FLAIL COLLECTOR ADVISE PLEASE

[Malvern Michael]

I am leaving grass areas for wildlife and hoping to cut it just once a year, I have seen a collector flail made by Major, how well would they cope with long grass? Any advise welcome
thanks
michael

 

[workinonit]

I'm just curious, why do you want to collect it? I would think a flail would cut it just fine.

 

[leonz]

Hello and good morning Malvern Michael,

A flail Pick up mower like the Major brand will work but you will be picking up 15+ plus loads per half acre of food plot and then you have to transport it to wherever you want to dump it.
The other thing is that the mowed brush will begin to smolder and degrade as the season progresses.

If you intend to compost the brush and have the room and time to do it along with a way to turn the compost so it does not burn all the better.

If you only wish to mow annually will you also be investing in the dethatching knives for the flail mower to over seed the food plot as well?

The issue is how much time do you actually have to mow the food plot.

Please find below a picture of a 6 foot Hiniker crop shredder for your examination.

You can purchase this small 6 foot crop shredder from Hiniker to mow the foot plot with zero issues and shred the food plot crop well and keep it open and growing for the deer or native avian population that exists there.

The towed design of this flail crop shredder allows you to make tight turns with its Rezeppa type universal joint.

The height adjustment is accomplished using a ratchet jack or a hydraulic cylinder to raise or lower the dual rear wheel linkage and it eliminates the use of a rear roller
which is not needed for brush mowing in a food plot.

The Hiniker 6 foot crop shredder will cost you less money than a PTO powered flail mower that has a collection basket of any brand and you will be able to mow down to 2 inches each time.

If you only mow annually your going to be operating at about 1 or 2 miles an hour so keep that in mind too.

If you have a good radio and air conditioning in your current mule you will be able to mow with the Hiniker 5710 crop shredder flail mower.

You can visit the Hiniker home page www.hiniker.com and type in your location and zip code to find their nearest agricultural implement dealer.

 

[Malvern Michael]

I'm just curious, why do you want to collect it? I would think a flail would cut it just fine.

Hi
I wish it wood but by the time I cut the grass it will be between 2 and 3 feet high and my existing flail won’t shred that small enough

 

[Malvern Michael]

Hello and good morning Malvern Michael,

A flail Pick up mower like the Major brand will work but you will be picking up 15+ plus loads per half acre of food plot and then you have to transport it to wherever you want to dump it.
The other thing is that the mowed brush will begin to smolder and degrade as the season progresses.

If you intend to compost the brush and have the room and time to do it along with a way to turn the compost so it does not burn all the better.

If you only wish to mow annually will you also be investing in the dethatching knives for the flail mower to over seed the food plot as well?

The issue is how much time do you actually have to mow the food plot.

Please find below a picture of a 6 foot Hiniker crop shredder for your examination.

You can purchase this small 6 foot crop shredder from Hiniker to mow the foot plot with zero issues and shred the food plot crop well and keep it open and growing for the deer or native avian population that exists there.

The towed design of this flail crop shredder allows you to make tight turns with its Rezeppa type universal joint.

The height adjustment is accomplished using a ratchet jack or a hydraulic cylinder to raise or lower the dual rear wheel linkage and it eliminates the use of a rear roller
which is not needed for brush mowing in a food plot.

The Hiniker 6 foot crop shredder will cost you less money than a PTO powered flail mower that has a collection basket of any brand and you will be able to mow down to 2 inches each time.

If you only mow annually your going to be operating at about 1 or 2 miles an hour so keep that in mind too.

If you have a good radio and air conditioning in your current mule you will be able to mow with the Hiniker 5710 crop shredder flail mower.

You can visit the Hiniker home page www.hiniker.com and type in your location and zip code to find their nearest agricultural implement dealer.

