Flail Mower Alamo 7ft Flail Mower

[JMER817]

Going to go look at a 7' Alamo Flail mower tomorrow. I had a 5' brush hog but recently got rid of it with plans to replace with a 6' unit. I had thought about a flail mower in the past but the price of them along with the cost of repairing / replacing the many blades steered me away. This one came up and price looks good. Is the Alamo brand good? Is it easy to get parts for? I will be using it to keep about two acres of field tamed back along with hitting the trails in the woods. I'm concerned about the branches that fall along the trail that the brush hog has no issue with. How will a flail mower handle them? I have rocks as well that I am trying to remove but seam to reappear out of nowhere. I like the offset for getting the sides of the trail but seems excessive to me? Guy says the blades are in good shape and mows well...what do I look for in the blades? He is asking $575

 

[Code54]

Alamo is a GOOD make and a solid machine. Yes, parts can be found fairly easy as there are TONS of them around and are a "popular" make. If it is in decent shape that is a good price.

 

[DieselBound]

Flails (blades) don't hold up to rocks real well (from what I read on the thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/118882-lets-talk-flail-mowers.htmll). The blades will need fairly regular attention under such conditions. Maybe you can keep the blades above the rocks, I don't know: I have zero experience running a flail.

If only a couple of acres and with trail cleaning I'd think it better to stick with a rotary, go with the 6' one (as long as you aren't looking to do heavy brush work your tractor should handle 6' fine). Not sure if that Alamo is fixed offset or if you can reset it: some flails allow changing the three-point mounting, shifting the mower over (best, though $$s, is hydraulic side-shift).

I'd like to have a flail, and while I have a lot of grass I also have a LOT of brush clearing to do and I don't have a lot of time to be dealing with more sensitive equipment such as a flail (compared to a rotary) [yes, there are heavy duty flails, and maybe this Alamo would be good if brought up to snuff, but there's a lot more to have to pay attention to on a flail - read the thread above]).

 

[ishiboo]

Alamo/Mott are top-of-the-line mowers. FlailMaster will have all the parts you need.

Is this a finish flail or a rough cut flail? Make sure it's a rough cut if you plan on doing tall grass/etc., I had a 5' Mott and it cut lawn grass like a boss, but wouldn't do well with tall grass, branches, rocks, etc.

 

[Fallon]

The Alamo will be better quality than my ancient Ford 719 flail. I have no qualms with light brush or occasional moderate sticks & branches. I wouldnt use it for heavy brush or small trees though.

Blades are cheap & readily avalible from Flailmaster. A full set isnt that cheap though. If they arent square or mangled they need to be replaced, if not they are probably fine.

Is the hood straight & unbent? Are all knives there? Is the gearbox full & not leaking? Are the bearings smooth? Most importantly is it smoothwhen spun up to speed?

Everything but an unballanced rotor or mangled hood is easily fixable for a couple hundred bucks.

I paid $100 for mine, then $400ish in parts & a few weekends working on it & patching a dented hood. Recently blew a bearing, not terbly suprising on a 30 year old machine. Still love it more than my nearly new rotary cutter.

 

[CADplans]

I would not be surprised if the flail would not be a bit much for the tractor losted.
I pull that size mower behind a 60HP, 8,000 pound CATII tractor.

 

[shaeff]

I would not be surprised if the flail would not be a bit much for the tractor losted.
I pull that size mower behind a 60HP, 8,000 pound CATII tractor.

Nah, he should be fine. Tractordata lists his machine as:
Engine: 43.1 hp [32.1 kW]
PTO (claimed): 35 hp [26.1 kW]

That's 5hp/ft of mower. There are guys here running less and they're doing alright.

 

[JMER817]

Yeah I've ran a 72" Harley rake and 1300lb overseeder off the back with zero issues.

 

[Fallon]

Nah, he should be fine. Tractordata lists his machine as:
Engine:43.1 hp [32.1 kW]
PTO (claimed):35 hp [26.1 kW]

That's 5hp/ft of mower. There are guys here running less and they're doing alright.

My 719 is a 7' & my L3200 is 5' wide, 32hp (25ish PTO) & 3,500lbs fully decked out. Handles the 719 well. I do go a bit slower than with my 5' rotary but cover the same or more ground & end up with a smoother ride because of the slower speed.

 

[DieselBound]

Yeah, I was just thinking of my situation here. I've got a lot of brush. I can only dream of being able to run a wide flail to mow in long, fairly open swaths of field:drool:

 

[JMER817]

Well I ended up buying it. Was in pretty good shape but will need new blades. Even with worn blades it does cut nice. Ran pretty good until I hit a rock and broke a couple blades resulting in vibration issues. Probably going to sell it and get a brush hog. For the areas that I will be mowing I think I need something a little more robust and less maintenance.

 

[DieselBound]

Really appreciate the update. I wish that you hadn't encountered this problem, but it is what it is. I know that one day I'd really like to have a flail; for now, however, and as you found out, a rotary is going to have to make do.

 

[Fallon]

If you were closer to CO, we might be chatting about getting you out of that flail for what you had into it. :-\

Doubt you'll have problems selling it, especially if you mention it in the flail thread.

 

[Code54]

If you were closer to CO, we might be chatting about getting you out of that flail for what you had into it. :-\

Doubt you'll have problems selling it, especially if you mention it in the flail thread.

Same if he was closer to WV! They are a good solid mower if it fits your needs

 

[JMER817]

Sold it on eBay for what I have into it. ****, had 11 people watching it...was hoping it would have gone for more. Oh well.