Flail mower buy

[L&P]

Hi

What is the maximum size flail mower a mf35 can handle without stressing the pto?
Mostly kneehigh grass and minimum speed of good walking pace.
I have five acres and dont want to sit there all day

 

[JWR]

There are quite a few varieties of flail mowers and I don't know that I could give you a firm answer. I use an 88" Alamo which is old and heavy. I drive it with an 81 hp MF 2660 for which it is a very easy pto load. My seat of the pants says you could comfortably run a 5ft flail mower. In "knee high grass" that should be OK. It can vary a lot depending on how wet and thick that grass is. For example I've gotten into some super dense swamp grass that will bog down almost any mower, somewhat. Would be awfully nice if you could test drive a flail mower on your MF35 and form your own opinion.

 

[Deleted member 216442]

As a point of reference answer, I have a JD 1070 which is a 4cyl diesel just under 40HP, probably 35 at PTO, and I use a Rhino 88" flail mower. Some knee high thick stuff can start to draw down the rpm when travelling 2nd range, 2nd gear, but dropping to 1st gear allows rpm to pick back up. 5 - 6' high weeds and grasses forces me to go slower, usually 1st gear. Horsepower required is highly dependant on the particular weeds and areas of the fields. I did about 10 acres yesterday that at most was knee high and sailed through most of it in 2nd and 3rd midrange gears, just a couple spots for 1st gear. Issue with a flail mower is that when the rpm drops, it drags the motor down quickly and quits cutting, like a self - feeding horsepower consumer. So, in my case, I have a 88" mower that is a bit too much for the HP of my tractor in some field conditions. Used with care it is ok. I have trees on 15' spacing and it saves me making a third pass between rows required with a 6' brush hog. It ends up being faster than the brush hog if I don't let it get to 5 or 6' high. MF35 is either gas or diesel, and is 37 HP at PTO, so rpm would probably drop quicker with less torque if it has a gas engine. It'll probably be about the same HP as my JD. By the way, the flail weighs about 1200 pounds and hangs pretty far out back so I end up using front suitcase weights. If I were you I'd go around 6' or less on a flail.

 

[def38]

Hi

What is the maximum size flail mower a mf35 can handle without stressing the pto?
Mostly kneehigh grass and minimum speed of good walking pace.
I have five acres and dont want to sit there all day

I have a MF 231S with a bit more power than your 35. I have a 6 foot Chicomm flail mower and cut rough grass and weeds at 3-5 feet when dry. I cut it wet recently with no issues but did have to lower to low 3 gear. I would not go larger than 72 inches. Also, I have my flail set to cut at about 3 inches.

 

[Deleted member 216442]

def38's statement reminded me to add that I also have my Rhino flail set on 3". Also, it is essentially the same machine as the Alamo that JWR uses; the company changed names at some point. Be advised that my machine when new could be purchased with 2 different styles of cutters - light or heavy duty. Mine has the light duty cutters, which leave a finer finish but are more easily damaged by hitting branches or rocks. I find that this machine requires more maintenance and greasing than a brush hog, and is more prone to blade damage. Buying it was my first experience with a flail. Too much downside for the upside of wider width. The roller bearings are extremely expensive to replace because they have a spherical mounting seat. The original QD pto connector is also a weird twist style that was expensive to fix. I have had it less than a year and will probably sell it next spring because of the maintenace issues, overwidth for my tractor, etc.

 

[def38]

Forgot to mention, my Chinese communist flail mower has the heavy hammer flails, not the slicer style flails. If you are cutting rough grass/weeds mixed with some brush, rocks and Buick hubcaps, get the hammer flails. They will tear through most anything up to 3 inch limbs without severe damage, great for cleanup of fallen branches after a storm.

Mine leaves a nice, groomed cut in the grass at the house, not golf course fairway quality but that's OK because I don't play golf and have no plans to take up the game. When I have time to waste, I ride my BMW motorcycle.

As for maintenance, my Chicomm flail mower has only two issues, when new, the grease fittings for the rear roller were oriented incorrectly. It was a 15 minute job to correct that. Also, the top link brackets required repair, a well documented issues with the Chicomm mower from Titan. I am surprised that they have not demanded the manufacturer make a minor design change to fix both of these issues.

As for bearing and seal replacements, these are off the shelf parts, readily available most anywhere. I have spares that cost less than $30.00 for the set. So far, all the rotating stuff has faired well over the 5 years I have used it. Original belts, skids and the gearbox shows no signs of wear. My Chicomm mower was the cheapest available and shipping was free. Purchase at you own risk but, so far, mine has not exploded or had major failure.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I have a 68'' Flail mower (FLAIL175) from pallettforks.com And I've mowed with it commercially all summer, it's been taking a beating and keep on ticking. Off course I grease it up between each job. I paid $1800 shipped to my door.

