Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Hello Davemhughes,

I just found your post this morning; just to be sure, you do mean the flail mower rotor and not the rear roller????????

The inner races of both bearings have to have a shrink fit meaning they are tight against the shaft stub of the flail mower rotor.
and cannot move.

The roller bearings are heated to allow them to slip over the stub shaft portion of the flail mower rotor when they are installed.

The bearing mounting flange(if used) mounting bolts must tight against the side weldments.

If there is no debris surrounding the bearing housing or flange or if there is no build up of material like baling twine, nylon twine, baling wire or barbed wire the usual suspect and only suspect is a spinning inner bearing race so you should not use it again until the problem is verified.

 

[leonz]

Hello Davemhughes,

I looked at the exploded diagram for the woodmax flailmowers, the only thing I can suggest for now is this:

If there is nothing trapped around the flail mower rotor creating heat the only real option for you to try is to tighten metric head cap screw bolt on the compression flange behind the triple V belt pulley with a 1/4 inch drive socket for the compression flange (Part number 67) by removing the Triple V belt pulley IF AND ONLY IF YOU CANNOT FIT a metric allen wrench behind the triple V belt pulley to tighten it.

This flange apparently has no bolts for the six drilled holes in the flange.

IN my saying that; if everything is tight and there is nothing wrapped around the flail mower rotor I think the bearing will fail shortly.

Why they are using self aligning bearings is beyond me as they not ment for this type of application UNLESS AND ONLY UNLESS the Stub Shaft on the flail mower rotor is tapered thus allowing the compression against the shoulder and increasing the holding power of the inner race of the self aligning bearing on the stub shaft IF IT IS TAPERED.

Apparently they are using component parts common with the other implements they manufacture and assemble for resale.

 

[otus_branch]

I noticed on my Woodmaxx 78 that after running it the main roller flail shaft is pretty hot the touch right near the belt driven bearing area. I greased it up but I plan to watch it as I do not want a bearing failure on a new tool....that would irritate me to no end.

Sorry to hear of these troubles, davemhughes. I hope that leonz' advice is helpful, and that you can identify and remedy the root of the problem. I'm interested to hear how you resolve it all.

-otus

 

[doneill127]

Davemhughes, not sure how old your mower is but woodmaxx is now using NSK self aligning bearings on their mowers. I believe NSK is a quality bearing company and I’m not sure why a self aligning bearing is a bad application. See the attached link http://https://www.bearingtips.com/what-are-self-aligning-ball-bearings/. Too much grease in these could cause some issues as the manual recommends one or two pumps at 250 hrs.

 

[doneill127]

By the way the real reason I like my Woodmaxx is the shipping container makes an awesome work table

 

[ronjhall]

By the way the real reason I like my Woodmaxx is the shipping container makes an awesome work table

View attachment 561906

Nice.

 

[otus_branch]

Davemhughes, not sure how old your mower is but woodmaxx is now using NSK self aligning bearings on their mowers. I believe NSK is a quality bearing company and I’m not sure why a self aligning bearing is a bad application. See the attached link http://https://www.bearingtips.com/what-are-self-aligning-ball-bearings/. Too much grease in these could cause some issues as the manual recommends one or two pumps at 250 hrs.

Two pumps every 250 hours is astounding to me. All the equipment with zerks I own so far need 2 or more pumps of grease at 10 hour intervals...

 

[doneill127]

Agree but most of the things on my equipment with zerks aren’t precision ball bearings. They’re slow speed high load bushings. Think about your truck/car. When was the last time you pulled and greased any of the wheel or axle bearings. Granted I do grease the tapered roller bearings on the trailer every year

 

[otus_branch]

Good point, donelli127. I'm just trying to wrap my head around new information...

 

[ronjhall]

I also used the crate that my Woodmaxx Fail Mower came in. Remover all the upper pieces and added 4 casters to bottom to made a storage dolly for it.
View attachment 562021

 

[lostcreekranch]

I also used the crate that my Woodmaxx Fail Mower came in. Remover all the upper pieces and added 4 casters to bottom to made a storage dolly for it.
View attachment 562021

I’m sure your dolly makes hookup to your tractor much easier Ron but, can you move it around your shop if you need to? Would you go with larger casters if doing it again?

