Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

dieselscout80 · Sep 22, 2018

TheFarmerInAdell said:
Well, I finally did it. I ordered all new knives, links, and hangers for my Ford 917. Instead of the airplane wings that it came with, I decided (after much deliberation and research) to get the extreme duty side slicers from Flailmaster. I installed them over the weekend. The mower came with half the blades missing or broken. I took it for a quick spin and I like the results. It's still not at it's fullest potential as I am waiting for a local shop to make me a new roller and roller brackets. So I was mowing without a roller and it seemed to do decent. It would sure be nice to be able to set the mower down on it's roller to keep a height instead of waiting to hear it hit the dirt and adjust...

I cannot say enough good things about Flailmaster. Their online store is down and it is difficult for me to order over the phone with my work schedule. I emailed them explaining this, and Carrie gave me her cell phone number to complete my order after hours! That's good customer service. :thumbsup:

Do the side slicers seem to take less HP to than your old knives (wing)?

What size is your 917?

What tractor are you running it with?

leonz · Sep 22, 2018

Hello and good morning Dieselscout80,

The side slicer knives provide up to 4 times the cutting edge length in total of a scoop knife and they will allow you to recut the material on a second and third pass if needed.

The horsepower needed is based on the PTO HP of the mule delivering the required torque to the gearbox and then to the cross shaft and then to the drive pulley for the belt drive to the driven pulley.

Just to give you an example my father used a Ford Jubilee gas mule to power his 7 foot JD25A finish mower to knock down 12-15 foot goldenrod to reclaim old pasture.

dieselscout80 · Sep 22, 2018

leonz said:
Hello and good morning Dieselscout80,

The side slicer knives provide up to 4 times the cutting edge length in total of a scoop knife and they will allow you to recut the material on a second and third pass if needed.

The horsepower needed is based on the PTO HP of the mule delivering the required torque to the gearbox and then to the cross shaft and then to the drive pulley for the belt drive to the driven pulley.

Just to give you an example my father used a Ford Jubilee gas mule to power his 7 foot JD25A finish mower to knock down 12-15 foot goldenrod to reclaim old pasture.

Ok

I have a 917 with the winged knives.

I’m wondering if the side slicers knives would allow me to cutter more with the same horse power that I currently have. Like could I cut one gear higher or cut taller grass than I currently am able to?

So in your experience does cutting the same material take less horsepower than before?

leonz · Sep 22, 2018

The horsepower and torque is the same as the power train delivering the torque to the PTO is what is doing all the work and if you mow with a faster gear you can still burn up belts.

Yes there is no reason you cannot use the side slicer knives as they will provide you with a better cut.

The thing is you need to maintain the same amount of power through the drive train with the engine at
the 540 RPM speed in the correct gear for it to work properly and not burn up belts.

When you talking about mowing tall brush you cannot expect to mow the brush at a higher gear BUT if you slow
down you can mow it down to 2 inches in height and be able to spend much less time mowing when you mow the next time.

I can send you a video of INO folding flail crop shredder bringing down mature sunflowers and corn crops with a high horsepower mule just to show you what is possible.

jthibodeau89 · Sep 23, 2018

leonz said:
1. Garden hose snakes are the worst and extension cord snakes take second place in nasty behavior when removing them.

2. I have seen so many mower crews damage equipment over the years its not funny as well as asshat mowing jobs where they have to come back and mow a second time after the land owners complain about the sh(&&% mowing job that is left in front of their properties

Nylon Hackamore horse halters with a 12' soft nylon lead type attached are also difficult to remove. All me how i know!!!! Afterward i asked my wife if she was missing a lead rope, and her response was 'I wondered where that went '. Apparently it fell of her ATV when she was side hilling across a pasture well away from the barn. The heavy brass clasp made quote a bit of noise until it destroyed itself in the few seconds before i could disengage the PTO.

leonz · Sep 23, 2018

Hate it when that happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Xfaxman · Sep 23, 2018

Valkyreel said:
Hello all.
I have decided to get a Caroni flail mower. I want a tm1900fsc (122 knifes) for a one pass finish. But, after getting a quote of $3512.99 + $260 shipping, I'm rethinking my F rotor choice. Question. Can I buy the B rotor model (tm1900bcs) for $2240 and add to or change the knives? Was thinking of ditching the clevis and short knives, and adding the A/F style (long) knives with a spacer, possibly a longer bolt and adding a knife to the outside of the knife hanger tabs. Is this possible, smart, worth the time and effort, or am I just being cheap? Thanks.

I am surprised that your question got missed. I don't know the answer, but maybe someone that does will see it this time.

Valkyreel · Sep 23, 2018

Thanks. I was going to bump it in a day or two.

def38 · Sep 23, 2018

Was mowing with my Titan flail mower the other day and I ran across some invisible barbed fence wire laying in the tall grass. Immediately the mower began to complain and sparks came from under the mower as I quickly looked backwards what was causing the horrible noise. I clutched the PTO and got off the tractor to see what was going on underneath. Just a 5 foot length of barbed wire so I got back in the saddle, engaged the PTO and the mower began dropping small bits of wire from under the mower...soon the soil will have some additional iron. The mower chewed it up in about ten seconds and I went on to finish the five acre field without incident. Glad for those forged hammer flails and 4 drive belts. The mower never even slowed from the wire encounter.