Betstco FH-EFGC155 Flail, New Hammers But Problem With Cut.

[JethroB]

Flails and their tracks. It’s some stem-y winter weed that pops up. Should die out soon when the Bahai grass returns. This was cut about 5 days ago. Cotton was planted on the right two days ago.

 

[oosik]

I wonder - if OP would have stayed with new Betstco hammers would the cut have been OK. Do Betstco hammer create more "lift". For whatever reason - those outside hammers are not doing their job. You might try switching the outside hammers to an inside position and see if the uncut stripe follows the hammers.

 

[310-510]

To verify if it is tire interference, cut a swath in reverse.

 

[JethroB]

This old pasture was mowed two days ago. I lowered the cutting height to 4 inches so the cut is better. Mostly just Bahai now. I’ll just have to learn to live with the tire tracks. It is fun to play a bit with the striping made by the roller laying over the grass.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Went out and did a 3.5 acre field. Nice an flat with 5-8 inch natural field grasses and weeds. Pretty tame stuff.
Ran at a 2.5 inch cut and took my time.
Then end result is terrible. Looks like it was done with a crappy, unleveled brush hog with bad blades.
You get one nicer strip of cut grass but then you also get strips of grass that is 3 inches taller.
It is really disappointing.
If it didn't leave these stripes it would be a really nice cut.

I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

View attachment 744283

I suggest you check if the flail mower front flaps missing, the spinning flail mower rotor creat big suction and bring big air flow come from the front, this will help to get up the grass which were pressed down by tractor wheel, then the flail hammer can cut them.

This is one of the reason why most flail mower use front flaps instead of chain.

 

[Timothy Price]

I am having the same problem with the tire tracks not cutting.

Most of the grass is an old pasture, and is a mix of clover, timothy, fescue, and weeds. The finish mower would leave noticeable tire tracks, but only barely. With the flail mower, the tire tracks are several inches higher, by the time the spring back up, the next day. Its a little bit better in the straight fescue, closer to the house, but still leaves noticeable tracks.

It is an off brand mower I bought 2 years ago, when the tree roots in the yard, finally, had damaged my MK Martin finish mower beyond the point where I was willing to repair it. I actually don't even know the brand. I bought it off an importer in Leduc, Alberta. Its grey in color and has a tag with the model JAM-155T.

I wonder if a different style blade would help. The mower came with hammer blades, and the guy importing them doesn't order any other types of blades. The hammers were quite blunt, when new, but I sharpened them.

My initial thought was to try a different style blade, but I have not been able to determine where to get any that would fit. I have searched for blades and the JAM-155T model number, but I keep coming up with blades for other machines.

My second thought was, perhaps, it does not rotate fast enough. All I know is the input RPM, but I don't know how the flail speed compares to other machines. I could speed it up some with the pullies, but only so much.

The unit did not come with a flap, or chains at the front, as mentioned in the previous post. Perhaps I should try find a way to attach a flap, before anything else.

I hope I can get it cutting better. Apart from the tire track issue, I like it far better than the finish mower. The tree roots don't bother it at all, provided I go over them in the correct direction. Also, since I work so much, I often don't get a chance to cut the grass as often as I should. When the grass gets too tall and thick, it cuts it way faster than the finish mower could handle.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I am having the same problem with the tire tracks not cutting.

Most of the grass is an old pasture, and is a mix of clover, timothy, fescue, and weeds. The finish mower would leave noticeable tire tracks, but only barely. With the flail mower, the tire tracks are several inches higher, by the time the spring back up, the next day. Its a little bit better in the straight fescue, closer to the house, but still leaves noticeable tracks.

It is an off brand mower I bought 2 years ago, when the tree roots in the yard, finally, had damaged my MK Martin finish mower beyond the point where I was willing to repair it. I actually don't even know the brand. I bought it off an importer in Leduc, Alberta. Its grey in color and has a tag with the model JAM-155T.

I wonder if a different style blade would help. The mower came with hammer blades, and the guy importing them doesn't order any other types of blades. The hammers were quite blunt, when new, but I sharpened them.

My initial thought was to try a different style blade, but I have not been able to determine where to get any that would fit. I have searched for blades and the JAM-155T model number, but I keep coming up with blades for other machines.

My second thought was, perhaps, it does not rotate fast enough. All I know is the input RPM, but I don't know how the flail speed compares to other machines. I could speed it up some with the pullies, but only so much.

The unit did not come with a flap, or chains at the front, as mentioned in the previous post. Perhaps I should try find a way to attach a flap, before anything else.

I hope I can get it cutting better. Apart from the tire track issue, I like it far better than the finish mower. The tree roots don't bother it at all, provided I go over them in the correct direction. Also, since I work so much, I often don't get a chance to cut the grass as often as I should. When the grass gets too tall and thick, it cuts it way faster than the finish mower could handle.

Flail mower in working should be supported by its rear roller instead of side skids.

 

[Timothy Price]

Flail mower in working should be supported by its rear roller instead of side skids.

It is. The skids only come into contact when crossing tree roots.

