Choosing a garden tool: sprayers and loppers

In this article, we will look at the features of a motorized tool that is used in the garden and in the garden. We will try to understand what are the advantages of such small mechanization means, how different models work, how they differ. Let’s start with sprayers and pruning shears.

Sprayers

There are several design options for garden sprayers. Manual pump models are simple and affordable, but if you need to process a large area, the work of such a “muscle” tool becomes quite difficult. Therefore, units that use motors came to our aid. In addition to applying insecticides, these tools have also proven themselves well when performing fertilizing, as well as liquid processing of building structures..

Now you can choose from models that differ significantly in performance / power, convenience, functionality. The main categories of garden sprayers by drive type are:

• petrol
• electrical network
• electric battery

The gasoline sprayer is, of course, the strongest, most productive, completely autonomous. Two-stroke engines of various sizes are used here, producing pressures from 15 to 40 bar. They throw liquid up to a distance of 10 meters, they work great in height. Many of them can be used as a garden blower without spray nozzles. Of course, these devices are relatively heavy – therefore they have a knapsack suspension or are made on a simple wheeled chassis, their average weight is in the region of 10 kilograms. However, there is also a rather miniature Echo SHR-150SI machine – with a 0.7 liter engine. from. and weighing less than 6 kilograms. Another disadvantage of a gasoline sprayer is the presence of exhaust gases, which means that there are restrictions when working in closed rooms (greenhouses, mushroom cellars …). The cost of non-Chinese motor sprayers is in the range of 20-30 thousand rubles. Devices originally from the Celestial Empire cost about 7-9 thousand.

Echo SHR-150SI

Electric sprayers boast much less power, but their weight is also light. The working pressure here is about 3-5 bar, but this is enough for the vast majority of types of work. Network units allow you not to think about charging the blocks, but you have to constantly “fight” with the wires. The price of these machines is moderate, for example, the 600-watt Arco Coba Froggy model costs about 12,000 rubles..

Rechargeable counterparts are super-ergonomic, supplied with lithium-ion batteries and in stand-alone mode, without noise and exhaust gases, they make it possible to spray even indoors. On a single charge, they can produce up to 100-180 liters of substance, their energy reserve is about 2 hours. Makita sprayers are lightweight, with the BVF 104 RF weighing only 3.8 kilograms. In other brands, it can be close to 8 kg. The cost of Japanese rechargeable garden sprayers “bites” a little – about 27-29 thousand, but there are models without batteries and a charger (about 20 thousand). For comparison, SOLO 416 (Germany / China) costs about 15,000 rubles.

SOLO 416

Loppers

Trees are pruned in the garden every year, for this you need to use special tools – loppers. Manual mechanical pruners can not cope with all tasks, thick growth is too tough for them, and a garden hacksaw takes too much time and effort from the user. In turn, the chain saw does not show itself in the best way on relatively thin springy branches, it is difficult to work with this tool “under the root”, and it is inconvenient and dangerous to operate it at a height.

Modern motorized loppers are mostly equipped with an electric motor, but there are also models that run on a gasoline engine. The cutting element of the delimbers is a compact chain bar, in fact, it is a modernized, highly specialized saw. All loppers are either a standalone tool or go as replaceable attachments to universal drives such as collapsible trimmers and braids. There are three principal layouts:

• jaws (“caimans”, “alligators” …);
• rod poles (with straight cutting equipment);
• hand pruners / loppers.

The jaws can be made on a straight bar, or as a large two-handed secateurs – for example, the 550-watt Alligator Black model & Decker GK1000 (price up to 4000 rubles). They are able to recycle thin logs up to 100 millimeters in diameter. In this case, the branch is captured by the lower part of the “mouth” with teeth, and all the work is done by a working tire protected by a casing. Thus, kickbacks and jerks are excluded. In the Worx WG307E model (the cost is about 6-7 thousand rubles), the grip is carried out by moving the handle forward, there is a bar. The performance characteristics of the device are similar to the previous sample.

Alligator black & Decker GK1000

Pole saws do not have grips, they are a miniature chain saw mounted on an adjustable telescopic bar. Cutting heights can be up to 5 meters, but of course the controls are downstairs. The tire in this case is completely open, in some models it can tilt relative to the axis of the bar. The pole saw is powered by a gasoline engine (ECHO PPT-235ES – price 29,000 rubles) or from a general electrical network (FLEXO Trim EAS 750 F – price about 7,000 rubles). The advantages and disadvantages of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor are obvious, the following criteria are taken into account here:

• autonomy
• performance
• weight
• cost
• presence / absence of exhaust
• noisiness
• simplicity / complexity of maintenance

Special attention should be paid to the Ryobi OPP1820 cordless device with a 20 cm bus, which is equipped with an 18-volt unit from the proprietary unified ONE + system, that is, one battery and one charger is suitable for all tools. The resource of one battery is enough for about 50 branches with a thickness of 5 cm – not much, but the convenience in work is unsurpassed. The weight of this lopper is about 4 kilograms. It is sold without batteries and a charger, the cost is 4.5 thousand.

Ryobi OPP1820

You cannot ignore the unusual model from the Flexo trademark. This is the FLEXO Trim APS 2010 Li pruner, which is a hybrid of a cordless pruner (Ryobi RLP416 or Sturm CS7214 models, in which a movable blade does the work) and an electric alligator pruner. In this case, the cut is made with a toothed 55 mm saw blade, which is located inside the “mouth”. If you cut in a straight line, you can dispose of a 20 mm branch, and if you make a circular motion, up to 35 mm. Thanks to the high speed of the tool (1100 rpm) and the complete absence of the effect of squeezing – a gentle cutting is obtained with fast healing of fibers.

FLEXO Trim APS 2010 Li

The electric motor of the unit is powered by a seemingly modest lithium battery with a capacity of 1.5 Ah and a voltage of 10.8 V. The machine is capable of continuously working on one charge for about half an hour. The unit is charged for 3-5 hours, LED indication allows you to control the battery charge level.

The developers have proposed a rather interesting layout of the tool, somewhat reminiscent of an automaton. In addition to the front handle, which is pressed under the fingers, it is possible to grip the battery casing and the body itself, on which the controls are located. The dimensions of the product are more than modest, and the weight together with the battery is only 960 grams. The price of this German miracle is less than 5 thousand.

An interesting tool was created by Bosch. This is the Bosch KEO MY14 HUN rechargeable garden saw. Its feature is that a reciprocating saw became a prototype, only in this case a blade with a length of 150 mm was used, and a toothed removable A-shaped retainer is used to grip a branch.

Bosch KEO MY14 HUN

The diameter of a branch that can be sawn is 60 mm with a lock and 80 mm without this device. Charging a 10.8-volt battery lasts for 30-190 cuts (depending on the thickness of the branches). The layout of the apparatus is straightforward, allowing one-handed operation, especially since the weight of the equipped device is only 1 kilogram. Naturally, the famous German manufacturer of power tools applied a number of protective systems here, such as: quick stop of the web, stopper against accidental start, prevention of overheating of the battery. Together with a special charging cable, the cost of the Bosch KEO MY14 HUN garden saw is 4,800 rubles.