Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Urakunu]

That tractor should just be big enough. You will want a loader on the tractor and loaded rear tires to keep the tractor stable enough.

A ditch flail when it hits a solid object will tend to twist the whole tractor to pointing downhill. On a pond bank or steep ditch, it happens fast. A heavy stable tractor is your friend here.

Thank you for the feedback, I will have a loader and will be getting the tires loaded, I just need to pick between the 2 tractors I have it narrowed down to, an LS4150 and the Kioti NX5150, but that's a discussion for another topic. Thanks again so much for the feedback!

 

[JWR]

It depends on what you really want to do and exactly what terrain. Have you used a flail mower before? Yes, they can/do cut off to one side some but not a great long reach. There is such a large variety of cutting tools to look at depending on what you really want to do. At very least, you ought to go try out a flail before plunking down the $3K, especially without a tractor. There are front-end loader mounted cutters that reach out to the side a good bit (such as Lane Shark), there are sickle bars that reach out several feet (more than a flail will), there are articulated arm mowers, and on and on. Just sayin' you probably want to study your main need/desire before buying (what sounds like a good deal) on a flail. I have and use all of the above and there is considerable difference among them (and wide variation among demands on the tractor.)

 

[Urakunu]

It depends on what you really want to do and exactly what terrain. Have you used a flail mower before? Yes, they can/do cut off to one side some but not a great long reach. There is such a large variety of cutting tools to look at depending on what you really want to do. At very least, you ought to go try out a flail before plunking down the $3K, especially without a tractor. There are front-end loader mounted cutters that reach out to the side a good bit (such as Lane Shark), there are sickle bars that reach out several feet (more than a flail will), there are articulated arm mowers, and on and on. Just sayin' you probably want to study your main need/desire before buying (what sounds like a good deal) on a flail. I have and use all of the above and there is considerable difference among them (and wide variation among demands on the tractor.)

Thanks for that, I have been trying to find alternatives, the lane shark as well as the TB-One both mount on the front if I understand correctly from my research, but in my mind they are limited do to the fact that the angles they can mow at for a bank are fixed by the pin placement. The Kioti dealer actually stocks the TB-one and I looked at, and that is what actually pointed me towards the search, because weedwacking my 2 acre pond is a pain in the butt.
The sickle bar route I may have to look into more, but I believe at one point when I talked to someone about them the angle you can use them at is restricted, I could be off on this and I will take a closer look at them. The driveway into our cabin is a mile long, there are shoulder areas that I would like to mow back as well but can't actually swing a mower into and figured being able to offset as well as tilt hydraulically would make life easier.

One reason I asked about the price is because I am pretty green with this stuff, if I bought the flail and didn't like it, I would hope I wouldn't lose to much if I had to resell it. I really wouldn't even begin to know where to borrow or use someone else's flail, but I like the idea!

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

 

[JWR]

Interesting. Love to see pictures of your intended mowing places. The TB-One is an intellectual property "copy" of the Lane Shark. Lane Shark was first and not well patented apparently. You are right that the angle of the mower deck is fixed by the pin location. There was an idea underway to make the angle hydraulically controlled but I don't know if that got done. The adjustments you can make by controlling the FEL make it pretty flexible but the "hangover angle" is fixed by the pin. The sickle bars can (most of them) be operated over a pretty wide range of angles relative to the tractor (e.g. down over the edge of a bank, etc.) There are many brands of rear-mounted sickle bars including some for small tractors and they probably publish specs on the angles they will work at. BushHog makes them as do several less expensive brands. The flail mowers (unless arm mounted) do not usually reach out very far (laterally) from the tractor. Looking at the Del Morino 132M some models of it look to have quite a bit of angular flexibility controlled by the hydraulics. Can't tell if they go out sideways much or not. My flail mower is offset but fixed in angle/position. Don't know what hydraulic splitting is provided with the 132M but if you have to provide an RCV on your tractor for each one of those hydraulic cylinders that can get expensive. I do not have experience with the 132M or any unit that gives you both hydraulic offset and tilt. Those would be very attractive features. I do have an Orsi arm cutter (rotary cutter on a 17ft articulated arm) but it requires a rather heavy tractor and is quite a bit more expensive.

Intriguing stuff. Be interesting to see what you decide.

 

[Urakunu]

Interesting. Love to see pictures of your intended mowing places. The TB-One is an intellectual property "copy" of the Lane Shark. Lane Shark was first and not well patented apparently. You are right that the angle of the mower deck is fixed by the pin location. There was an idea underway to make the angle hydraulically controlled but I don't know if that got done. The adjustments you can make by controlling the FEL make it pretty flexible but the "hangover angle" is fixed by the pin. The sickle bars can (most of them) be operated over a pretty wide range of angles relative to the tractor (e.g. down over the edge of a bank, etc.) There are many brands of rear-mounted sickle bars including some for small tractors and they probably publish specs on the angles they will work at. BushHog makes them as do several less expensive brands. The flail mowers (unless arm mounted) do not usually reach out very far (laterally) from the tractor. Looking at the Del Morino 132M some models of it look to have quite a bit of angular flexibility controlled by the hydraulics. Can't tell if they go out sideways much or not. My flail mower is offset but fixed in angle/position. Don't know what hydraulic splitting is provided with the 132M but if you have to provide an RCV on your tractor for each one of those hydraulic cylinders that can get expensive. I do not have experience with the 132M or any unit that gives you both hydraulic offset and tilt. Those would be very attractive features. I do have an Orsi arm cutter (rotary cutter on a 17ft articulated arm) but it requires a rather heavy tractor and is quite a bit more expensive.

Intriguing stuff. Be interesting to see what you decide.

