Flail Mowers

Jims1025R · Apr 4, 2022

I've had both behind an 18HP tractor. They both did what they were supposed to, but the rotary mower ended up being better suited to my needs. One thing to consider if you're starting and stopping often, depending upon the type of transmission your tractor and PTO have, they may be a delayed "start up" for the mower itself. You may have to drive forward ten or so feet before the flail mower has spun up to cutting speed. If you transmission is arranged as such, it's not possible to do the first bit of cutting away from being stopped. It was for this reason I changed to rotary, it cut as the tractor rolled forward.

wirlybird · Apr 4, 2022

Cahaba Valley Farm said:
Where do you think it shines the best?

It will depend on the blade type first off.
I think in general a flail is better for lower grasses and brush, viney types of vegetation. I find it tends to lay over small saplings and stiff, hard stalk grasses so a few passes needed in areas.
My large John Deere flail has the scoop or duck foot type blades and does a nice job mowing an open field. But make sure there is no debris and especially rock or the like.
My small one with side slicer blades does good on just grass but even small sticks can mess the blades up.
I am still fighting with my one with hammers as it broke hammers on its first outing. Hope to have it going this week to test on a field that is heavy, clumpy type grasses and thorn bushes.

DieselBound · Apr 4, 2022

I won't pretend to be an "expert" but... I have a 55hp tractor (others have larger, others have smaller- if you're looking for information that's more close to what your configuration is then I'm close)

I've run a 5' RC from a B7800 for many years. A light-duty RC; I put it through pure heck and other than a couple of shear pins and a tail wheel it just did whatever I needed.

More and more clearing, as well as the need for some more lift capacity, led me to buy my Kioti NX5510. I bought a used 6' Bush Hog RC for it: it had been used commercially and was insanely hammered, but still functional (I've replaced the PTO shaft with a new/heavier-duty one and have had to repair the tail wheel and do some work to keep the stump jumper on the darn thing). I researched flails as I was wanting to increase mowing width (due to increasing amounts of grass areas) and didn't want a longer tail sticking out behind me (6' is enough; 7' RC isn't what I'd want). I have two other factors to consider: 1) Ditches- I needed a better way to mow out over the edges; 2) LOTS of trees (not a forest, but lots of navigation) which requires lots of turning and such. Last year I bought a 7' hydraulic-offset flail with hammers. After a couple of shake-out issues (new equipment issues- loose bolts etc.) it settled down and worked very well. I won't get rid of my 6' RC (or the 5' RC [now a different one] that's used on my B7800), but my go-to grass (and lighter brush - supposed to handle up to 3" [or 2"?] dia material) is/will be the flail. It's better at the tasks I need to perform. Yes, flails require more maintenance. Weigh it all up. Oh, I will look to use my 6' RC first mowing (spot-mowing) to hit really nasty woody debris: I also look to do a bit more clearing, though outright clearing is really starting to come to an end as I have less clear-able areas.

The hydraulic side-shift makes it easier to work around my fence posts. Not uncommon to find that you're pinched a little too close to something and the hydraulic-side shift allows you to adjust w/o having to make big navigational adjustments on the tractor (with RCs it wasn't uncommon to have to actually back up and get swung further away to keep from getting hung up on something).

If I had wide-open hay/grass fields then perhaps a multi-spindle RC. But, all is not created equal- there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all. I was amply familiar with my property (and had spent MANY hours running RCs) by the time I made the big leap to my flail.

Flails generally don't like tall grass, but for a test I did find that I could mow upwards of 5': I once did 9'+ with my B7800 and that light-duty RC- can you say S-L-O-W-going? Not sure if this is/was possible because of hammers instead of knives.

I've put my flail through enough in the first year to confidently say that I have no worries about breaking a hammer: despite all that I put it through I didn't break a single one (vendor gave me a few spares for free). Might have killed a few knives if I'd had them. I do not have really rocky land (mostly just smaller rocks- some areas have fill with larger rocks but these aren't an issue).

Hammers don't do too bad of a job on grass (this is in the homestead area, which I want to look a bit less wild; RCs and flail both produce good enough results for me; far less clumping with the flail, which I like):

Another benefit of the flail is that it's great for ballast (mine's 1,200#). Off-season I need to shuttle firewood crates to my deck.

