Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[bdhsfz6]

Don't forget the jack stands!

Goes without saying.

 

[leonz]

Flail Nation - I have a few questions: is there a flail that could solve my problems. My tractor is 25HP, which may be modifiable, but we'll start bone stock. I cut small fields as a side business, and have had issues with cutting:
- The tractor handles a 5ft bush hog OK, but thick grass slows me WAY down.
- The dust and chaff thats kicked up clogs my lungs. Poison Ivy is a bumper crop up here in NH and each summer I'm covered in the rashes. A cab machine is what I want and need, but won't happen for a while at least.

So - will a 5ft flail take less power, potentially cut faster and will it create less dust/chaff?

A 60 inch cut flail mower with side slicer knives will provide you with a better cut and allow you to recut the brush a second and or third time.
The sliced up brush clippings will be lifted up and over the flail mower rotor and be deposited on the sod as you advance forward and will be
recut on the second and third passes.

A flail shredder with cast hammer knives will only be able to cut the brush once as it will not be able to create the pressure gradient you need to
slice and lift the clippings a second time to obtain a finer cut creating smaller clippings.

Is there reason you do not wear an N95 dust mask while mowing??

The 3M 2 strap disposable N95 dust masks are available through amazon at a reasonable price per box of 20 masks.
I just purchased 2 boxes of 3M N95 dust masks through amazon using my prime membership.

What you want with any flail mower crop shredder is to maintain a 2 inch height of cut to work well and beat back the invasives like
poison ivy.

I have covered purchasing the right flail mower crop shredder for the intended work extensively here on the forum.

I have sent you a PM.

 

[LouNY]

I much prefer the hammers to the fine cut knives if any brush is to be cut.
The fine cut knives tend to leave sharp angle sliced stubs sticking up, were the hammers tend to break
the stubs a bit leaving more of a crushed stub.
And a reason not to sharpen blades real sharp.
The duller more broken stubs are much less of a hazard to tires and animal feet then the sharp ones.

 

[arto98607]

In my experience 60" flail mower with side slicers will use less power than 48" brush hog, when mowing field of very tall grass or hay.

 

[Halftrack]

2 part reply:

I have been through a number of flails. Couple of 917 NH (5.5 and 6.5') with the cultivator sweep knives. Speed down to a very slow crawl with my TC 33D in 3 ft tall grass. A Mathews Comp 6' and similar results. My latest flail is a NH 918H 5' with side slicer knives and I can wade through 5' tall weeds and not slow down. Seems to cut effortlessly in the tall stuff. Usually come back in a few days and reverse cut to clean up the tire tracks. I can do the roadsides in less than half the time than previous mowers. My pto hp is about 27, yours may be a little weak for this flail. NH made a 918L which is strickly a light duty flail finish mower, much lighter knives.

Your other option is a drum mower in the 4'+- range. They also cut effortlessly in the tall stuff. Nice part, is they are offset, so no wheel tracks to clean up. Check with the dealers to see what they suggest for your ride.

I also suffer from the Ivy plague. Wear a GOOD mask, shower with IVAREST when I get home and wash clothing in OXYCLEAN.

 

[Molalla1]

Flail Nation - I have a few questions: is there a flail that could solve my problems. My tractor is 25HP, which may be modifiable, but we'll start bone stock. I cut small fields as a side business, and have had issues with cutting:
- The tractor handles a 5ft bush hog OK, but thick grass slows me WAY down.
- The dust and chaff thats kicked up clogs my lungs. Poison Ivy is a bumper crop up here in NH and each summer I'm covered in the rashes. A cab machine is what I want and need, but won't happen for a while at least.

So - will a 5ft flail take less power, potentially cut faster and will it create less dust/chaff?

My experience with your size tractor has been with a 5' hog on it will take less power than a 5' flail in tall fields although once the field becomes more manageable the flail rules . . . as far as your malady is concerned the flail by far is the best because they contain the clippings much better and the cut is far superior.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

Flail Nation - I have a few questions: is there a flail that could solve my problems. My tractor is 25HP, which may be modifiable, but we'll start bone stock. I cut small fields as a side business, and have had issues with cutting:
- The tractor handles a 5ft bush hog OK, but thick grass slows me WAY down.
- The dust and chaff thats kicked up clogs my lungs. Poison Ivy is a bumper crop up here in NH and each summer I'm covered in the rashes. A cab machine is what I want and need, but won't happen for a while at least.

