Flail Mower First-time flail mower user, cut quality concerns

[redhead]

Hi. I've recently purchased a 60" Betstco standard duty flail mower (FH EF-155) and the cut quality is poor compared to the 5' rotary mower it replaced. Tractor makes 25 PTO hp. No problem maintaining 540 RPM. Flail is equipped with "Y" grass blades. Cutting height is 5-6".

With the flail, I'm seeing uncut strands of grass and even the odd uncut clump here and there. Mowing with the rear roller in contact with the ground. Experimented with changing the angle of the front of the deck (adjusting the top link) and traveling at different speeds. Neither has had a noticeable effect on the cut quality. I'd really appreciate some suggestions.

 

[redhead]

Probably should add, the grass I'm trying to mow is only 12-18" high and not especially thick ... unfertilized pasture and summer (as opposed to spring) growth

 

[leonz]

Hello redhead,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the "Flail Mower Nations" from Connecticut/Vermont.


How fast are you traveling forward?

Where is the rear roller set on the height adjustment

Is the rear roller on the ground when you are mowing?

We need to know the mowing speed also.

 

[kkimura]

I have the EFGC-155 paired to a Kioti ck2610. I messed around a lot with adjustments. I removed the roller scraper (ditched it) and experimented with the highest and lowest roller positions and I removed all the y blades and sharpened them. At any roller position you can vary the height about an inch plus by adjusting the top link. Currently I'm three bolt holes down from the highest position allowing the blades leave around 2 to 2 1/2 inches. I've been extending the top link to leave a longer cut. I cut in my hst low range with the rpm set at the upper end of the pto range indicator-2250rpm- and I drive slow. I tried to cut long reed canary grass once and it looked bad like you describe. Also the cut is bad in reverse. Better to p/u mower, reverse, drop it and cut going forward. You might get better results by lowering the roller so the knives leave 3 inches of grass length.

 

[redhead]

How fast are you traveling forward?

About 3 mph. HST low range, about 2400 RPM on the tachometer. I have tried slowing way down, and it doesn't seem to make a big difference.

Where is the rear roller set on the height adjustment

Rear roller is set one hole down from highest position

Is the rear roller on the ground when you are mowing?

Affirmative. My 3-point arms are at their lowest position so that the mower will float


Thanks for your reply Leonz

 

[redhead]

Kkimura

Very helpful, thanks. I will mirror your set up and report back tomorrow. I had however hoped to keep the cut height around 5". I worry that it's hard on the turf to cut too short.

Did sharpening the blades make a big difference? I've been hoping to avoid this. How big of a concern is balance, that is, ensuring that the weight of each blade is equal?

 

[StuartDK45SE]

My new flail mower )sharp y knives) doesn't do the greatest job on tall, clumpy weeds. I would say it only cuts them clean with no stragglers about half of the time. My rotary cutter did the same thing. In areas of my pasture with these type weeds, I try to cut in a crisscross pattern to where I am hitting the once cut stragglers again at a 90 angle.

 

[leonz]

OK,

now that I know a bit more about this mower and how you operate it:

What is the recommended PTO Speed for operating this mower



Your mowing height is much too high.

1. Are you using 540 RPM for the PTO Speed?

So much depends on how your side slicer knives were sharpened; meaning they should have been sharpened with a wet well low speed grinder as grinding sharp metal edges that have been heat tempered damages the temper of the metal and it is much easier to damage the cutting edge and it becomes more easily damaged by simple use.

My knifes cutting angle is 37 degrees if I remember correctly.


An economical wet well grinder can be purchased from micromark.com and they were $99.00 plus shipping and tax. This wet well grinder requires that you purchase an angle setter and they can be purchased from woodcraft.com and other resellers


The woodmax site is no longer open and I cannot access it.


Edit:

1. You will not hurt the turf mowing at 2 inches unless you are dealing with a drought anyway.

2. you can mow in a spiral and overlap the mowing to mow it more effectively;
mowing in this way lets you save time, wear and tear brakes on the mule and fuel.

 

[kkimura]

Kkimura

Did sharpening the blades make a big difference? I've been hoping to avoid this. How big of a concern is balance, that is, ensuring that the weight of each blade is equal?

I examined the fresh blades and they were not sharp. Edges were squared off up to an 1/8 inch wide. I knew I was going to clear an area of blackberry vines and saplings and 15' high knotweed so I left the blades until that job was finished. The blades were rounded over (very mild steel). I removed the blades and put a secondary bevel at the edge. I used my bench grinder - don't spend a lot of time as the steel is too mild to hold an edge long. I figured people are knocking chunks off their knives all the time so balance can't be too much of an issue. Just listen for vibration.

I think the problem with leaving the grass long is that it bends too much and the blades can't bite the stem. At any rate, if I leave more than a 4" cut is looks crappy.

 

[ovrszd]

Flail mowers don't like to mow high and/or thin sporadic growth. They actually need to create a vacuum to pull the growth toward the cutters. This is hard to do under the conditions you describe.

Flail mowers are sometimes disappointing in their results.

Hope you get it to work satisfactorily.