Motor Grader Operating And Maintenance Tips

A motor grader is commonly referred to as road grader, grader machine, or blade machinery, is considered one of the most reliable construction equipment. Typical motor grader machine has three axles with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third axle at the front end of the vehicle with the blade in between.

Motor graders are known for their long adjustable blades and considered to be easy-to-use earthmoving machinery for mining underneath the ground. Another factor that distinguishes motor graders is the drive systems with some of the equipment using the all-wheel drive.

Motor graders are divided into two categories based on the structure and arrangement of the frame.

• Rigid Frame Motor Grader
• Articulated Frame Motor Grader.

Of the two, the articulated grader is the most commonly used machinery these days.

Uses of Motor graders:

• They are used for making smoother surfaces, fine grade, levelling soil and shifting small amounts of dirt.
• Plays an important role in the construction and maintenance of roads.
• Motor graders are also used for the removal of snow, debris and earth-moving purposes.
• Graders are used to set native soil foundation pads to finish grade before the construction of large buildings.
• The motor graders also ensure that the compactor is effectively used with minimum load on it.

Motor Grader Preventive Maintenance Tips

Motor graders are expensive, and they must be used wisely by the operator to give the best result. Motor grader operators need to choose the best of the techniques to bring about an improvement in equipment’s performance.

To achieve and maintain the motor grader effectively at all times, here are some useful tips and techniques for the motor grader.

• Motor Graders can face wear and tear due to harsh or rocky terrain. Therefore, operators need to handle the equipment safely.
• Correct positioning of the moldboard is essential.
• To keep the motor grader blade sharp, experienced operators need to keep the top of the blade just slightly forward of the cutting edge, to pitch the blade forward only when it's necessary to cut.
• Operators should change the blade angle periodically. If the moldboard is kept forward.
• For light and free-flowing material, moldboard angles of 10 to 30 degrees should be used and when the processing of wet and sticky material, mixing large windrows and ditching is required, higher moldboard angles of 30 to 50 degrees should be used by operators.
• While grading along gutters and curbs, operators need to pay extra care to the task. A slight mistake can result in the machine running up against the curb and the edge being chipped as well as the moldboard being highly affected.
• When sacrificing or ripping across a slope, operators need to keep the moldboard parallel with the front axle, centered to the frame and lowered close to the ground to protect against rolling over.
• When using the ripper, operators need to lower the teeth into the ground with the grader in motion. If the rear wheels lose traction, operators need to raise the ripper until the wheels regain traction. The ripper should not be used when turning as it reduces wear on the equipment.
• Operating speed of the motor grader highly affects the quality of work. So, while ditching or blading, there shouldn't be a hurry. Higher speed can sometimes cause the motor grader to bounce and gauge the surface rather than smoothen it.

In extreme cases, bouncing can cause the operator to lose control of the grader which can produce a potential accident situation. So, operators should keep the machine travel speed low enough to prevent machine bounce (generally 3 to 5 mph).

The above mentioned are some of the useful techniques that can come be helpful even for the experienced motor graders. The above techniques are beneficial and helpful at the construction site.

Need New Or Used Motor Graders?

If you are looking to buy a new or used motor grader, P&E Marketplace specializes in selling powerful and dependable motor graders from several makes and models including: Caterpillar 140G, 140H and 140K motor graders for sale at competitive prices.

Read our blog post about heavy equipment buying tips