This is a comprehensive guide on the best lawn mower tachometers. All the tachometers for lawn mowers don’t matter if the tachometer for riding lawn mowers or any other type of mower is not discussed here.
The great thing about this guide is that it consists of informative answers on the importance of tachometers for lawn mowers, their functioning, premium class product reviews, and a guide to installing tachometers on lawn mowers.
In short, you will love using the tachometers on your lawn mowers after knowing their benefits in improving the working of mowers.
Let’s get started with the basic information about tachometers.
What are tachometers?
A tachometer is a device that records the RPMs of the working engine. RPM generally stands for rotation per minute. By installing a tachometer on engines, you can simply alter the rotation of the engine to the safe range of rotations to make it function properly for longer times.
Role of tachometers for lawn mowers
By installing a tachometer on the lawn mower, it helps you in monitoring the speed of the engine while working on the lawn. Most of the digital tachometers have data storing features that help to again maintain the rotations of the engine to the previous one.
While mowing dense grass, the engine needs the most power or speed for smooth cutting so the digits on the meter show the vital rotations of the engine needed for thick grass.
Once you know the limits of the mower’s engine, you can simply adjust the mowing speed for smooth working as per grass status and without overloading the engine.
PRODUCTS
- Runleader Digital Hour Meter Tachometer – Spark Plug tachometer
- Hardline Products HR-8061-2 Hour Meter/Tachometer
- SEARON Digital Tach Hour Meter Tachometer RPM Counter – Single cylinder tachometer
- Backlit Upgraded Tach Maintenance RPM Hour Meter Tachometer for Lawn Mowers
- Timorn Inductive Hour Meter for 2 Stroke & 4 Stroke Small Engine – best small engine tachometer
- Neiko 20713A Digital Tachometer – Wireless tachometer
REVIEWS: Best Lawn mower tachometers
1. Runleader Digital Hour Meter Tachometer – Spark Plug tachometer
Run leader digital hour tachometer is a high accuracy tachometer for lawn mowers. It records the RPMs of the engine while working and helps the user to adjust the engine speed for different engine firing patterns.
This tachometer helps the user to track down the working hours when the engine turns off. This record-keeping feature of this tachometer provides the additional benefit to track the service time.
The display unit of this lawn mower tachometer has a flash icon option that turns on when the service time of the engine arrives.
A CR2450 battery is provided with this tachometer for energy. It is a replaceable battery that provides the replacement opportunity if the battery life of batteries lowers.
The premium feature of this tachometer is that it retains the data even after the removal of the battery during battery replacement or any accidental shutdown.
It is a waterproof product and is easy to install. The great thing that ensures the high quality of the tachometer is the 2 years warranty by the manufacturer.
PROS
- Precise record of RPM
- Keeps data record during replacing of batteries
- Easy to install
CONS
- Zip ties might be a bit smaller so keep in hand the extra zip ties
2. Hardline Products HR-8061-2 Hour Meter/Tachometer
The hardline HR-8061-2 is the best lawn mower tachometer with its versatile features. Compatibility with many engines even with two cylinders, makes it a valuable choice among other tachometers.
With the speed controlling feature of this hour meter, you can make essential modifications such as high-speed control.
The premium feature of this tachometer is the high range counting of RPMs. It can read up to 16000 revolutions per minute that are a good figure for small engines and even large-sized double cylinder engines.
The display unit has a wide screen that displays the total run hours as well the revolutions per minute while working. The weatherproof and water-resistant features of this tachometer improve its value.
It is a built-in battery-operated tachometer with long battery life. One-time installed batteries can run for more than ten years and it relieves the person from frequently replacing them.
PROS
- Compatible with two cylinder engines
- Can read RPMs upto 16000
- Weather and waterproof
- No need of wires for grounding
- Easy to install
CONS
- Display unit is bit smaller in size but works great
3. SEARON Digital Tach Hour Meter Tachometer RPM Counter – Single cylinder tachometer
SEARON digital tachometer is the most versatile and high-range tachometer on the list. The wide range of reading RPMs makes it compatible with many large-sized engines.
The premium feature of this tachometer is that it can read up to 60000 RPMs and 99,999.9 hours.
The display unit of this tach hour meter shows the working hours as well the RPMs in quite an accurate way and allows the user to adjust the engine speed for smooth running and better engine performance.
