Low HP flail mower

[IslandTractor]

Now that the TBN guru on flail mowers, Leonz, has shown up, you guys will get more detailed info on flails than you will know what to do with. I'll defer to his recommendations so long as he doesn't try to convince you to go on treasure hunts in old barns to find abandoned flail mowers in need of "a little" work.:laughing:

 

[GolfAddict]

Well, just heard back from our local dealer. They contacted Befco who told them that they were confident the 60" would not have a problem with the Kubota BX SCUT sized 3pt hitch. But I did choke a bit on the price... $2900.

 

[IslandTractor]

For honeysuckle, my vote goes to RoundUp and subsequent fabric control

//greg//

Better living through modern chemistry!

 

[SI2305]

Greg_g,

I think we have the same problem with the honeysuckle. I have patches that are simply overgrown with the vines. I have pulled the vines up and new vines appeared. I have selectively used Roundup, unfortunately it sometimes (usually?) grows next to something I want to keep and I am always afraid the Roundup will kill the good plants with the bad. I know you can set the sprayer to just a very fine stream, but that would mean individually killing acres of plants while avoiding the desired plants right next to them. My best luck has been in:

1) going after vines as they go vertical. At least in this case I can concentrate my efforts on the really bad offenders as they often will wrap themselves around a trunk.

2) Roundup areas completely dominated by honeysuckle

3) Mow before it grows--basically maintain those hedges so they don't completely succumb to vines.

4) controversial--burning. Though I have not tried this, there have been controlled burns in the woods near my home and while they do have some honeysuckle, it is NOTHING like the literal other side of the road that was not burned. My understanding is that most of our native plants were adapted to the great plains and therefore developed some degree of fire resistance. Either it did not ignite easily, was fertilized by the burning, kept part of the plant under ground or otherwise protected from fire. Japanese honeysuckle, however, was adapted to a more moist environment and actually developed an oil to protect it from excessive rain (though I never understood how that would harm the leaves). Consequently, when fire is set, the Honeysuckle burns and dies. You can try it yourself, but it might be better for the professionals. I am seriously considering a controlled burn due to this darned invasive, but first I am going to continue my present project--reclaim as much of the woods as I can.



Part of my woods project is to cut lanes--partly for access, and partly as burn barriers. I have approximately 3 acres of woods and so far (last 3 weeks) I have managed to clear perhaps 1/4 acre. Part of this is because I finally got a chainsaw in action and used my log trailer to remove logs that were blocking the path of my 2305 (HUGE PROBLEM). Now, some of those problematic logs are now retaining walls for my garden beds--I figured this was a big WIN-WIN for me. The going is slow as I have LOTS of various barriers--timber, gullies, hidden stumps and terribly dense vegetation. However, as I clear more land, I gain maneuverability and I have gotten a smaller brush cutter (Stihl) with a square blade that just melts its way through the brush I can't reach with the LX4.

This weekend I intend to cut up and take out some of the bigger logs in my path and see how far I can shred with the LX4. A major challenge is that a small creek runs through the middle of the woods. The creek is only roughly 2' wide and frequently dries up in summer,, but it has been very rainy here and I have never had my 2305 in the woods this deep before so this will be quite the test. I am also concerned about crossing that stream and the possibility of getting stuck in the mud in a place I likely could get no towing assistance.

I have rambled on even for me. I will update as the project evolves.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[IslandTractor]

Well, just heard back from our local dealer. They contacted Befco who told them that they were confident the 60" would not have a problem with the Kubota BX SCUT sized 3pt hitch. But I did choke a bit on the price... $2900.

There is also a China flail that some TBN members have bought. I haven't heard much about them for the past year but the initial reports were positive. Some guy up in ?Washington state was importing them and selling via eBay as I recall. I forget the exact name as it sounded like Befco...?Bestco or something like that. Those mowers were about half of what Caroni's cost but I would be fearful of needing parts five years from now with a one man operation as the importer.

