While it is not quite hedge-cutting season, dangerous bends and areas that pose a risk to visibility and public safety may be cut all year round.
Now is a good time to pull the hedge cutter out of the shed and carry out some typical pre-season maintenance work before cutting starts.
As hedge cutters are made up of many moving parts, good daily maintenance practices will reduce machine wear, leading to lower running costs and the likelihood that the machine will not need much attention at the beginning of the season.
As always, if in doubt about any aspect of maintenance, ask your local garage for advice, or ask them to do the jobs you are not comfortable or confident doing. Never take a chance, as this can often lead to more trouble.
Storage
Ideally, hedge cutters should be stored indoors to prevent rust or water damage to electrics on most of the modern hedge cutters. Exposed chrome on hydraulic rams can become pitted or begin to rust aft
Pins and pivioting joints such be lubricated daily.
er long periods in wet conditions, which can damage oil seals within the hydraulic cylinders.
As well as this, the hedge cutters’ paintwork will fade quicker when exposed to direct sunlight. It is essential to store control boxes in a dry environment, as moisture can play havoc with electrical contacts and connections, often being very costly to repair.
Hydraulic pumps and gearboxes
Before the season starts, the oil level of the hedge cutter’s hydraulic tank should be checked. Watch out for the quality of the oil, which should be clear or golden and not milky or black.
The latter two would indicate water or dirt contamination, which is not good for pumps. These checks should be done before starting up the machine.
The hydraulic pump's gearbox oil level should be checked before cutting starts.
Most modern machines will specify hydraulic oil 46, although many contractors use hydraulic 68, which is thicker and best suited to long hours cutting in hot weather.
Oil leaks or burst hoses will happen at some stage, due to bent or damaged brackets, continuous movement or sustained use in a particular position. When this happens it is important to stop the hedge cutter immediately. A burst pipe could result in the arm dropping or cause hot oil to be pumped at high pressure onto the tractor or roadway, leaving for a tough and potentially costly clean up. In the aftermath of a burst pipe, check the oil reservoir level and top up if necessary, as a volume of oil may have been lost. It is good practice to replace hydraulic filters every 500 hours or so.
Hydraulic pumps are driven by PTO via gearbox. These gearboxes contain oil, so it is important to check the level before the season starts. Low oil level would indicate a leak in the gearbox, which needs to be rectified immediately or damage will be done to the gearbox.
Cutting head
The cutting head experiences the majority of the abuse, as it is the direct point of contact between hedges and the hedge cutter. This is probably the most important part to have functioning properly, given its rotors’ high rotational speeds.
Flaps present on the cutter head if damaged or missing should be replaced as these help deflect debris being launched forward or backward from the rotor.
Flails and flail mounting brackets should be present and examined for cracks or excessive wear. Flail mounting bracket holes can elongate over time from movement within the flail and bracket, which could lead to loss of flail, although tight bolts will prevent this from happening.
All flails should be present and bolts holding them in place should be tight to prevent air.
When the cutter head is running, no vibrations should be present, indicating good rotor balance. An unbalanced rotor shaft is generally caused by missing flails or a a damaged shaft.Over time, this can crack the canopy, as well as create other problems on the machine as the vibrations are sent down through the hydraulic arm. An unbalanced rotor will require professional attention, with a full overhaul starting at €300 plus VAT depending on the damage done. Flails are easily replaced and are generally cheap in price (€10 plus VAT each), but it is important matching flails are used on the rotor, as there are different flail options that may be different in weight and could lead to rotor imbalance.
All bearings on the head should be free from play or unwanted movement and greased on a daily basis to prevent bearing failure. The rotor and rear depth roller bearings are the main ones to keep lubricated. As well as this, ensure all components are tight and as they should be. The rotor mounted drive motor should be given the once over to make sure it is tight on its mounts and no oil leaks are present.
Wear and tear
Given the tough life of a hedge cutter, it is important the whole mainframe is be thoroughly checked for signs of cracking. Cracks should be attended to before developing into something more substantial.
Hydraulic rams can leak internally as well as externally. An internal leak within the cylinder’s piston will cause the ram to creep or move, which is not ideal with a flail rotor rotating at high speeds. Hedge cutter heads with front and rear rubber flaps are there to absorb impact from items launched outwards by the rotor and flails. These provide a line of defence and are not expensive to replace if damaged or missing.
Control
Whether a mechanical cable type or a more modern electronic control, both types should be working properly before and throughout the season. Mechanical cable controls should be moving freely and not sticking on or off. Electronic proportional controls should be checked to ensure each joystick or switch is working as it should. If connections and control units are kept clean and dry, everything should work as intended. Connections or electrical contacts that have been exposed to moisture can corrode and stop working. Electrical faults can often be tedious and require some time and knowledge to solve. If a hedge cutter is well maintained, stored in a dry place and operated with care, there shouldn’t be much work involved in ensuring it is ready for the season ahead.
