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Hedge, bushes and dwarf trees - all this decorates the suburban area, gives it comfort and the necessary shade. But only well-groomed plantings can be called beautiful, and, unlike flowers, shrubs not only need watering and fertilizing, they must be trimmed regularly. Only in this way will the bush maintain its ideal shape, the fence will not look like a hedgehog with spines of different lengths, and the entire area will become the subject of admiration and slight envy of the neighbors.
A special tool – a hedge trimmer – can help the owner create an idyll in his own garden.. How to choose a hedge trimmer for your site, how these tools differ, and what they are capable of - read below.
What is a hedge trimmer
Probably every person is familiar with such a tool as a garden pruner. This device is used to trim branches, create a crown of young trees, remove excess or dry shoots, and form vines.
The secateurs can cope with cutting several dozen branches; each cutting movement requires human muscular effort. Therefore, with the help of a pruner, it will not be possible to form a hedge or trim tall or voluminous bushes - all that it is capable of is to slightly trim the formed bushes.
For larger-scale work, a brush cutter was created.Its distinctive feature is longer and more massive blades. In addition, hedge trimmers are not only manual; the tools are often powered.
How to choose a tool for a site
Today, the following types of brush cutters are on sale:
- gasoline hedge trimmer
- electric
- cordless 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 hedge trimmer, you need to do a little analysis and answer the following questions:
- What is the area of the plot and the distance of the bushes from the house.
- What type of shrubs are planted on the site, what is the average diameter of their branches.
- How long will it take to improve the hedges and bushes?
- How often will the owner work with a hedge trimmer?
- Who exactly will hold the instrument in their hands: a strong man, a fragile woman or a teenager, an elderly person.
- What is the maximum height of bushes and hedges.
By analyzing these factors, you can choose the most suitable tool. Brief descriptions of each type of brush cutter will help with this.
Manual hedge trimmer
You can buy manual hedge trimmers only if there are very few green spaces that need regular pruning. For example, there is one lilac bush growing near the house and some other shrubs in the garden.
It is clear that for this type of work it is not worth spending money on automated tools; a mechanical hedge trimmer is quite sufficient here. It looks like a large pruning shears; the length of the blades often reaches 25 cm, and the handle is the same size.
When choosing a manual hedge trimmer, 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 hedge trimmer is moderately heavy and easy to open and close – this is what you need.
Electric hedge trimmer
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 productivity of the tool is quite high.
The cutting part of the tool resembles a chainsaw, only without a chain. Two knives are located parallel to each other, the cutting effect is achieved by making reciprocating movements of the knives in mutually 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.
Tools with two moving cutting edges are more functional and productive. They cut off unnecessary branches faster and more accurately, allowing you to carry out large volumes of work.
Besides, there are double-edged knives and blades with one sharpened edge. Of course, double-sided blades are faster, but it takes experience to master the skill. After all, one inaccurate movement will lead to the appearance of a hole in the bush.
It is much easier to make an even vertical or horizontal cut with a knife with one-sided sharpening. But such a tool is not suitable for figured cutting; it cannot be used to make wavy edges and complex elements.
The main advantages of electric hedge trimmers are:
- Light weight – the weight of the instrument ranges from 1.8 to 4 kilograms. This allows people of any size and physical strength to operate the device.
- High productivity - compared to a manual hedge trimmer, an electric tool works much faster and more conveniently. A person can only make translational movements; the rest of the work is done by the blades of the device.
- Low vibration compared to gasoline hedge trimmers.
- Environmentally friendly - the tool does not emit exhaust gases.
- Possibility of installing a telescopic rod and trimming tall hedges.
- An electric hedge trimmer with a short blade spacing can be used as a lawn trimmer.
Most often, electrical appliances can be used to cut branches up to 20 mm in diameter.
The main disadvantage of an electric hedge trimmer is the wire. Without carrying it, you can trim 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 careless movement.
Reviews from owners of electric models indicate that the devices often do not have enough power.
Cordless hedge trimmer
A prototype of an electric tool, the improvement of which is to include a battery. This solves the cable problem, but causes a few other inconveniences:
- regular charge – cordless hedge trimmer is not suitable for seasonal use. If the battery is not charged for a long time, it will lose capacity significantly.
- Limited operating time - the device can continuously cut bushes 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.
Petrol hedge trimmer
This device is used mainly by professionals. The fact is that an internal combustion engine is much more productive than an electric motor - its power can reach 6 kW.
With this tool you can trim not only the hedges around a private house, but also the shrubs of parks and public gardens.
To operate a gasoline device, certain skills are required, and this applies not only to the haircut itself, the engine consumes a mixture of oil and gasoline, you need to be able to mix and fill them.
The advantages of a gasoline hedge trimmer are obvious - 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;
- engine maintenance needs;
- traffic fumes;
- high price.
Reviews from happy owners of such devices indicate 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
Gasoline hedge trimmers can be classified as 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 sufficient.
A hedge trimmer is a convenient tool that is indispensable for suburban areas with a landscaped landscape, bushes and hedges.
Using this device, you can quickly and easily arrange bushes, giving them a well-groomed appearance and the desired shape.
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