Is flail mower for me?

[Komrade]

Edit: sorry about typo in subject. Meant "flail"

First, I don't enjoy mowing. Unfortunately I own some property that requires mowing.
I have a commercial older 60" Zero Turn (ZTH 6125 KOA), and even with glasses on I gets tons of stuff in my eyes and nose which keeps my "unhappy" way beyond the 2+ hours I spend mowing

The property is about 5 acres, on the river front, out of which I mow about 2 acres. Most of it has been well maintained for years. There are some large trees above on on edges and they produce branches regularly and some large stones are engraved in the land here and there. Some of property along the edge of the river and is rough and I've cleared it and tried to maintain it past few years. I got most of the stones out of the way, but every time the river comes up the landscape may change a little bit. Last year's flood ripped out about 50% of the bushes along the river and took some topsoil with it.

These are the pros I see of the flail
* tractor is a lot more enjoyable machine for me and has a cab with A/C.
* flail will be able to mulch not only the tree branches, but also the minor debris that the river brings every time it comes up (around a dozen time per year)
* flail would allow me to mow faster (e.g. 6ft vs 5ft, more HP in tractor, maybe higher speed)
* won't have to maintain mower as much (currently need to sharpen blades every time, as I always tend to hit something and dull them)
* flail/tractor will probably be able to deal with larger portion of the property where I try to "abuse" the mower by putting it on max height and using it as basically a "brush hog" to keep areas from overgrowing. The areas either are too uneven or have too many stones to deal with.
* flail will be able to deal with the septic field better than the zero turn. I think have a loose belt, but the zeroturn bogs down with lush growth on it (so I just put it on max height to get it over with)
* flail would allow me to bring tractor to residential property (1/2 drive) and deal with a the very few flat spots that need mowing/brush hogging
* flail would also allow me to maintain edges along the roads in our residential community, roads which I mostly maintain with my neighbor because nobody else will

Cons
* still need to keep the mower for few small areas where tractor won't be practical
* will probably need Zero Turn for some "slopes". Basically will still need to use the ZeroTurn.
* tractor is a lot heavier and may not be practical when turf is wet (from rain or receded flood), which unfortunately happens a lot more than I would like
* may not look "as good" as with Zero Turn.
* have to spend money
* may still hate mowing even in a tractor
* my tractor might be a bit too large (frame/weight, not HP) for this purpose

Specs: Engine (gross): 34.7 hp [25.9 kW]
Gear PTO (claimed): 29 hp [21.6 kW]

My other option is to give the ZeroTurn to somebody that can make money with it, and get free maintenance for a year+ or hire somebody to use my machine (hit or miss)

Currently considering the Caroni, although undecided if I want hammer blades, which will take me into a diff brand
(e.g. WoodMax FM-78H might be a better value, although while I have backhoe hydraulics, I don't think it's same as rear remote)
Read through 90+ pages of "Lets talk flail mowers" at the time of this post/edit. Many more to go.
Looking for additional considerations and opnions
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/118882-lets-talk-flail-mowers.html

 

[leonz]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

Hello Komrade,

You can go back in and edit your subject line if you wish.

In your situation with your mowing conditions and your mules larger engine frame size you may want to consider a boom mounted flail shredder
for its general utility allowing you to mow vertically to keep brush back and eliminate hanging branches and brush near the water.

A boom mounted flail shredder will allow you to mow far from the waters edge and help to prevent sliding into the water.

The boom mounted orchard and vineyard flail shredders will have cast hammer knives to do the mowing and shredding as the hammer knives are
more able to shred and break up fallen limbs.

A boom mounted flail shredder will more easily be able to mow the ditches along the access road in one pass as well.


If you intend to keep the zero turn mower you can purchase steel or rubber track drive systems for it to replace the
rubber tires and you will have much more traction when mowing.

There are many well built orchard and vineyard shredders available for sale here in the United States; Seppi and Peruzzo are
two brands you could examine.

if you have one double acting valve on your current mule it can be easily employed to operate the flail shredder and still use
the three point hitch to raise it to the maximum height to allow you to mow with the shredder boom fully extended to the
left or right depending on the brand and model chosen.

 

[Komrade]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

I don't think you can edit title w.o. moderator help

Thanks.. The boom frail has some potential cons
* $$$$ (found one on CL for 8K) Tiger Flail Boom Mower- Ditch/Bank mower - farm & garden - by owner - sale
* usually smaller than non-boom is is really meant for edges to for "mowing"
* seems to require more HP


The water edge factor is important.. It has happened.
That close to the edge when it's went I probably wouldn't touch until safe to do so or stick to zeroturn.

