foreign objects from the lawn or lawn to be mowed in advance. It is necessary to work with the mower in strong, tightly closed shoes, in long trousers. The best time to work is morning or afternoon. In this case, fog or any other deterioration in visibility means that you have to stop work and wait. It is better not to take risks and not try at any cost, regardless of the weather, to finish mowing; gasoline mowers also suffer from dampness, albeit to a lesser extent than electric counterparts.

If possible, you should exclude the presence of other people (especially small children and persons with limited intelligence), as well as pets, in the mowing area. Caution in this regard must be observed wherever it is necessary to make sharp turns or go around a corner, to do other maneuvers with limited visibility. It is worth making sure in advance that there are no flammable objects and electrical wires on the way. It is necessary to walk with any lawn mower strictly even step, without braking and acceleration. The grass on the slope is mowed longitudinally, rather than going up and down.

It is prohibited:

• work with the lawn mower for at least some time without personal protective equipment;
• work without glasses;
• take off gloves before the end of the haircut;
• touch those parts of the running mower that are not needed for steering or turning;
• leave the working parts unclean after cutting;
• arbitrarily change the design of the lawn mower;
• add any parts and equipment not provided by the designers;
• exceed the recommended duration of work;
• mowing grass on a steeper slope than the instructions require.

Quite often, alas, malfunctions of gasoline lawn mowers are encountered. Sometimes they either do not gain momentum, or these very momentums change by themselves. For the most part, such problems are irreparable, more precisely, you will have to change either the device as a whole, or, best of all, its engine. If the mower shocks, the problem is almost always solved by replacing the insulation. But only professionals of service centers can do all this properly.

Blocking the knives when mowing too hard or too high grass is generally not a problem. You can return the mower to working condition by freeing the cylinder from the blockage and turning it in the other direction. Operating the mower with a blunt or deformed blade will prevent the lawn mowing smoothly. Vibrations or spontaneous stops are possible. The solution is to sharpen the knives with a file (at an angle of 30 degrees) or with an abrasive tape.

The lawn mower makes sharp, unadjustable movements if the blades are set incorrectly. The gap should be such that even a sheet of paper does not pass through. A whistle indicates that the connection is loose and the bolts need to be tightened. When changing the belt, the new accessory is first put on the smaller and then on the larger pulley. The maximum deflection of the installed belt should be a maximum of 4 mm.

To avoid problems with the air filter, clean it regularly and replace it every 3 months. If starting is not possible or the mower stops immediately after starting, inspect the ignition system. If the plug is wet, then the cause of the problem is the carburetor, and specialists must repair it.When the gasoline does not flow through the hose, it, and sometimes the fuel filter, must be changed. If the gearbox breaks down, the entire assembly is usually replaced at once.

In addition to the above brands of gasoline lawn mowers, you need to pay attention to other modifications. Customer reviews are a good help in the selection. Positive ratings are given, for example, for the Elitech K 5500L model. Her grass catcher is located so that it cannot be accidentally hit. It is noted that large wheels easily pass over the most uneven areas.

Among the best models, according to consumers, is the mower. Honda HRG 466 PKEA.

Its advantages are:

• ease of management;
• ease of mowing around bushes and trees;
• ease of mowing height adjustment;
• relative silence and minimum vibration level;
• perfect assembly of the body and individual parts.

DDE LM 51-60 DBE "Serenade" 910-287 has earned conflicting ratings. It has a good cold start and a comfortable grip. Even her appearance is beautiful. However, neither these circumstances, nor the large all-terrain wheels make it possible to forget that its speed in self-propelled mode is excessively high.

Keeping up with this lawnmower, especially in hot weather, is not easy. But its productivity is very high. Husqvarna LC 153 9613100-37 also has a very high prestige, primarily because of the very fast planting, lightness and maneuverability. The device successfully copes with the improvement of yards and small lawns. But on a large area, it turns out that he has a little grass catcher.

For an overview of gasoline lawn mowers, see the video below.