HOW TO MAKE A LAWN MOWER FROM A WASHING MACHINE ENGINE
Continuing the theme of the ideal suburban area, we invent new tools and devices to maintain a decent appearance of the suburban area. The biggest problem with any yard is excess grass. She is always growing. From spring to late autumn. To maintain the desired level of grass cover, you need a lawn mower. Today we will look at how to make a lawn mower from a washing machine with your own hands. No, we are not crazy. We will take only some elements from the washing machine!
The manufacture of such a device has long been practiced among country needleworkers. Unfortunately, in order to make such a lawn mower, you will need to donate your washing machine or buy a separate engine from it. A lawn mower from an engine from a washing machine is one of the most popular existing country homemade products. In principle, to make a lawn mower, you can use absolutely any medium-power electric motor, but we will try to make it from a washing machine. So, if you have an old unnecessary washing machine, and you have not mowed the grass on the site, then this homemade product is just for you.
Advantages and disadvantages of a lawn mower from an engine from a washing machine
Such a lawn mower has many advantages that make it the best homemade. It can be done in a couple of hours in your garage, having in stock the most elementary things that are lying around in the yard of every Plushkin. And if you don’t, then your neighbor will definitely have some of the materials you need. And so, what do we need for a lawn mower from a washing machine:
- Washing machine engine
- 4 wheels of small diameter (baby stroller, trolley)
- Sheet of metal with a thickness of 2 to 4 mm.
- A small tube for the handle.
- Cable, plug, switch.
Why is such a lawn mower so popular among DIYers? The answer is simple:
- Availability. Absolutely all materials can be found at your site or bought at the acceptance of secondary raw materials for a few pennies.
Simplicity of design. You can make a lawn mower out of a washing machine from improvised materials. No complex calculations and geometric problems. Everything can be done on the knee with a hammer and screwdriver. - Efficiency. The engine from the washing machine has enough power to cope with any grass. Another advantage of such an engine is a low noise level and smooth running.
- Repair. If you were able to make such a lawn mower yourself, then there will be no problems in the repair.
- Given that a lawn mower can be made from a washing machine without spending a penny, then what are the disadvantages? They are so insignificant that you can just close your eyes to everything. The most global is the appearance of the entire structure. Despite the fact that it is outrageously simple, at the same time it looks a little scary and unsafe. But this is only at first glance!
Making a lawn mower from a washing machine
To make such a device, we need an unnecessary old washing machine. No, we will not attach wheels and a cutting knife to it! We need her as a donor of an electric motor for a lawn mower. We collect our thoughts, and with serious intentions we set off to work miracles.
STEP 1: electric motor. We disassemble the body of the machine and remove from there an electric motor with a starting relay. It is important to keep the motor wiring intact so that there are no connection problems in the future.
STEP 2: case. To make a reliable and durable body of a homemade lawn mower with our own hands, we need a sheet of metal of at least 4 mm. The dimensions of this sheet should be 300 x 400 mm. We prepare the body for further installation of the engine and wheels.
Note: if you have not found a sheet of metal suitable for the thickness, then you can take a sheet with a smaller thickness and reinforce it around the perimeter with a bar or piece of reinforcement.
STEP 3: install motor and start relay. At this stage of the step-by-step instructions, we install the main element of the lawn mower — the engine from the washing machine. We mark the body. We draw two diagonals and find the center of the rectangle. In the center of the body of the lawn mower from the washing machine, you need to make a hole for the motor shaft. Next, we install the motor itself. In our case, it is fastened with standard mounting bolts through spacers from nuts. This is a fairly simple, and at the same time reliable method of fastening. We attach a start relay next to the engine.
STEP 4: wheels. Wheels are an important part of the lawnmower design. There may be two, three or four. The most optimal is 4 wheels. This ensures maximum stability of the lawn mower unit. Wheels should be 10 to 15 cm in diameter. The height of the cut grass depends on the size of the wheel. We fix the axles of the wheels at the corners of the rectangular body.
STEP 5: homemade pen. To make it convenient to operate our lawn mower, you need to make a comfortable handle. You can take a ready-made handle from a baby stroller or make it yourself from a thin pipe. We will go the second way, and do it ourselves. There is nothing difficult in this. We make the handle so that it is convenient to control the lawn mower. Tightly weld or screw the handle to the body of the lawn mower.
At this stage, we have already figured out how to make a lawn mower with our own hands, but there is one more touch, without which the mower will not be able to mow — this is a knife. This is what we will do in the next section. But now you can already see all our efforts that were applied to the manufacture of this device. If you find any dubious or unreliable places, then it is better to remove them before putting the lawn mower into operation so that no problems arise.
I put a polypropylene fitting on the pulley, heated it with a soldering iron, drilled through the hole with a bolt, and stopped it, since the disk turns like a flywheel be healthy. The saw blade was put on through a 50 mm spacer. There is almost no beating in diameter, but up and down, a spread of 7 mm turned out, well, not critical, there is no turning. He also left the height of the grass bevel 4.5 cm. The passage increased, and the weight, too, was 16-17 kg.
Due to the circular saw, it works like a flywheel, even with thick grass the disc slows down but does not stop due to inertia. With this motor, I passed all 180 m2 and did not get very hot — you can go without a break.
When mowing with a disc, the grass on the lawn remains uneven, as a result, the knife was redone, made from a hacksaw blade for wood. After mowing, I was pleased with the result, but it is not clear why the saw blade does not give such a result. As a result, now I use the knife as in the picture and the result is excellent, it spins up in a split second, but it still stops on large grass, since there is no inertia like on a disk.
