Using an offset flail mower to mow grass

[TractorNoob85]

The Betsco 68" can cut to a 6" height. There is an adjustment on the roller.

Betstco says that but it doesn't really do it. I have the same mower as Scootr. With the roller set all the way down, the height is 3.5" with mower level front to back. You would have to pitch the front up pretty damn high to get 6" of cut with the roller on the ground and it won't cut worth a damn at that height and if you hit something hard, look out! It's going to be thrown at you. I don't recommend adjusting the pitch of the mower. Work within the adjustments of the mower operating in a normal fashion. Each hole for the roller is about .5". So, it will go from 3.5" at its highest, down to 1.0" I think.

 

[leonz]

MechMaxx told me the maximum cut height is 2”. I want the cut height to be 3”.

Is there a way to accomplish that?

You will not have a good cut of the grass and brush simply because the flail mower will not
create the pressure gradient/suction needed to lift and cut the grass and brush to make
short clippings. Tilting the mower above the horizontal plane with the top link will cause
anything that is impacted by the mower knives to be thrown forward if the flail mower
rotation is clockwise if you are looking at the left side of the flail mower WHERE the cutting
edge of the side slicer knifes is lifting the clippings up and over the flail mower rotor and
throwing them down to the ground.

You will end up beating back the grass and brush at the 3 inch cutting height instead of
clipping it.

 

[TractorNoob85]

I can attest that 2" will leave a better finish than 3". I've tried running 3" and it leaves a stripe of partially cut grass from what the tractor tires lay over. 3" would probably work ok if you can swing the entire mower to the side and drive entirely in the previously cut row. It really just depends how nice of a finish you want. 3" still does a good job spite the missed bits and after a week, grass is growing and it all blends together anyways.

 

[Tinhack]

You will not have a good cut of the grass and brush simply because the flail mower will not
create the pressure gradient/suction needed to lift and cut the grass and brush to make
short clippings.

To this, I say Baloney! I have two flail mowers and they both cut grass and brush as good or better than any finish mower. They both have reverse spinning rotors, one with hammers and one with spoon flails. They both lift the grass and mulch with a clean cut that would rival the best lawnmower.

I don't know where you copied your chopped up post but they don't know anything about flail mowers. At least the one's that work.

 

[camshawn]

I run a 60” Machio offset flail on our Mahindra 3616 ( 2450lbs + loader). It will run fine in brush and heavy grass but I do have to slow down to low and 1st if the grass is really long( more than 24”). I do have to pay attention on off camber and need to use 4wd as well at times. On the flats, there are no issues. As long as the grass is not over a foot long and I haven’t hit too many rocks, the cut quality is quite good.

 

[Hay Dude]

I ran this Ferri hydraulic offset for a few years. It was a large, heavy mower and didnt really do what I thought it would do. It was excellent quality and heavy duty, but it threw the tractor around like a rag doll at times and the reach I thought it would have never seemed to be quite enough. I used it for a few years, then sold it.

 

[leonz]

To this, I say Baloney! I have two flail mowers and they both cut grass and brush as good or better than any finish mower. They both have reverse spinning rotors, one with hammers and one with spoon flails. They both lift the grass and mulch with a clean cut that would rival the best lawnmower.

I don't know where you copied your chopped up post but they don't know anything about flail mowers. At least the one's that work.

Have I offended you?

Both finish flail mowers and flail orchard and vineyard shredders with side slicer knives provide the user with a finer clipping that is recut and can be recut again on a second or third pass if the user wishes to quickly have the clippings dissolve and prevent dead grass spots.

 

[Tinhack]

Have I offended you?

Both finish flail mowers and flail orchard and vineyard shredders with side slicer knives provide the user with a finer clipping that is recut and can be recut again on a second or third pass if the user wishes to quickly have the clippings dissolve and prevent dead grass spots.

I only have to cut my grass once with the Barracuda mower. The spoons leave a manicured lawn look and the grass clippings are nearly turned to powder. I wish I could use it in the yard. It cuts better than my Bad Boy ZTR with new blades.

I'm sorry you feel offended. The side slicer knives I've seen cut on an angle. And they do even worse in high or thick grass. The side cutters mostly bounce off thick grass. That may be why you have to cut 2-3 times.

The spindle on my Barracuda is over-driven by at least 2.5 times, perhaps more--I've never measured it. This is a picture of the drive belts before I replaced the bushings on the tension arm so it does run straight now. Way down at the bottom is the driven pulley.

 

[TerryR]

To this, I say Baloney!

I have to agree. I tried lowering the mower on leonz's advice when I had trouble cutting taller weeds, with the only result being a lot of damaged hammers from hitting rocks. No "suction" effect was ever evident.

I raised the mower up to two to three inches, and found the solution was to remove the front belting guard, which was bending the weeds down so the hammers never touched them. I've since replace the belting guard with a chain guard, which works well.

 

[diesel85]

I run a 62" Woodmaxx Flail with Y grass knives on it, ran on my BX2200, and it does a phenomenal job mowing. I typically mow my lawn/field around 2" (no rocks). It does a much better job mulching than the belly mower. I switch it up occasionally to give the grasses a different type of mowing experience. I also notice that the flail keeps the grass from growing quicker, which is nice on my busy schedule.

I've also cut 4' grasses with it at about 4", and albeit slow, the tractor and flail work just fine. Last year I cut 5 acres for a neighbor, and I sat back and listened to music and drank my iced tea enjoying the fine job the machine was doing.