Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[ovrszd]

Many of us with many years of flail mower ownership and knowledge
regarding flail mowers their operation and knife type have tried to help you with this.

This specific flail mower rotors rotation being counterclockwise as you have stated
will affect the quality of cut with the one piece scoop blades which I have gone
into extensive detail on many occasions for owners of flail mowers with the scoop
one piece knives.

the scoop knives counterclockwise rotation has the cutting edge coming behind the material
the flail mower user wishes to cut down and the the material will flood the front of the flail
mowers shroud when the portion of it that is cut is carried over the flail mower rotor and
will not be recut.

scoop knives do not recut material they cut and carry it over the flail mower rotor and anything
left in its path is dimply carried over again and dropped on the ground.

If you visit the Hiniker home page and look at the flail shredders with the scoop knive option it explains it very well.

The number of times a plot or area is cut will also affect how the flail mower with the scoop
knive will cut the grass or brush and the quality of finish.






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But I thought you said my rotor was not rotating the same direction as the tractor tires?

I thought you also indicated that my problem might be my lack of knowledge in setting up the mower??

So what is your solution to my problem now??

Oh, and you might also acknowledge Arc weld's comments as having some merit. Or maybe not....

 

[IslandTractor]

But I thought you said my rotor was not rotating the same direction as the tractor tires? I thought you also indicated that my problem might be my lack of knowledge in setting up the mower?? So what is your solution to my problem now?? Oh, and you might also acknowledge Arc weld's comments as having some merit. Or maybe not....

I've just gone back to read your posts from the start of your complaints about flails. Do you realize that you gave almost no specific information? You just started ranting about flails. Slowly more information was dragged out of you but I don't recall you stating that your blades were filling up with grass. Good for Arc Weld for having experience with the same type flail and blade so he recognized what your problem is. I've never experienced that because I don't have single piece blades. Not sure you mentioned that either as most heavy duty blades are either hammers or clevis hung with dual pivots. I believe Leonz asked about your blades. I could be mistook but from my experience the single long blades are more often on finish flails rather than all purpose or heavy duty flails.

Regardless, your unsatisfactory experience getting help on this or any forum is pretty typical of someone who starts off the conversation by exclaiming that he doesn't like something rather than starting with just the facts. Chevy sucks. Why won't my truck start.

Glad ArcWeld saved your bacon.

 

[ovrszd]

I've just gone back to read your posts from the start of your complaints about flails. Do you realize that you gave almost no specific information? You just started ranting about flails. Slowly more information was dragged out of you but I don't recall you stating that your blades were filling up with grass. Good for Arc Weld for having experience with the same type flail and blade so he recognized what your problem is. I've never experienced that because I don't have single piece blades. Not sure you mentioned that either as most heavy duty blades are either hammers or clevis hung with dual pivots. I believe Leonz asked about your blades. I could be mistook but from my experience the single long blades are more often on finish flails rather than all purpose or heavy duty flails.

Regardless, your unsatisfactory experience getting help on this or any forum is pretty typical of someone who starts off the conversation by exclaiming that he doesn't like something rather than starting with just the facts. Chevy sucks. Why won't my truck start.

Glad ArcWeld saved your bacon.

If you truly went back and read my posts you would know what blades I have.

No one had to drag anything out of me.

I started posting on this thread by saying I didn't understand what all the hype was about.

I repeatedly have said I understand my Flail's capabilities.

I only pushed back when others told me I DID NOT understand MY Flail's capabilities or how it operated.

I've also said before and say now,,,,, you guys sure get defensive.

Lastly, I have not had an "unsatisfactory experience getting help". I never asked for help. I also never expected any miracles. I and several other posters on this thread have stated the reality about this particular Flail's abilities. Then you and Leonz commenced to suggest that it might be "operator error".

I'm also glad Arc weld posted. But he didn't do it to "save my bacon". It doesn't need saved.

 

[ovrszd]

I've just gone back to read your posts from the start of your complaints about flails. Do you realize that you gave almost no specific information? You just started ranting about flails. Slowly more information was dragged out of you but I don't recall you stating that your blades were filling up with grass. Good for Arc Weld for having experience with the same type flail and blade so he recognized what your problem is. I've never experienced that because I don't have single piece blades. Not sure you mentioned that either as most heavy duty blades are either hammers or clevis hung with dual pivots. I believe Leonz asked about your blades. I could be mistook but from my experience the single long blades are more often on finish flails rather than all purpose or heavy duty flails.