This tachometer is powered with an internal CR2430 battery and saves a lot of work to make the external power connections.
During the installation of this hour meter on the mower’s engine, all you need is to wrap RPM wire with a spark plug and insulated wire with any bolt on the engine and the tachometer is ready to go.
PROS
- High range tachometer (60000 RPMs)
- Internal powered meter
- Count RPM through spark plug connection
- Lcd Display unit
- Water proof
- 2 years Warranty
CONS
- No cons found
4. Backlit Upgraded Tach Maintenance RPM Hour Meter Tachometer for Lawn Mowers
It is the best lawn mower tachometer by Backlit, having compatibility with all types of 2 and 4 stroke engines. It does record and shows the RPMs of a working engine with 0.1 accuracies of data.
The premium thing of this tachometer that makes it a lovable choice among users is a programmable RPM alert that warns the user of the maximum RPM capacity of the engine.
Record keep is much impressive as it saves the total hours from 0 to 99999 hours and records and recalls the Max RPM. The programmable maintenance interval time records the data from 0 to 200 hours.
It has a replaceable CR2032 battery that provides power to display units and it could stand alive for many years.
The installation is very smooth and easy with the detailed set of instructions by the manufacturer.
PROS
- Works on 2 stroke up to 6 Cylinder & 4 stroke up to 16 cylinder gas engines
- RPM Reads up to 20,000
- Programmable RPM Alert with RED Backlit Lighting
- 2 Years Warranty
CONS
- Menu and setting buttons are bit smaller
5. Timorn Inductive Hour Meter for 2 Stroke & 4 Stroke Small Engine – best small engine tachometer
Timron Inductive is the best small engine tachometer that does both works of recording RPM and operation hours accurately.
The wide display unit included in the package shows the data of previous work hours and RPM recorded during the engine working.
The Premium thing of this tachometer is its versatility as it is compatible to attach with 2 and 4 stroke gasoline engines. It records the working hours and alerts the user for a vehicle oil change, valve, adjustments, and spark plugs working conditions.
The easy and simple installation provides comfort to users and relieves them from the complications of a bundle of wires.
The great thing is the feature of resetting the total hours and maintenance time.
PROS
- High range tachometer
- Replaceable battery with 35000 operation hours
- Tracks the service hours
- Suitable for all 2 and 4 stroke engines
CONS
- Install the wires with spark plugs correctly otherwise it will not show accurate RPMs
6. Neiko 20713A Digital Tachometer – Wireless tachometer
Neiko 20713A is a highly accurate, digital, and wireless tachometer. It records the RPMs by aiming at the moving parts of engines.
It works with the high-speed laser-aim operation and provides instant readings of RPM by a laser beam.
The display unit of this wireless tachometer is much wider that allows easy reading of values on the LCD unit. It stores the data of RPMs with the maximum and minimum reading from 2.5 to 99999 hours.
The package includes 24 inches of reflective tape and measures and records the data with noncontact diagnostics with an accuracy of +/- 0.05 percent.
The great thing is that it is a wirelessly operated tachometer and it can record the data from 2-20 inches distance.
The high-quality material used in making ensures the safety and longer life of the hour meter and is powered by three AA batteries that last for hours.
PROS
- Highly accurate result
- Wireless tachometer
- High speed laser aim operation
- Measures data from 2-20 inches from aiming point
- Measure RPMs over 1 second sampling time
CONS
- Battery lasts for less hours with single charge as the laser operation consumes much power
Buying guide: Things to consider while buying the best tachometers for lawn mowers
When you have decided to buy a tachometer for your lawn mower, that’s not enough. Without proper knowledge, you can never buy the best lawn mower tachometer.
There are many factors that reflect the quality of the tachometer and its functioning and ultimately the lifetime of the product. You must need to consider these factors in a tachometer while buying one.
1. Quality
Quality of the product has premium importance while buying any product online or in physical stores. Similarly, the quality of the tachometers does have the same importance.
As tachometers will be installed on the mower so it will be exposed to dust, water, sun, cold, debris or woods, and much more. So high-quality tachometers could bear so many effects.
On the other hand, while mowing the lawn there will be a lot of vibration of the mower. Therefore, a premium quality tachometer is a major necessity to work in so many tortures.
Always check the quality of the material used in making the product for ensuring the long life of the tachometer.
