Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Matto75]

Howdy,

Since I received some helpful advice through multiple threads on TractorByNet when considering a flail mower I figured I'd better share my experiences thus far with my new-this-spring WoodMaxx FM-96H. There were some delays and miscommunications on the order but it eventually arrived in time for mowing season (having ordered a couple of pieces of equipment from Everything Attachments as well I will say that WoodMaxx could take some pointers on customer service and technical support from EA). Set-up was fine, just followed the directions, including shortening the PTO shaft.

Since I've already cleared the bigger brush on our farm I went with the Y-blades. They are working fine and will take out small brush, too. I have had to replace a few blades due to rock encounters. I had concerns about the weight for my tractor (Case IH DX55), not so much from the 3 pt lift capacity but on my steep hills. I was also concerned about the power requirements since I was at the lower end of the mower rating. Not to worry it turns out. Weight has not been an issue (tractor is 4WD, with loader and R1s loaded with RimGuard) as I've been up, down, and across some steep slopes with no problems. Power has been fine and I just downshift if need be to keep the RPMs up. I mowed with it for about 12 hours this past Saturday and really put it to the test. The worst was very thick marsh grass that hadn't been mowed for 5 years and up to eye level on the tractor. It did a nice job mulching it up on the middle height setting. The scraper bar is holding up so far.

The hydraulic offset is worth the extra cost. It's a nice way to only mow over one wheel track instead of two and reach a bit under the trees overhanging the fence. I was surprised to find out after arrival that I still needed to purchase the male connectors to hook it up to the tractor remote (EA asks you what need and puts them on). You do need to keep the tubes it slides back and forth on relatively clean as they can slow down or stop the shift after a day of dirt/dust accumulation.

We'll see how it holds up over time but I'm pleased thus far. I'm also glad I chose this over a rotary mower. I like the fact it doesn't stick out so far behind the tractor to reduce scalping and allows you to operate in tighter spaces. The quality of cut is much better and the offset adds utility.

Hope that's helpful to folks trying to make buying decisions. I appreciate all the good info I found on here when making a box blade, grapple, and flail mower purchase.

 

[TerryCC]

Welcome.

I own both the Caroni TM1900 and a Woods BrushBull600. They are both excellent but I use them for different types of mowing. To summarize briefly, the rotary gets used in thick brush for a first pass cut. The flail gets used for everything else. I use the rotary for first cut largely because I cannot see what I'm cutting in thick brush and don't care as much about hitting rocks etc with the rotary. The flAil could handle the brush but I'd end up replacing more sets of knives given our annual crop of rocks here in New England. I haven't even used the rotary in over a year.

I'd say it comes down to what you are needing to mow. If I were a mowing contractor mowing unfamiliar overgrown fields, I'd use a rotary rather than a medium duty flail. If I were doing biannual cutting of fields (most of what I do) then I'd opt for the flail for finish and safety considerations.

Annual maintenance on my flail averages to about four pairs of knives with clevises and a set of belts every three or four years. Plus grease. I now use flailmaster knives which I buy with their clevises. I think I paid about $100 for enough to last four or five years. I was spending about $100/yr for oem knives and clevises from agrisupply as their clevises break more easily and I lost sets regularly. I do need to spend ten minutes modifying the flailmaster clevises to make them fit and use a big vice to squeeze them and a grinder to take off about 1/8" from the clevis shoulder. They don't break. I lost one single flailmaster knife last year when it shattered. Caroni clevises broke all the time.

I haven't been on this thread in a while but I broke my first factory clevis on my Caroni TM 1900 after mowing my 17 acres of pasture and fence lines for the last 1.5 years. I remembered you had changed your clevises out and was looking for a post on how well they have held up to your severe service. I do hit the occasional low stump and fallen tree branches but mostly is mowing bermuda grass and weeds, so was surprised that I broke a clevis so quickly. I called Agri Supply with the thoughts to change one clevis and two knives but they are out of stock on the clevises until late June at the earliest. So I decided to use the Flail Master knives and clevises and and change all the clevises and knives out. I ordered the bolts and nuts from Nutty. With my mild service I expect to not have to change the clevises again but I bought spares. I recommend that all Caroni owners don't do what I did, don't have spares on hand when the factory clevises break.

