Grading Beams: Answering 5 Frequently Asked Questions

Grading beams are popular excavator attachments in the construction and landscaping industries, designed to increase the speed and precision of your grading and levelling projects. In this blog post, we're going to dive into the top 5 frequently asked questions about excavator grading beams and shed some light on multiple areas, including the best materials to use, compatibility with couplers, suitability for use on micro machines and more.

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Top 5 FAQ's about Grading Beams

1. What materials can grading beams be used with?

Excavator grading beams can be used with a whole range of materials but usually work best with smaller aggregates, such as topsoil, sand, gravel and crushed tarmac. They pretty much work with all type 1 and type 2 aggregates. If you can grade it with your standard grading bucket, then chances are you can grade it with your grading beam too! Some of the best uses are levelling gravel on driveways or pavements, grading out the top soil on a garden ready for planting or turfing, or even spreading wood chippings on a children's playground.

2. When should you use a grading beam over a grading bucket?

The decision to use a grading beam or a grading bucket largely depends on the nature of the project and your desired outcome. Grading beams are excellent for precise grading and levelling tasks, especially on larger surfaces or expansive areas. They achieve a smooth and even finish so if precision is essential, grading beams are your best choice. Your grading beam is more suitable for tasks that involve moving large volumes of loose materials, although you can also grade with your bucket too - either with the bottom of the bucket or the flat edge. If you're wanting to grade larger areas than the grading beam is your best options otherwise you will start to wear down your bucket. The grading beam is made of thicker and more heavy duty steel so will withstand your grading jobs for much longer.

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3. Can grading beams be used with a quick hitch?

Yes, you can use your grading beam with a quick coupler. In fact, we would recommend it! Chances are if you're using a grading beam, you're also using a range of other attachments to help complete your projects, such as a ripper tooth or rake riddle bucket. So, using your grading beam on your quick coupler means you can quickly and easily switch between attachments when needed. Not only does this reduce your downtime so you can get your projects completed faster, but it also stops the manual handling needed to manually fit your buckets and attachments to your digger.

4. Can you fit a bolt-on blade to a grading beam?

No, most manufacturers do not make a grading beam with the option to add a bolt on cutting edge. Due to the size of the attachment, adding a bolt on blade to cover the entire underside of your beam would be too heavy for mini diggers to handle. As well as being too heavy, the blade would also hang below the bottom of the beam so you would no longer have the flat bottom desired to level out your material. However, you do not need to worry about your grading beam wearing down, these attachments are made with excessive wear in mind. There are built stronger than your standard excavator attachments to help prevent this wear.

5. Can grading beams be used on a micro excavator?

This question is slightly more tricky to answer because it depends. As mentioned above, the grading beam is a heavier attachment than some of your standard attachments like digging buckets and grading buckets. This means it's easier to push your machine to the limit of its capabilities. For more skilled operators or operators who have been using excavators for a long time, you will be able to tell when your excavator is struggling and being pushed beyond it's limit. We would recommend to use your judgement as to whether the grading beam is suitable for you or not. We have numerous customers who operate micro excavators with our grading beams and have no issues with machine power or performance, a great example being ALS landscaping who frequently use their Rhinox grading beam on a micro excavator for those projects with more limited working space. If you do not extend to the full reach of your arm and work within a closer parameter to the machine, your grading beam will perform as desired.

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I'm trying to prepare for the arrival of a hexbeam. I'll be getting a ROHN 9H50 (about 30 ft. high) telescoping mast to support the hex. I'm uncertain if I should place the rotator at the top or bottom. I would have to get something along the lines of a Yaesu G 450 if I intend to rotate the entire mast. I could use a cheap Radio Shack rotator if I place it at the antenna, but that would increase the chances of the mast succumbing to inclement weather when once considers the additional weight of the rotator at the top.

I am assuming that the guy rings on the ROHN freely turn so that the mast can be rotated.

The hex is about 20 to 25 lbs.

Please provide opinions.

Thank you. There are is some pretty good info here:
http://k4kio.com/files/Push_up_mast_details.pdf

Personally, it seems the push up masts are a little light weight for an antenna this size, and the linked to PDF seems to even suggest that. Adding a rotor to the top isn't going to help that situation, although it would save money. Running things at the edge of their design envelope like this creates these sort of limitations. Looking at that PDF suggests that it's been done both ways. I think it would come down to how much risk you are willing to accept. A good gust of wind could destroy your antenna, and anything in it's path. Investing in either a better support structure, or putting the rotor at the bottom, might be the lesser of two evils. Personally I'd put up something along the lines of a Rohn 20g or 25g, but that isn't the question you are asking.

Seems like rotor at the base is a better option. I agree, a rotor inside a tower with a thrust bearing at the top is the best way to go and a guyed push up mast on top of a rotor is not a good idea. The guy rings would need the equivalent of thrust bearings and if they ever snagged it would create a huge problem.
prcguy

I wouldn't put the rotor at the bottom of the push up mast. The guy rings do rotate on the mast but add a great deal of downward pressure when the guy wires are used. It takes a bigger rotor when mounted at the bottom. This puts a lot of weight and torque on the rotor. As mmcenna said a better support structure for that antenna would be money well spent.

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. Unfortunately, I live in a HOA restricted neighborhood, which is the appeal of this antenna and a push up mast.

From what I have read, and what the K4KIO page suggests, is that push up masts are commonly used for such configurations. I spoke with a very knowledgeable online retailer (whose ratings for customer service are excellent), and they suggested the RH950. I specifically mentioned weight and was assured that this particular mast would be fine providing it is guyed. I'll have to check into the gauge of the mast,it very well could be smaller diameter than I should use. Really, I don't know what else to do in my situation.

I agree that a rotor at the bottom could present some problems. My initial inclination was to place the rotator at the top, but as I mentioned I am concerned about the additional weight.

This certainly seems to be a conundrum. There simply is no way I could get away with some type of tower - they'd run me out of the neighborhood.

Thanks again for the replies. Just to help show you that a push-up pole isn't less visible than a tower I'll pass this along. I used to have a small VHF beam and rotor on a 30' push-up pole. A few doors down, a neighbor had a huge TV antenna on a 60'+ Rohn 25 tower. Our house was the one known as the "house with the tower" while nobody even noticed the neighbor's.

This was due to two main things. My tower was guyed (as all push-up masts must be) and had no large trees behind it. His was self supporting (no guys) and had some nice tall trees behind it. Although my antenna was smaller and tower much shorter it was visible from most every angle. His was totally hidden by the trees when viewed from the street behind his house and from the front, the dark background of leaves made the tower very hard to see. Final Verdicy

What was the final result of the installation. I have a K4KIO hexbeam I intend to install on a 9H50 mast with a bottom mounted Ham IV. My plan is to place a second pipe in the ground parallel to the mast. This will allow a thrust bearing to be installed 8-10 feet up. Two sets of guys will cover the remainder. I am looking for ideas on some type of bearing assembly for the upper guys. I'll probably only go up about 30 feet. I have had good results with 30 foot beams on these bands during Field Day and Leo, K4KIO, advised that his was only up about 30 feet. Would like to hear the final configuration on this system as well as suggestions for guy wire bearings.