 

[Dmacleo]

My Chicomm mower was the cheapest available and shipping was free. Purchase at you own risk but, so far, mine has not exploded or had major failure.

very little viral risk then?
LOL

 

[def38]

None...I got my shots!

 

[JWR]

I have a 68'' Flail mower (FLAIL175) from pallettforks.com And I've mowed with it commercially all summer, it's been taking a beating and keep on ticking. Off course I grease it up between each job. I paid $1800 shipped to my door.

That's a darn good deal for that flail mower new. Probably a decent size for the OP too. Flathead County ! You live in one of the prettiest parts of the world. Been up there roaming around some and love that area. If I had no roots down here in the East that's where I'd be.

 

[Deleted member 216442]

Def38's comment regarding misoriented grease fittings also applies to the USA made Rhino I purchased used. The expensive spherical seat roller bearing I had to replace had its grease fitting oriented such that a grease gun would never get on it; hence it was run dry for too long. Probably a factory issue as the paint on it looked original and uncracked. I missed the fact that the bearing had failed when looking at it considering purchase. The bearing and grease fitting on the other end of the roller were ok. I wholeheartedly agree with the advice to buy the heavy duty blade version of any flail as opposed to the light duty blades. I spent a lot of time removing and straightening blades on the anvil right after I got it, and already bent a few.

 

[JWR]

There are some pros and cons about the heavy cast metal flails versus the stamped sheet metal ones. There are 2 versions of the sheet metal Y blades -- one is lighter duty and the other so called heavy duty. The heavy duty ones are pretty universally used by the state road depts maintaining roadsides AND the local Deere dealer near my farm stocks plenty of replacements that are quite inexpensive. Lot of safety in numbers with most anything and in this too. I have 44 flails and to swap all of them out for the cast metal choppers would have been a chore and expense I did not want to do. I did find that the Y type flails and hangers won't stand 2" limbs and unforseen debris like a post or large rock, etc. For that reason, in the rougher parts of the pasture field, I stick to my 7ft bush hog which will stand head sized boulders without whimpering and 3 or 4" limbs do not have to be steered around. Clipping more sedentary grassy areas, meadows to clean before winter, and all that the flail is just a great tool and I find it maybe 20% faster than the 7ft hog plus more maneuverable.

I got my 88" Alamo in an auction for less than the money I spent replacing the roller bearings (!!) What a find. There was nothing really much needed to put it in useable shape and I have gotten tremendous use out of it. Needed a belt tightener spring and a few bolts was all. As metalworkshed said, the roller bearing on one end was totally shot and the other was still OK. I replaced them both for around $300 total. The housings are pretty much indestructible but the average bear stands no chance of getting the old bearings out to replace them. Only practical thing is to replace the housing with bearings pressed in AND that is all the state-road-supplying dealers stock. I do not think there is any issue regarding lubrication access on mine. Both ends are made identical and you do have to poke around a bit to find the opening to get the grease gun onto the zerk but it is there. The new bearings came thoroughly packed too.

 

[Deleted member 216442]

I did buy just the new bearing and it was tedious to get the old one out and new one in. With the spherical seat you have to insert it through the slots provided, then spin it 90 degrees, all whilst getting the grease hole to align with the housing grease fitting hole. Sort of like shooting trap - you learn to lead to have it arrive in the right spot. It took me a couple attempts to get the hole lined up. The bearing alone was $130 to my door and the PTO twist collar kit was $35. You did quite well getting yours at auction for less than $300 - I spent a bit less than 1k more when I bought mine. Mine has 216 fine cut knives, or 108 Y blades if you will which are actually 2 pieces each. The parts diagram shows a different drum with different mounts for the coarse cut knives.

 

[JWR]

I did buy just the new bearing and it was tedious to get the old one out and new one in. With the spherical seat you have to insert it through the slots provided, then spin it 90 degrees, all whilst getting the grease hole to align with the housing grease fitting hole. Sort of like shooting trap - you learn to lead to have it arrive in the right spot. It took me a couple attempts to get the hole lined up. The bearing alone was $130 to my door and the PTO twist collar kit was $35. You did quite well getting yours at auction for less than $300 - I spent a bit less than 1k more when I bought mine. Mine has 216 fine cut knives, or 108 Y blades if you will which are actually 2 pieces each. The parts diagram shows a different drum with different mounts for the coarse cut knives.

Geeze. You had $130 in the bearing alone. My housing with the bearing in it was a little under $150 each plus tax. Glad I got the whole unit as I would have dorked up the bearing probably.