2. RPM
As explained earlier about the RPM briefly, they are rotations of the working engine that could be any engine of a riding lawn mower, chainsaw, or any other machine.
Tachometers read the rpm of the engine but to a specific limit. The limitation of the tachometer to read the RPM is called the range of the tachometer.
Mostly, tachometers have a reading ability of up to 10,000 rotations per minute that is almost compatible with many engines. But some engines have more than 10,000 RPM, so you will need a high range of tachometers for such engines.
It is best to buy a high range tachometer so it could be attached to various sized engines.
So, always check the range of the tachometer while buying one for a lawn mower or any other engine.
3. Digital Memory
The memory of a tachometer does not mean that it will remember the previous working site or work type. Instead, digital memory features provide the memory of the minimum and maximum RPMs attained during any specific working period.
The great thing about this feature is its auto-saving which relieves you from manual saving the data even if the power from batteries is cut off accidentally. The data remains safe and secure inside the device if the meter turns off by any accident.
Digital memory provides the data on the performance of any previous work. Consider the presence of this feature in the tachometer while buying one.
4. Power capacity
Power capacity or battery life is a crucial feature that you should look at if you want to buy the best small engine tachometer for a lawn mower or chainsaw engine.
Two types of tachometers are present in the market in terms of batteries:
- Tachometers with lithium batteries
- Tachometers with AAA batteries
Batteries included with the tachometers are of high quality, but it is good to check the batteries type. If any other type of battery than lithium or AAA is included, never buy that tachometer.
What else do I need to install a tachometer?
Before moving to install a tachometer on the engine i.e. mowers, collect all the required things at the place of work.
To install a tachometer on lawn mower, you will need:
- Screwdriver
- User’s manual
- Wirecutter
- Electrical tape
- Zip ties
How to install a tachometer on a lawn mower?
There is much knowledge and guidance needed on how to install a tachometer on a small engine like lawn mowers. Without proper guidance, you can never use a tachometer on a lawn mower.
There is a major role of both spark plug tachometers for installation. These are some useful tips to install a tachometer on lawn mower:
- Firstly, read the user manual to know which wire is ground and which one is the signal wire. Wires are color-coded for easy identification. Improper wire attachment won’t work for a tachometer.
- For personal safety, unplug the spark plug boot by pulling it out with your hand, so that the mower might not get started accidentally.
- Locate the spark plug wire attached with spark plug boot and wrap the tachometer’s signal wire around the plug wire. Secure both wires with a piece of electrical tape.
- Now loosen a bolt on the engine body and wrap the ground wire underneath that bolt and again tighten the bolt.
- Place the meter in a convenient place on the handle of the mower and secure it with a zip tie tightly. Now zip ties the wire hanging loosely against the handle or other body parts but away from the engine.
- Again place the plug boot to spark plug and power on the engine. Check the display unit if it starts working and if not then double-check the wire connections.
Caring tips while using tachometer on lawn mower
These caring tips will benefit you in many ways from the smooth working of machines to the longer lifetime of machines. Tips are:
- Check the wire connection if they are tighten, otherwise, low power or sparking of wire could damage the tachometer.
- Zip ties the loose wire that could cause an accident if something strikes with these freely moving wires.
- Set the RPMs of the engine correctly and in safe limits, which otherwise would cause overheating and burn of the engine.
- Check the range of tachometers if it matches with the required RPM of the engine.
FAQs
What is the best tachometer for small engines?
Timorn Inductive Hour Meter is the best tachometer for small engines. It is a wide range tachometer that provides the service alert for changing vehicle oil, valves or other adjustments.
What RPM do lawn mowers run?
Mostly the engine shafts of walk-behind mowers run at 2900 rpm. While the blades of a riding lawn mower spins with the speed of 2700-3200 rpm with the additional 200 mph at the tips of blade.
What is your tachometer used for?
Tachometer is a device or instrument that measures the rotation speed of any working engine, shaft or disk. It actually records the RPM on the display unit and is used for calibrating the speed of the engine for smooth working and protecting the engine from heat up/blast by overloading.
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Final Verdict
I hope that you loved this guide on the best lawn mower tachometers. All the products added to the list after proper testing by myself
Every tachometer product added to the list is a perfect tachometer for lawn mower. You should have a tachometer for your lawn mower for its protection and smooth working.
