Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Rara Avis]

I've just recently started looking at flail mowers again. I did read the entire thread about a year ago. Roy, buying his new Caroni flail, got me interested again.

I've been looking at the Land Pride FM2584 and FM3188 mowers.

One of the tasks I have is mowing the edges of two ponds so, the offset feature should make that easier. I'm looking at the wider flails to achieve significant mowing track to the right of my tires. Right now I'm using a TSC Branded Switzer push type string trimmer. It does a good job but, it's not self propelled so, a lot of work to be sure.

Another feature of the LP Flails is both have Cat1 / Cat 2 hitches so I could use on both of our tractors.

The Woodmaxx flails are interesting but, their wider models are Cat 2 only.

The majority of my use would be with my LS XR4046HC tractor which is Cat 1.

Anyone have experience with the LandPride flails? We have two local dealers within 30 miles of ranch.

Thanks!

You mant to look at a Del Morino Super Centurion as well...
Tractor Tools Direct | T62 Hydraulic Offset Flail Mower

Also, makes it easy to replace the hammers...

 

[lostcreekranch]

Sam and Rara, thanks for info.

 

[leonz]

I noticed these can also be raised/tilted vertical to cut trail edges or along woods. They look very versatile, but the 180SI and 180SE I looked at were $6,900 - $7,400.

The nice thing about these flail mowers is that they were are designed and built for vineyard work to save on labor expense and eventually became effective for pruning nut and fruit trees.

They have always made high quality vineyard and orchard equipment that is used to prune vertically in vineyards and berry farm rows and also for pruning/trimming estate hedges that are extremely long in total length to save time and money.
Their use for trimming along trails and mowing ditches came along with the ability to be shifted to the side to allow the flail mower to prune hedges, along grapevine trellises etc.

The Minute Maid companies orange orchards in Florida were improved by pruning making each and every mature orange tree into a cube by pruning them to allow them to use 4 wheel drive work platforms to harvest and manage the tree fruit for their juice orange operations which allowed the orange trees to grow stronger as more of the orange tree was exposed to the natural amount of sunlight for longer periods as the entire orange tree benefited from more sunlight.

I am unsure as to whether these same trees are still growing tree fruit or were destroyed by the citrus kanker and as a result destroyed by burning them after they were ripped out as many southern orange groves have suffered this same fate

With more tree fruit farms converting to the more efficient and cost effective espalier method of growing tree fruits(high density planting of fruit trees in trellised rows to allow better management of tree fruits you see an increase in mechanization for pruning and thinning using this type of flail mower and much less pruning of blossoms to increase tree fruit size/weight per bushel.

 

[Iberian]

Found this locally and was wondering if this was a good match for my L2501?


Flail Mower - farm & garden - by owner - sale

 

[DavesTractor]

Found this locally and was wondering if this was a good match for my L2501?


Flail Mower - farm & garden - by owner - sale

That would be a great size for your L2501. On an older mower, it is best if you can hook it up to your tractor (or their tractor) and mow a little with it to make sure things are nicely balanced and the gearbox is good etc.

 

[IslandTractor]

Found this locally and was wondering if this was a good match for my L2501?


Flail Mower - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Great match. Great brand. Reasonable price considering what they cost new. It would be nice if you could see it spun up to insure balance and bearings are ok but so long as it doesn't look beat up I'd take a chance on it myself.

 

[EDDIEPIO]

GENTLEMEN, I have been reading this thread from page one for quite a while, actually a very long time, tremendous amount of information, 16 mega tons of info, I currently have a 1999 DEERE 670 compact tractor, I do not have a loader nor loaded tires, nor any front weights, I currently cut three acres with a 4 foot Deere rotary cutter looking to upgrade to a flail mower, I would also like to do some trail cleanup, I have located a 6 foot MOTT RHINO flail mower in great condition it has new drum bearings, new belt, looks well taken care of, it has some cutters of the y-type that are broken, do I want to replace the cutters with a paddle cutters, I only cut the field twice a year, the brush does start growing in during that time, maybe cut it with rotary then the flail ? even field tested the mower on the owners old Ford tractor only vibration was getting the drum up to speed, the sheet metal is not even rusted badly, will I be able to lift it and spin it with my 18.5 hp engine, and will I have to replace the driveshaft due to length, the reason I ask is the flail is about 265 miles away, did not think of measuring the shaft or looking at the spline, Many thanks EDDIE

 

[DavesTractor]

Eddie,

Generally we want to see 4-5 PTO hp per foot of mower. Your 670 would handle a 4' easily, a 5' in most conditions. A 6' would generally be considered to be too large for your HP. As far as driveshaft length, it is pretty hard to tell without hooking up and measuring. A 6' flail would be great behind a 870 JD. The mower looks pretty good.

