Flail Mower Identification

[gbart14]

I have the flail mower shown in the attachment. It works great but I want to identify it for spares, advice, etc. There are no markings on it and it is 48" wide. It has square plate on top of the gear box and drives the mower from the right side as shown. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[JAD99]

Can't identify specific model, but has many characteristics of a larger Mott flail I used to run. Mott is no more but I believe Alamo took over. Aftermarket parts available also for a lot of it.

 

[joecdeere]

Mott for sure, no plates anywhere? part numbers on pulleys?

 

[JAD99]

The older ones had a decal with Model#, probably long gone or painted over.
GBART14 any specifics you need to know? I've had success with Flail Master for blades and even many parts for those older Motts.

 

[gbart14]

Thanks, all for the quick responses. I will pursue the Mott route. Did not see anything on the pulleys but they are dirty. Will take off the cover and clean it up. FYI, everything rotated freely even before I lubed it up. I am not looking for anything specific, yet. But, just want to have a source when I need it. The previous owner left a bag of new double sided blades for me. FYI, we got the tractor and all the implements for free when we bought the house. None of it including the tractor had been used for maybe 10 - 15 years. So, just want to respect the gift and keep it all running. Here is a pic of the gears with cover removed. There was just about 1/8" of oil in the gear box. Cleaned it out and filled to just above the bearing with fresh 90w gear oil.

 

[shaeff]

Thanks, all for the quick responses. I will pursue the Mott route. Did not see anything on the pulleys but they are dirty. View attachment 523381Will take off the cover and clean it up. FYI, everything rotated freely even before I lubed it up. I am not looking for anything specific, yet. But, just want to have a source when I need it. The previous owner left a bag of new double sided blades for me. FYI, we got the tractor and all the implements for free when we bought the house. None of it including the tractor had been used for maybe 10 - 15 years. So, just want to respect the gift and keep it all running. Here is a pic of the gears with cover removed.View attachment 523380 There was just about 1/8" of oil in the gear box. Cleaned it out and filled to just above the bearing with fresh 90w gear oil.

It looks like the belt isn't routed correctly. Generally the back side of the belt runs on that tensioner pulley, gets the belt's driving surface in better contact with the drive and the rotor pulleys. Might want to check that. I could certainly be wrong, though, as the way the springs are set up looks different. Maybe someone else can chime in with a mower like yours.

*Usually, the belt would be on the left side of that center pulley. But as noted, wait for others to chime in first.

 

[gbart14]

Shaeff - thanks for the response on the belt tensioner pulley. It also looks like someone added a spring to the original (two in line). May validate your thinking. Will certainly check that.

 

[gbart14]

Gentlemen, I just found more info on the exact same Mott flail mower on this forum. Looks like Shaeff is correct about the tension pulley. Great forum, thanks, again. Here is the link to the other thread with photos: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/334694-purchased-mott-flail-mower-question.html

 

[leonz]

Hello gbart14,

I want to welcome you as the newest member of the Flail Mower Nations from Newberg.
You have a Mott Flail mower that is equipped with a towing hitch that can used with a lawn sweeper or used to tow several motorized Mott flail mowers used for lawn or brush mowing.

For whatever reason they changed the flail mowers tensioning method for the drive belt and you need to correct that mistake and purchase the proper spring to create belt tension using the snubber pulley.

Once you start mowing you will be very happy with the results as you will have a well manicured lawn.

If I may I would suggest that you purchase a wet well grinder from Micromark to grind your flail mower blades and they were still on sale for under $100.00 the last time I looked. The Micro Mark wet well grinder operates at a lower speed using water to cool the knife edge and to prevent losing the temper/heat treatment of the mowers knife blades. For what its worth I am still using the Mathews Lawn Genie OEM blades that I replaced in 1992 and they are still very sharp.

We are only a private message or posting one question on the forum away if you need help with your flail mower.

Happy mowing and welcome to the Flail Mower Nations.

 

[gbart14]

Gentlemen, I just found more info on the exact same Mott flail mower on this forum. Looks like Shaeff is correct about the tension pulley. Great forum, thanks, again. Here is the link to the other thread with photos: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/334694-purchased-mott-flail-mower-question.html

 

[gbart14]

I have revisited the flail drive system and compared with one on the other thread. They are identical in the way the idler pulley is mounted and the spring end mount. The one with the broken spring is the one on the other thread and the one with the working spring is mine. I do not see any other way it can mount. The spring pulls upward toward 11 o'clock in the photos. Comments??

The photo of the guard is from mine. It has right hand drive. It is for sure a Mott. 48"

 

[leonz]

You have 2 springs there it should only have one long one.

 

[DoubleDeere]

Looking at your photo you posted, that definitely is an inside idler pulley. Belts look to be set up correctly other than as Leonz stated probably one tension spring instead of the 2.

 

[gbart14]

Thanks, Leonz and DoubleDeere, also found the zirk was missing from the idler pulley shaft and it was frozen up. So, double spring / frozen shaft, good thing I did not throw a belt. Cleaned it up and installed the zirk and greased the heck out of it and it works fine. Looks like the belt is too narrow. It sits well down in the pulley. Anyone know what the right belt is for it?

I am thinking the previous owner tried to install the new spring and it was too short so he doubled up. It does work but not with much tension. Will have to see if I can stretch that spring. Thanks

 

[DoubleDeere]

Yep I missed that one, looks narrow. If you haven't already you might want to take a look over in the let's talk flail mowers thread. Steave gives a link in post 4850 for belts and they have a section how to size them I believe B43K - B-Section Kevlar (K-Plus) V Belts. I also have an attachment and link to PDF's that you may find useful in posts 4837 and 4841. They are about v-belts and idlers (belt tensioners).

 

[gbart14]

Excellent, thanks.

 

[gbart14]

Getting ready to buy new flail blades. My mower is Mott 48" fine cut with 4 rows of 15 stations on a 2"dia shaft. They are for sure the 101933 part number. I have a partial box of them from Tisco. I can get the Tisco blades from Amazon for about $26 including shipping for a box of 50. The problem is that the 10 new blades left in the box that came with the mower have pretty lousy quality rough edges on some but not all. Is this what I should expect? Or, is there a better flail blade product on the market? I have tried to search for advice on the best blades but have not found anything.

Second question - is there any problem reversing the blade to take advantage of the other sharp side? Thanks

 

[shaeff]

Have you looked on flailmaster.com for blades and parts? And nope, your blades are reversible. Perfectly fine to switch to the sharp side.

 

[gbart14]

Yes, looked at flailmaster but there is no information as to why or even if theirs is better than the lower priced units from Tisco. Does flailmaster sell Tisco or their own brand or?? Their is no mention of quality, toughness, sharpness, etc. So, how do we know? Without info I will buy the lower cost. Does anyone have a better answer? I do not mind paying more if I know I am getting either a better product or better service. In this case, the product question is in focus. Thanks

 

[leonz]

Flail master makes 90%+ of their own knives and they are heat treated and you can buy them with or without a hardened/heat treated knife. the heat treated knives last longer as long as you take care of them properly using a wet well grinder when they are dulled after a long period of use.