Finish mower vs brush hog?

[LD1]

Flails are higher maintenance. They cost alot more on the used market than a similar width/condition/duty bushhog. And from my experience, they are alot slower...IE: take more HP to run. IF you are cutting waste high weeds and grasses, and use a bushhog and flail of the same width, the bushhog can go faster.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Last year I purchased a lightly used Brown 472. I've run over some pretty rough stuff with it and I don't know if I could destroy it if I tried. I guess anything is possible but I try not to tear my stuff up. My advise is to get the heaviest brush hog you can afford whether used or new. I was fortunate to find this unit in the shape it was in.

 

[screamin400]

Quick brush hog story. When I was a kid, many years ago, I was mowing a field for a neighbor that had never been mowed. Always pasture. I was mowing along and saw something coming quickly up behind the mower in the grass and it was long. It was a wire fence I had hooked and it came up and wrapped around the cab I was in and locked me in the cab. Had to drive home and have my Dad cut me out of the cab. No idea why I had it on the cab tractor that day but if on the normal one I would not be here typing this. The fear of using a hog for hire does scare me as no cab. I would think this would never happen to me again but it does sit in the back of my mind.

 

[IslandTractor]

What would the down fall of the flail be? I remember flail choppers when I was a kid. Long time ago. I believe maintenance would be more? Wondering if a client would pay more for a nicer job or not care. Is the flail slower?

The major downside of a flail is that it simply requires more maintenance than a bush hog. A bush hog is a very simple device that smashes whatever the heavy blades hit but leaves a debris field rather than a nicely cut field. A flail uses lighter weight "knives" that spin faster and cut more cleanly but are more prone to damage than the big honking bush hog blades. I have both. I've replaced the bush hog blades once after breaking one on a large unseen rock. I have replaced dozens of flail knife sets (two blades plus a clevis) after hitting smaller rocks. A bush hog requires checking the gearbox oil about once a season. A flail has a similar gearbox that requires only occasional checking but unlike a bush hog, a flail has high speed rotor bearings which require very regular (daily) greasing. The routine for cutting with a bush hog is to start the tractor and go. With a flail you spend three or four minutes greasing and perhaps checking the blades before mowing. Of course I'm addressing only the negatives. A flail is WAY safer for any person or structure or vehicle within 100+ yards as flails rarely if ever eject rocks or chunks of wood or other debris while bush hogs do that routinely. A flail gives a much nicer, nearly finish cut, compared to a bush hog too. A flail cuts about the same speed as a bush hog if you want to go that fast but to get a fully mulched cut the cutting speed needs to be adjusted depending on the amount of grass being cut. If the grass is dry and thin and short then the flail will cut exactly the same speed as a bush hog. If the grass is tall and lush and wet then you can move at the same speed as a bush hog but you're not going to get the fully mulched clean cut that you would if you slowed down a bit.

 

[screamin400]

The major downside of a flail is that it simply requires more maintenance than a bush hog. A bush hog is a very simple device that smashes whatever the heavy blades hit but leaves a debris field rather than a nicely cut field. A flail uses lighter weight "knives" that spin faster and cut more cleanly but are more prone to damage than the big honking bush hog blades. I have both. I've replaced the bush hog blades once after breaking one on a large unseen rock. I have replaced dozens of flail knife sets (two blades plus a clevis) after hitting smaller rocks. A bush hog requires checking the gearbox oil about once a season. A flail has a similar gearbox that requires only occasional checking but unlike a bush hog, a flail has high speed rotor bearings which require very regular (daily) greasing. The routine for cutting with a bush hog is to start the tractor and go. With a flail you spend three or four minutes greasing and perhaps checking the blades before mowing. Of course I'm addressing only the negatives. A flail is WAY safer for any person or structure or vehicle within 100+ yards as flails rarely if ever eject rocks or chunks of wood or other debris while bush hogs do that routinely. A flail gives a much nicer, nearly finish cut, compared to a bush hog too. A flail cuts about the same speed as a bush hog if you want to go that fast but to get a fully mulched cut the cutting speed needs to be adjusted depending on the amount of grass being cut. If the grass is dry and thin and short then the flail will cut exactly the same speed as a bush hog. If the grass is tall and lush and wet then you can move at the same speed as a bush hog but you're not going to get the fully mulched clean cut that you would if you slowed down a bit.

Pretty much what I thought. Not sure a homeowner would care which I came with to mow. Difference to me could be substantial in costs. If a person was just looking for a field knocked down they may not care about look and job quality. If I was doing my own field I would pick the flail but I have no fields. This would be strictly for hire. If I could get some work for it I could take pictures and try to convince the customer I am worth more but not sure any would pay more.