 

[RoyJackson]

GENTLEMEN, I have been reading this thread from page one for quite a while, actually a very long time, tremendous amount of information, 16 mega tons of info, I currently have a 1999 DEERE 670 compact tractor, I do not have a loader nor loaded tires, nor any front weights, I currently cut three acres with a 4 foot Deere rotary cutter looking to upgrade to a flail mower, I would also like to do some trail cleanup, I have located a 6 foot MOTT RHINO flail mower in great condition it has new drum bearings, new belt, looks well taken care of, it has some cutters of the y-type that are broken, do I want to replace the cutters with a paddle cutters, I only cut the field twice a year, the brush does start growing in during that time, maybe cut it with rotary then the flail ? even field tested the mower on the owners old Ford tractor only vibration was getting the drum up to speed, the sheet metal is not even rusted badly, will I be able to lift it and spin it with my 18.5 hp engine, and will I have to replace the driveshaft due to length, the reason I ask is the flail is about 265 miles away, did not think of measuring the shaft or looking at the spline, Many thanks EDDIE

I had a 670...great little tractor, but with about 17 PTO HP, I think that 6' flail would be too much for it. At best, it would be very slow going as the engine would bog down if the brush has any height to it.
I think the 670 could lift it...but not much lift capacity to spare. You would need 4 front suitcase weights, at least.

As much as I hate to say it...but I think you should pass on the flail mower and look for one 4-5 feet wide.

 

[Dan in MN]

As much as I hate to say it...but I think you should pass on the flail mower and look for one 4-5 feet wide.

I'd say it sounds like a great reason to upgrade the small tractor... :thumbsup:

 

[Fallon]

Great match. Great brand. Reasonable price considering what they cost new. It would be nice if you could see it spun up to insure balance and bearings are ok but so long as it doesn't look beat up I'd take a chance on it myself.

I ran a 7' Ford 917 on my L3200. I'm sure it would lift a narrower mower fine as the 2501 is the same frame as my old 3200. Power should be fine.

As long as the rotor isn't warped you should be fine. None of the mounting brackets on my 917s rotor are anywhere near straight. Beat to **** & still runs ok or decent.

 

[Iberian]

Mower was in pretty good shape. Out of the 76 mounts two were missing blades. Didn't seem to vibrate that much but I don't have a new Mott j60 to compare it too since they were probably last made in the 80's sometime. It was missing a roller bearing on the rear height adjusting roller. I ran it over my property and it cut without any issues including a few tree branches and a 2 inch sapling "stump" I had cut a while ago and couldn't see.

The only odd thing is that in the manual for the j60 it says to run the PTO at 1000rpms and any slower and it may start wrapping the grass instead of cutting. It cut fine with blades duller than butter knives when ran at 540 off my HST. Running it at x2 that speed seems like it would be insanely fast.




EDIT: No idea why that is upside down. It is right side up on my computer.

 

[IslandTractor]

View attachment 518164


EDIT: No idea why that is upside down. It is right side up on my computer.

You probably took the photo with a phone in landscape mode but "upside down". Some computers are smart enough to make the corrections but the TBN database isn't

 

[PRCWI]

You probably took the photo with a phone in landscape mode but "upside down". Some computers are smart enough to make the corrections but the TBN database isn't

When I click to see the larger image it displays right side up.

 

[Steave]

Same here, it's right side up when you click on it and I'm using Fred Flintstones computer.

 

[Hunhunt]

I'm new to this forum and in the market for a flail mower. Just sold our horses and so we can no longer mow our pastures organically!! We only have about 2-1/2 acres in pasture (alfalfa/grass) as well as some fence rows and road side to mow. I've narrowed it down to the Italian made flail mowers based largely on reading this thread. I have a Massey Ferguson 135 tractor with the gas Perkins engine (Engine 45.5 hp, PTO 38 hp) that I will be using. I do have a couple of questions. I've read about the issues with the Caroni TM1900 clevis breakage and the resolution by replacing with Flailmaster clevis. Looking at other Italian flail mowers (example Del Morino and Peruzzo) it appears that they generally use a single hardened bolt to attach a y-style blade. When talking with a sales person at Agri Supply, it was stated that the smaller Caroni flails use the single bolt connection for the knives with the TM1900 being the only one with the clevis connection. Is there an advantage to the clevis connection for the knives over the bolted connection. Seems like the clevis connection would have more lateral flexibility if that matters. It also appears that among the Italian made flail mowers the Caroni is considerably cheaper and I was wondering why that might be. I've compared weight on various Italian 6' flail mowers and the Caroni seems to be right in there with the others so it doesn't seem like the more expensive ones are heavier built. Anyone have a comment on that? I've tried searching for answers to these questions on the forum but have been unable so far. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[leonz]