 

[greg_g]

I have selectively used Roundup, unfortunately it sometimes (usually?) grows next to something I want to keep and I am always afraid the Roundup will kill the good plants with the bad.

I understand, RoundUp kills indiscriminately. Not its fault, that's what it was designed for. No problem though, use 2-4-D instead. It only attacks broadleaf, leaves grasses untouched.

//greg//

 

[SI2305]

Golf Addict:

We can commiserate together. The dream is just within reach, but the price of the implement makes for a good down payment on a much larger tractor (even if I bought a larger tractor, I would not get rid of my 2305--it is just too maneuverable and infinitely handy. I can do full size tractor work in small pieces just perfectly for my property. Do you agree about yours?). I think that that price is slightly more than I paid for the other two mowers I have. I originally bought the 2305 with the loader (a no-brainer for me) and the LX4 to cut my field areas. at that time we also owned an L-120 garden tractor that was a fine mower and handy for my wife to operate pulling a small trailer. We actually put quite a bit into that machine, but the tranny went and it was the type that was basically sealed at the factory and had no easy or economical way to fix. Instead we bought the LandPride RFM60. I have learned to really appreciate LandPride as they are well built like my Deere, but not nearly as costly. To replace the loss of the L-120 we had 3 options

1) new garden tractor--$2700

2) Deere RFM--$2300

And then I got the idea of checking with the local Kubota dealer

3) LandPride RFM 60--$1700!!

That closed the deal right there, save a thousand bucks!

Do miss having two machines but the RFM is a great mower and the price was right.

Another ramble, but now I have to come up with a really good excuse to add a third mower!

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[leonz]

Leonz,

You mentioned weed barrier fabric several times. I am assuming you are referring to the sorta ground carpet put in place to block sunlight. Would it be your intention to put this under/directly adjacent to the hedgerow? I have used these before with varying success and I think you are right, in order for it to work, it must be a high quality one properly installed. My main invasive weed is Japanese honeysuckle. It is a beautiful, fragrant vine that grows all year long, even through snows, takes over hill and dale if allowed and can completely smother an entire hedge. My only success has been at cutting it off at the root level and keep cutting it off. Otherwise, I have seen the stuff take down 40' hardwood trees by chocking them out.

My point. I Think a flail would work nicely for this invasive, but you mentioned the arrival of invasives AFTER mowing. Are you referring to those invasives that will thrive due to increased sunlight? I am not entirely certain what the connection is between flail mowing and invasive species.

You have a wealth of knowledge for the newbies here. We appreciate it.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

The invasive I absolutely hate is poison ivy and it will love you for sunlight.

Not to name drop or get in trouble with Muhammad for mentioning a non advertiser but the high quality weed fabric that Farmtak offers is the best in my opinion and they sell a lot of it to landscapers.


As far as mowing and control the term is Vigilance twice weekly mowing to the sod will destroy a lot of invasives and eliminate any chance of flowering as long as you keep after an area you want to maintain

Dethatching areas gets rid of a lot of weeds like lambs ear and also aids in removing fungus in shady spots too. It is judgement call as to how much work you want to do. As greg said the used of a weed killer will help things along considerably. I use propane and a flame burner when I know there is no Poison Ivy. I use salt water liberally as well.

 

[leonz]

Leonz,

You mentioned weed barrier fabric several times. I am assuming you are referring to the sorta ground carpet put in place to block sunlight. Would it be your intention to put this under/directly adjacent to the hedgerow? I have used these before with varying success and I think you are right, in order for it to work, it must be a high quality one properly installed. My main invasive weed is Japanese honeysuckle. It is a beautiful, fragrant vine that grows all year long, even through snows, takes over hill and dale if allowed and can completely smother an entire hedge. My only success has been at cutting it off at the root level and keep cutting it off. Otherwise, I have seen the stuff take down 40' hardwood trees by chocking them out.

