Flail Mower Caroni TM1900 question...

[xtn]

Got my new Caroni TM1900BSC from AgriSupply and am very happy. I have two questions:

1. Can anybody specify a flat edged blade from flailmaster.com that fits correctly? I saw in a thread from 2009 that someone had done this, but the link provided doesn't work, and the part number that seems to be a part of the link doesn't get any hits on flailmaster product search.

2. I haven't seen anyone in any other thread mention the pins on the lower attachment bars. There are two pins through each lower attachment bar on the mower, and it appears that removing the forward pins would allow the attachment bars to rotate around the rearward pins, allowing each side to float a few inches independently when mounted to the 3pt. Has anybody tried this?

xtn

 

[joemd11]

xtn, I have had my flail for about a month now and am very pleased with it also. I don't know about the replacement blades from flailmaster. When I ordered my mower, I also ordered 5 replacement blades and hangers from AgriSupply. As far as the lower mounts, I haven't tried taking the extra pin out yet. It seems it would allow the mower to float from side to side. The booklets that come with the mower are really pretty worthless when it comes to operating instructions. There is a guy on here, leonz, that seems very knowledgable about these mowers. Hopefully he will reply soon and have more info.
Cheers,
Joe

 

[xtn]

I totally agree that the manual is almost worthless.

I mowed for two hours last night using the position control to keep the mower's skids off the ground and getting some float by using the slotted top link hole. Works good, but in this setup the mower will not drop below the minimum height I've set on the position control. And I've got to maintain that minimum height because it's the position control keeping the front of the skids from digging into the ground.

But I'm thinking I will try this: Unpinning the lower attachment bars so they can provide independent float on each side... dropping the position control all the way down so the whole 3pt will let the mower float up and down within a very wide range... and using the top link in the normal fixed hole to control the leveling of the mower's skids to keep them from digging into the ground. I'm thinking this should allow the most free movement of the mower relative to the tractor while still keeping it from tilting forward digging the skids into the ground.

Thoughts?

xtn

 

[joemd11]

xtn, that sounds like it should work. Let me know the results as I may try the same thing.

 

[leonz]

Got my new Caroni TM1900BSC from AgriSupply and am very happy. I have two questions:

1. Can anybody specify a flat edged blade from flailmaster.com that fits correctly? I saw in a thread from 2009 that someone had done this, but the link provided doesn't work, and the part number that seems to be a part of the link doesn't get any hits on flailmaster product search.

2. I haven't seen anyone in any other thread mention the pins on the lower attachment bars. There are two pins through each lower attachment bar on the mower, and it appears that removing the forward pins would allow the attachment bars to rotate around the rearward pins, allowing each side to float a few inches independently when mounted to the 3pt. Has anybody tried this?

xtn

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About number 2 the three point hitch mounting points stay in one place at all times and the ground contour is what determines how much side to side movement occurs whiie mowing as the mower is following directly behind you or in front of you as you are backing with the mower.

The three point hitch and its mounting on the mower must be secure at all times as it will damage the P.T.O. shaft if the top link is the only method of attachment

The three point hitch top link corresponds with both the single pin hole and the slot which allows the mower to follow the ground contour more easiiy for you by unscrewing the top link.


The thrre point hitch when mounted securely to the three point mount on the mower ensures the mower and the top link and the ower links lift the mower in the same instance and arc of movement and this MUST be maintained.

The flail mowers skids ride on the ground and prevent the flail mowers rotor from coming in contact with the ground while working.

The rear roller is what creates the height gauge for the Caroni mowers hieght of cut for you.



The flail mower needs to be on the ground with the rear guage roller contacting the ground as the flail mower uses the ground surface to aid in creating the aerodynamics and suction created by the flail motor rotors grass slicers to cut the grass and brush. The knives become airfoils due to the rotors speed of rotation which creates the momentum to spin the grass slicers to slice the grass and brush.