I'm new to this forum and in the market for a flail mower. Just sold our horses and so we can no longer mow our pastures organically!! We only have about 2-1/2 acres in pasture (alfalfa/grass) as well as some fence rows and road side to mow. I've narrowed it down to the Italian made flail mowers based largely on reading this thread. I have a Massey Ferguson 135 tractor with the gas Perkins engine (Engine 45.5 hp, PTO 38 hp) that I will be using. I do have a couple of questions. I've read about the issues with the Caroni TM1900 clevis breakage and the resolution by replacing with Flailmaster clevis. Looking at other Italian flail mowers (example Del Morino and Peruzzo) it appears that they generally use a single hardened bolt to attach a y-style blade. When talking with a sales person at Agri Supply, it was stated that the smaller Caroni flails use the single bolt connection for the knives with the TM1900 being the only one with the clevis connection. Is there an advantage to the clevis connection for the knives over the bolted connection. Seems like the clevis connection would have more lateral flexibility if that matters. It also appears that among the Italian made flail mowers the Caroni is considerably cheaper and I was wondering why that might be. I've compared weight on various Italian 6' flail mowers and the Caroni seems to be right in there with the others so it doesn't seem like the more expensive ones are heavier built. Anyone have a comment on that? I've tried searching for answers to these questions on the forum but have been unable so far. Any input would be appreciated.

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These Verticut Flail Mower blades are referred to as side slicer knives.

The Caroni Families line of rototillers uses many of the same weldments, tubing and gearbox components that the flail mowers do that is why it is economical to buy.

And YES the more expensive flail mowers are much heavier my friend dont think they are not heavy.

As far as the TM 1900 goes the only advantage of the clevis is that it allows the blades to be pushed back when hitting an object while mowing in bad mowing conditions AND It allows Caroni to use shorter side slicer knives as the rototiller tube is the same tube used for the flail mower rotor in most models.

The clevis is essentially nothing more than a second relief point in case of impact damage.


If you no longer plan on having hay burners with the accessory horse crap dumpers you can invest in a finish flail with the side shift kit and have more lawn in very short order.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm new to this forum and in the market for a flail mower. Just sold our horses and so we can no longer mow our pastures organically!! We only have about 2-1/2 acres in pasture (alfalfa/grass) as well as some fence rows and road side to mow. I've narrowed it down to the Italian made flail mowers based largely on reading this thread. I have a Massey Ferguson 135 tractor with the gas Perkins engine (Engine 45.5 hp, PTO 38 hp) that I will be using. I do have a couple of questions. I've read about the issues with the Caroni TM1900 clevis breakage and the resolution by replacing with Flailmaster clevis. Looking at other Italian flail mowers (example Del Morino and Peruzzo) it appears that they generally use a single hardened bolt to attach a y-style blade. When talking with a sales person at Agri Supply, it was stated that the smaller Caroni flails use the single bolt connection for the knives with the TM1900 being the only one with the clevis connection. Is there an advantage to the clevis connection for the knives over the bolted connection. Seems like the clevis connection would have more lateral flexibility if that matters. It also appears that among the Italian made flail mowers the Caroni is considerably cheaper and I was wondering why that might be. I've compared weight on various Italian 6' flail mowers and the Caroni seems to be right in there with the others so it doesn't seem like the more expensive ones are heavier built. Anyone have a comment on that? I've tried searching for answers to these questions on the forum but have been unable so far. Any input would be appreciated.

A couple of points to supplement what Leonz posted: I'm the one who keeps talking about breaking Caroni clevises but you need to appreciate that I mow in coastal Rhode Island where glacial rocks and shale are annual crops. If your soil isn't rocky then the standard Caroni clevises are fine.

Regarding cost of Caroni versus other Italian flails, for a given duty rating (simply measured by weight per foot of cut) and considering the cost of extras like hydraulic side shift (nice but not necessary) I think an important reason for difference in price is that AgriSupply buys big batches directly from the manufacturer. I'm pretty sure the smaller dealerships selling other similar Italian flails are buying either in smaller quantities or more likely buying from a middleman who takes a cut. Think of AgriSupply as Costco compared to mom and pop dealerships.

The last point is that the difference between the Caroni TM and TL flails is both the type of blade mount, (direct bolt to blade or bolt, clevis, blade) and that the direct bolt to blade rotor has about double the number of knives. The TL is a true finish mower (think soccer or baseball field or big lawn) while the TM is more for pasture/brush. The TM gives a very good cut if used regularly but can also handle a pasture that is cut just once or twice a year.

Photos show TM1900 giving annual cut.

 

[Greenland South]

A few picks of a portion of the 40 acres I mow starting near the end of July. I used to do this with a tow behind my quad rough cut. The tractor and flail are far more enjoyable.

 

[lostcreekranch]

View attachment 518604
View attachment 518605View attachment 518606
A few picks of a portion of the 40 acres I mow starting near the end of July. I used to do this with a tow behind my quad rough cut. The tractor and flail are far more enjoyable.

Nice pasture! What brand / model is your flail mower?