So - will a 5ft flail take less power, potentially cut faster and will it create less dust/chaff?

At your rated Tractor PTO Hp a 5ft flail may be a bit underpowered for your use.

 

[arto98607]

At your rated Tractor PTO Hp a 5ft flail may be a bit underpowered for your use.

Maybe, maybe not - depends on type of flails, I think hammer VS. side slicer quite a different power usage.

Ford 1310 has 19 hp engine and is very capable running 5 ft Ford 917L flail mower with the 96 x side slicer flails it was designed for.

This mower was designed as a light duty model, to be used with side slicers only and it works well as intended.



May 2021 - pretty tall stuff due to wet spring.
Obviously need to mow more often for sure, but the ground had been way too wet previously.



Cheers

 

[Lnk]

Maybe, maybe not - depends on type of flails, I think hammer VS. side slicer quite a different power usage.

Ford 1310 has 19 hp engine and is very capable running 5 ft Ford 917L flail mower with the 96 x side slicer flails it was designed for.

This mower was designed as a light duty model, to be used with side slicers only and it works well as intended.



May 2021 - pretty tall stuff due to wet spring.
Obviously need to mow more often for sure, but the ground had been way too wet previously.

View attachment 790732View attachment 790734View attachment 790735View attachment 790736

Cheers

Yup, as always it depends. Reclaiming overgrown stuff or tall green grass is the hardest and requires more HP, or smaller bites and slower speed. But if you are maintaining, you can run as big a flail as the tractor will lift. It is all about how much material you have to move through it.

 

[diesel85]

I run a Woodmaxx FM-62 on my BX2200 and it works perfectly. Even hogging up 2-3 foot tall grasses and weeds.

I mostly use it to run in between my finish mower as it does a better job during the greener months as it distributes/mulches the clippings better.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

Maybe, maybe not - depends on type of flails, I think hammer VS. side slicer quite a different power usage.

Ford 1310 has 19 hp engine and is very capable running 5 ft Ford 917L flail mower with the 96 x side slicer flails it was designed for.

This mower was designed as a light duty model, to be used with side slicers only and it works well as intended.



May 2021 - pretty tall stuff due to wet spring.
Obviously need to mow more often for sure, but the ground had been way too wet previously.

View attachment 790732View attachment 790734View attachment 790735View attachment 790736

Cheers

My thinking as a side business it's hard to control what and when you cut and that little extra to power thru makes a difference.

 

[arto98607]

Yes running tractor & flail mower for business changes everything and you should be ready for all conditions....

 

[JWR]

Yes and I feel the 60 inch flail is as wide as you ought to go with a 25 horse tractor, esp if you are using it in the widely varying business circumstances.

 

[ronjhall]

Flail Nation - I have a few questions: is there a flail that could solve my problems. My tractor is 25HP, which may be modifiable, but we'll start bone stock. I cut small fields as a side business, and have had issues with cutting:
- The tractor handles a 5ft bush hog OK, but thick grass slows me WAY down.
- The dust and chaff thats kicked up clogs my lungs. Poison Ivy is a bumper crop up here in NH and each summer I'm covered in the rashes. A cab machine is what I want and need, but won't happen for a while at least.

So - will a 5ft flail take less power, potentially cut faster and will it create less dust/chaff?

I have 30 hp HST tractor. 22 PTO hp. For years I cut my field with a rotary cutter. Required low range (3.2 mph) and always left a window. A few years ago I bought a Woodmaxx FM62H. Came a set of Y and Hammer blades. I can now cut in mid range (5.5 mph) with Y blades. No more windrow. Cuttings are now behind and evenly spread across cut width. If weeds were high I may need to cut again where tires of tractor ran a few days later. Had to do this with rotary cutter also. My FM62H allows me to shift mower to one side so there is only set of wheels running over uncut weeds.
When using Hammer blades I may need to run in Low range when cutting very heavy weeds. But most is done in mid range.
Will your tractor be able to run a 60” flail mower will depend on how much Horsepower makes to PTO on your tractor. Also what type of field you are cutting.

