Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

leonz · Mar 8, 2016

coolnick73 said:
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Well I bit the bullet and picked me up a Maschio Brava 180. Next thing I need is a set is pallet forks! The build quality seems good, nice looking welds. It looks like the Italian gearboxes like to spit up oil, "I no like-a your oil!"

Thanks all for the knowledge in this thread.

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Welcome to the Flail Mower Nations Nick.

you have invested in an implement that will outlast your current mule and do lots fo work with barely a whimper and you will know its working well when you hear it acting like a vacuum cleaner.

As Island tractor has said he has written extensively on how to fix the oil burping issue and the fix is easy but you need to be vigilent in checking the oil and greasing the unit and be sure to take off the V belt guard to clean the rubber dust off the side weldment and expose the grease fittings.

OH-be sure to send the Maschio folks an e-mail asking for a manual for your flail mower ASAP as you need to know about the wear parts and you need the parts list for it too.

Happy mowing.

PRCWI · Mar 9, 2016

Cataclysm said:
From flail mowing this morning I did discover a fast new way to roll barbed wire!

Been there, done that!

IslandTractor · Mar 9, 2016

PRCWI said:
Been there, done that!

Works well with irrigation hose too.

shaeff · Mar 23, 2016

I joined the party a while back, only now just getting around to posting a picture. I've got a '64 MF35 Utility with a MF99 loader. I'm in the process of refurbishing the hydraulic pump and lift cylinder (which snapped off the cover plate!), then I'll start work on the flail. I picked up an 8' John Deere 25A flail mower along with a new belt and a box of new scoop knives and extra hangers for $200. It needs a bit of TLC, but it's all intact, the bearings seem fine, the drum isn't bent, and it came with the PTO shaft.

I'll do a touch of welding on it to bring the outer chassis up to snuff, other than that I'll likely run it as-is. I'm not a restore-it kind of guy, I like the greasy, well used machines. Reminds me of my childhood watching my dad on his International. That thing was a beast.

Anyway, on to a pic of when I first purchased the tractor for $1000 and had it flat bedded to my parent's where my tools all still reside, and then of the $200 JD 25A flail.

PS- anyone have pictures of how the 25A cuts? I can't seem to find ANY pics that show the cut of this implement. Thanks!

IslandTractor · Mar 23, 2016

Great deal you got there Shaeff.

I doubt there is much difference between flails regarding the cut. Knives make a difference but I would be surprised to find much difference between brands.

Industrial Toys · Mar 23, 2016

I once sucked a length of newly installed Siamese type cable (used on a C-Band Dish) right out of the ground with my Ford 917.

DocDryden · Mar 23, 2016

shaeff said:
PS- anyone have pictures of how the 25A cuts? I can't seem to find ANY pics that show the cut of this implement. Thanks!

I'm very happy with cut I get from my 25A

shaeff · Mar 24, 2016

IslandTractor said:
Great deal you got there Shaeff.

I doubt there is much difference between flails regarding the cut. Knives make a difference but I would be surprised to find much difference between brands.

Thanks! Good to know!

DocDryden said:
I'm very happy with cut I get from my 25A

Fantastic, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you! That gives a much nicer cut than my father's rotary brush cutter for sure. How wide is yours and what PTO HP is your machine if you don't mind my asking?

DocDryden · Mar 24, 2016

shaeff said:
Fantastic, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you! That gives a much nicer cut than my father's rotary brush cutter for sure. How wide is yours and what PTO HP is your machine if you don't mind my asking?

The pto hp is 33. Its about 7 ft wide. As you can see from the photos its off-set.
Last fall was the first time I used the mower. I had it set at about 2'' off the ground (there is a lot of rocks in the field I cut).

shaeff · Mar 24, 2016

DocDryden said:
The pto hp is 33. Its about 7 ft wide. As you can see from the photos its off-set.
Last fall was the first time I used the mower. I had it set at about 2'' off the ground (there is a lot of rocks in the field I cut).

Nice, that means my 37pto HP should handle the 8'. It looks like yours has many more knives than mine does, though. I'll have to look at mine again.