Garden equipment — trimmers, chainsaws, lawn mowers, cultivators and other varieties — is a relatively new arsenal for a large army of summer residents. Lack of experience and understanding of careful operation leads to rapid breakdowns or incorrect operation. This is how the undeserved reputation of “perishable products” sticks to motorized garden equipment. But such sometimes expensive and therefore especially desirable equipment should facilitate our hard work and bring only pleasure!
In order for everything to be exactly like this, we, the Liqui Moly company, have prepared a short collection of simple and accessible rules that will allow you to put in order an existing garden tool and not ruin a new one. Don’t get distracted from the screen, we’re starting!
Rule one. Fundamental. About the instructions
In theory, all internal combustion engines are similar. In practice, everything is different: over the past hundred years, technologies have come too far, and the number of specific developments, innovations and innovations cannot be described. Initially, similar motors on different types and models of equipment are seriously different from each other. They require from their owner additional knowledge about the specifics of the work or the involvement of specialists in their service. We have already learned to follow certain rules when operating our cars. It’s time to transfer the skills of careful use to garden equipment.
Public opinion says that any motor oil, the cheapest or even automotive, can be poured into a lawn mower or chainsaw. After all, it seems that there is no difference at all: in two-stroke engines, lubrication lives at all one revolution of the crankshaft. Why bother?
Someone else’s experience is a thin matter that often breaks against the sharp corners of reality. Regularly showering himself and the site with a jet of dense and incredibly smelly smoke that refuses to dissipate, a happy summer resident after a short time of operation (say, a trimmer) will hear strange engine sounds of his recent new thing. And he will begin to think about the instructions, which actually should be read, and not trust the simple advice of “more experienced neighbors” who already have “exactly the same” unit. This is the first rule: read the instructions seven times — start once.
Usually this is the way they come to a special engine oil from Liqui Moly. For example, two-stroke gardening tools require 2-Stroke-Motoroil oil, which provides not only smokeless combustion, but also high protection against wear and corrosion. It mixes perfectly with fuel and does not allow deposits on the engine elements. 2-Takt-Motoroil, like all the tools of the Garden Program, is made in Germany. It is designed for all-season operation of two-stroke equipment with both separate and mixed lubrication systems. What could be easier than to buy a stock of high-quality oil, which will not spoil the technique, and can be used without losing its properties in both heat and cold!
Rule two. Regular. About motor oils
Garden tools, like any motorized tool, require regular maintenance from their owner. Moreover, due to the absence of such an understandable device as an odometer, the service interval is calculated in hours — a unit of measurement that has already been forgotten. The average time “from replacement to replacement” of the lubricant for any “garden motor” is from 50 to 60 hours. Not everyone uses mowers and especially chainsaws in such a harsh mode, so the oil in four-stroke engines is usually changed (if at all) before the season. The roots of many troubles grow from this habit.
The reason is simple: cheap or substandard oil loses its properties much faster — it needs to be changed more often. Otherwise, the engine will be burdened with extra loads, reducing its service life. Pouring such a lubricant into the motor, you need to constantly monitor the level. In addition, after only 20-30 hours, it will simply “fall apart” into components and stop protecting the engine. Oil consumption will increase dramatically, and the engine will receive a heavy blow.
Cheap oils, unlike Liqui Moly products, under the influence of temperature, time and loads turn into “gutalin”, covering the walls of cylinders and pistons, clogging channels. Many pour car oil. And what, it’s always at hand! A convincing argument? No! In four—stroke engines of garden equipment, it quickly loses its properties – the motors are either idling or at the limit of their capabilities. Unsuitable lubricant is simply whipped into foam or “burns out”. And finally, due to the overloaded, very specific rhythm of the internal combustion engine, the correct additive package becomes especially important.
The fact is that in air-cooled engines, which are not as productive as water, the cooling function falls on the engine oil. Its average temperature is much higher. If you pour an automobile into a garden motor, then the unit overheats, irreversible deformations of the nodes begin. You will be told about the further development of events already in the service center or in the repair shop — which will be closer to home.
To avoid this, you need to initially correctly determine the consumables. For the operation of 4-stroke gasoline and diesel engines, garden and power equipment with air and water cooling at positive temperatures, we recommend using Rasenmaher-Oil SAE 30 mineral engine oil.
To ensure the proper level of lubrication and protection of the engine of garden equipment, regardless of the season, you can choose one of two products of the Garden program.
- Mineral engine oil for lawn mowers Universal 4-Takt Gartengerate-Oil 10W-30, exceeding the requirements of manufacturers of engines Briggs & Stratton, Honda, Tecumseh.
- HC is a synthetic engine oil for winter gardening equipment Garten-Wintergerate-Oil 5W-30, which will be the most versatile solution for both exclusively summer equipment and tools that work only in winter. For example, for a snowplow.
Rule three. Fundamental. About the relationship
The more attention we pay to technology, the longer it lasts. No matter how simple the device may seem at first glance, there are requirements and recommendations for its regular maintenance. And it’s not just about proper operation, the choice of engine oil and other mandatory conditions. The “recommendations” column is also very important.
It’s never too early to wash and lubricate, check for smudges and creaks. Modern garden equipment, especially imported or ordered from Europe, is already incredibly complex and multi-component mechanisms that require constant monitoring. Always clean the cutting parts from grass, earth and other contaminants, check their sharpening, inspect the filters: replace all replaceable, re—use – clean.
Do not leave the equipment in the open air — for long-term storage of the arsenal, take a dry and clean place, both the chainsaw and the tillers will be equally grateful for this. Before winter storage, check and clean all available parts and working bodies, drain fuel, clean filters.
Liqui Moly specialists have developed a special spray Pflege-Spray fur Garten-Gerate for lubrication and protection of garden equipment. It will be useful both for seasonal operation and for the preservation of equipment and tools. The tool perfectly copes with the protection of cutting and moving parts (lawn mower wheels and knives, brush cutter blades, etc.) and allows you to significantly increase their service life. It is a fully biodegradable lubricant that is harmless to the environment. Immediately after mowing the lawn, you can walk on the grass without fear for your health.
Instead of an afterword
To create a high-quality and truly productive engine oil, you need to use a good base oil and modern additive packages. And Liqui Moly has never neglected these most important rules, so in Germany it rightfully enjoys the fame of a high-quality brand that can be trusted.
We can vouch for our oils and other care products, because they are highly productive and at the same time safe for nature and man. And in gardening equipment, this point is especially important, because we will walk on the newly mowed lawn ourselves, our children will play there. This fact is confirmed by the most stringent environmental certificates in the world.