 

[wirlybird]

I suggest you check if the flail mower front flaps missing, the spinning flail mower rotor creat big suction and bring big air flow come from the front, this will help to get up the grass which were pressed down by tractor wheel, then the flail hammer can cut them.

This is one of the reason why most flail mower use front flaps instead of chain.

Flaps are all intact and functional.
I can even see it trying to create some suction if I look back at it while mowing but it just doesn't cut the grass where the tires ran.
I think one issue is that it is a counterrotating flail so I think that the blades are more apt to lay the grass that is bent over back down. It does this to flexible, small saplings also.
I tried my Ford 917L and my JD 25A which both spin in the direction of forward wheel travel and they did better handling the grass at the tire tracks.

It might do a little better as the ground firms up and the grass dries. Or I hope anyway!

 

[Rebeldad1]

and you never had this problem before you changed hammers?

 

[wirlybird]

and you never had this problem before you changed hammers?

I don't know. only used it a few times just testing it out last fall. Had to wait for a new gear box since it was damaged when it arrived.
First real use was in February on a vacant lot so it was mostly just dead weeds and crap. That's where I got into some unknown rocks and cement and broke a few hammers and bent up a few.
I was only going to replace the damaged ones but Betstco's price is high and shipping is really high.
I got a five pack of Titan hammers to see how they matched up and they were a good fit and looked better than the originals. They were about $3 cheaper than the originals and free shipping.
I ended up replacing all with Titans.

They mowed real nice but the consensus is the ridges are from the tires and a combination of soft ground and green, flexible grasses.
I also found my Deere one which rotates the opposite direction cut better in the same conditions.

Anyway, the Betstco is sold so not a worry anymore!

 

[oosik]

Not to let a sleeping dog lye. If it were the tires, soft ground and flexible grass - why wasn't there TWO ridges per run? I wonder if the outside hammers were somehow different than the others. Weight - length - connection.

Strange - it would appear that all flail mowers have this condition - to some extent.

 

[cholland]

I have a wider Betstco flail, but Im guessing they are have similar setup. It appears that way in his pics in the first post. The Betstco flails are somewhat offset. The attachment points can be shifted to alternate mounting points and have even more offset, but in the standard position it is not exactly centered. The left tire lines up along the edge of the cut, but the right tire is well within the cut. That may be why there is only one obvious ridge in each run.

 

[wirlybird]

Not to let a sleeping dog lye. If it were the tires, soft ground and flexible grass - why wasn't there TWO ridges per run? I wonder if the outside hammers were somehow different than the others. Weight - length - connection.

Strange - it would appear that all flail mowers have this condition - to some extent.

First off is that all the hammers were identical and all new. We did inspect the hammers to be sure.

After it was suggested it was tires causing the issue, and we suspected the same, I looked closer and there is a second ridge. However it is more cut down due to the overlapping cut from the next pass and wasn't so easy to see unless you looked for it. Also the end of the flail on the "drive" it side barely covers or extends 3/4's of the width of that tire due to the flail's offset.

If you make a pass and then just stop the tractor, get off and look from behind the ridge does line up perfectly with the tires.
We also tested by running in reverse and got an ok cut. i.e. it cut before the tire rolled over the grass.

As mentioned I did find that three flails also test that had a rotation opposite of the Betstco did a better job and cutting where the tires rolled over the grass.

I think it is a combo of conditions and flail rotating opposite of tire rotation. That's my conclusion at least!

I think it is just an artifact of the flail. I think flail design and blade type do affect this.

 

[wirlybird]

I have a wider Betstco flail, but Im guessing they are have similar setup. It appears that way in his pics in the first post. The Betstco flails are somewhat offset. The attachment points can be shifted to alternate mounting points and have even more offset, but in the standard position it is not exactly centered. The left tire lines up along the edge of the cut, but the right tire is well within the cut. That may be why there is only one obvious ridge in each run.

Exactly as I though.

 

[JethroB]

First off is that all the hammers were identical and all new. We did inspect the hammers to be sure.

After it was suggested it was tires causing the issue, and we suspected the same, I looked closer and there is a second ridge. However it is more cut down due to the overlapping cut from the next pass and wasn't so easy to see unless you looked for it. Also the end of the flail on the "drive" it side barely covers or extends 3/4's of the width of that tire due to the flail's offset.

If you make a pass and then just stop the tractor, get off and look from behind the ridge does line up perfectly with the tires.
We also tested by running in reverse and got an ok cut. i.e. it cut before the tire rolled over the grass.

As mentioned I did find that three flails also test that had a rotation opposite of the Betstco did a better job and cutting where the tires rolled over the grass.

I think it is a combo of conditions and flail rotating opposite of tire rotation. That's my conclusion at least!

I think it is just an artifact of the flail. I think flail design and blade type do affect this.

I agree. Same with my 18“-ish offset Caroni with new Y blades. I’ll try mowing at more of an angle in relation to my front porch view so I don’t have look down the tire tracks.

 

[diesel85]

My flail does this too, but not too bad. Heck even my rotary mower does it. Just the weight of the tractor pushing down on the grass.

If you want even cut, you'll need to do two passes in opposing directions.