The rear roller hieght posistion is the proper way to set the hieght of cut for the flailmower. The higher the roller is mounted in position on the mower frame the lower the cutting hieght: The lower the mounting position hieght for the roller the higher the cut.


If you have the crank out right lower linkon your tractor it need to be fully cranked in to properly mount and use the mower safely WITH the top link and lower Links attached.




The three point hitch is used to lift and lower the mower while mowing only.

The amount of side shift available is a set spacing and it cannot be allowed to be left loose while working.



The mower needs to be left on the ground whie mowing uness the brush is very heavy and you want to make a pair of passes in forward and in reverse with the flailmower raised a bit and then allowed to follow the groundin forward and reverse to mow down to the sod.

About the instruction manual:

If you invest in an itailian language to engish language dictionary it wil be money well spent and wil quickly permit you to adjust the mower.

Its diassapointing that Agrisupply is not providing an italian to engish translation manual for their customers. I woud be willing to do this if someone could e-mail or mail a manual to me.

 

[vineyardkeeper1]

So on the top link which hole do you recommend the pin in,,,,the one thats mades it stable when backing up or the one that has play in it?

 

[joemd11]

leonz, I don't think xtn is considering not connecting his lower link arms at all and just using the top link to attach the mower. On my mower, the lower links have 2 pins per side. If you remove the outer most pins on each side, then the lower attachment points are free to travel about 3 or 4 inches up and down. Its hard to describe and I might be out to lunch all together. I think this is what xtn is talking about.
Cheers!

 

[leonz]

So on the top link which hole do you recommend the pin in,,,,the one thats mades it stable when backing up or the one that has play in it?

THe top one for maximum control as it is rear mounted.

 

[leonz]

leonz, I don't think xtn is considering not connecting his lower link arms at all and just using the top link to attach the mower. On my mower, the lower links have 2 pins per side. If you remove the outer most pins on each side, then the lower attachment points are free to travel about 3 or 4 inches up and down. Its hard to describe and I might be out to lunch all together. I think this is what xtn is talking about.
Cheers!

No your not out to lunch If you mean part numbers 41-46; The geomtry of the mower allows much finer more restrictive movement/meaning tightening the slack adjusters to draw in the lower links which is something you want ona front mount.

 

[xtn]

Joemd that is exactly what I was talking about. I tried this method out for two hours this morning and it worked.

Note that the mower is rear mounted behind my tractor and normally used pulling it forward.

The top link is now in compression, being used to tilt the mower back onto the roller only. It is mounted in the fixed hole instead of the slot for positive control. The skids have a slight angle of attack upwards, such that the front of them rides about an inch higher than the rear of them. With the rear roller set in its highest position for the lowest cut, this seems to provide about a three inch cutting height.

The lower links are attached to the pivoting bars which I have unpinned to allow some vertical movement independently for each side. This provides for vertical movement on each side only; there is no side to side freedom. This allows the mower to twist several inches so that it can better follow the terrain.

In this configuration I mow with the position control ALL the way down. The top link under compression prevents the mower from rotating forward and riding on the skids. The whole thing rides up and down in a consistant arc throughout the 3pt's entire range. I was able to mow right across drainage ditches and the mower followed the ground as you would hope it would without me having to touch the position control.
Note that you should not attempt a ditch so steep that it would force the linkages up beyond their normal maximum lifting height, as you will either hang your rear tires up off the ground or bend/break something.

I believe this configuration is better than the commonly described configuration because I don't need to mess with the position control to set height and because the mower now also has some freedom to twist.

Seems to work wonderfully!

xtn

 

[xtn]

check it out

 

[joemd11]

xtn, I have to try that configuration out the next time I mow. I have been leaving the bottom links double pinned and using the slot for the top link. I have many dips and mounds in the area I mow and in this configuration the mower rocks back and forth quite a bit. And you say to leave the position control all the way down (forward)? I've been leaving mine in about the middle simply because I didn't know any better. Thanks for the info!