I love the idea of this Beaver Valley Supply Company - MK Martin Rotary Cuter Offset Arm but it would be over twice what I could get the flail for and the it is showing required HP to be minimum of 60 which excludes the tractors I am considering. Thanks again!

 

[Fallon]

I love the idea of this Beaver Valley Supply Company - MK Martin Rotary Cuter Offset Arm but it would be over twice what I could get the flail for and the it is showing required HP to be minimum of 60 which excludes the tractors I am considering. Thanks again!

With many impliments weight is WAY more important than HP. A 25hp machine can spin a 5' rotary cutter. But it couldnt handle the weight on that lever arm. Weight & HP are usually, but not always tied together. A 35hp Kubota L3560 weighs basically the same as a 60hp L6060. I'd kind of doubt either of them would be heavy enough to be stable with that arm all the way out.

Weight defines what a tractor will do, HP just defines how fast it will do it. My 40hp L4060 will plow snow or pull a plow or box blade as fast as a L6060 despite having 20hp less. The 2 tractors weight the same & I'm already traction limited even with loaded tires. More HP would just make for a better burnout but no more work.

Weight also directly relates to lift capacity. A tractor is just a giant see saw. If you want a fat kid up in the imair on one side (loader, cutter arm, whatever) you need another fat kid, possibly 2 on the other end.

 

[TerryR]

Have you used a flail mower before? Yes, they can/do cut off to one side some but not a great long reach.

The Del Morino 132M the OP is looking at is a ditch and bank mower. It does reach out to the side just as much as a sickle bar mower, not just a few feet like a standard offset flail. I have a similar one of another brand, and they do work great for ditches and banks.

For a pond, it depends how far down you need to reach, and whether the tractor can stay on the level, or how steep the bank is.

And whether the tractors he's looking at are heavy enough for it is another issue. They are pretty heavy, though various models differ, and hang off the side when extended so can put a load on the tractor, especially on a side hill with the mower on the down hill side, or even mowing up a steep hill.

 

[Urakunu]

With many impliments weight is WAY more important than HP. A 25hp machine can spin a 5' rotary cutter. But it couldnt handle the weight on that lever arm. Weight & HP are usually, but not always tied together. A 35hp Kubota L3560 weighs basically the same as a 60hp L6060. I'd kind of doubt either of them would be heavy enough to be stable with that arm all the way out.

Weight defines what a tractor will do, HP just defines how fast it will do it. My 40hp L4060 will plow snow or pull a plow or box blade as fast as a L6060 despite having 20hp less. The 2 tractors weight the same & I'm already traction limited even with loaded tires. More HP would just make for a better burnout but no more work.

Weight also directly relates to lift capacity. A tractor is just a giant see saw. If you want a fat kid up in the imair on one side (loader, cutter arm, whatever) you need another fat kid, possibly 2 on the other end.

Thanks for that info, it makes sense and gives me more consideration to take into account!

 

[Urakunu]

The Del Morino 132M the OP is looking at is a ditch and bank mower. It does reach out to the side just as much as a sickle bar mower, not just a few feet like a standard offset flail. I have a similar one of another brand, and they do work great for ditches and banks.

For a pond, it depends how far down you need to reach, and whether the tractor can stay on the level, or how steep the bank is.

And whether the tractors he's looking at are heavy enough for it is another issue. They are pretty heavy, though various models differ, and hang off the side when extended so can put a load on the tractor, especially on a side hill with the mower on the down hill side, or even mowing up a steep hill.

Thanks for the input, the other reason after thinking about it more I like this style mower I'm considering is because I can mow directly behind me, a sickle bar would not allow that and would require another mower, I feel like this kills 2 birds with one stone. I could remain on the flat while mowing, I'm thinking I need 5' or so for the bank and its not super steep, but steep enough that as a green operator I wouldn't want to be on it.

 

[JWR]

With many impliments weight is WAY more important than HP. A 25hp machine can spin a 5' rotary cutter. But it couldnt handle the weight on that lever arm. Weight & HP are usually, but not always tied together. A 35hp Kubota L3560 weighs basically the same as a 60hp L6060. I'd kind of doubt either of them would be heavy enough to be stable with that arm all the way out.

Weight defines what a tractor will do, HP just defines how fast it will do it. My 40hp L4060 will plow snow or pull a plow or box blade as fast as a L6060 despite having 20hp less. The 2 tractors weight the same & I'm already traction limited even with loaded tires. More HP would just make for a better burnout but no more work.

Weight also directly relates to lift capacity. A tractor is just a giant see saw. If you want a fat kid up in the imair on one side (loader, cutter arm, whatever) you need another fat kid, possibly 2 on the other end.

Mr Urakunu -- Fallon is right (as he usually is!) Just a couple of comments: You said you have a mile of road to your cabin, banks to keep clean, etc. I'm still hoping to see a few pictures of your circumstance. Anyway, I was not up on the flail mower you are considering and after some study I am thoroughly impressed. Very attractive features. One question is how heavy a material will you normally be cutting? The flail mower is not intended for thick woody brush, saplings, small trees, etc. Neither would a sickle bar mower of course. The Martin side-frame rotary cutter you mentioned would be a heavy duty solution good for cutting a lot heavier stuff than the flail mower. If most of your need is cutting light brush and mostly weeds and heavy grass, etc. the flail will probably be the right tool. On the other hand if you have fairly frequent need to cut 2" thick material (and maybe clusters of it) the Martin (or similar, there are several brands) would be the better tool. BUT if that be true, you really need a larger, heavier tractor. As Fallon said, weight matters a whole bunch. If the heavier material is going to be your long-term challenge then spending twice as much for the mower may not be a bad idea but then there is the tractor ...and money. It never ends does it?