My point. I Think a flail would work nicely for this invasive, but you mentioned the arrival of invasives AFTER mowing. Are you referring to those invasives that will thrive due to increased sunlight? I am not entirely certain what the connection is between flail mowing and invasive species.



You have a wealth of knowledge for the newbies here. We appreciate it.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

What you want to do to save yourself a lot of aggravation and whiplash from stems is decide how wide the fabric must be for you to mow comfortably with or without a canopy of branches at head level.

It took me 10 years and my father nearly losing an eye to convince him to trim his hardwoods back (aspen, red maple -another invasive, paper birch
sugar maples etc., as he let them droop to the ground as we had a very dense close canopy of hardwoods over the established turf at the home place . Your trees will not suffer for trimming as long as they are dormant and you follow the guidelines for the specie involved.

I go powered pole pruner crazy when required as the last thing I need is a branch breaking when the wife or her dogs/freeloaders!!!! areoutside in winter.


the next project is getting the two 8 foot diameter weeping willows down and turned into boiler food!!!!

The nice thibg about pines is they can take a lotof abuse and still give you zero problems and the weeds/invasives cannot grow under them BUT they will wind around the limbs and as along as you clip them(ivy stems) they will rot away eventually.


This is the reason I had the two 100 year old box elders removed one sheared after an ice storm and I did not want to have the possiblity either one breaking and killing my wife or the dogs I had at the time.

The stumps on those things are so big 6 foot plus in diameter they will have to be dug out as they are suckering and I need to have the room for the second hoop shed.


Long branches for hardwoods and soft woods like bix elder and high limbs are pretty to look at in season but they are deadly at any time- several of the trees planted in Central Park in New York City had to be trimmed back past the walkways or removed entirely due thier age and or ice damage and they mananged to kill a couple of folks in the recent past in summer and winter both if I remember correctly. Any tree limb has weight and mass and gravity on its side and they dont take prisoners no matter the season.


I just want you to be an informed consumer.

 

[leonz]

There is also a China flail that some TBN members have bought. I haven't heard much about them for the past year but the initial reports were positive. Some guy up in ?Washington state was importing them and selling via eBay as I recall. I forget the exact name as it sounded like Befco...?Bestco or something like that. Those mowers were about half of what Caroni's cost but I would be fearful of needing parts five years from now with a one man operation as the importer.

Bestco from what I remember of the name, what scares me about them is I saw no weights on the rotor and how thin the mower shroud is on thier flail mowers.

These are the two main issues about thier flailmowers I really shiver thinking about. the one minor issue is the wheel bearings/bushings on these two specific brands that I have talked about previously.

 

[GolfAddict]

SI2305,

I know what you mean about getting a larger tractor, but keeping the SCUT. I have different types of areas that I have need for a tractor, sometimes a SCUT sized and sometimes a full sized.

I cut my lawn and also the "fairways" of my golf holes with my SCUT. (I reclaimed some of my pasture land to use for a rather primitive few golf holes.) I currently cut the rough of my golf holes with the SCUT mower set higher, which I think a flail mower would be ideal for. Then there are meadow areas on the land that I only rough cut every couple years with a heavy duty rotary mower, as well as put in some food plots - best done with a larger tractor.

When I stopped farming I kept one tractor, along with some implements. So I'm just a bit ahead of you with already having a larger tractor - but as you say, I could never be without a SCUT sized tractor.

 

[SI2305]

Leonz,

You are absolutely right about the poison ivy as it not an invasive plant but a native! I do everything I can to knock it back, and in my experience, nothing--NOTHING--beats Roundup. I am not trying to be an advertiser, but this is the best for killing weeds. Mowing makes little poison ivy but does not kill it. And yes, I am HIGHLY allergic to it

When I first got married my wife and I moved into a spec home just completed. The "yard" had been rough graded but neither finish graded nor seeded. After moving in I found some poison Ivy plants. I hit them with roundup, only to have another pop up right next to the dead one. I continued this until frustration set in at which point I got a fork, spade and rake in order to start pulling up roots. The root ended up being 70 feet long, with branches heading off for at least 10 feet before it finally broke! 70 feet of roots! I did not know what to do with it. I certainly did not want to bury it, it would love that. I did not want to burn it for fear of inhalation. I eventually chucked it over into an adjacent empty lot in a place with tons of shade. Ever since, I feel like I am at war with the dreaded plant and eradicate it whenever possible.