 

[xtn]

When using the slot to let the top link float as you have been doing, and as apparently most owners on this forum have been doing, you do need to keep the position control up to hold the front of the mower off the ground.

In my configuration, the top link is extended to serve that purpose, freeing you to give up control of the lower links and let them float all the way.

Please try this out yourself and report back. I would like to know if you find it to work as well as I do.

Set up on level ground. I used my concrete parking slab so I could see the angle/spacing very well without grass being in my way. Drop the mower all the way down, then extend the top link until the mower is resting only on the rear roller, with the front of the skids angled up a bit as I've described. Don't forget to remove the forward pins from those lower swiveling mounts so they can actually swivel. Now you're ready to mow!

xtn

 

[8404]

pictures please

How are those Coroni flails holding up? Do they seem up to being used commercialy like 8 hours a day?

 

[xtn]

I have one picture in this thread. There are several other pictures scattered around the forum that you can find if you search for the word Caroni and read some of the threads that turn up. I'm happy to post a close-up picture of something specific if you ask.

I don't see any reason it couldn't be used 8 hours a day in a controlled environment, as it is pretty stout. For mowing a pasture and light brush I'm sure one could use it day in and day out, provided one greases everything each morning. But it is NOT a super-heavy duty unit with hammers that can be blindly run through the worst conditions. I would not be comfortable pulling it along the side of a highway and hitting who-knows-what with it. So it's what I might call "light commercial grade."

xtn

 

[IslandTractor]

Got my new Caroni TM1900BSC from AgriSupply and am very happy. I have two questions:

1. Can anybody specify a flat edged blade from flailmaster.com that fits correctly? I saw in a thread from 2009 that someone had done this, but the link provided doesn't work, and the part number that seems to be a part of the link doesn't get any hits on flailmaster product search.

2. I haven't seen anyone in any other thread mention the pins on the lower attachment bars. There are two pins through each lower attachment bar on the mower, and it appears that removing the forward pins would allow the attachment bars to rotate around the rearward pins, allowing each side to float a few inches independently when mounted to the 3pt. Has anybody tried this?

xtn

Here is a link to the flailmaster duplicates for the Caroni blades. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/2011141-post881.html

I have been using them for a year and they really are exact duplicates. Much cheaper from flailmaster.

As you will see in my other post, I have yet to find an alternative source for the metric sized clevis ($6) that virtually always needs to be replaced as well. In my experience in losing about a dozen pairs of knives, the clevis is the culprit 90% of the time. The knives rarely break. Of course having the clevis break is somewhat of a safety feature kind of like a shear bolt but it does mean that you need to replace the clevis and two blades each time. About $13 total plus shipping from AgriSupply each time.

Regarding the attachment pins. I haven't modified those and suspect that using just one might put more strain or pressure on the toplink. Not sure about that.

 

[IslandTractor]

pictures please

How are those Coroni flails holding up? Do they seem up to being used commercialy like 8 hours a day?

I'd say they are built about the same as a medium duty bush hog. Not quite up to roadside mowing of axles and cinderblocks but perfectly capable of running 8 hours/day in pastures or light/medium brush clearing. Rocks are the main hazard and those just break the knives off which can be replaced in the field. Daily greasing of rotor shaft bearings is critical.

 

[xtn]

Here is a link to the flailmaster duplicates for the Caroni blades. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/2011141-post881.html

Thank-you! I'm interested in the flat/scoop blade type as well as replacement Y blades. Found one of those by any chance?

xtn

 

[IslandTractor]

Thank-you! I'm interested in the flat/scoop blade type as well as replacement Y blades. Found one of those by any chance?

xtn

Flailmaster sells scoop knives. I haven't considered them myself as I don't cut lawns. Just check weight, mounting hole size and blade width. You will need to attach directly to the rotor so cutting height adjustment will be off depending on the hanger length. I think the cut with standard blades is fine on grass but I imagine for a suburban manicured lawn look the scoops would be an improvement.