Flail Mower flail mower

[qzbmpc]

I came across a flail mower and was wondering what usage they have. Do they compare to a brush hog?
Ken

 

[tdenny]

qzbmpc,

I asked the same question recently. If you search for Flail mower you will find mucho information. In brief I was able to gather the following information:

1) Flail mower cuts much nicer than a brush hog. Almost as nice as a finish mower.
2) Flail mower is also much safer than a brush hog as rocks and other items are not instant projectiles.
3) Flail mowers are MUCH more expensive than brush hogs and will most likely require more maintenance (blade replacement, etc.).
4) Flail mowers tend to pulverize everything they "mow" and this is usually a good thing.

Most of the people that responded to my question on flail mowers absolutely swore by them. Hope this helps.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Usually they are seen at schools or used by municipalities for the very reason that they don't fling debris everywhere. My local JD dealer reccomended not using them in really tall grass. He said they tend to ball up. I 've never used one in tall, heavy grass, so I can't vouch for this.

 

[Kodiak]

There are two types of flail mowers. One type has a large number of blades called flail knives. These work really well on grasses 1' or less (will work on taller if you go slow) and some small scrub growth such as vines. They can really mulch this stuff into small peices. Then you have the heavier duty ones with fewer larger blades called flail hammers. I've seen these eat mulch 2 to 3 inch saplings and orchard prunings with power to spare. Will eat most roadside garbage as well.