 

[IslandTractor]

Couple of points regarding substitution of Flailmaster clevises for Caroni. 1) the Flailmaster clevis is wider than the Caroni mount and needs to be narrowed to fit. I'm pretty good at it now but the first time will take you a while. I crush the arms together in a big vise and then use a flap disk to remove about 1/16" from each shoulder so the clevis can move freely in the mount.

2). Although I have broken dozens of Caroni clevises over the years, I've never broken a Flailmaster clevis. I have broken knives mounted on a Flailmaster clevis (just once).

3) although the Flailmaster clevis is heavier, it seems fine to substitute. No noticeable imbalance.

 

[hairyapple]

I just bought 5 acres and will build a new house, probably this fall. I plan to have about an acre around the house as a lawn area and the balance will be cut only two to three times during the growing season. I had intended to use a rotary cutter to cut the 4 acres, but the more I hear about flail cutters the more interested I get. I have used rotary cutters for years, but have never used a flail mower. Does that sound like a good option for cutting the four acres? I would appreciate people who have experience with flail mowers to chime in and give me the good, the bad and the ugly.

I had a flail mower years ago, it seemed to require a lot of maintenance and really needed more power to operate than my old Massey Ferguson had to offer. But the man that mows my field in

PEI, Canada, has a big John Deere (100Hp) and uses a both a rear mounted flail and one on the end of an articulated arm. It does a much better job of mulching the tall weeds than my brush hog.

It cuts closer too with pretty nice results. So I'm reconsidering and so I've looked at one for here for everyday mowing but the prices on good ones have stopped me cold.

 

[IslandTractor]

I had a flail mower years ago, it seemed to require a lot of maintenance and really needed more power to operate than my old Massey Ferguson had to offer. But the man that mows my field in

PEI, Canada, has a big John Deere (100Hp) and uses a both a rear mounted flail and one on the end of an articulated arm. It does a much better job of mulching the tall weeds than my brush hog.

It cuts closer too with pretty nice results. So I'm reconsidering and so I've looked at one for here for everyday mowing but the prices on good ones have stopped me cold.

How are you defining "a good one"? Heavy duty flails like an Alamo or flails sold by the big implement manufacturers like Landpride can be pretty pricey. Medium duty flails like Caroni can be had for less than $2000 in the US and Chinese flails can cost even less. We don't yet know how well the Chinese flails hold up over decades but so far nobody has complained of poor quality or significant breakage on either the Italian Caroni or the Chinese Bestt (?sp) or Woodmaxx flails.

 

[RutnBuck]

Hello everyone. New member, first post, be patient. I'm not sure if this is going to upset anyone but I could not possibly read all 455 pages of this thread so I thought I would just try to get some quick answers by stating my situation and getting some feedback. I did read about 10 or so pages and see many comments about various manufacturers of flailers, however I have not seen any advice specific to my situation. So here goes . . .

I have 82 acres of woodland that is covered in underbrush consisting of blackberries, scotch broom, poison oak and various saplings. I also have about 2500' of driveway that requires brush/grass/weed cutting on both sides. A good portion of the driveway has sloped sides (both up slope & down slope). Currently I weed-whack everything, to include in the woods building ATV trails, hunting spots, etc. I know . . . I'm crazy. I need to make life less stressful by getting a flailer that I can use for both the driveway and the woods clearing. I would probably use the tool a lot, especially in the woods. The driveway may need only 1 or 2 mowings a year.

