Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[powerscol]

View attachment 467002

Yes they are.

I think that is a bit more than what I need. But looks very interesting. My FIL could probably use that in Mississippi.

 

[whirly]

Farm-Helper is one of the better manufacturing companies in china. I'm pretty sure Betst Co and Value leader are related and import these flails directly. If you peruse the site you will see that they have all the consumable and breakable parts for sale.

Admins - I am not employed by or related to any of the companies mentioned above. I am just giving the OP information that could help in his decision.

 

[Weedy Fields]

I was looking into new blades for my 74" Alamo fine cut flail mower. I looked at Alamo, Clean Cut, Flailmaster and Messicks. I get some contradicting information. Or for the most part no info. I am specifically looking for sizes of knives, pins and other mounting info to see what my option is for different knives that will work on my mower. Would be nice to get something a little more robust then the long thin ones in there now.

So I figured I'd measure what my mower is and go from there. At least I can make some calls without being total ignorant on what I need. So I grabbed needle nose pliers to pull a cotter pin and take apart one set of knives. I crawled under the mower and just randomly picked one set of knives. I looked at the pin to see which side of the pin was the head and which side had the cotter pin. And surprise of surprises, there is no cotter pin in it. So I slide the pin out and out fell the blades. Easy peasy, why did I bother with a needle nose? While down there I looked and found 2-3 other set of knives missing completely. Looked at the cotter pins. Who ever put the last set of knives in there only bent one leg of the cotter pin. That one leg was only bent maybe 30 degrees. No wonder some of the knives where gone along with at least one cotter pin. Wonder how many more I'm going to find missing a cotter pin. Out of all the knife sets under there did I pick the only one missing a cotter pin? Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket? Now I better get on it and order new knives and pins.

Oh well at least I got the mowing done that I needed for awhile.

 

[whirly]

Those are the same knives as the Mott 72. FlailMaster has them - Item #MH-386. They also have the cotter pins (MP-26) and the clevis pins (MC-6).

Alamo acquired Mott and the Alamo Model 74 is essentially a Mott 72.

 

[tem00]

Thanks.

I've noticed in videos that flail users often lift the mower in turns and then place back down when making a mostly straight pass. This leads me to assume a flail doesn't handle tight turns well while mowing or weaving through obstacles like trees and irregular patterns, is that accurate?

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks. I've noticed in videos that flail users often lift the mower in turns and then place back down when making a mostly straight pass. This leads me to assume a flail doesn't handle tight turns well while mowing or weaving through obstacles like trees and irregular patterns, is that accurate?

Nope. I never raise mine when turning. Just make sure the skids are high enough so they don't gouge turf on turns. The skids are just there to protect the knives when the mower is dismounted. Probably unnecessary unless you are in the habit of dragging your mower around over rocks without the 3PT raised. Otherwise, the only ground contact should be the rear roller. The rear roller allows even tight turns without any gouging so long as the skids are adjusted properly (or even removed).

 

[TurtleCreekFarm]

I used my new Flail for the first time this weekend. I did have to lift it up on tight turns to keep the skids from digging in. I'll look to see if they can be raised anymore before I mow next time.

 

[EdwardB]

Tried out my new (to me) Mott 72 tonight. Mowed about 3 acres of fallow old orchard land with brambles and weeds. The grass wasn't too long, but it are chewed thru every little bush it encountered. It was amazing!

Too bad the PTO on my JD 4410 inexplicably stopped. I hope it's just electrical.

 

[Kiotidriver]

Nope. I never raise mine when turning. Just make sure the skids are high enough so they don't gouge turf on turns. The skids are just there to protect the knives when the mower is dismounted. Probably unnecessary unless you are in the habit of dragging your mower around over rocks without the 3PT raised. Otherwise, the only ground contact should be the rear roller. The rear roller allows even tight turns without any gouging so long as the skids are adjusted properly (or even removed).

Well this is not what Caroni is recommending. On page 7 of the user's manual they recommend that the shoes (skids) should be set at the same height of the roller. When doing a sharp turn (like a 180), I always raise the mower partially to prevent the skids to dig in the ground.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well this is not what Caroni is recommending. On page 7 of the user's manual they recommend that the shoes (skids) should be set at the same height of the roller. When doing a sharp turn (like a 180), I always raise the mower partially to prevent the skids to dig in the ground.

No clue why Caroni recommends that. Think it through. The 3pt and rear roller control where the blades are. The skids do nothing unless you disconnect the 3pt. Why set the skids low enough to snag and gouge turf when the 3pt is properly set???

I've had my Caroni for 8 years. Never raised it on turns and never had any issue.