The picture was our pathetic attempt to build a boom and push debris back into the river. It's a long steel 6x6 with 3pt rake on it (3pt part was removed)
You can see tractor was pulled out by a mini-ex, which we were lucky to have nearby.

There is also potential to get the front mounted flail for water edge/maneurability, but I am pretty sure I lose a lot of power there, and they're also $$$$

 

[ericm979]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

Thats a boom mower. Looks like a nice one! A ditch bank flail would let you get the mower over farther to the right than a side shift mower, so you can keep the tractor farther away from the water. But it still has the size of a regular flail mower. Ditch bank mower: 65" VL-AGL Gold Ditch Bank Flail Mower, VL-AGLC165 |
that's just an example, many companies make them. Here's one in action mowing around a pond: Ventura TRIM 21 Ditchbank Flail Mower - YouTube

The boom mowers are meant for mowing areas that you can't get close to. The tractor needs a lot of weight since the boom can put the weight of the mower way out there. That one's for a cat2 hitch.

 

[Komrade]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

that bank flail mower looks excellent, and the price is somewhat easier to justify, especially when comparing to mowers with side movement.. Any idea why it requires 40HP? the 6-7 footers from WoodMax and Caroni only need 30HP or so.

Edit:
Their website isn't the best to navigate, but the downloadable catalog has 65" working width ditch flail mowers with 30HP+ 'min' for both the Gold/Silver and Standard model, so should work with my tractor (35HP and meets weight requirements with loader)..

The "standard" one is on sale at 2200. Will give them a call tomorrow to figure out if I need the "silver/gold" model (probably not, it's NOT on sale and NOT in stock). I may just have to get it. I've already thought of a few more places where I can use it.
edit2: I was a little excited about this thinking it was "respected brand" on sale. Apparently it's some Chinese stuff, but been around for a few

Q: is it a good candidate to mulch leaves in ditches in fall/spring?

 

[metalbender]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

Have one of the Chinese ditch bank mowers. Saves a lot of the pucker factor when mowing steep ditches. Use it along with a Bush Hog and ZT mowers. Can't imagine trying to mow most of the property I'm on with my tractor. Not the smoothest area, bouncing around in the tractor gets old fast. Also, why put time on an expensive tractor, the ZT is much cheaper to maintain. My ZT is 30+ years old.

 

[Komrade]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

Thanks.. I agree tractor is mostly not a replacement of a dedicated mower (contrary to my original statement). Mine is not 30, but pretty close to 20 (ZTH 6125).. In it's prior live (before last 4 years) I heard it mowed 10+ acres regularly.
It did blow a motor shortly after I got it, but now it should have plenty of life ahead of it.
Tractor mowing will not make sense from maintenance, or even gas perspective.

 

[kirkawilson]

Re: Is fail mower for me?

Have you considered a drum mower? Less expensive and lower hp requirement. Kinda like a belt driven multiple head brush cutter (weed eater). Zetor Drum Mowers ZTR165/185 The Smart Inexpensive Disc Mower Alternative - YouTube
There are quite a few manufacturers making them now, including small farm innovations Compact Drum Mowers Archives | Small Farm Innovations

 

[TerryR]

I bought a Peruzzo 60" ditch and bank mower a year and a half ago. It's a beautifully built machine. It replaced an ancient Bush Hog rotary cutter. I mow the field only twice a year so it has to deal with two to three foot tall grass and weeds.

The bank function is a joy. No more backing up the banks or down into the ditches repeatedly. The full offset function is great for trimming around trees.

I also use it in the offset position for field mowing, so I don't run over what I'm about to cut. That results in many fewer "pop-ups" after I'm done.

Our field is pretty steep (some places I only mow up and down the slope) and the mower is all my JD 870 (28 hp, 2700 lb.) wants to handle, especially with the mower extended to the side. Even with loaded tires all around and six suitcase weights on the front the front end is light at times, and driving up a steep hill in heavy grass it pulls noticeably to that side. I have to use the steering brakes at times to keep it straight.

It takes at least half again as much fuel as the rotary cutter, and seems to take longer to go the job, but I am trimming closer to trees and other obstacles.

 

[metalbender]

I hear ya on the motor thing on the ZT. Mine had an engine failure when someone else was running it. Older Kohler twins has a governor malfunction problem when hot, caused parts to want out of the block. Found a good used engine, don't work it too hard.