I have read about the offset flailers that might be adequate for the driveway, it just wouldn't work on the slopes and I assume they would also be good in the woods (whether driving straight over brush or backing into brush). Conversely, there are flailers referred to as "ditch bank" flailers that appear to be hydraulically adjustable and these would handle my driveway better and I assume work just as well in the woods (backwards and forwards). Now on the surface you'd think my decision is an easy one and the hydraulic ditch bank flailer wins hands down however Sellers want a fortune for those things. Lastly, I believe I saw on manufacturer that makes a front mount flail but I cannot seem to figure out if they are only for skids steers or if my JD 4120 could handle one. I need to know how these work as a front mount one would be ideal for in the woods. At any rate, my questions to the group are:
1. Is my thought process correct in assuming the ditch bank flailer suits my needs better (i.e. maybe there's something I'm overlooking in regards to the offset flail)?
2. If my assumptions are correct, can someone suggest a frugally-priced, medium duty, quality, ditch bank flailer and distributor? As you can imagine, one of my dilemma's is do I just settle for an offset flail at $2000 new or a ditch model at $4000 new. I know this is a decision only I can make but your experiences on "return on investment" are important.
3. If you were in my shoes and knew that a ditch bank flailer met your needs more but you could get a 2006 TM1900 for $1300, what would you do?
4. Any advice on front mount flail?

I know there are going to be many opinions and I may not have specified enough requirements but I hope you can get a general idea of my situation and thoughts. Thanks!!

 

[leonz]

Hello RutnBuk,

Welcome to the forum, you have explained very well how you want to thread a camel through a saddle stitching needle my friend you did very well.

If you want to examine side shifting boom mowers more talk to the folks at Iowa Farm Equipment about a small ditch bank flail mower for your "fort".

First on the agenda is: how long you plan to stay on your fort "without the stockade fence??"

Second: what kind of budget do you have to work with-my current towed motorized flail mower is over 35 years old and still runs like a top because I have maintained it.
A boom mower will give you huge amount of flexibility and reduce hand trimming and mow vertically to keep the brush back. it also has either hardened hammer knives of heat treated side slicer knives.

You do need to finish reading the thread as you will have a much, much better understanding of what you need for the task at hand.

A front mounted flail would work for you but the mounting hardware for it requires a three point hitch frame to allow connection to the mid PTO on your 4120 BUT the front mount hitch also requires a reversing gearbox to allow the flail mower to operate properly AND the price for the front mount 3 point hitch system from Pronovost for small mules will not make you at all happy and send you to the local ER.
The other major factor is the mounting frame that will/must be attached to the front of the engine cradle if you mule has an engine cradle.

SO you have to decide if you want to invest in a side shift boom mower that will cut vegetation while it is raised to a vertical position to beat everything as far back as you so wish OR a standard Vrisimo Vineyard and Orchard flail mower OR
if your Land pride dealer can still bring one of the Land Pride Branded Maschio Vineyard and Orchard flail mowers with the trash door which allows the user to mow high thick brush and also change the hammers and remove garden hose snakes and barbed wire without having to remove the mower from the 3 point hitch integral mounting system and putting it on its back to remove the wire and hose snakes(do not ask how I know this is done with the entire mower exposed to the user).


SO you need to read and then read some more and call the Vrisimo folks in California and talk mowers-great folks by the way.

If your looking at team green its about the same price as a Vrisimo but does not have a side shift. 290 and 390 models

You can put rear gauge wheels on a Vrisimo as an option and that will help you a lot to do all your mowing more effectively.


The third option for you is to look at an ORDOT or "CALDOT" BOOOO GGGGGRRRRRRRR HIIIISSSSS SPIIIIIIIIIT auction for a mule with a hydraulic drive side flail mower and rear mounted flail mower. These mowers are used seasonally and have very lower operating hours(the units with the ALAMO hydraulic boom mowers are left on the mule in most cases and the hour meter can usually be a good indicator for the mule.

Saying that you can buy ALAMO parts in every state and paying a farm tractor mechanic for coming to an auction to look at the mule(s) with mowers and he or she will have a good idea of what its condition is but the hour meter tells all.

