Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[def38]

VICTORY TRACTOR IMPLEMENTS | BCRL-65A Chinese junk or decent for mowing ditches/banks? This mower has got me very intrigued, especially at that price.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=4865289

I don't have a Victory but I do have a Titan. I have seen the Victory up close and personal. Looks the same as the Titan except for the paint job. My Titan is a monster and cuts well behind my M-F 231S. No belt issues and I have only stalled the mower once when I ran into some fence wire on the ground. I have been to China many times and observed first hand their manufacturing techniques. My only concern for a Chinese flail mower would be the welds. My inspection indicates that the Titan and Victory are welded properly with good penetration and no slag. The Chinese machines seem to be a close copy of the popular brands. Bearings, fasteners and other wear items are standard off the shelf stuff available most anywhere. My 6 foot Titan weigh the same as popular non-Chinese brands, about 600lbs. I like the service and free shipping offered by Titan.

Flail Mowers - 3 Point Attachments

 

[Jack Yuan]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=4865289

I don't have a Victory but I do have a Titan. I have seen the Victory up close and personal. Looks the same as the Titan except for the paint job. My Titan is a monster and cuts well behind my M-F 231S. No belt issues and I have only stalled the mower once when I ran into some fence wire on the ground. I have been to China many times and observed first hand their manufacturing techniques. My only concern for a Chinese flail mower would be the welds. My inspection indicates that the Titan and Victory are welded properly with good penetration and no slag. The Chinese machines seem to be a close copy of the popular brands. Bearings, fasteners and other wear items are standard off the shelf stuff available most anywhere. My 6 foot Titan weigh the same as popular non-Chinese brands, about 600lbs. I like the service and free shipping offered by Titan.

Flail Mowers - 3 Point Attachments

This industry in China is growing very fast in last 8 years. More and more new manufacturers step in. The competition is very fierce. Consider the USD currency exchange rate and the price increasing of material cost in China. I see the big change is happening in this industry. Many small weak manufacturers will be gone, the strong manufacturers are getting stronger.

The winner will only be the one who has better management, better technology, and long-term thinking.

 

[tn60a]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=4865289

I don't have a Victory but I do have a Titan. I have seen the Victory up close and personal. Looks the same as the Titan except for the paint job. My Titan is a monster and cuts well behind my M-F 231S. No belt issues and I have only stalled the mower once when I ran into some fence wire on the ground. I have been to China many times and observed first hand their manufacturing techniques. My only concern for a Chinese flail mower would be the welds. My inspection indicates that the Titan and Victory are welded properly with good penetration and no slag. The Chinese machines seem to be a close copy of the popular brands. Bearings, fasteners and other wear items are standard off the shelf stuff available most anywhere. My 6 foot Titan weigh the same as popular non-Chinese brands, about 600lbs. I like the service and free shipping offered by Titan.

Flail Mowers - 3 Point Attachments

Thank you for the reply, I think as soon as it gets in stock im going to get the bigger one of those verge flails from victory to do field edges, ditches and pond banks. I dont see a titan one that is a verge.

 

[whirly]

Thank you for the reply, I think as soon as it gets in stock im going to get the bigger one of those verge flails from victory to do field edges, ditches and pond banks. I dont see a titan one that is a verge.

You can also look at the Value Leader AGL 165. I have one I bought direct from China and it's a beast.

 

[N2DFire]

Thank you for the reply, I think as soon as it gets in stock im going to get the bigger one of those verge flails from victory to do field edges, ditches and pond banks. I dont see a titan one that is a verge.

In March of this year I contacted Titan about adding the Verge style mowers to their line-up.

I was answered by a Mr. Cabell Brown, Director of New Product Development.
He stated:

Thanks for sending in your product idea. I do think this is a line we might explore. We started with the regular flail mowers to see what kind of demand was out there, but I think we can take that next step and look at some of those hydraulic offset flails. I'll pass this along to one of my engineers to look at and if we make some progress here in the near future I'll let you know.

Maybe if more people inquire, they will be more inclined to add them.

I used the New Product Request Page Product Requests or you could e-mail Mr. Brown directly - Cabell Brown cabell@titanattachments.com

You can also look at the Value Leader AGL 165. I have one I bought direct from China and it's a beast.

I'm glad you posted this. I hear good things from some here about the Victory mowers, but in trying to compare them to the Value Leader (Betstco) - for the same size model it appears the Value Leader had thinker metal and overall is a slightly heavier unit. Now I understand that thinner metal of better quality it still stronger than thicker cheap metal, but it does make things harder to compare from just specs & pictures.

The 165 is just a touch too much for my tractor (based on the recommended tractor weight) so I've been comparing the Victory BCRL-57A to the Value Leader AGL145 - both 57" cut and almost identical specs except the Victory is 4 & 6 mm sheet metal & 684 lbs vs the Value Leaders 1/4" sheet metal and 751 lbs.

The Victory claims to use Forged Hammers. I can find no specific info at the moment on the Value Leader, but I thought I read somewhere they used cast hammers.

 

[DavesTractor]

Major disappointment if the Minimax is actually made in China. I've had my eye on the Mini because of the lighter weight and my intentions of mowing only pasture grass with it. The light weight was an advantage to me on my hilly terrain. Now I need to find out for sure because I don't want to pay the premium price for one made in China. Thanks for the heads up if it is true, Iberian.