 

[ronjhall]

I’m sure your dolly makes hookup to your tractor much easier Ron but, can you move it around your shop if you need to? Would you go with larger casters if doing it again?

Bigger casters may help. But they raise frame higher. I had these 4” low profile setting on a shelf. When I need to move over a seam in floor. I use the 3’ pry bar from HF to move dolly.

 

[Wrench83]

Hey guys I'm hoping you pros can help me out with my flail mower. I'm pulling this mower behind a L3901HST. Since new this mower has cut fine but recently started leaving strips of clumps. I reversed the knives for a fresh edge with no improvement. The mower is set up according to the manual. The grass is dry and only grown a few days since last cutting (not too tall). I reached out to the manufacturer for help or suggestions and they were no help. Only advice was to mow slower. Any help here?

 

[leonz]

Hello Wrench,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the" Flail Mower Nations" from the Great State of Maryland.

1. Which brand of flail mower do you have?

a. how many knife mounting stations are there on the flail mower rotor?

b. Are the side slicer pairs mounted on a shackle attached to the knife mounting station or are the side slicer knife pairs bolted directly to the knife mounting station?

2. at what ground speed are you mowing in forward travel?

3. what is your mowing height meaning in which mounting hole pair is the rear roller adjusted to?


When you see windrows like this it generally means that the forward travel speed is too fast BUT Please answer the questions I have listed above.



Please answer the above questions so we can help you.

 

[Fallon]

Hey guys I'm hoping you pros can help me out with my flail mower. I'm pulling this mower behind a L3901HST. Since new this mower has cut fine but recently started leaving strips of clumps. I reversed the knives for a fresh edge with no improvement. The mower is set up according to the manual. The grass is dry and only grown a few days since last cutting (not too tall). I reached out to the manufacturer for help or suggestions and they were no help. Only advice was to mow slower. Any help here?

Need more info. Photos of the mower might help. My Peruzzo had issues with material jamming ontop of the scraper bar on the roller. Packed up ontop pretty good. I removed the scraper & life got better. Mar or may not be a similar issue. If you have side slicers it's likely a shackle got twisted or jammed. Freeing it up would help if that were the case.

 

[Wrench83]

Hello Wrench,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the" Flail Mower Nations" from the Great State of Maryland.

1. Which brand of flail mower do you have?

a. how many knife mounting stations are there on the flail mower rotor?

b. Are the side slicer pairs mounted on a shackle attached to the knife mounting station or are the side slicer knife pairs bolted directly to the knife mounting station?

2. at what ground speed are you mowing in forward travel?

3. what is your mowing height meaning in which mounting hole pair is the rear roller adjusted to?


When you see windrows like this it generally means that the forward travel speed is too fast BUT Please answer the questions I have listed above.



Please answer the above questions so we can help you.

Unsure of the number of knives, i want to say there are 25. They're the "Y" design; three pieces all mounted with a single thru bolt. All of the knives swing freely. Unsure of exact ground speed but I have the machine in low range with the HST pedal about 2/3 down. It's a very slow speed which should result in satisfactory performance. Like I said, when the mower was new I was able to achieve great results. Unsure of what's changed but the manufacturer was of little help which is why I'm trying not to mention them. Mowing height is set to the middle setting. I'm removing about 1/2-3/4" of material; not enough that it should be clumping at all and it's dry.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Unsure of the number of knives, i want to say there are 25. They're the "Y" design; three pieces all mounted with a single thru bolt. All of the knives swing freely. Unsure of exact ground speed but I have the machine in low range with the HST pedal about 2/3 down. It's a very slow speed which should result in satisfactory performance. Like I said, when the mower was new I was able to achieve great results. Unsure of what's changed but the manufacturer was of little help which is why I'm trying not to mention them. Mowing height is set to the middle setting. I'm removing about 1/2-3/4" of material; not enough that it should be clumping at all and it's dry.

As previously asked .... what model Flail Mower and tractor are you using?