 

[Fallon]

I upgraded from a 5' Land Pride Rotary cutter behind a 32hp Kubota L3200 HST. I got a $100 beat to hell 7' Ford 917. It was in rough shape, but when patched together did some work. I had to go way slower, but my hours per acre was roughly the same. My back was happy to be bouncing over fields at a lower speed.

My general thought is if you can lift it, you can spin it.

I currently have a Kubota L4060hstc. Much heavier & cabbed, but only 40hp. I'm now running a little over 7' Peruzzo flail that probably weighs double what the old Ford weighs. Minumum HP according to Peruzzo is 60 or so. No idea if thats engine or PTO, but at best im 2/3 of their recomendation. When hitting some 2" scrub oak at crawling speeds I'm hurting on HP but the flail is fine. Interestingly, heavy tall grass makes me go even slower. I should upgrade to more HP, but it does the job fine for my side hustle & is paid off. Again, going slow gets the job done. Much easier to do with a HST than geared machine, especially in varied conditions. It's drier here in Colorado, so less vegetation than places with rain. I'd bet I'd be gard pressed to run this setup in Oregon.

 

[saxtonhill]

I use a Caroni TM1900BSC with my Kubota L4600. I haven't used my 6' rotary cutter since I got this years ago. Power wise I can't even tell that that the flail is running. I use it in my orchards, paths and mowing down cover crops. Great machine. My only complaint is that there is always a scraggly row leftover from the tire in higher weeds (although if I go slower it's very minor).

 

[JethroB]

I use a Caroni TM1900BSC with my Kubota L4600. I haven't used my 6' rotary cutter since I got this years ago. Power wise I can't even tell that that the flail is running. I use it in my orchards, paths and mowing down cover crops. Great machine. My only complaint is that there is always a scraggly row leftover from the tire in higher weeds (although if I go slower it's very minor).

My setup and observations are identical. The flail just loudly hums along except for the annoying rattling of the scraper blade. Rarely use the RC.

 

[crashz]

My thinking as a side business it's hard to control what and when you cut and that little extra to power thru makes a difference.

Thanks guys - great advice. Seriously thinking about upgrading to the flail, not only for the cut quality but for the power too. I wish I decided on a flail vs the finish mower when I bought.

In tall grass I have to crawl so slow that I'm barely moving. I have 2 customers that have fields that stay wet in some areas and that gets to be a little precarious. Don't want to stop.

As to the quote above, this is absolutely the truth. The fields I cut are typically maintained once or twice a year, have heavy grass growth and plenty of obstacles / rocks. I cut when the request comes in and schedule allows for dry weather. The hog is rugged enough for the terrain but makes a lousy cut, the finish mower gets beat to heck, but does a much nicer job. Both stir up a cloud of chaff/dust/particulate and since I can't go very fast, it surrounds the tractor. I look like Pigpen.

 

[Fallon]

I get the raised tire tracks behind both the beat to hell Ford with side slicers & the Peruzzo with hammers.

The Ford sounds like a train wreck or a metal trash can rolling down a hill. That's mostly due to a slightly bent rotor & a hood that is nearly cracked in half. It's still a good backup though. With every penny of the $100 I paid for it & the $400 of parts I've put into it over the past 8+ years for my yard & side gig. Not worth fixing anymore, but good enough to keep as a backup.

The Peruzzo isn't silent or anything, but it's better than the Ford. Not hugely different than a rotary.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

Thanks guys - great advice. Seriously thinking about upgrading to the flail, not only for the cut quality but for the power too. I wish I decided on a flail vs the finish mower when I bought.

In tall grass I have to crawl so slow that I'm barely moving. I have 2 customers that have fields that stay wet in some areas and that gets to be a little precarious. Don't want to stop.

As to the quote above, this is absolutely the truth. The fields I cut are typically maintained once or twice a year, have heavy grass growth and plenty of obstacles / rocks. I cut when the request comes in and schedule allows for dry weather. The hog is rugged enough for the terrain but makes a lousy cut, the finish mower gets beat to heck, but does a much nicer job. Both stir up a cloud of chaff/dust/particulate and since I can't go very fast, it surrounds the tractor. I look like Pigpen.

I've been running a 48" HD flail with hammers on my Yanmar with 23Hp at the pto (just past 1/2 throttle) mostly on brush up to about 2" and it chews the hell out of it laying down a beautiful carpet of mulch in it's wake.