The alamos used on the dot Roads are equipped with Side slicer knives as a rule as they are easier to repair in the field for changing knife sets.


The forth option : There are a lot of good used flail mowers out there and many new flail mowers are excess inventory being sold on TractorHouse.com | Used Tractors For Sale: John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Kubota. and other places.


Once you buy the right mower it will pay for itself many times over as you can leave a 2 inch haircut with no issues and beat back all the invasive's you have to deal with.

One important caviat I want you to understand is that scoop knives/hammer knives will not recut shred the material where a flail mower with side slicer knives will recut and shred it again on a second pass.

We have a lot of Flail Mower Nation Members that have integral mounted flail mowers that are as old as my flail mower and they are still going strong as they are simple to repair and easy to maintain and will not throw material like a rotary cutter.


Please go back about 25 pages and look for our resident member from Colorado that bought a boom mounted flail mower for his 4 wheel drive mule (I cannot remember if his mule is a bobcat tractor or not) from the Iowa Farm Equipment folks and he is very happy with his purchase as he has plenty of ditch work to mow at his place and others near him.

I woudl call Iowa Farm Equipment and ask to spend some time with someone to talk about your situation and what what you have to mow and tell him or her everything about your mule so that he knows what frame size mule you have and its available PTO horsepower.

I want you to succeed not fail.

 

[powerscol]

RutnBuck. Give Iowa Far Equipment a call and talk to them about your situation. Iowa Farm Equipment -- Mowers: 3-Point, Pull-Type, Skid Steer, Rotary, Flail & Zero Turn

I have a Maschio Graffetta 160SE swing are unit from them, It maxes out my tractor, but is a great unit. I believe you can easily handle it and it would fit your needs. Iowa Farm Equipment -- Maschio GIRAFETTA Series Ditch Bank Flail Mower

Hope this helps

 

[RutnBuck]

Hello RutnBuk,

Welcome to the forum, you have explained very well how you want to thread a camel through a saddle stitching needle my friend you did very well.

If you want to examine side shifting boom mowers more talk to the folks at Iowa Farm Equipment about a small ditch bank flail mower for your "fort".

First on the agenda is: how long you plan to stay on your fort "without the stockade fence??"

Second: what kind of budget do you have to work with-my current towed motorized flail mower is over 35 years old and still runs like a top because I have maintained it.
A boom mower will give you huge amount of flexibility and reduce hand trimming and mow vertically to keep the brush back. it also has either hardened hammer knives of heat treated side slicer knives.

You do need to finish reading the thread as you will have a much, much better understanding of what you need for the task at hand.

A front mounted flail would work for you but the mounting hardware for it requires a three point hitch frame to allow connection to the mid PTO on your 4120 BUT the front mount hitch also requires a reversing gearbox to allow the flail mower to operate properly AND the price for the front mount 3 point hitch system from Pronovost for small mules will not make you at all happy and send you to the local ER.
The other major factor is the mounting frame that will/must be attached to the front of the engine cradle if you mule has an engine cradle.

SO you have to decide if you want to invest in a side shift boom mower that will cut vegetation while it is raised to a vertical position to beat everything as far back as you so wish OR a standard Vrisimo Vineyard and Orchard flail mower OR
if your Land pride dealer can still bring one of the Land Pride Branded Maschio Vineyard and Orchard flail mowers with the trash door which allows the user to mow high thick brush and also change the hammers and remove garden hose snakes and barbed wire without having to remove the mower from the 3 point hitch integral mounting system and putting it on its back to remove the wire and hose snakes(do not ask how I know this is done with the entire mower exposed to the user).


SO you need to read and then read some more and call the Vrisimo folks in California and talk mowers-great folks by the way.

If your looking at team green its about the same price as a Vrisimo but does not have a side shift. 290 and 390 models

You can put rear gauge wheels on a Vrisimo as an option and that will help you a lot to do all your mowing more effectively.