I hope your technique works, but the proper herbicide can really deliver a knockout punch but might need repeated applications. there is a newer version of Roundup that is intended for Poison Ivy, its roots, and its evil brethren. It might just be a stronger concentration, or it might have something in addition to glyphosphate. Whatever the case is, best of luck to you.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[leonz]

Leonz,

You are absolutely right about the poison ivy as it not an invasive plant but a native! I do everything I can to knock it back, and in my experience, nothing--NOTHING--beats Roundup. I am not trying to be an advertiser, but this is the best for killing weeds. Mowing makes little poison ivy but does not kill it. And yes, I am HIGHLY allergic to it

When I first got married my wife and I moved into a spec home just completed. The "yard" had been rough graded but neither finish graded nor seeded. After moving in I found some Poison Ivy plants. I hit them with roundup, only to have another pop up right next to the dead one. I continued this until frustration set in at which point I got a fork, spade and rake in order to start pulling up roots. The root ended up being 70 feet long, with branches heading off for at least 10 feet before it finally broke! 70 feet of roots! I did not know what to do with it. I certainly did not want to bury it, it would love that. I did not want to burn it for fear of inhalation. I eventually chucked it over into an adjacent empty lot in a place with tons of shade. Ever since, I feel like I am at war with the dreaded plant and eradicate it whenever possible.

I hope your technique works, but the proper herbicide can really deliver a knockout punch but might need repeated applications. there is a newer version of Roundup that is intended for Poison Ivy, its roots, and its evil brethren. It might just be a stronger concentration, or it might have something in addition to glyphosphate. Whatever the case is, best of luck to you.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

I must apologise, I ment in My statement the fact that Poison Ivy crawls everywhere it has the opportunity to do so

 

[IslandTractor]

SI2305,

I know what you mean about getting a larger tractor, but keeping the SCUT. I have different types of areas that I have need for a tractor, sometimes a SCUT sized and sometimes a full sized. .

I have a full size CUT and I'd love a BX24/25 for projects where the DK is just too big to work effectively.

 

[SI2305]

Island Tractor,

I am pretty sure I stated before that I own about 3 acres of woods that took a beating from a storm 3 years ago. I spent all of today (Saturday) out in the woods clearing up dense undergrowth that shot up sense and in the process, creating some usable, clear passages. Nice part about the 2305 is that it can turn on a dime--provided my loader and LX4 don't hit a tree. Today we cut some of the numerous, big fallen logs that stop my progress. I still have a lot more to go, but having the small tractor in the tight space can certainly bring in big results

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[IslandTractor]

Honestly SI2305 I wouldn't use a SCUT in the woods to clear debris. That is a job best done with a powerful loader, grapple and ground clearance IMO. What I'd like a SCUT for is closer to home.

 

[SI2305]

Island Tractor,

I share your concerns about the ground clearance--single most vulnerable aspect of a SCUT. However, as I was using my LX4 slowly backing into the woods about 4-5 feet and a time (at most), my rotary cutter finds the dangerous stuff first and destroys it. I will show a pict soon showing all that I cleared, but it does take some patience, time and skill to slowly maneuver the whole setup so that I can level small vegetation, be wary of heavy vegetation, and stop for logs or other obstructions and then compensate for those.

I understand your concerns, but no larger piece of equipment would work for me. I would, however, be interested in any sort of armor package I could install underneath.

SI 2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[leonz]

Please check with the Brotek folks to see if they
make a belly pan for your JD2305 quickly.


