Flail mower adjustment

[drjay9051]

So I have had my Caroni flail mower for a bit. It is the 59 inch TL1500 FSC with 88 knives. As I understand it , it is a finish type of cut. I have a question about adjustment.

I have set the height by way of the rear roller. Originally had it set low for a nice low cut but found that when I go over uneven terrain I scalp the grass.

I have played with the top link adjustment but this results in the skids digging into the earth.

Just how do i adjust this thing? There are two possible places for the toplink pin, one is a hole the other is a slot which would allow the mower to "pivot"

Any help is appreciated.

BTW: This thing can sure cut.

 

[leonz]

Greetings and Salutations Dr. Jay,

I knew you would be happy with the Caroni flail mowers performance.

Glad to see that cows still outnumber people
in your town as I always liked cows and they are great
to photograph.

About your tractor AND your Fine cut Caroni finish mower;

The top link on your tractor has neat little fixit for this issue;
it is a turnbuckle.

Depending on whether it is left hand thread(which I believe most of them are) and you can lengthen the turnbuckle to prevent it from scalping by rotating the female half to the right to lengthen it and it will prevent the mower from nose diving and scalping.

The mowers skids are ment to be above the ground about an inch or so, so take this into acount when adjusting the beasts top link.


if you have small spirit level you can put it on the gearbox and attain true level this way with the mowers rear roller on the ground for proper adjustment by increasing the top links length to stiffen the mounting at the top and prevent the mowers movement by tilting forward.
a little more adjustment and a small bubble level is all you need Dr. Jay.

Edit: Happy Mowing!!


_____________________________________________________________

Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[drjay9051]

Leonz:

Are you saying that "normally" the skids should NOT contact the ground?

Also, do i use the hole or the horizontal slot for the top link pin? Purpose of the slot is to allow flail to travel? Why?

 

[greg_g]

If left in full ground contact, the skids will necessarily damage the turf - especially in turns. Amplifying upon what Leon said, the gross height adjustment is the rear roller. Upper holes, short cut. Lower holes, longer cut. Et cetera. Once you determine which roller holes you're going to use, then decide whether you want to use the hole or the slot to connect the mower end of the toplink. The slot is if you have rolling ground, it helps preserve a more level cut through dips and rises. Terrain following. The hole is if you're mowing flat ground, and provides a more consistent cut than the slot.

Once attached at the tractor end, the toplink then can be lengthened or shortened to fine tune the length of the cut. lengthen toplink to raise knives (in relation to the ground), shorten toplink to lower knives. As you do this, the mower is simply pivoting on the rear roller. But watch the skids as you shorten. You don't want ground contact, 1" minimum clearance is recommended. That way most of the time your mower is riding on the rear roller. The skids are just there to prevent scalping when surface irregularities cause the nose of the mower to dip.

//greg//

 

[drjay9051]

Thanks for the help. I thought the skids were to make ground contact. Of course I have all kinds of furrows in the ground esp. where I turned the tractor. I will get the skids off the ground.

 

[leonz]

Thanks for the help. I thought the skids were to make ground contact. Of course I have all kinds of furrows in the ground esp. where I turned the tractor. I will get the skids off the ground.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am glad everything is OK with the Caroni


_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[bandit67]

I ordered a Caroni TM1600 in late winter so Agri-Supply could get it into the cargo container to make the trip across the Atlantic this spring. It arrived in April, and I finally finished getting it set up today so I could start mowing.

With my hilly terrain, I set the skids 2" up from the bottom most mount, with the roller set all the way down. This gives me approx 6" of cut height.

Today was my first try with the flail, and I'm very pleased with it. Great cut, nicely shredded clippings. My property is field grasses mostly, along with various weeds. My plan for this mower which replaced a rotary mower, is to be able to cut with it at least once a month to help strengthen the grasses that I want, and kill off the weeds that I don't. It's fairly dry out here during the summer months, which keeps the grasses from growing very fast, but the weeds grow a lot faster. However, the weeds don't do too well if mowed regularly. The rotary cutter was too big a pain to use more regularly when the grasses weren't growing fast, so the weeds had too much time between mowings to take hold.

I think this flail is going to work out very nicely. I went with the 1600 over the 1900 because I am at 8500' elevation, and was concerned that at times, the 1900 could end up being too much mower with the decreased hp at elevation. The 1600 seems like it's going to work out perfectly on my B3030 up here.

 

[leonz]

I am certainly glad to see that your Caroni TM1600
flail mower arrived quickly and you are using it.


How far are you from the Moffat Tunnel.


I want to welcome you as the newest member of the
Flail Mower Nation.

I ma very sure that you will be happy with its performance
with your mowing chores.


Only 17,991 mowers to go


_________________________________________________________________Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[Loudo]

Drjay 9051 Do you lift your mower when turning?

 

[drjay9051]

Drjay 9051 Do you lift your mower when turning?

I do not lift on the turns as one would do with a discer. Now that the skids are airborne things are going well. Great cut.