 

[IslandTractor]

Pretty much what I thought. Not sure a homeowner would care which I came with to mow. Difference to me could be substantial in costs. If a person was just looking for a field knocked down they may not care about look and job quality. If I was doing my own field I would pick the flail but I have no fields. This would be strictly for hire. If I could get some work for it I could take pictures and try to convince the customer I am worth more but not sure any would pay more.

I'd say that 90% of hired field (not lawn) cutting is done with bush hogs so the "standard" cut quality isn't that high. I'm not so sure about the cost though. Certainly high end flails like Alamo/Mott can cost more than a high end severe duty bush hog but a good Italian made medium duty flail like mine (Caroni TM1900) can be had for $2000 which is about what an equivalent size (six foot) medium duty bush hog like a Woods Brush Bull 720 costs. Actually I think the Woods is more expensive. Now, if you consider maintenance costs the bush hog is less expensive in the long run but that should be balanced with the safety benefits that clearly favor the flail. You might find a competitive advantage by advertising that your flail mower is much safer for structures, people and vehicles. Bush hogs are rarely seen in densely populated agricultural areas like Europe. Flails do the same jobs there that bush hogs do here.

 

[LD1]

I still believe that only in light conditions, is a flail gonna be as fast.

This is what I mowed with my 8' bushhog at ~7.5 MPH


I believe that I could run an 8' flail just as fast with equally as good results.

Jobs like these on the other hand.....which are more common (the last two pics is the same job....before and after)



I dont think my 42 PTO HP tractor is gonna pull an 8' flail mower across these areas as fast as I pull my 8' woods. I doubt I'd be able to pull a 5' flail at the ~4 MPH that I cut the above at.

Flails have their place. For pasture mowing 2-3 times a year cutting knee high stuff they are ideal. For mowing something that has waste high weeds/grass that is thick, and hasnt been touched in a year or two....flails require ALOT of HP per ft.

 

[IslandTractor]

I still believe that only in light conditions, is a flail gonna be as fast.

This is what I mowed with my 8' bushhog at ~7.5 MPH
View attachment 482090

I believe that I could run an 8' flail just as fast with equally as good results.

Jobs like these on the other hand.....which are more common (the last two pics is the same job....before and after)
View attachment 482092
View attachment 482093View attachment 482094

I dont think my 42 PTO HP tractor is gonna pull an 8' flail mower across these areas as fast as I pull my 8' woods. I doubt I'd be able to pull a 5' flail at the ~4 MPH that I cut the above at.

Flails have their place. For pasture mowing 2-3 times a year cutting knee high stuff they are ideal. For mowing something that has waste high weeds/grass that is thick, and hasnt been touched in a year or two....flails require ALOT of HP per ft.

That's a good summary LD. I cut even high stuff with a flail but I know that I need to slow down. Trade off is that instead of getting a "half hayed" look that you get with a rotary bush hog you can get a pretty nice looking mulched field.

 

[LD1]

That's a good summary LD. I cut even high stuff with a flail but I know that I need to slow down. Trade off is that instead of getting a "half hayed" look that you get with a rotary bush hog you can get a pretty nice looking mulched field.

And trying to be in business for hire.........bushhog is the way to go on the tall/dense stuff.

IF you have to go 3x's slower than me with my hog, you are gonna have to charge more to make it worth your while. IF a customer is faced with two prices......low price for the bushhogged look.....or 3x's the cost for a nice mulched up look.........99.9% of the time the customer is gonna go with the bushhog and save some money.

The trend for the cities and states going to flails for roadside mowing is 2-fold. Yes they are safer. They are always mowing along roadsides and not in open fields. So the danger is ALWAYS there. IF they throw something, pretty good odds it will hit a car, as opposed to being in the middle of a 5-10 acre open field. Second.....they cut it several times a year. Their conditions are almost always like the first picture I posted, and almost never like the last 3. So therefore they dont have to slow down as a result.

In a perfect world, where money were no object, I'd own both. But even if I had an 8' flail mower at my disposal right now, it would only be taken with me on ~10% of my jobs. Could it handle the other 90% of the work I do....sure. But it would be ALOT slower going, and I'd have to charge more to make it a worthwhile business, so much more that I'd probably loose half of my work.

 

[screamin400]

I agree. Time is money. If I was doing my own then the flail would be a no brainer as I like my work to look great. When a person is hiring me the main concern is price. It is competitive here so I think I would be on the outside looking in. I cannot do a better job if I never get up to bat.