Hi
it is not a food plot it is a large grassed area left to nature but I am told I must cut it once a year, I will have a look at hiniker
thanks for info

 

[DieselBound]

As a test I ran my 7' flail with hammers over some grass that was a good 7' tall. Much to my surprise, and contrary to what I was told, it didn't clog up the flail (didn't wrap it up with long grass); not sure if the shredder knives are the reason or not. Unlike with a rotary cutter I wasn't getting clumps of cut grass: not really an issue/concern for me, though I do prefer to how my flail cuts over that of an RC. I've got areas that stay too wet to mow until well in to summer months; by this time grass gets insanely tall (I've measured stalks of reed canary grass at over 10' tall- stuff like that I first mowed with my B7800 and a light-duty 5' RC [yes you can! but slower than heck]).

 

[Malvern Michael]

As a test I ran my 7' flail with hammers over some grass that was a good 7' tall. Much to my surprise, and contrary to what I was told, it didn't clog up the flail (didn't wrap it up with long grass); not sure if the shredder knives are the reason or not. Unlike with a rotary cutter I wasn't getting clumps of cut grass: not really an issue/concern for me, though I do prefer to how my flail cuts over that of an RC. I've got areas that stay too wet to mow until well in to summer months; by this time grass gets insanely tall (I've measured stalks of reed canary grass at over 10' tall- stuff like that I first mowed with my B7800 and a light-duty 5' RC [yes you can! but slower than heck]).

Thank you for that
michael

 

[Malvern Michael]

I'm just curious, why do you want to collect it? I would think a flail would cut it just fine.

i want to collect as it is part of our extended lawn so needs to be picked up

 

[nyone]

Your cutting it only 1x a year but call it a lawn? Cutting it 1x a year is really just keeping the saplings from growing to big.

 

[Zeppelin]

As a test I ran my 7' flail with hammers over some grass that was a good 7' tall. Much to my surprise, and contrary to what I was told, it didn't clog up the flail (didn't wrap it up with long grass); not sure if the shredder knives are the reason or not. Unlike with a rotary cutter I wasn't getting clumps of cut grass: not really an issue/concern for me, though I do prefer to how my flail cuts over that of an RC. I've got areas that stay too wet to mow until well in to summer months; by this time grass gets insanely tall (I've measured stalks of reed canary grass at over 10' tall- stuff like that I first mowed with my B7800 and a light-duty 5' RC [yes you can! but slower than heck]).

I've found that the tall stuff really bogs my flail down, I have the betstco fh-agl165 with hammers. I have to move extremely slow or the 5-6' "swamp grass" as it's called around here will drag it down and smoke the belts. I've never cut this field, we've had the property for about 2 years and I only got the tractor about a month ago. My plan is to hit it earlier in the year and try to keep up with it.

 

[oosik]

Zeppelin - slow or not - looks like it's doing a good job.

 

[Zeppelin]

I've been really impressed with it, when we bought this property it was very overgrown. I've already been able to clear a path through one of the trails and reclaim a bit of yard around the house.

 

[DieselBound]

I've found that the tall stuff really bogs my flail down, I have the betstco fh-agl165 with hammers. I have to move extremely slow or the 5-6' "swamp grass" as it's called around here will drag it down and smoke the belts. I've never cut this field, we've had the property for about 2 years and I only got the tractor about a month ago. My plan is to hit it earlier in the year and try to keep up with it.

I'll show you slow! I did initial mowing at my place with a B7800 pulling a 5' RC (light duty one at that). 9'+ tall grass! These were paths and such from old logging activities. Tall grass is just plain slow to mow; one either uses a smaller mower and makes more passes at a higher speed or one goes with a larger mower and fewer passes but at a slower speed. I'm finding, however, in comparison to my 6' RC, that my 7' flail mows faster at a slightly slower travel speed when mowing 1' to 2' tall grass: less passes/turning and a wider cut more than offset the slower speed.

I've still got areas with insanely tall grass: grass grows tall before the ground is firm enough to travel over. I'll be mowing with the 6' RC: going to swap off the flail in the next day or so; also will be looking to clear some heavy brush at the neighbor's; all stuff that an RC is better at doing.