Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

I cannot use the tail wheels, one was damaged beyond repair, that is why I purchased the roller. Yes, the mower is ran level with the roller at the highest mounting point, leaving the skids about 1.5 inches off the ground.




It seems to cut better going forwards, but very little difference. Which direction should the cuttershaft turn?





The knives have only been used to cut two acres, they are still fairly sharp. A lot sharper than my lawn mower blades.

The normal state of affairs is that the flail mower rotor should be spinning towards the back of the tractor-looking at the left side of the flail mower the rotor will be spinning clockwise which permits it to carry the clippings over the rotor and throw them down to the ground.

A forward spinning flail mower rotor is typically used for highway mowing machines where if the flail mower knives and rotor will toss any object it impacts forward rather than backward towards an oncoming vehicle.


NOW if you can adjust the position of the rear roller(raise it) you should raise it up one position and then try mowing with it as the mower will create a higher pressure gradient,
meaning more suction to pull up the grass blades and aid the side slicers in slicing the grass blades and the mower will sound like a big household vacuum cleaner.

 

[JustBob]

Ok, I checked today and the belt and pto are not slipping, but the bearings are definitely bad.

The cutter shaft rotates in reverse of the wheels on the tractor...




Changing the rotation would be fairly easy if needed. I searched and couldn't find anything, are there any advantages to either forward or reverse rotation?

 

[leonz]

Ok, I checked today and the belt and pto are not slipping, but the bearings are definitely bad.

The cutter shaft rotates in reverse of the wheels on the tractor...

View attachment 333421


Changing the rotation would be fairly easy if needed. I searched and couldn't find anything, are there any advantages to either forward or reverse rotation?

You want to leave the rotation as it is bob as it is best for mowing.
If the bearings are bad as you say you have the culprit.

I would also check with an Alamo representative and ask if the rear wheels are still available and by installing the rear wheels you can remove the rear roller AND then be able to mow closer to the ground to create the proper pressure gradient/suction to mow much better after replacing the rotor bearings.

 

[Arc weld]

You NEVER remove the rear roller. The gauge wheels aren't used in place of the roller. Even with the gauge wheels, if you removed the roller and went over a hill or a mound, you could seriously damage the mower cause there'd be nothing to stop the middle part, between the gauge wheels, of the rotor from hitting the ground. Gauge wheels can help if you're turning a lot. I think the best thing you could do is get an operators manual from Alamo. You should get a real nice cut once you replace the bearings. Reverse rotation gives a finer cut. There was a sod farm up here that used an Interstator with the fine cut rotor and reverse rotation in addition to using reel mowers. I doubt you would have been able to tell the difference in cut. Your mower has the course cut rotor but will still leave a very nice cut once it's operating properly.

 

[JustBob]

I would love to get a replacement tail wheel, but the assembly for just one is $800... that's about the cost of a rear roller kit and does not include the tire! Tomorrow I am ordering new bearings and a heavier set of blades, most of my cutting will not be in grass.

Would the bolt and nut be better than the pin and carter key on the clevises? I was going to rplace those as well.

 

[IslandTractor]

I would love to get a replacement tail wheel, but the assembly for just one is $800... that's about the cost of a rear roller kit and does not include the tire! Tomorrow I am ordering new bearings and a heavier set of blades, most of my cutting will not be in grass.

Would the bolt and nut be better than the pin and carter key on the clevises? I was going to rplace those as well.

I just looked again at the photo you posted of your knives. They look to be in great condition. No nicks even. They are perhaps lighter duty but why replace them? The clevises also look fine.

 

[whirly]

Clevis pins & carter keys were OEM. I have an old Mott 72 with 92 pairs of blades and the pins/carter keys ... I just replace the carter keys whenever I change the blades. A box of carter keys is really cheap and unless you are hitting the blade roller with a lot of abrasive material the carter keys last until you need to replace or sharpen the blades.

 

[dieselscout80]

Ok, I checked today and the belt and pto are not slipping, but the bearings are definitely bad.

The cutter shaft rotates in reverse of the wheels on the tractor...

View attachment 333421


Changing the rotation would be fairly easy if needed. I searched and couldn't find anything, are there any advantages to either forward or reverse rotation?

My Ford 917 rotates the opposite of that and it does a great job of mowing. It does a go job of pulling up the grass the tractor tires pack down and then cutting it.

I have these knives.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...alk-flail-mowers-post2070762.html#post2070762

 

[JustBob]

Ok, one last question, I did not notice an oil seal on the output (pinion) shaft of the gear box. Is this parts list and diagram accurate for my model?





This is from a parts book I got from Alamo, SHD Flail (03-04) Rev 10-08
I don't have these parts from the diagram, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9.

 

[Arc weld]

There is no such thing as a carter key! It's called a cotter pin and Mott's have a special cotter pin that is flat on one side to make it easy to bend the long leg up when putting new knives on. The flat side goes against the mount so the cotter pin won't turn when you go to bend the leg up. They used to have a tool that came when you bought a box of knives but side cutters work good. You have the right knives. I think Alamo has 3 oz and 4 oz HD knives. Your knives are like new, why change them? They are superior to Ford knives, use less power and are also self cleaning. If they encounter an obstacle, they are individually free swinging in all directions. Replacing perfectly good knives is a waste of time and money.

YOU MENTIONED YOU AREN'T CUTTING IN GRASS??? A Mott/Alamo is designed for cutting grass and WEEDS up to 1" diameter. This doesn't include small tree's. They are NOT designed for cutting brush! If you bought it for cutting brush, it is not the right machine. Cutting grass and weeds it will last you a lifetime. You need to look at the proper manual for specific machine. There have been some changes to different models over the years.