The third option for you is to look at an ORDOT or "CALDOT" BOOOO GGGGGRRRRRRRR HIIIISSSSS SPIIIIIIIIIT auction for a mule with a hydraulic drive side flail mower and rear mounted flail mower. These mowers are used seasonally and have very lower operating hours(the units with the ALAMO hydraulic boom mowers are left on the mule in most cases and the hour meter can usually be a good indicator for the mule.

Saying that you can buy ALAMO parts in every state and paying a farm tractor mechanic for coming to an auction to look at the mule(s) with mowers and he or she will have a good idea of what its condition is but the hour meter tells all.

The alamos used on the dot Roads are equipped with Side slicer knives as a rule as they are easier to repair in the field for changing knife sets.


The forth option : There are a lot of good used flail mowers out there and many new flail mowers are excess inventory being sold on TractorHouse.com | Used Tractors For Sale: John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Kubota. and other places.


Once you buy the right mower it will pay for itself many times over as you can leave a 2 inch haircut with no issues and beat back all the invasive's you have to deal with.

One important caviat I want you to understand is that scoop knives/hammer knives will not recut shred the material where a flail mower with side slicer knives will recut and shred it again on a second pass.

We have a lot of Flail Mower Nation Members that have integral mounted flail mowers that are as old as my flail mower and they are still going strong as they are simple to repair and easy to maintain and will not throw material like a rotary cutter.


Please go back about 25 pages and look for our resident member from Colorado that bought a boom mounted flail mower for his 4 wheel drive mule (I cannot remember if his mule is a bobcat tractor or not) from the Iowa Farm Equipment folks and he is very happy with his purchase as he has plenty of ditch work to mow at his place and others near him.

I woudl call Iowa Farm Equipment and ask to spend some time with someone to talk about your situation and what what you have to mow and tell him or her everything about your mule so that he knows what frame size mule you have and its available PTO horsepower.

I want you to succeed not fail.

leonz . . . thank you for the detailed response. I just built a house on the property and it will have harvestable timber about 25 yrs from now so I plan to keep it until death-do-us-part and at that point I imagine one of my kids will take over. Also, I don't really have a budget established but that being said, I'm not looking at having to sell my first-born in order to make a purchase. Like many others, I simply want a dependable unit that is frugally-priced and from what my research is showing me, it's around the 4k-6k range. A dilemma I have now though is reading that some members of this thread have purchased the Chinese models and have no real complaints about them and they are half the cost of the Italian models. So I could literally buy 2 Chinese models (if it ever became necessary) for the price of one of the Italian models. The only draw back is speculation that the Chinese models are not as robust, may break down more and the parts may be harder to get. I don't know how valid those points are or if they are true.

At any rate, I do believe that I have decided the Ditch Bank Flail Mower is what I need and now I need to decide between the Peruzzo Elk Cross 1600 (Italian) , the Verger FH-AGL165 (China), the Rear SPF 60K946 (US), or possibly another that I have not come across yet. I called Iowa Farm and got a good lesson and a lot of information.

Thanks again for the vote of confidence . . . I to want to FLAIL not FAIL!!

 

[RutnBuck]

RutnBuck. Give Iowa Far Equipment a call and talk to them about your situation. Iowa Farm Equipment -- Mowers: 3-Point, Pull-Type, Skid Steer, Rotary, Flail & Zero Turn

I have a Maschio Graffetta 160SE swing are unit from them, It maxes out my tractor, but is a great unit. I believe you can easily handle it and it would fit your needs. Iowa Farm Equipment -- Maschio GIRAFETTA Series Ditch Bank Flail Mower

Hope this helps

POWERSCOL . . . Thank you for the suggestion. I did call them and talked about both the Maschio and the Perruzo. The Maschio was about $1300 more than the similar Perruzo . Don't know what makes it more but the price difference made it easy to rule out.