Our heavy-duty Ratchet Power Lopper has a 5:1 cutting ratio giving you five times your starting strength. The handles are telescopic and extend from 690mm to 970mm. With the benefits of the ratchet and telescopic handles the power lopper is capable of cutting branches up to 65mm in diameter.
On a small branch, you do not have to use the ratchet. All you do is place the branch into the jaw, and as long as it is easy to squeeze through, just do it in one go. But if you try to cut a branch a little bit bigger using the same method, if it’s not easy, that’s when you stop and use the ratchet. The ratchet allows you to cut bigger branches more easily.
How to use the ratchet action:
First of all, take note of the colour coding of the buttons at the bottom of each handle. Red is “keep still” - red for stop - and Green is “move” - green for go. The green handle does all of the work whilst you are engaging the ratchet. Don’t move both handles at the same time, because it won’t work properly.
To extend the handles, pull the green and red buttons down with your thumb one at a time. The buttons are located at the bottom of each handle. As you do this the brass pin in each handle will lift up. As you slide each handle down let the button go between positions and it will automatically find the next position. Remember: the longer the lever, the more power you have. So wherever possible, have the handles extended as long as you comfortably can.
Open the lopper arms completely to position the ratchet mechanism to its maximum ability, this will allow the ratchet action to do the hard work. It has a 5:1 cutting ratio which gives you five times your starting strength. This will enable you to cut larger branches more easily even if you have arthritis/RSI or lack strength.
Place the branch firmly between the blade and anvil/yellow jaw. Begin the initial cut by closing the arms together until they come to a stop. This occurs when the bottom of the blade meets the inside of the green button arm.
To progress to the next gear, remember to hold the red button arm still while moving the green button arm outwards (sideways) slightly until you hear a click. This clicking noise is the sound the ratchet bolt makes as it moves to the next notch of the blade. Close the arms together until they come to a stop then move the green button arm slightly outwards until you hear another click. Repeat these steps until you complete cutting the branch.
When you’re finished, pull the triggers, slide the handles back in, and use the strap to hold it together.
A couple of tips:
- If you move the green button arm out too much the anvil will come off the wood and this can cause the ratchet bolt to move backwards or not to move forward at all.
- If you move both arms outwards instead of just the green button arm the ratchet will not move forward.
It is easy to use the ratchet power lopper if you follow these directions, in a short time you will be familiar and confident using it. Once you have the right tool and the right technique, it really does make the difficult easy and the impossible possible.
The tool in this guide: PowerLopper Ratchet Loppers
