Flail Mower Considering Betstco Flail cutter/mower

[RjCorazza]

That’s great if you have the $$$$ to do so. Peruzzi does make a really nice mower. I just wasn’t ready to drop the money on one to see if I liked how it works. I couldn’t find a flail (any brand) dealer/owner/demo within 300 miles so I bought a less expensive one to see if I would be happy with one.

Expense is always a factor and I get why some people choose the Chinese flails. One thing I will add is that these companies do in fact improve their products over time, and for all I know they have addressed the deficiencies I read about.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Hello Skysummit,

A used JD 25A, JD290 or JD390 would be much easier to purchase and obtain parts for and the basic JD 25A design for all three models has been around for over 40 years.

They all have a heavy tubular flail mower rotor and use a shorter side slicer knife and the older 25A has greasable bearings which is a huge selling point for used units.

It probably varies by region, but in my area there is essentially no market in used equipment. On Craigslist you'll see stuff with 10% of its life left asking 90% of the price of new.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I have a 68" Betstco flail and I've been thinking about selling it. It's not badly made and when I've broken things I've had no trouble getting parts. It works as designed, I just don't like several things about the way it works:

* Maximum recommended mowing speed is around 1.5 mph. I can cover more ground on a rider mower going 2-3 times as fast.
* In order to back up I have to lift the mower or I'll risk breaking something. In order to lift the mower I have to stop the PTO or I'll risk breaking something. So doing a 3-point turn is time-consuming.
* The cut quality is better than a rotary mower, but it doesn't cut as low to the ground or as fine as a rider mower
* It doesn't do well on tall grass. If the grass is taller than the distance from the front of the mower to the blades it just gets pushed over and not cut. If my grass isn't cut at all by June it gets chest-high and really tough, that grass will wrap around the shaft and the drive belts will burn out. Really tall grass has to be cut with a rotary mower or a drum mower first.
* It mulches what it cuts, but it leaves the cuttings in a thick layer on top of the grass that turns brown and looks ugly. The rider mower does a better job of dispersing the clippings.

Basically I've stopped using the flail mower because there's nowhere I'd use it where the rider mower isn't easier and does a better job. Anywhere I wouldn't use the rider mower I'd use the rough mower, which I would use in preference to the flail too. Also, people who I wouldn't trust to operate my tractor can use the rider mower no problem, I have three teenage sons so I don't have to do all the mowing. (Although getting them to work can be like running a perpetual motion machine, the energy you put in is more than the work that comes out).

 

[ericm979]

Being unable to mow backwards would be a problem for me.

Did you know that when you bought it or only discover it later?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Being unable to mow backwards would be a problem for me.

Did you know that when you bought it or only discover it later?

I discovered it when I tried to back up and wrecked the bearing on the roller bar.

 

[Sysop]

I get a better cut by sharpening the blades on my 6-ft brush hog to 1/8" radius. I'm just cutting weeds, not saplings and brush. And I can run the hog at 5 mph ground speed, about twice what I could do with the flail.

The cut of a flail is determined by the types of blades used on it. Some are sharp for grass and some are more blunted for brushy stuff. If the final cut isn't as smooth as you would like, research the different cutters for it. As for travel speed, that will be slower with a flail because a flail does more shredding of the cut material. A brush hog knocks the grass over as it cuts and can leave long clumps of grass here and there, a flail lifts it up and chops it into much finer material.

Between proper knife selection and the finer mulching of the waste, a flail can provide a much better result.

 

[Fallon]

I dont know where anything definitive exists to address that. IMO, that is more of an old wives tail, A flail has to be run at full rpm/pto speed (2500/540) to get a good cut, whereas Im sure quite a few run their BH at whatever gets the grass cut pto/rpm combo. Or like the JD economy pto mode which reduces rpm to 1700 but cuts HP by doing it so instead of putting out 40 pto hp, you are using x...No hard data, just opinions.

Flails intrinsically re-cut grass more than a rotary. As they carry material up & over the rotor it's getting hit & cut by multiple knives. It makes for great mulching & no clumps as the small particles drop below the remaining uncut stems. Generally what you'd call better cut quality. But it does take more HP. There are also more knives & other components to cause drag than just the 2 bars & stump jumper on the rotary.

 

[Fallon]

I discovered it when I tried to back up and wrecked the bearing on the roller bar.

No mechanical issues backing up with the old Ford 917 or new Peruzzo Brush Bull flail. But the roller does push stuff down. Combined with the knives hitting it from the wrong direction & both cut for crap in reverse, at least on grass. Stiffer woody material & brush cuts ok in reverse. If I back over something I plan on going forward at some point to cut it a 2nd time to finish the job.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

No mechanical issues backing up with the old Ford 917 or new Peruzzo Brush Bull flail. But the roller does push stuff down. Combined with the knives hitting it from the wrong direction & both cut for crap in reverse, at least on grass. Stiffer woody material & brush cuts ok in reverse. If I back over something I plan on going forward at some point to cut it a 2nd time to finish the job.

The Betstco flail doesn't ride up over obstacles in reverse. It rides on the roller which is maybe 24" behind the 3-point hitch pins. Going forward, if you hit something the lift arms rise and the mower rises too. Going backwards the lift arms rise but the roller digs in. If you hit something solid something will give.

The driveshaft is short because it's close behind the tractor, which means if the mower rises the angle of the driveshaft gets extreme and a shear bolt will break. I've broken a shear bolt hitting a bump going forward.

So I find that if I need to back up I have to disengage the PTO, wait for the driveshaft to stop, then raise the lift arms before backing up.

 

[jcummins]

The Betstco flail doesn't ride up over obstacles in reverse. It rides on the roller which is maybe 24" behind the 3-point hitch pins. Going forward, if you hit something the lift arms rise and the mower rises too. Going backwards the lift arms rise but the roller digs in. If you hit something solid something will give.

The driveshaft is short because it's close behind the tractor, which means if the mower rises the angle of the driveshaft gets extreme and a shear bolt will break. I've broken a shear bolt hitting a bump going forward.

So I find that if I need to back up I have to disengage the PTO, wait for the driveshaft to stop, then raise the lift arms before backing up.

I have a flail....I don't have to stop the PTO to back up. I've backed up unlifted and also lifted but have never stopped the PTO.