I wasn't so sure this was true, so I called Vrisimo this morning, and it is true, sort of. They made a bunch of mini-max right here in California until they felt they had the design correct. Then they contracted with a Chinese manufacturing facility to make most of the mower to their specs. They did not just find an import mower and put a label on it. So after the USA made units were sold, we started getting imports. Currently now they are going to version 2.0 with a little different a-frame and a few other minor mods. These are being built in the USA, but once they have the product nailed and have them out in the field and get feedback and whatnot, they will again have the mini-max manufactured in China. The Mighty-Max and above are California built. The problem they have of course, is that it costs a ton to just open your doors in California, let alone be an actual manufacturer.

We found the mini to be a good mower, but we had some issues with the A-frame cracking if the operator left the mower on his tractor all the time. One fellow does a lot of mowing, and all year he keeps his mower on. When he drives out across the pasture to feed cows, the mower is on. When he uses the loader to move manure, the mower is on. It actually puts stress on the a-frame having that thing bouncing around back there while doing other work. Anyway, the new mini will have a new A-frame.

We sell mostly Mighty-Max, Super Series and the Orchard models. They really are fantastic, but not needed for the budget minded hobby farmer.

 

[def38]

This industry in China is growing very fast in last 8 years. More and more new manufacturers step in. The competition is very fierce. Consider the USD currency exchange rate and the price increasing of material cost in China. I see the big change is happening in this industry. Many small weak manufacturers will be gone, the strong manufacturers are getting stronger.

The winner will only be the one who has better management, better technology, and long-term thinking.

Jack, India is way ahead of China in manufacturing techniques as well as engineering and quality. India's cars and similar products are right up there with the rest of the world.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Jack, India is way ahead of China in manufacturing techniques as well as engineering and quality. India's cars and similar products are right up there with the rest of the world.

Hi, I used to check out the possibility to set up factory in India 2 years ago, after I talked with some India officer from tractor implement manufacturer(they produce rotary tiller), then I give up this idea. The basic industry supply chain in India is still much weaker than China. I saw many of Chinese industry move to southeast Asian these years, most of them are the industry which labor cost take high percent of product cost, like toy, cloth, etc. For mechanical industry, not too many of Chinese manufacturers move to there this moment, because this industry need powerful supply chain, and labor cost take small percent of whole product cost.

I always keep my eye in southeast Asian, maybe I will shift there in future, but not now obviously.

The post above you which talked about Minimax, it is just a small sample Chinese industry is still much ahead over India. I can make a long name list that US products made in China but promote as made in US, the end-user just don't know. These years, India industry is growing fast, we are watching them.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I wasn't so sure this was true, so I called Vrisimo this morning, and it is true, sort of. They made a bunch of mini-max right here in California until they felt they had the design correct. Then they contracted with a Chinese manufacturing facility to make most of the mower to their specs. They did not just find an import mower and put a label on it. So after the USA made units were sold, we started getting imports. Currently now they are going to version 2.0 with a little different a-frame and a few other minor mods. These are being built in the USA, but once they have the product nailed and have them out in the field and get feedback and whatnot, they will again have the mini-max manufactured in China. The Mighty-Max and above are California built. The problem they have of course, is that it costs a ton to just open your doors in California, let alone be an actual manufacturer.

We found the mini to be a good mower, but we had some issues with the A-frame cracking if the operator left the mower on his tractor all the time. One fellow does a lot of mowing, and all year he keeps his mower on. When he drives out across the pasture to feed cows, the mower is on. When he uses the loader to move manure, the mower is on. It actually puts stress on the a-frame having that thing bouncing around back there while doing other work. Anyway, the new mini will have a new A-frame.

We sell mostly Mighty-Max, Super Series and the Orchard models. They really are fantastic, but not needed for the budget minded hobby farmer.

Glad to know this information about Minimax. Think about the labor cost in California, so high. This is trend for US manufacturers, produce some parts in China, then assemble and test in US, even some of them just shift all the complete work in China. Different manufacturer has different way to produce. All the purpose is profit, continuous profit and stable quality.

I have to say, the cost(both labor cost and material cost) in China is also going high, so the trend here in China is that more mechanization, like robot welding, robot assembly line. I like this, robot always make less mistake and make better quality than human, and much cheaper on labor cost.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I wasn't so sure this was true, so I called Vrisimo this morning, and it is true, sort of. They made a bunch of mini-max right here in California until they felt they had the design correct. Then they contracted with a Chinese manufacturing facility to make most of the mower to their specs. They did not just find an import mower and put a label on it. So after the USA made units were sold, we started getting imports. Currently now they are going to version 2.0 with a little different a-frame and a few other minor mods. These are being built in the USA, but once they have the product nailed and have them out in the field and get feedback and whatnot, they will again have the mini-max manufactured in China. The Mighty-Max and above are California built. The problem they have of course, is that it costs a ton to just open your doors in California, let alone be an actual manufacturer.

We found the mini to be a good mower, but we had some issues with the A-frame cracking if the operator left the mower on his tractor all the time. One fellow does a lot of mowing, and all year he keeps his mower on. When he drives out across the pasture to feed cows, the mower is on. When he uses the loader to move manure, the mower is on. It actually puts stress on the a-frame having that thing bouncing around back there while doing other work. Anyway, the new mini will have a new A-frame.

We sell mostly Mighty-Max, Super Series and the Orchard models. They really are fantastic, but not needed for the budget minded hobby farmer.

Do you mean "A-frame" the square tube of 3 point hitch? Minimax weld a flat plate on the mower housing first, then weld the vertical frame on this flat plate, it protect the bent section of mower housing, it is much stronger than before.