Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[JWR]

If a flail mower at my place looked that clean underneath, the only thing I would be sure of is that I could not afford it so it must not be mine.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Re: Flail mower basics and knife rotation

Straight rotor in red mower, helical rotor in orange mower .

View attachment 612853 View attachment 612854

Which flail manufactures offer a helical rotor.

I upgraded my planer and jointer, in my woodworking shop to helical heads and they really give a nice finish.

 

[FarmLife4]

I just pulled the trigger on the 62H woodsmax. Im only 3 days into my 10 day minimjm wait time on shipping. Will post jp my thoughts when I recieve and use it.

 

[ronjhall]

I just pulled the trigger on the 62H woodsmax. Im only 3 days into my 10 day minimjm wait time on shipping. Will post jp my thoughts when I recieve and use it.

What tractor are you using it on? Did you order Y or hammer blades?

 

[bruceha2000]

I was finally able to use my WoodMaxx 62H a week and a half ago. Had to wait for them to design and manufacture an adapter to make it Cat 1 quick hitch compatible. No way I can muscle 700 pounds to get it on the 3 point directly. Clearly someone, potentially not with authorization, changed the design of the lifting arch and it was Cat 3, not Cat 1/2 height from the 2018 and prior models. I don't know if they are shipping the adapter with the machine since it is sold as Cat 1 compatible or if one needs to request it.

@FarmLife4 - if you plan to use it with a Cat 2 QH, also order the bushing set from WoodMaxx and make sure you get the adapter (you might also want to get a tractor to pull the flail ;D). It consists of 2 heavy duty plates, a solid rod and a bolt with washers and nut that connect the plates to the slot in the lifting arch and a longer clevis pin since the one that came with the mower wasn't long enough to go through the adapter plates. I will say that is is very well made, very solid.

My tractor dealer had hoses made up so I could "borrow" the curl/dump function from the loader and got adapters for the flail's male thread end fittings plus the needed quick connectors. I connected all that and shifted the mower left, but one of the adapters leaked and I couldn't shift it back to the right. So I disconnected the hydraulics and mowed with the mower all the way left. I have finally gotten a replacement adapter at Advanced Auto (same store different guy, the guy the prior Saturday didn't have any. The guy last week said he probably didn't look in the Hydraulic section :thumbdown: )

Pictures of what I mowed and what it looked like. I got the knives, not the hammers/duck foot.

 

[Fallon]

My tractor dealer had hoses made up so I could "borrow" the curl/dump function from the loader and got adapters for the flail's male thread end fittings plus the needed quick connectors. I connected all that and shifted the mower left, but one of the adapters leaked and I couldn't shift it back to the right. So I disconnected the hydraulics and mowed with the mower all the way left. I have finally gotten a replacement adapter at Advanced Auto (same store different guy, the guy the prior Saturday didn't have any. The guy last week said he probably didn't look in the Hydraulic section )

Pictures of what I mowed and what it looked like. I got the knives, not the hammers/duck foot.
View attachment 614419 View attachment 614420

The bucket circuit has regen on it. It applies full pressure to both sides of the cylinder. That keeps it from sucking in air (leading to floppy bucket syndrome) & let's it dump faster. It sacrifices power for speed though, but you dont need power to dump a bucket with gravity helping.

Economy Kubotas only have a 3 stage valve with only power dump. Grand Kubotas have a 4 stage valve. A little over is regen dump all the way over is normal power dump. Not sure what you have, but your problems are probably regen related. Move the plumbing from the bucket circuit to the lift circuit & it should fix things. Forward & back on the lever instead of left/right to match the movement, but it should actually work

 

[bruceha2000]

Hmmm, that would be problematic. More important to be able to lift the bucket (obstacles) than dump/curl. I guess if that is the only way I will have to leave the bucket off and keep the loader lifted up off the ground some.

 

[dnw64]

The bucket circuit has regen on it. It applies full pressure to both sides of the cylinder. That keeps it from sucking in air (leading to floppy bucket syndrome) & let's it dump faster. It sacrifices power for speed though, but you dont need power to dump a bucket with gravity helping.

Economy Kubotas only have a 3 stage valve with only power dump. Grand Kubotas have a 4 stage valve. A little over is regen dump all the way over is normal power dump. Not sure what you have, but your problems are probably regen related. Move the plumbing from the bucket circuit to the lift circuit & it should fix things. Forward & back on the lever instead of left/right to match the movement, but it should actually work

I don't understand the mechanics of that, but probably related - my snowblower has hydraulic rotation. I thought something was wrong because it would turn left but not right. Turned out I have to pass the detent (power dump?) to make it turn right. It's a bit annoying, as that means Full Speed only and makes it a bit hard to be "precise" without going too far and then moving back with partial lever to the left. It's been suggested I add an orifice restricter to reduce flow but it's pretty far down my to-do list...

 

[dnw64]

Hmmm, that would be problematic. More important to be able to lift the bucket (obstacles) than dump/curl. I guess if that is the only way I will have to leave the bucket off and keep the loader lifted up off the ground some.

Well, you could hook up the lift/lower cylinders to the dump/curl part of the valve, no?

 

[Fallon]

I don't understand the mechanics of that, but probably related - my snowblower has hydraulic rotation. I thought something was wrong because it would turn left but not right. Turned out I have to pass the detent (power dump?) to make it turn right. It's a bit annoying, as that means Full Speed only and makes it a bit hard to be "precise" without going too far and then moving back with partial lever to the left. It's been suggested I add an orifice restricter to reduce flow but it's pretty far down my to-do list...

The but end of a cylinder is always going to be bigger than the rod end (because the rod takes up part of the piston). If you apply apply say 1000psi to both sides of a 1 square inch cylinder that has a 1/2 square inch rod. The but end will experience 1000lbs of force, the rod end will experience 500psi (half the surface area). So the piston would extend. All the fluid from the rod end would get forced into the but end so it would extend faster. Both sides of the cylinder are pressurized so air wont get sucked in as a heavy bucket pulls on the hydraulics faster than the pump can provide fluid.

If you hook a regen valve up correctly to a normal double acting cylinder it will work. Extend will be fast & weak, but it will work. If you hook it up to a pair of single acting cylinders (angle on a snow plow) both pistons are the same size so they fight each other equally & nothing happens. Similar results for a hydraulic motor, both sides get equal pressure & balance each other out (maybe blowing out seals in some cases).

Sounds like you have a 4 stage valve & need to go to the power dump stage to get work done.