Regardless, your unsatisfactory experience getting help on this or any forum is pretty typical of someone who starts off the conversation by exclaiming that he doesn't like something rather than starting with just the facts. Chevy sucks. Why won't my truck start.

Glad ArcWeld saved your bacon.

If you truly went back and read my posts you would know what blades I have.

No one had to drag anything out of me.

I started posting on this thread by saying I didn't understand what all the hype was about.

I repeatedly have said I understand my Flail's capabilities.

I only pushed back when others told me I DID NOT understand MY Flail's capabilities or how it operated.

I've also said before and say now,,,,, you guys sure get defensive.

Lastly, I have not had an "unsatisfactory experience getting help". I never asked for help. I also never expected any miracles. I and several other posters on this thread have stated the reality about this particular Flail's abilities. Then you and Leonz commenced to suggest that it might be "operator error".

I'm also glad Arc weld posted. But he didn't do it to "save my bacon". It doesn't need saved.

 

[Arc weld]

Here's a brochure for the Alamo/Mott flails explaining forward rotation. It doesn't mention it but they can be ordered in reverse rotation but it's not as common. It mentions reverse rotation being an option on the Interstator models which use hyd. driven side mowers in conjunction with a rear 3pt. flail so it must be available. I wasn't trying to save ovrszd's bacon. I was just posting a fact that flails can run either direction. I'm not familiar with all flails so maybe not all can run both directions. I'm a little familiar with Mott flails as I used to put knives on them when I was a kid in the 70's. If my dad was still around he could probably tell you an encyclopedia worth of information on cutting grass with all types of mowers. As far as flails he was very good friends with Elmer Mott who's dad invented them. When the Interstator came out in the early 70's my dad set a world sales record and sold almost half of the first 100 Interstators made. He was directly responsible for Mott adding the 62" Super Heavy Duty model so lower HP tractors could use a heavy duty flail. A dealer in Quebec was selling Mott's mounted backwards on the front of 4 wheel vehicles they also sold. The problem was they weren't the authorized dealer for the region and were selling them at a huge discount to sell their 4 wheel truck type vehicles. Elmer Mott called the factory from my dad's office and told them not to sell anymore mowers to that dealer. Not just because they were undermining the dealer for the region but because they made his machines look bad operating backwards with the roller ahead of the rotor. We had a Ford 917 in trade and it wasn't half the machine the Mott was. Just compare the deck thickness. The Ford was sheet metal and all dented up where the Mott's were 10 gauge (1/8") steel. Our neighbor had a Ford in much better condition but we changed the knives to Mott and it worked a lot better and didn't use as much HP. An interesting thing with Mott's is you have to run at 540 RPM or the bend in the knives actually changes and the knives deform.

http://www.alamo-industrial.com/Documents/Literature/1_shd_aug_2013.pdf

 

[TSO]

Here's a brochure for the Alamo/Mott flails explaining forward rotation. It doesn't mention it but they can be ordered in reverse rotation but it's not as common. It mentions reverse rotation being an option on the Interstator models which use hyd. driven side mowers in conjunction with a rear 3pt. flail so it must be available. I wasn't trying to save ovrszd's bacon. I was just posting a fact that flails can run either direction. I'm not familiar with all flails so maybe not all can run both directions. I'm a little familiar with Mott flails as I used to put knives on them when I was a kid in the 70's. If my dad was still around he could probably tell you an encyclopedia worth of information on cutting grass with all types of mowers. As far as flails he was very good friends with Elmer Mott who's dad invented them. When the Interstator came out in the early 70's my dad set a world sales record and sold almost half of the first 100 Interstators made. He was directly responsible for Mott adding the 62" Super Heavy Duty model so lower HP tractors could use a heavy duty flail. A dealer in Quebec was selling Mott's mounted backwards on the front of 4 wheel vehicles they also sold. The problem was they weren't the authorized dealer for the region and were selling them at a huge discount to sell their 4 wheel truck type vehicles. Elmer Mott called the factory from my dad's office and told them not to sell anymore mowers to that dealer. Not just because they were undermining the dealer for the region but because they made his machines look bad operating backwards with the roller ahead of the rotor. We had a Ford 917 in trade and it wasn't half the machine the Mott was. Just compare the deck thickness. The Ford was sheet metal and all dented up where the Mott's were 10 gauge (1/8") steel. Our neighbor had a Ford in much better condition but we changed the knives to Mott and it worked a lot better and didn't use as much HP. An interesting thing with Mott's is you have to run at 540 RPM or the bend in the knives actually changes and the knives deform.

http://www.alamo-industrial.com/Documents/Literature/1_shd_aug_2013.pdf

That's a really cool story...