Cahaba Valley Farm · Apr 4, 2022

wirlybird said:
It will depend on the blade type first off.
I think in general a flail is better for lower grasses and brush, viney types of vegetation. I find it tends to lay over small saplings and stiff, hard stalk grasses so a few passes needed in areas.
My large John Deere flail has the scoop or duck foot type blades and does a nice job mowing an open field. But make sure there is no debris and especially rock or the like.
My small one with side slicer blades does good on just grass but even small sticks can mess the blades up.
I am still fighting with my one with hammers as it broke hammers on its first outing. Hope to have it going this week to test on a field that is heavy, clumpy type grasses and thorn bushes.

What brand and model of flails do you have wirly?

ismilelots · Apr 4, 2022

presnewt said:
I am sure this question has been asked a million times but when I did a search I did not see any discussions on it, but, can a flail mower on a compact (50hp) tractor do the same job as a rotary mower. I would like something in the 6' size. The main advantage I see is the safety (less thrown objects and weight closer to the tractor). I don't necessarily have to have a nicer looking cut as it will be in a pasture. I have seen some that will cut 2-3" woody plants so it looks like they are certainly stout enough to handle most things the rotary mower will cut. I have looked for videos and the verdict is not really clear to me. I can find just as many people that prefer rotary as I can that prefer flail. Thanks for any help. If anyone has a link to another discussion, please post it. I will be cutting on some hilly areas and anything that may make the tractor a little safer is worth investigating.

I have a 6ft brush hog and a 6ft flail mower. The flail mower leaves a nicer cut but takes twice as long per pasture since I can only go 1/2 as fast without it bogging down. I use the flail mower in the areas my wife can see from the patio, and the brush hog everywhere else so I can get done before dark.

JWR · Apr 4, 2022

We have very little to go on about your overall circumstance and what might be best for you. The simple direct answer is YES, you can certainly run a 6ft flail mower with a 50 hp compact or lower medium sized tractor. BY FAR the larger question is "Should you?"

I have both flail and rotary mowers. With a 50 hp tractor your best universal bet is a good solid 6ft bush hog. I own Bush Hog brand and have owned John Deere MX6. They are all very good. Some details make one more likeable than another of course. But I think you are much better off sticking with a rotary mower. It is way more universal, much less sensitive to the occasional accidental rock hit, more durable for larger diameter material, etc. With a flail configured for routine pasture cutting you will end up hitting a hidden post or 2 or 3 inch thick limb or a brush covered rock etc. and you will be doing flail knife replacements more than you would like. Bush Hogs are so much more durable in random consistency pasture cutting than a flail will ever be. Flails are VERY nice when you have open fields with not much chance of obstacles and mainly grass and weeds that have been cut over many times. Otherwise go with the rotary cutter.

disney · Apr 4, 2022

Hay Dude said:
I used this on my cattle pastures under fences and it does an amazing job. It side shifts to the left or right 2 feet!

How is this adjustment done? Could you please provide a picture of it? thank you, and thanks for all the other photos you posted.

Hay Dude · Apr 4, 2022

disney said:
How is this adjustment done? Could you please provide a picture of it? thank you, and thanks for all the other photos you posted.

It has arms that hydraulically pivot 2’ to the left, back to center and then 2’ to the right. It is infinitely adjustable. It pulls exactly and cuts exactly like a fixed, 8 foot bush hog. Liked it a lot when I owned it, but became too small for my needs about 10 years ago.

mred2 · Apr 5, 2022

I have a 6' ditch bank flail. It is the only thing I have to cut my ditches with or some of the banks. I also use it to mow under some of my trees with low limbs.(my wife does not want cut) I still have my 5' RC and use it most of the time. I find the flail mows slower. That may be to what I am cutting.

Fallon · Apr 7, 2022

40hp L4060hstc, 1,500lbs 7.2' wide Peruzzo Brush Bull 2200 (green).

It's a bit big for my machine & I wish I had more HP. But it does the job fine, if a bit slowly in heavier grass or brush. The weight is as big of an issue as the width. If you lack HP you just do half width cuts or go slower.

32hp on the old L3200 with a much lighter old Ford 917 (beat up yellow). Slow but got the job done as well. Better than a skinny flail & driving fast over rough ground to cover the same acres per hour.