Balancing Bush Hog

[Kaleoomaui]

Is it bad to replace blades one at a time? Does the weight difference of the two blades cause more stress on the gearbox? I was under the impression that you should always replace them in pairs. Trying to gather some facts before bringing this up to my manager at work.

 

[mcfarmall]

Balance is preferred with any rotating mechanism, but keep in mind we're not talking about a gyrocompass. There's no hard and fast rule that says you must replace both blades but I would remove the "keeper" and make sure that both blades are within a few grams of each other.

 

[Kaleoomaui]

Balance is preferred with any rotating mechanism, but keep in mind we're not talking about a gyrocompass. There's no hard and fast rule that says you must replace both blades but I would remove the "keeper" and make sure that both blades are within a few grams of each other.

The gyro compass reference is over my head but I think I get what you're saying. To go more in depth the machines that we run typically are run 16 hours a day 5-6 days a week. The terrain is very hilly with some fields having a lot of rocks. When the day shift does maintenance on the equipment they'll use wrong sized bolts, skip on greasing the pivot points, and if a blade brakes change only the broken one. My concern is that when the blades are unbalanced the pan doesn't spin on it's intended plane resulting in extra wear on the pan and gearbox. I might be looking too much into it but what say you? As I get photos I'll upload

 

[mcfarmall]

Sounds like your employer runs a sloppy maintenance program so arguing with him about this is likely just a waste of your time. It's not your equipment, it's his so let him go about his business.

Sip your Lipton tea and watch the world burn.

 

[85Hokie]

Balance is preferred with any rotating mechanism, but keep in mind we're not talking about a gyrocompass. There's no hard and fast rule that says you must replace both blades but I would remove the "keeper" and make sure that both blades are within a few grams of each other.

Not to diss "balancing the blades" - because that is a thing that needs to be done within reason
. But to get them to weigh within a couple of grams of one another would be "fun to say the least"


1 gram is the exact weight of a us dollar bill.

 

[mcfarmall]

Not to diss "balancing the blades" - because that is a thing that needs to be done within reason
. But to get them to weigh within a couple of grams of one another would be "fun to say the least"


1 gram is the exact weight of a us dollar bill.

Maybe "ounces" would have been a better unit of measure

 

[Drifthopper]

Is it bad to replace blades one at a time? Does the weight difference of the two blades cause more stress on the gearbox? I was under the impression that you should always replace them in pairs. Trying to gather some facts before bringing this up to my manager at work.

Its more about rotating mass.
If you have one blade thicker / heavier then the other one, the unit will have a vibration, it may not be noticeable on the tractor, but eventually it'll wear out the seals and possible gear damage in the gear box.

and.... 85 hokie..... with the proper scale, you can get em close.... real close.

 

[GrizBota]

I replace my brush hog blades in pairs. I’d be surprised if the new ones weigh with in an ounce of one another. But, yes using two vastly different weights (one new, one well used) should do a nice job of helping the gear box go away sooner than it would otherwise.

 

[SDT]

Is it bad to replace blades one at a time? Does the weight difference of the two blades cause more stress on the gearbox? I was under the impression that you should always replace them in pairs. Trying to gather some facts before bringing this up to my manager at work.

I do not know of anyone who balances rough cut mower blades but one should certainly replace in pairs as a worn blade will be significantly lighter than a new blade.

 

[Captain13]

https://academy.scene7.com/is/image/academy/10391992?$pdp-gallery-ng$

Get one of these, hang it and put a blade on each end. Then tweek the heavier blade till they hang evenly.