While it is not quite hedge-cutting season, dangerous bends and areas that pose a risk to visibility and public safety may be cut all year round.
Now is a good time to pull the hedge cutter out of the shed and carry out some typical pre-season maintenance work before cutting starts.
As hedge cutters are made up of many moving parts, good daily maintenance practices will reduce machine wear, leading to lower running costs and the likelihood that the machine will not need much attention at the beginning of the season.
As always, if in doubt about any aspect of maintenance, ask your local garage for advice, or ask them to do the jobs you are not comfortable or confident doing. Never take a chance, as this can often lead to more trouble.
Storage
Ideally, hedge cutters should be stored indoors to prevent rust or water damage to electrics on most of the modern hedge cutters. Exposed chrome on hydraulic rams can become pitted or begin to rust aft
Pins and pivioting joints such be lubricated daily.
er long periods in wet conditions, which can damage oil seals within the hydraulic cylinders.
As well as this, the hedge cutters’ paintwork will fade quicker when exposed to direct sunlight. It is essential to store control boxes in a dry environment, as moisture can play havoc with electrical contacts and connections, often being very costly to repair.
Hydraulic pumps and gearboxes
Before the season starts, the oil level of the hedge cutter’s hydraulic tank should be checked. Watch out for the quality of the oil, which should be clear or golden and not milky or black.
The latter two would indicate water or dirt contamination, which is not good for pumps. These checks should be done before starting up the machine.
The hydraulic pump's gearbox oil level should be checked before cutting starts.
Most modern machines will specify hydraulic oil 46, although many contractors use hydraulic 68, which is thicker and best suited to long hours cutting in hot weather.
Oil leaks or burst hoses will happen at some stage, due to bent or damaged brackets, continuous movement or sustained use in a particular position. When this happens it is important to stop the hedge cutter immediately. A burst pipe could result in the arm dropping or cause hot oil to be pumped at high pressure onto the tractor or roadway, leaving for a tough and potentially costly clean up. In the aftermath of a burst pipe, check the oil reservoir level and top up if necessary, as a volume of oil may have been lost. It is good practice to replace hydraulic filters every 500 hours or so.
Hydraulic pumps are driven by PTO via gearbox. These gearboxes contain oil, so it is important to check the level before the season starts. Low oil level would indicate a leak in the gearbox, which needs to be rectified immediately or damage will be done to the gearbox.
Cutting head
The cutting head experiences the majority of the abuse, as it is the direct point of contact between hedges and the hedge cutter. This is probably the most important part to have functioning properly, given its rotors’ high rotational speeds.
Flaps present on the cutter head if damaged or missing should be replaced as these help deflect debris being launched forward or backward from the rotor.
Flails and flail mounting brackets should be present and examined for cracks or excessive wear. Flail mounting bracket holes can elongate over time from movement within the flail and bracket, which could lead to loss of flail, although tight bolts will prevent this from happening.
All flails should be present and bolts holding them in place should be tight to prevent air.
When the cutter head is running, no vibrations should be present, indicating good rotor balance. An unbalanced rotor shaft is generally caused by missing flails or a a damaged shaft.Over time, this can crack the canopy, as well as create other problems on the machine as the vibrations are sent down through the hydraulic arm. An unbalanced rotor will require professional attention, with a full overhaul starting at €300 plus VAT depending on the damage done. Flails are easily replaced and are generally cheap in price (€10 plus VAT each), but it is important matching flails are used on the rotor, as there are different flail options that may be different in weight and could lead to rotor imbalance.
All bearings on the head should be free from play or unwanted movement and greased on a daily basis to prevent bearing failure. The rotor and rear depth roller bearings are the main ones to keep lubricated. As well as this, ensure all components are tight and as they should be. The rotor mounted drive motor should be given the once over to make sure it is tight on its mounts and no oil leaks are present.
Wear and tear
Given the tough life of a hedge cutter, it is important the whole mainframe is be thoroughly checked for signs of cracking. Cracks should be attended to before developing into something more substantial.
Hydraulic rams can leak internally as well as externally. An internal leak within the cylinder’s piston will cause the ram to creep or move, which is not ideal with a flail rotor rotating at high speeds. Hedge cutter heads with front and rear rubber flaps are there to absorb impact from items launched outwards by the rotor and flails. These provide a line of defence and are not expensive to replace if damaged or missing.
Control
Whether a mechanical cable type or a more modern electronic control, both types should be working properly before and throughout the season. Mechanical cable controls should be moving freely and not sticking on or off. Electronic proportional controls should be checked to ensure each joystick or switch is working as it should. If connections and control units are kept clean and dry, everything should work as intended. Connections or electrical contacts that have been exposed to moisture can corrode and stop working. Electrical faults can often be tedious and require some time and knowledge to solve. If a hedge cutter is well maintained, stored in a dry place and operated with care, there shouldn’t be much work involved in ensuring it is ready for the season ahead.
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