27
Dec

HOW TO GET BETTER PERFORMANCE FROM YOUR MOTOR GRADER?

A motor grader, often called simply as a grader, is a useful equipment, predominantly used in construction sites. It comes with a long blade attachment which is used during grading to get a flat surface. Now, like all heavy equipment, you need to operate it the right way so that it can deliver the performance that you want and you get the desired return on investment. Here, we are going to look at some of the tips that you should follow to get more from your motor grader.

Operating Tips that You Should Follow

The work done by the grader is as good as the operator. So, you need to hire someone skilled and experienced in handling such equipment. If you can’t get one, you need to make sure that you give proper training to the operator.

Even if you have an experienced operator behind the wheel, you would still need to get a few things right. Here are some of the tips that you should follow:

  1. Your motor grader will undergo a lot of wear and tear when you operate on harsh or rocky terrain. You need to be extra careful in such a situation to avoid any damage to the undercarriage or blade.
  2. You need to apply only the required amount of downward pressure. Excessive pressure that cause the cutting edge to wear rapidly, especially if the surface is dry and hard. At the same time, they will require more power and use more fuel, thereby reducing productivity
  3. The mould board should be correctly positioned. The operator should keep it straight. When you roll the grader blade in the forward direction, it gets blunt quickly.To keep the blade of the motor grader sharp, just try to keep its top slightly forward of the cutting edge. You can pitch the blade forward only when you need to make a cut.
  4. You should change the blade angle at regular intervals. If the mould board is just kept forward, then only the front of the cutting edge would be sharpened. When you tilt it back in case of carrying, mixing, spreading and combing, it would cause wear across the edge, and that would sharpen the blade in a better way.
  5. If you are working with free-flowing material, you should keep the angle at 10 to 30 degrees. On the other hand, when you are handling wet and sticky materials, or mixing large windrows or ditching, you should opt for a higher angle, about 30 to 50 degrees.
  6. When you are using your motor grader along the gutter and curbs, you need to very careful as you don’t want the machine to run against the curb and get the edge chipped. In extreme cases, your mouldboard would also be damaged. So, exercise extra caution.
  7. When you are working across a slope, keep the board parallel to the front axle. You should also try to Centre it to the frame and lower it close to ground. This avoids the risk of rolling over.
  8. You should lower the teeth into the ground when you are using the ripper. Make sure that the grade is in motion when you do that. If your rear wheels lose the traction, then you can raise the ripper until the wheels regain traction.
  9. When you are working on harder surfaces, you should reduce the number of teeth. If you want to break old pavement, the teeth under the pavement should be lowered and the ripper needs to be raised. When you are turning the grader, you should not use the ripper. This would significantly reduce the wear on the equipment.
  10.  The quality of work depends on the operating speed of the motor grader. When you are ditching or blade, don’t go for higher speeds. This would cause the machine to bounce and at the same time, it will gauge the surface instead of smoothening it. The operator can lose the control of the grader in extreme situations. You need to keep the speeds as low as 3 to 5 MPH

At Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar, we offer exclusive range of SEM motor grader including SEM 919 and SEM 921. The operators can be trained in our state-of-the-art simulators, to practice their performance to enhance productivity We also offer quality support services so that your equipment would be maintained in the right way. Contact us today to get new or used motor grader and also for rental queries.