Commercial mowers are efficient, effective tools that many businesses use to care for professional landscapes, lawns, and farms. One of the keys to their effectiveness is their blades. Keeping your mower blades sharp and in good condition will help you continue to landscape and cut as needed. Keep reading to learn about how often you should inspect your commercial mower blades and how to care for them in general.
Inspection Frequency
The frequency of mower blade inspection partially depends on the quality of the blades you use and how frequently you use them. If you have medium- or low-quality blades that you use frequently, you’ll want to inspect them every 10-20 hours of use, as they could have dulled or been damaged in that amount of time. If you have higher-quality blades that you don’t frequently use, you can wait to inspect them after about 50-70 hours of work.
Replacement Frequency
If you notice your blades are dull or damaged during your inspection, then you need to either sharpen or replace them. Professional landscapers and those with plenty of lawn care experience should have the means and ability to sharpen and replace blades themselves. For those who’ve only recently invested in a commercial mower for their business, you may not know how to sharpen and replace blades yet, and that’s okay. Take your mower to a professional who can perform this service for you until you can learn how to handle the job and feel confident doing it yourself.
Additional Blade Care
Before someone reinstalls your sharpened blades or you do so yourself, make sure to check the balance. Failing to properly inspect, replace, and balance your blades are common mowing mistakes you need to avoid so you can focus on getting the job done instead of worrying about the equipment. You can easily check that a blade is balanced by placing a screwdriver through the center hole and letting the blade go. If the blade doesn’t stay level, you’ve accidentally sharpened one side more than the other. Shave off the heavier side, which is the one closest to the ground, and check the balance again before reinstalling.
Knowing how often you should inspect commercial mower blades, as well as how to replace and care for them, is an important part of owning a lawnmower. No one can know everything, though, so be willing to learn more about lawnmower maintenance and care from other professionals who can help you learn more about caring for your tools.
