Flail Mower I just can't decide if I need a flail mower or a finish mower...

[tycoonbob]

Hi all. New to the tractor world, but quickly learning. In prep for spring, I need a mower and I just can't decide between a flail and a finish.

I have a Kubota L3560, open station, LA555 loader. Loving the tractor for loader work, but haven't really had a chance to do much with a 3pt other than an old 6' rotary cutter I picked up.

I have 12 acres of land, all pretty open and rolling. Essentially, I plan to run a fence across the property to split a yard from farm, basically. The yard would be about 2-3 acres, and farm would be the rest. For the yard, I have a Cub Cadet ST54 riding mower that I will use for close to buildings, around trees, etc...but I want to use the tractor with mower for the open areas in the yard, and I expect to cut the yard just about weekly in the peak mowing season.
And then for the farm side, since we have no livestock or anything yet, I will be cutting it every 2-3 weeks in throughout the mowing season (Central KY). In the future we would have livestock (cattle, sheep, or something along those lines) in the farm side, which will help prevent cutting

I am leaning toward a flail mower, largely from a safety perspective. I have young kids, can't always guarantee they'll be inside while doing any mowing, and the thought of a finish mower slinging something is definitely a concern. Is this concern misfounded? Are flail mowers generally safer in this regard?

Here's what I'm currently looking at:
Caroni 73" Flail Mower
WoodMaxx FM-78 Flail Mower
Agmate 8' Finish Mower
Caroni 93" Estate Mower -- Concerned my tractor may not be able to power this properly, but I couldn't find a ~7' Caroni finish mower

If I'm not mistaken, I should be able to go with a 7' cut with a finish mower, while I'd want to stick with a 6' cut on a flail mower. My rear tires track right around 66". Also, I have no desire to go buy a ZTR since I have the Cub already (bought it about a year ago, before we even knew we were buying this place else I wouldn't had bought it, but I did...I've got it...it's basically new...and I'm not giving it away if I try to replace it).

So 6' Flail or 7' Finish? This property is all grass, only a small section of brush...I suspect either would do me well?

EDIT: Here's a photo of our property. We have a lot we plan to do around here, like building porches on the house, tearing down the old house in the back left, teaing off the lean-to from the barn with silos, fence off in front of the lonely tree in the middle of the property, planting a windbreak on the west side of the property (the right fence line in the picture), etc. Once we fence off a field or two, we won't maintain that as often as we would the land around the house.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have owned them all. If the grass if kept short, then go with a finishing mower. Simplicity and ease of blade maintenance. If you are cutting longer grass and weeds, then the flail. But too long or too lush and the flail won't be the right machine either. That's just my take on it.

 

[tycoonbob]

I have owned them all. If the grass if kept short, then go with a finishing mower. Simplicity and ease of blade maintenance. If you are cutting longer grass and weeds, then the flail. But too long or too lush and the flail won't be the right machine either. That's just my take on it.

Well the grass in the front of the property, nearest the house, will be maintained as a lawn. 2-3 acres worth, I'd guess. The rest won't be maintained to that same level, but I don't plan to let it run wild either. Eventually (probably not until next year), we will have 2-3 areas fenced off, throw some animals in there to help maintain stuff, etc. We also plan to garden in the back acre of the property, back behind the old house and old feeder barn (I added a picture of the property in the top post).

 

[ovrszd]

I have owned them all. If the grass if kept short, then go with a finishing mower. Simplicity and ease of blade maintenance. If you are cutting longer grass and weeds, then the flail. But too long or too lush and the flail won't be the right machine either. That's just my take on it.

I agree.

Flail mowers are high maintenance. A LOT of moving parts.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Then there is the matter of stones. I always hate to beat my finishing blades to heck on trails and such and then want to cut my lawn around the house nice.

I have a Ford 917 FINE CUT flail, but no tractor to run it. My larger 6200 JD destroys the flail mower frame for some reason. It would be my choice to use on trails though.

 

[ovrszd]

Then there is the matter of stones. I always hate to beat my finishing blades to heck on trails and such and then want to cut my lawn around the house nice.

I have a Ford 917 FINE CUT flail, but no tractor to run it. My larger 6200 JD destroys the flail mower frame for some reason. It would be my choice to use on trails though.

There's a lot of blade choices for Flail mowers. My 917 has T shaped blades. I used it for 3 years mowing road banks. Last Summer I started using my 15' batwing. Didn't use the Flail at all.

 

[oldnslo]

How well would a finish mower work on the longer pasture grass?

 

[ovrszd]

How well would a finish mower work on the longer pasture grass?

I have no experience with a finish mower. My assumption would be very similar to a MMM. The taller the grass the slower the ground speed to get an equal cut.

 

[oosik]

I have a JD G100 riding mower. I've used it to cut a half acre pasture. It's OK, but I do have to go slow. I raise the blade up as high as possible and a lot of times only cut half width. I would definitely get some type of bush hog if I were going to mow with my tractor.

I have only ever cut the pasture when the grass is 3+ feet high. It's definitely not the best way to go but it's a lot faster, easier on the 'ol bod, than using my Stihl weed eater.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bought a 917, regular blades to cut the grass around my house many years ago. Steep hill. Too much tractor tire damage and in my opinion, a flail just doesn't do a lawn type job. ESPECIALLY, since it works better if the grass is longer. The flails work better hitting and shearing off longer grass. GREAT for cutting roadsides once a year. Not great for trying to cut an inch off your lawn. It's NOT a reel mower. No anvil employed in the cutting action.