Stihl Garden Power Tools and Their Uses

Gardening is not only a popular hobby, but a necessity for those that wish to maintain their garden to a certain standard. Although many traditional garden tools are essential items, some jobs are simply much easier, less tiring and quicker to do using garden power tools.

Grass Strimmers and Brush Cutters

Although very similar in appearance and often thought of as the same tool, there is a difference between grass strimmers and brush cutters. A grass strimmer generally uses a standard nylon line cutter whereas a brush cutter uses a metal blade enabling it to tackle much denser and rougher vegetation.

Both are extremely popular garden power tools, ideal for a number of jobs, such as:

• trimming hard to reach areas of tufty grass around the fence posts
• thinning thick grass that is too long for the mower
• creating a neat edge for the lawn
• tackling overgrown greenery

The size of the lawn or area you need to strim will affect what cutting width you need for your grass strimmer or brush cutter. The larger the width, the larger the area the strimmer can clear in one go.

Different Types of Strimmer

Electric – These are generally light, easy to use and benefit from running off mains electricity.

Petrol – The most powerful of the strimmers and brush cutters, often heavier and noisier.

Cordless power tools – The advantage of not having to worry about a trailing cable, the complete freedom offered by these clean and quiet battery operated power tools make them a very popular choice. Varying sizes have different charges.

Hedge Trimmers/Cutters

As the name suggests, hedge trimmers (or cutters) are used for cutting and trimming hedges, shrubs and bushes. Not only are they essential for maintaining a neat and tidy appearance in a garden with hedges, shrubs and bushes, they can also free up extra space. Hedge cutters are available with a wide range of special features. To use your hedge cutter we advise cutting your bush, hedge or shrub from bottom up in a circular motion, this way the branches fall away easily providing a clear view of what needs cutting next.

Different Types of Hedge Trimmer

Electric – Low weight, quiet and easy to use, we recommend Stihl electric hedge trimmers.

Petrol – Generally more powerful, designed for heavy weight such as woody hedges and dense greenery. Frequently used in parks and for landscaped garden maintenance.

Cordless – Excellent for noise sensitive areas, the cordless benefits from being entirely portable and lightweight.

Garden Shredders

Disposing of garden waste is a task in itself, it usually either involves trips to the rubbish tip or big garden bonfires. A shredder is an incredibly useful garden power tool, that helps to reduce garden waste from a large unmanageable pile of cuttings and branches, into a smaller volume that easily be collected into bags or reused in the garden. By shredding different materials separately you can utilise the by product, for example; branches and twigs can make shreds and chips, or greens and soft stems can be used for compost. Wood shredding makes a fantastic mulch that can be spread over patches of bare soil in the garden helping the soil to retain moisture as well as putting nutrients back into the ground.

An impact shredder works in a similar manner to a food processor or blender, consisting of a spinning blade that cuts material into smaller pieces. This type of shredder is effective and lightweight, making it easy to move around the garden. The disadvantages are the noise and the fact that the blade will go blunt and need replacing. It is a good idea to look for a model with more than one blade. The impact shredder is also less able to deal with heavier wooden branches.

The other type of shredder is the crushing shredder or roller shredder, this uses a ridged roller to cut and crush garden debris. It is quieter than the impact shredder and will shred heavier wooden branches into chippings very well. It is not as good at shredding leafy green matter as the impact shredder.

Petrol garden shredders – These are generally more powerful and don't have a cable, they are usually more expensive to run and require more maintenance.

Electric garden shredder – Tend to be smaller, lighter and cheaper than the petrol models, the disadvantage is that you are limited by the length of your cable and they are generally not as powerful as the petrol models.

Sweepers

Sweeping with a broom can be extremely time consuming and tiring. With a sweeping machine you can clean driveways, paths, paved areas and parks quickly and with a lot less effort.

Manual sweeper – Ideal for both private and professional use, good for large areas such as courtyards, playgrounds

Cordless sweeper – Generally suitable for all kinds of dirt and debris, battery powered these sweepers require less effort than the manual type and are also suitable for large areas.

Leaf Blowers

Fast, easy and less required effort make blowers much more popular for leaf clearing than raking. In larger gardens raking fallen leaves can be an immense task. Although the great physical effort can be good exercise, it also causes injuries, a frequent complaint is lower back pain. In the past these machines have been unpopular due to the high levels of noise and pollution produced by the older models. Leaf blowers can make short work of clearing all your fallen leaves, instead of raking them, you can blow them into one place and collect them up into bags. Some blowers are available with vacuums to collect as you go along.

Different Types of Leaf Blower

Petrol Blowers – Exceptionally powerful, ideal for moving heavier matter such as thick wet layers of leaves and tackling piles of small branches and clippings. Generally the noisier out of the three.

Electric Blower – Ideal for use in gardens, driveways and pavements. The STIHL BGE 71 electric blower unit can be combined with a vacuum adaptor kit with a catcher bag to act as a vacuum to collect and compress large amounts of waste. Modern electric blowers generally have a reduced noise capacity

Cordless Leaf Blowers – Great for use in areas where noise pollution is a problem such as schools, hospitals, community gardens. The Stihl 36V lithium-ion battery blower is powerful, compact, clean and quiet.

Electric blower and vacuum shredder – This product gives you three in one: blowing, collecting and shredding material in the same machine, not only this the Stihl Blower and Vacuum Shredder is light in weight

Mist blowers

A mist blower or mist sprayer is designed to spray liquids such as pesticides, fertilisers or seeds across large areas. They generally consist of a back pack machine and can be either manual or with an engine.

Petrol mist blowers – As an example the Stihl SR 450 Backpack mistblower is incredibly powerful, with the ability to spray up to 14.5 metres. It also has a 2 in 1 conversion mechanism allowing the operator to quickly switch from spraying liquid to dusting granules or seeds. Although this is a quicker way of spraying, carry an engine on your back obviously requires more care and attention to health and safety

Manual mist blowers – These are good for treating individual plants and smaller areas of crops. They benefit from having a more precise spray.

Using Your Garden Power Tools Safely

• Make sure the weather is fine
• Ensure the surrounding environment is safe, make sure there are no children playing near the work area, or loose pets
• Be sure to have firm footing before operating any power tool, this is especially important when working on uneven terrain
• Remove any debris from cutting areas when using hedge cutters, strimmers
• Always wear tight fitting clothes, nothing loose as it may get caught up in the equipment
• Wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Goggles and gloves are a good idea
• Ear defenders are a good idea for noisier machines
• When using any pesticides, it is important to use a breathing mask and protective clothing

Looking After Your Power Tools

• Clean your power tools after use (follow the instruction manual)
• Lubricate where needed
• Keep an eye on them for cracks/wear and tear
• Store your tools properly, in a dry place away from damp and dust