Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[K5lwq]

Most ditch bank flails will require 2 sets of remotes to work 2 cylinders. One really needs to have float capability. That allows the head to follow the contour of the ground.

 

[Reg]

hey guys. Ive got a Kubota MX 5200, and I want to run a 5 ft ditch bank mower. I dont have any rear remotes installed on the tractor, just a 3rd fucntion on my loader. does anyone know of a good place to find practical information about what kind of rear remotes i would need for a ditch bankk mower? I called my local kubota dealer and they were like "we dont sell flail mowers". ive been reading in this forum to try to get an idea of what im looking for and im having a hard time finding the information that i am most curious about.

thanks,
sascha

Depends on the mower. i.e. how many it needs for however many dimensions it moves in - typically 2, but maybe 3.
I put a "pack" of 4 on my smallest tractor for about $500 a decade or so ago.
Surplus supply had Parker units in several configs, I wanted 3 at the time, but 4 wasn't much more $s

There was some reading on their web site at the time, enough the get me "educated" well enough the chose what I needed.

BTW, a handy place to mount a bank of 4 remotes is on the right side upright of the rollover bar.
It works well for things like stump grinding if you want to be OFF the tractor to not get vibrated and it is next to the loader joy stick so I can inch the tractor back/forth with the bucket curl//dump.

 

[JWR]

Depends on the mower. i.e. how many it needs for however many dimensions it moves in - typically 2, but maybe 3.
I put a "pack" of 4 on my smallest tractor for about $500 a decade or so ago.
Surplus supply had Parker units in several configs, I wanted 3 at the time, but 4 wasn't much more $s

There was some reading on their web site at the time, enough the get me "educated" well enough the chose what I needed.

BTW, a handy place to mount a bank of 4 remotes is on the right side upright of the rollover bar.
It works well for things like stump grinding if you want to be OFF the tractor to not get vibrated and it is next to the loader joy stick so I can inch the tractor back/forth with the bucket curl//dump.

I realize there is wide variation (and that this is MF apples versus Kubota oranges) BUT on larger tractors like my MF 2660 adding one remote is expensive, approaching $1K , not "remotely" similar to the $500 for 4 you mention.

 

[Lnk]

Big difference between having a dealer install a remote package, and buying the parts and installing them yourself. Pretty sure he did the latter. You are correct, would be expensive at the dealer.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Typically the first remote is expensive to install, with subsequent add-ons being less expensive. Depending on your mechanical aptitude it can be a DIY to get an aftermarket valve pack and add it on, or even buy the factory parts and install them yourself. If you're not mechanically inclined I would suggest having the dealer install them as it can be dangerous and expensive if it is done wrong. If the dealer is installing I'd suggest adding as many as the tractor allows (most seem to be 2 or 3), that way you only pay for labor once.

 

[DavesTractor]

Factory remotes tend to be cleaner as far as hoses and brackets and such, as they are designed specifically for the tractor. Generally you just have a lever or two (or three) showing with the valves mounted, somewhat hidden away on some models, either under the seat area or on the back of the rockshaft area. Valves are then operated with levers with linkage or cables. The downside is expense. But a person should check, because where one brand will be $3000 for a multi-spool setup, another might be $1200.

Aftermarket valves tend to get busy with all the hoses and a valve exposed on the fender or a ROPS bracket, but you can do as many spools as you want and the expense is generally quite a bit less.

 

[electrycmonk]

Ad me to the list of happy customers with Merrick's for the ole 917 flail i scored last fall/winter.

once I got it ohome I made a list of stuff to do and when I wanted them to occur..... Then Covid happened. Just live everyone else's life was upended.

So I found a spare bolt to replace the one that fell out of the gearbox output shaft housing.
I also drained, rinsed, cleaned and resealed both the rear covering and output shaft housing.

test run showed that the seal was now toast.

checked online....had a few minor issues... easily resolved. Ordered both the input and output shaft O-ring-Seal thing-a-ma-bob.
they arrived without issue.
drained the gearbox somewhat. Cleaned the surfaces.
It took some time getting the seal's metal compression metal parts extracted from the shaft housing cap thingy.
installed *Only* the output shaft seal this time.
topped off the fluid, greased all the zerks. Replaced a couple missing blades..... went and had a great outcome mowing the back yard.

that was over a week ago. Last night I did a craigslist search for flail mowers across 1/2 our nation.... no less than a dozen shown listed for several flail mowers across the mid-east coast.

 

[electrycmonk]

Thank you flail nation. It's been, overall a positive season for my ole ford 917 6' unit.
Yes, I had a couple bumps in the "learning curve" but, they were far from overwhelming. As of right now I can comfortably say that it's value is worth every penny I spent on it and every mile driven to go get it.

Today I was able to mow both front & big backyard in just about 2 hrs. That's my best time ever.this is a 2.5 acre plot so, square foot-wise, I mowed almost 2 acres in mostly mid 3 & 2nd gears and used a bungie cord as throttle lock at basically 2000rpms

Cheers folks

 

[K5lwq]

Thank you flail nation. It's been, overall a positive season for my ole ford 917 6' unit.
Yes, I had a couple bumps in the "learning curve" but, they were far from overwhelming. As of right now I can comfortably say that it's value is worth every penny I spent on it and every mile driven to go get it.

Today I was able to mow both front & big backyard in just about 2 hrs. That's my best time ever.this is a 2.5 acre plot so, square foot-wise, I mowed almost 2 acres in mostly mid 3 & 2nd gears and used a bungie cord as throttle lock at basically 2000rpms

Cheers folks

That is great! Glad you are liking your flail.

Out of curiosity, why do you have to bungie cord the throttle? I think it should stay where you set it until you pull it back to idle.

 

[jthibodeau89]

hey guys. Ive got a Kubota MX 5200, and I want to run a 5 ft ditch bank mower. I dont have any rear remotes installed on the tractor, just a 3rd fucntion on my loader. does anyone know of a good place to find practical information about what kind of rear remotes i would need for a ditch bankk mower? I called my local kubota dealer and they were like "we dont sell flail mowers". ive been reading in this forum to try to get an idea of what im looking for and im having a hard time finding the information that i am most curious about.

thanks,
sascha

I have the same dilema on my JD4300. If your loader is QD, you can use the loader joystick once the loader is detached. That is what i plan to do when i find a bank/fence row mower.