Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Dan in MN]

I have a Mott F4 flail mower hooked up to a 1953 Ford NAA. When the engine is revved up to the 530 RPM range for the PTO, my ground speed really picks up and the mower ends of pushing down tall weeds/grass and gets clogged. I definitely need to sharpen the cutters, but wondered if others are mowing at a slower RPM. Or maybe I should only stick to short grass and avoid the overgrown meadows. I also need to replace the large gasket on the Warner gear box - someone suggested that NAPA might have one hanging around, otherwise I'll have to make my own.

Unfortunately, since your NAA must not have the Sherman 2 speed transmission option, you get what you get as far as gearing. You can try throttling down a bit to lower ground speed, but that will of course reduce mower rpm and cutting ability also... If it's a smaller patch of tall stuff you could clutch half way as you get there and roll into it, then use the clutch to move again, and again, and again... If you want to use this combo a lot you could look for a Sherman 2 speed to add on, but that's a big job..

edit: my mowing brain has been shut off for months...forgot to mention the standard reply of try taking half width passes or even a third through the tall stuff. You'll reduce the load on the motor which may help it power through if its bogging down, but if its a matter of the mower just not being able to process the grass that fast it won't help..

 

[whirly]

I have the same problem with my Fordson. If it's really tall grass AND a whole pasture, you can make 2 passes. First with the mower's roller about 6" off the ground. After that you can go back over with the roller at ground level.

If it's just a patch of tall grass, lift the roller just before and lower it just after and proceed to the next patch. You can then go back and knock down the patches to ground level after you finish the pasture.

It's a lot cheaper than the Sherman 2 speed and your left leg doesn't get cramps at night.

 

[lagreex1]

That's why I think the seller sold you the wrong offset kit which is not for your Caroni mower. I cannot believe Caroni need customer to drill holes on the mower to assemble the hydraulic offset kit, Caroni engineers won't be so stupid, I don't believe it.

Jack, I was definitely disappointed, but I can understand Caroni not wanting to pre-drill holes on all units when 95% of them will never see a shift kit.

I made some good headway last week.

Holes drilled.



Assembly finally mounted!


In my previous post I showed the huge washers to put on the inside of the mower. Two of them were red, and clipped. I ended up needing to clip two more of them to get everything to fit properly. On each of the two columns of holes, the bottom and second from the top holes required clipped washers.

Starboard side bolts.


Port side bolts. The horizontal bolt you can see at the top of the picture was not included in the kit. I added it since there was a hole there anyway. If you get side guards for the mower (like in this picture https://www.europages.com/filestore/opt/product/96/38/Trincia_e_b920e9cf.jpg ) one of them will bolt through that hole.


Strike plate attached. The Kit came with only the top and bottom left bolts. I added the bottom right since there was a hole there anyway.


The hydraulic cylinder was pre-assembled on the assembly, but there was a centimeter or two of slack in it. I'm assuming this was to allow for easier mounting. Once I had the assembly bolted onto the mower, I tightened this end to remove the slack on it.


Then I adjusted this end to get rid of the remaining slack.


Fully assembled with toplink tower.




I put one of the original 3pt lower mount points back on (left side of picture) to compare with the new hitch point. The new hitch point is around 4.5" forward of the old one.



The full album is here: Caroni Flail Mower with Hydraulic Side Shift kit - Album on Imgur

This week the plan is to get the PTO shaft cut and test her out!

 

[Ford850]

Lagreex1, These pictures and explanation will definitely help out others who get this kit. Nice work!

 

[def38]

Jack, I was definitely disappointed, but I can understand Caroni not wanting to pre-drill holes on all units when 95% of them will never see a shift kit.

I made some good headway last week.

Holes drilled.
View attachment 547686
View attachment 547687

Assembly finally mounted!
View attachment 547688

In my previous post I showed the huge washers to put on the inside of the mower. Two of them were red, and clipped. I ended up needing to clip two more of them to get everything to fit properly. On each of the two columns of holes, the bottom and second from the top holes required clipped washers.