Not wanting to be fly in the ointment here-
I would also be concerned with the aluminum axle
that you have on your 2305 as well as they have
snapped on other owner users in the past


It may be well worth it for you to check with
someone who owns a very small dozer like a
JD350 or 450 to see what their rates are or
possibly renting one for a day or two.

A dozer with and experienced operator and
grouser tracks will do a lot of work in a very
short time for you.


As I said I only want you to suceed and not fail.



www.brotek.com


The Brotek folks do not make a guard for your tractor
but it would be worth your while to check with them to
see if they would be interested in making one for you as
brush is an opportunist as any user of a BX that has had
to replace a cooling fan because they did not have a guard
underneath the tractor to protect the underside of the
transmission and cooling fan.



_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[SI2305]

I wanted to add a couple of picts that show how terribly dense the woods is but also show the progress. Island Tractor, Leonz, I post these, partially with your concerns in mind. This certainly is not area to go without caution. Overall, this represents a few days progress with one other person around to help with the chainsaw cuts. This also gives me a great supply of logs for my raised bed gardens.

Thunder Cut seemed appropriate for these sets of images as it was a terrible thunder when the trees fell and quite a bit of thunder from my 2305 as it made its way through the woods. I estimate I have cleared 1/4 acre, though this is only a guess.

TC 2 is at the top of the ridge, just inside of the woods, looking down on several vanes that I have cut into.

TC 12 is an upper view looking down into the central cut which has become the main area, from which we can add new cuts

TC 19 is at the bottom of the central cut looking across the lower valley. I chose this pict as it shows the density of the vegetation. Essentially, the entire woods is as densely vegetated as the vegetation in this pict. It also shows two real concerns--those two hanging trees. I don't know exactly how I am going to get those down as they are VERY long trunks that are hung up in other trees. I know the dangers of trying to cut one of these down. Might call a pro on these two.

TC 38 is taken about 1/2 way up the central cut back up towards the top. I chose it to give perspective and to show how much we have managed to clear

I appreciate your concerns, but I can assure you this was no trivial effort on my part. I took each section slowly, basically backing in with the LX4, lowering the mower and then driving forward and then again repeating the process. I moved VERY slowly and took care to be sensitive to the alterations in terrain and slowed or stopped whenever I felt the ground was just no good to travel. I rarely moved forward into new vegetation, doing so only to move logs. Much of this progress was restricted by logs too large to get over and only passible with the help of a chainsaw.

However, time and effort and patience and a lot of tools made this part possible. From here I want to try to connect some of the areas, cut up and move obstructive logs and try to get the woods back into a condition where they are still a woods, but leave room for human usage.

SI2305

JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs

 

[SI2305]

Leonz,

Could you tell me what grouser tracks are? I have never heard of them. I a curious, what exactly would you imagine a dozer doing in my woods? I don't really use the blade so much as I want to shred the dense vegetation and leave the few remaining trees. If you look at the pictures I sent, that is basically what I want to do.

Also, could you explain to me how I am potentially at risk when I am clearing brush the way I am. I thought I was going pretty safe with the LX4 leading the way and only taking 2-3 foot "bites" at a time. even those bite were slow as I either lowered the LX4 onto brush and then moved forward through cleared ground, or I slowly backed in with the LX4, sort of "probing" in and careful to move slow enough that I would not strike a log hard. basically if I felt the nudge I stopped, moved forward, checked for obstructions, then moved back again. Overall, it was a very slow process, but faster than doing it by hand. In an afternoon I had cleared some nice patches and exposed logs preventing further movement. Thats where the chainsaw would come in and I would cut only those logs that I could tell were safe--not spring poles or the like.

I am wary of the underside, but that is why I was going backwards--to clear before material could even come into contact with the machine and especially its underside. Trust me when I say that I did not mow/clear unless I could see what I was clearing.

I thought I was being safe, but maybe you have better alternatives.

Thank you very much for you knowledge and insights

SI2305