 

[80sDweeb]

If it's spinning the same direction as your tires, then I would suspect you would have to drive extremely slow to get a good cut. I don't think the flails spin fast enough to be effective that way.

Mine spin "forward-up" ... Which makes way more sense. To be honest, I didn't even know they made one that would spin "forward-down". Maybe yours has a reverse gearbox or something.

All the Mott/Alamo flails do that, they spin so that they kick the clippings over the roller and out. It's a design that's supposed to "suck" the grass up into the spinning blades. You can see the flail spinning at the end of this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFO-JNzV90

Scott in Brighton NY

 

[80sDweeb]

All the Mott/Alamo flails do that, they spin so that they kick the clippings over the roller and out. It's a design that's supposed to "suck" the grass up into the spinning blades. You can see the flail spinning at the end of this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFO-JNzV90

Also, the brochure linked to above shows the "forward rotation" of the Alamo flails (forward, as in your wheels rotate forward when you drive.)



Scott in Brighton NY

 

[80sDweeb]

I picked up my Alamo SHD74 flail today. Built like a tank! They loaded it for me with a forklift. Wow, did this thing look huge when I got it in the back of my van! I'm not sure yet how I want to get it out of there, so I won't be using my van this week. I think I'll use a 3 pt crane "barn pole" to lift it out (I hope it isn't too heavy, it's over 900lbs!) That won't happen until I can bring my tractor home, the seller needs it until his new one arrives from the dealer ("we're waiting on trucking," they're telling him - it was supposed to arrive last month.)

Looks like it's in pretty good shape, other than the knives look rusty - but not worn out, I don't think. But that's just at first glance, I haven't had a chance to really check it out. For $715, I'm really pleased.



My problem: will it tackle the terrain I need it to tame? I went out there yesterday, to try to find my '66 Cub Cadet that got stuck in the mud, and never moved again (wouldn't start again after a winter out there, and a tire blew.) I gave up on finding it, but decided to take these pics. They're taken at eye level, with weeds from 5 feet to maybe 9 feet tall. We're having a heat wave, too, so hot and humid, ugh. Not to mention, that when I look down, sometimes I'll find an old car part (saw a chrome headlight bezel and what might have been a wiper motor from the 1940s or so) or some rotting tree limbs, maybe a railroad tie. It is not going to be easy:







I imagine it will be SLOW going, I think the slowest my mower will go is 1.7mph with the pto running 540 in 1st gear low. I hope that's slow enough, and I have independent pto if I need to push in the clutch to let the mower digest a moment.

Kinda looking forward to this!

EDIT: Let me add that I know a rotary cutter would be the "better" tool for this job, but the worn out junk I was seeing for $500+ just made me jump at the chance when I saw the neighboring county selling this at auction. It will be ideal for maintaining this land, so if I have to get a rotary cutter to get this done, I will. I'm just going to see what the flail will do, first.

Scott in Brighton NY

 

[Arc weld]

You're sadly mistaken if you think a rotary is a better machine for that job! As long as it's just thick grass and weeds you have the best machine for the job. I think as long as you have about 50HP on the flail, it will do the job for you. You may have to do a couple passes to get right down. The City of Edmonton were one of the first to buy Mott Interstators. My dad arranged a demo at their worst field. One of the big wigs at the city was only about 5' tall and the grass was as tall as he was. They were skeptical what the flail would do. My dad had the city operator lower the side wings, engage the mowers, put the PTO at 540 and drive forward in first gear. The city had quite a few people at the demo and their jaws dropped. One pass done! The city purchased several Interstators as did several counties and many of those machines were used for 15 to 20 years. That one demo was the reason my dad sold about half of the first 100 Interstators sold. The city had no problem recommending the machines to other municipalities and counties. In fact after that demo they told my dad that he never needed to make an appointment to come and see them because they knew he wasn't coming there to waste their time. He said after the first one they were easy to sell.