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.

 

[Cataclysm]

I got a several hours of flailing today. I found a missing section of bob wire fence in the grass. It started spinning my 8' flail down and I slapped the pto switch off pretty quick. I looked back and there's bob wire sticking out everywhere! Had to disconnect the flail and roll it over on its back to get it all out. I re-attached the flail and kicked the pto switch and somethings wrong. The drive shaft guard is spinning but the flail isn't running. Then I see the ds yoke at the flail gearbox isn't turning. Ok, I shut it down and take the ds off and sure enough its twisted into. The inner/smaller section twisted off right at the aft yoke. The plastic guard did keep the ds from slapping around and damaging more stuff.

I was able to cut the twisted section off and drive it back into the yoke and drive the roll pin back in. I ran it for about 2 hours after and so far so good. Its not a big deal but I was under the impression that the belt would slip before anything would be damaged. I don't have a slip clutch but am considering one now.

Tractor is the 55 hp LS4155HC and the flail is the 8' Alamo SHD-88. The drive shaft is new (20hrs?) from TSC. The belt is the one that came with the mower. This was one of the rare times I was running at pto speed. Would a properly set slip clutch on the ds prevent this?

Thanks.

 

[whirly]

What series is your PTO Shaft?

If it is not a Series 4 or above that's the problem with a 47+ HP PTO tractor.

 

[Cataclysm]

What series is your PTO Shaft?

If it is not a Series 4 or above that's the problem with a 47+ HP PTO tractor.

Good point and thanks! I will check tomorrow, the tag is still on the ds.

 

[kthompson]

EdwardB, is your wife pleased with the grass cut now? I maybe wrong but if you are using V angled blades then you will not get a flat cut as with any other mower on lawn grass.

On turning on lawn with flail mower found issues with roller and front wheels on tractor tearing up grass. I try not to make sharp turns with any implement in ground contract as it has to increase stress on the implement and also steering and if on the 3 pth it also. BUT we each have to judge what is acceptable for our task, machine and implement and our what is acceptable. On my zero turn mowers can make the 360 turn with little impact to grass with the light weight one but no way can on the heavy mower. On turning with flail mower on the ground the length of it can also affect the impact of making such as turn.

 

[Fallon]

Those little bent pieces of metal actually behave like a wing to some degree while spinning. They spread out so they are flat to the ground rather than the angle you see when just hanging there. Or so I've been told, although judging by my cut on mine this is true.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I found a used Mott 72" flail near me. It looks to be in decent shape. I'm going to check it out on Thursday. Anybody familiar with this unit or vintage?

I have a Mott hammer knife 74 that looks identical to yours the only problem is i let a friend use it and i can't get it back flail master.com has everthing you need

 

[EdwardB]

EdwardB, is your wife pleased with the grass cut now? I maybe wrong but if you are using V angled blades then you will not get a flat cut as with any other mower on lawn grass. On turning on lawn with flail mower found issues with roller and front wheels on tractor tearing up grass. I try not to make sharp turns with any implement in ground contract as it has to increase stress on the implement and also steering and if on the 3 pth it also. BUT we each have to judge what is acceptable for our task, machine and implement and our what is acceptable. On my zero turn mowers can make the 360 turn with little impact to grass with the light weight one but no way can on the heavy mower. On turning with flail mower on the ground the length of it can also affect the impact of making such as turn.

I'm using it to mow some fields, not lawn, and it performed quite nicely.

 

[EdwardB]

I have a Mott hammer knife 74 that looks identical to yours the only problem is i let a friend use it and i can't get it back flail master.com has everthing you need

I ordered a new bearing for the roller, a new belt and a new set of flails. I'm going to mow my fallow fields with the old flails (not knowing what I'll encounter) and then switch to the new.

 

[Cataclysm]

What series is your PTO Shaft?

If it is not a Series 4 or above that's the problem with a 47+ HP PTO tractor.

Its a series 3. When you say above, you mean as in a higher number, right? Just being clear so what to look for and thanks again

 

[whirly]

I have a Mott hammer knife 74 that looks identical to yours the only problem is i let a friend use it and i can't get it back flail master.com has everthing you need

Could you please post a picture of your hammers in the rotor?