Why do I need knives in my mixer?
- Mixer knives are used to cut up the material you are feeding to get the desired length in your ration for your livestock. You can have your bales processed with a grinder, but the bales may still not be cut well enough to feed, so extra cutting may be needed.
- Your nutritionist can perform a shaker box test to see if your mixer is performing correctly. Otherwise, a quick test is to look in your bunks. If you see a lot of long material that has been sorted out by the livestock, that is a good sign that the mix is incorrect.
How do I know if my mixer knives need to be replaced?
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- This depends on what type of knives you have in your mixer since they all wear a little differently. Each knife manufacturer produces different knives with various hardness and cutting styles. Check with your dealer for what is recommend on your mixer.
- A curved mixer knife that is bolted close to the auger edge will not wear as fast as a triangle knife that sticks out farther into the feed.
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- The majority of the cutting on a triangle knife is towards the tip of the knife. The first part of the knife may still look good, but if the end is worn then the knife should be replaced.
- A dull knife can cause a poor cut ration and it will take more horsepower to run the mixer. Also, feed can get wrapped around a dull knife which causes horsepower loss which in turn causes more fuel consumption.
Mixer knives maintenance
- It is a good idea to inspect your knives periodically, not only for the knife wear but also for the bolt wear. If a knife would happen to fall off and get wedged under the auger it can create $1000s of dollars in repairs.
Stay tuned for more information from Post Equipment’s shop about the leading edge of the vertical mixer auger and plowblade wear and upkeep. Call Post Equipment at 712-476-4500 for help or information about your vertical mixer wagon parts. You can see our most popular parts for sale at our website www.postequip.com.