 

[leonz]

Coming back to this at 12:20 Eastern Standard Time;

1. You apparently have a dethatching knife in the center of the side slicers so your knives are mounted directly to the mounting stations on the rotor without shackles as the intermediate connection.

If you only have 25 side slicer knife sets you have a rough cut flail mower with 8 mounting stations per row with one extra mounting station for overlap. If you can provide us with an uploaded image of the flail mower rotor with a wide view that will help tremendously.

A finish flail like the three my father owned and mine which has 64 mounting stations has 128 knives and 256 cutting edges and 64 dethatching blades with 128 cutting edges to dig in the sod to lift up the dead thatch and carry it into the collection hopper.


The flail mower has to be set with a 2 inch height of cut to enable it to create enough of a pressure gradient to lift the clippings up and over the flail mower rotor.

With that said your flail mower is lifting the clippings up and over the flail mower rotor and depositing them on the ground as it should be.

With your current flail mower your going to have to go over it the clippings again a second time to shred them finer to make them dissolve quicker.


Do you have a wet well grinder to cool grind the knife edges on each side slicer knife? If you not you can purchase one from Micromark which sells them for $99.00 + tax and freight/shipping. you will need to purchase an angle setter from wood craft to properly adjust the tool rest to obtain the 37 degree angle you need for a fresh cool ground edge.

We really need to know what brand of flail mower you have in order to help you more and how often you mow as well.

 

[Wrench83]

It's a Woodmaxx FM78H. It's got 24 knife stations. You are correct in that it does indeed have a dethatching knife in the center. When it was new I was getting great results. I could mow a high field with 12+ vegetation and leave behind a nice, even finish. Mowing maintained turf resulted in a very nice, cleanly striped appearance close to what you would expect from a ZTR (see attached photos). I'm just trying to get back to that point. I am mowing my lawn about every 5 days. It's currently a mix of bermuda and fescue. I agree with you that for some reason the mower isn't creating that pressure differential to draw the grass up to give me the clean cut. Right now if I were to mow over the clippings as you suggested, they would remain untouched. The mower will not draw them up into the cutting area to be mulched. I assumed that it was the result of worn, dull knives so I turned all of them over to make use of a fresh edge with no luck. Thats when I reached out to the manufacturer and they said that's the type of performance I should expect from their machines (which I know is BS) and that I should try to mow slower. I will measure my actual ground speed when I go out to the barn after my coffee, but if I had to guess I would say that I'm down to about 3.5-4mph which at times is painfully slow for what should be an efficient machine.

Appreciate the help, gentlemen.

Here are pictures of the results I was getting with the mower for the first few months I've had it. Trying to get back to this point.

 

[leonz]

Hello Wrench,

Thank you so kindly for updating us this morning.


First: Do Not Yell;


I would like you to do the following to help with your mowing tasks:


If you do not have cruise control can you manually set the forward speed of travel????


1. trying mowing every 3 days with your current height setting As you are not gouging the turf with the thatching blades.

a. if you are still getting a higher amount of clippings you need to slow down more.


Please do not yell as I know your time is valuable and am going to help you with that as well.

2. Mowing in a spiral pattern saves fuel and time as you are not braking and reversing and you can overlap by a foot in cutting width. It will look like you went over it with a roller in one direction but it will spring back quickly.

Within 2 days it will look exactly like a mowed lawn and the rear roller is striping in one direction which does not look that bad really since the grass will recover more quickly anyway.


When you are mowing in spiral pattern it takes much less effort, fuel and braking to steer the mule and you use less whip.
If you are traveling at three miles an hour you are traveling at 264 feet per minute and mowing 1,584 square feet per minute with a six foot cut without the overlap.

1. try mowing every three days in a spiral pattern first and then get back to us, it will look OK but if you get a rain delay you may have to raise the cutting height one position if you can tolerate having a longer grass blade on you lawn. Just be careful as you do not want to burn the grass if you have a long period with no rain. the longer grass blade actually sends its roots further in to the ground too so that helps the sod and the grass population per square foot.

I have to get back to the world cup but I will be back after the end of the second half.