Starboard side bolts.
View attachment 547689

Port side bolts. The horizontal bolt you can see at the top of the picture was not included in the kit. I added it since there was a hole there anyway. If you get side guards for the mower (like in this picture https://www.europages.com/filestore/opt/product/96/38/Trincia_e_b920e9cf.jpg ) one of them will bolt through that hole.
View attachment 547690

Strike plate attached. The Kit came with only the top and bottom left bolts. I added the bottom right since there was a hole there anyway.
View attachment 547691

The hydraulic cylinder was pre-assembled on the assembly, but there was a centimeter or two of slack in it. I'm assuming this was to allow for easier mounting. Once I had the assembly bolted onto the mower, I tightened this end to remove the slack on it.
View attachment 547692

Then I adjusted this end to get rid of the remaining slack.
View attachment 547693

Fully assembled with toplink tower.
View attachment 547694
View attachment 547695
View attachment 547696

I put one of the original 3pt lower mount points back on (left side of picture) to compare with the new hitch point. The new hitch point is around 4.5" forward of the old one.
View attachment 547697
View attachment 547698

The full album is here: Caroni Flail Mower with Hydraulic Side Shift kit - Album on Imgur

This week the plan is to get the PTO shaft cut and test her out!

I wonder it Ferrari offers a kit to build their car? And, while I applaud your success at installing the shift mechanism, it seems like it was rather difficult, poorly engineered and without the benefit of clear instructions...not something I would want to undertake. Good luck with it.

 

[RoyJackson]

I wonder it Ferrari offers a kit to build their car? And, while I applaud your success at installing the shift mechanism, it seems like it was rather difficult, poorly engineered and without the benefit of clear instructions...not something I would want to undertake. Good luck with it.

Although no excuse offered, my guess is Caroni most often pursues sales in Europe rather then the US. Their support in the US is quite limited...in fact, I don't think Caroni has any direct support in the US. Documentation is, apparently spotty as def38 has found out. If you look online for other European implement manfacturers, I think you'll find the same scenario.

def38 did a great job in installing the hydraulics kit!

 

[sagefruit]

Does anybody have any experience with Victories MFZ series flail? Any advantage to the unique hammer design, any sizes larger that 70" on the horizon

 

[def38]

Although no excuse offered, my guess is Caroni most often pursues sales in Europe rather then the US. Their support in the US is quite limited...in fact, I don't think Caroni has any direct support in the US. Documentation is, apparently spotty as def38 has found out. If you look online for other European implement manfacturers, I think you'll find the same scenario.

def38 did a great job in installing the hydraulics kit!

Roy, thanks for the flowers but, it was not I who installed the side shift kit but lagreex. My flail is without side shift, made in China and cost a lot less than an Italian model. Now if Sophia would come over and keep me company while I was mowing my property, I'd have one of those Italian jobs in a minute. "Ms. Loren, another cold beer please". Actually, she is a bit old for me...I'm only 79.

 

[def38]

Does anybody have any experience with Victories MFZ series flail? Any advantage to the unique hammer design, any sizes larger that 70" on the horizon

I have a Titan flail which looks identical to the Victory except for paint and the flails. My Titan has forged flails and a chain front debris guard. I have seen a smaller Victory up close and they look well built. I have not seen the side shift version you reference however the basic mower is identical with the needed added hydraulics for the 20" shift.

My Titan flail cuts 4 foot high grass with ease behind my M-F 231S with about 40 PTO HP and leaves a groomed look and well mulched clippings. It destroys branches, sticks and other yard junk without pause. The belt drive system works well with no belt issues. The gearbox is quiet and seems strong. It is likely that my Titan and the Victory are built in the same facility in China. Weldments are strong and with good penetration.

For the money and performance, I would buy the Titan again.

 

[ericm979]

The MFZ model is a different unit than the EF/EFG/EFGH ones that Titan and Victory sell. Looks sturdier. Maybe it's the photos but the hammer flails look much shorter than the EFG style to me.