John Deere 25A Flail Mower

Otto Syracuse · May 25, 2015

I got lucky and found a John Deere 25A flail mower on Craigslist. It was built in 1981 and is in very good condition!
I still have the brush hog for rough areas, but now that I've got these areas cleared out of large rocks, small trees etc. I can use the flail mower for a nicer finish.
It cuts great and even came with an extra set of knives, a belt and the owners manual.

beenthere · May 25, 2015

Great. Looks like you could be making hay too.

Otto Syracuse · May 26, 2015

That would mean more equipment and time. I have neither one!

Eric C · May 26, 2015

Nice looking mower and farm.

RedHawkRidge · Jun 8, 2015

Interesting, your positive experience with JD's 25a. I bought a new one last year, and was extremely disappointed with it. Primary reason was deere added protective shoes on the underside of the roller bearing housings, the roller that controls cutting height - see pic. Apparently they were concerned about wear and/or damage to those bearings. But the shoes decreased the clearance to the ground, and the result was they would gouge out the grass anytime you mowed an uneven surface -- made a mess of the ground - see pic. I hauled it back to the the dealer, demanded a refund, and eventually took a $800 loss on the deal.
Also, I found that the 25A is a very old piece of equipment, that most competitors have bypassed with better features. Including the cutter drum rotating counter-to-travel direction and a scraper to remove debris from the height roller.

dieselscout80 · Aug 5, 2020

Otto Syracuse said:
I got lucky and found a John Deere 25A flail mower on Craigslist. It was built in 1981 and is in very good condition!
I still have the brush hog for rough areas, but now that I've got these areas cleared out of large rocks, small trees etc. I can use the flail mower for a nicer finish.
It cuts great and even came with an extra set of knives, a belt and the owners manual.

Otto, I know this is an old thread, but what speed are you mowing at with your JD 4410 and 25A combination?

Otto Syracuse · Aug 6, 2020

Hi, I always run it at 2600 rpm. It does bog down in very long or thick grass, but if I lift the mower up for a few seconds it clears and works fine.

dieselscout80 · Aug 6, 2020

Otto Syracuse said:
Hi, I always run it at 2600 rpm. It does bog down in very long or thick grass, but if I lift the mower up for a few seconds it clears and works fine.

Do you know how many MPH you run at 2600rpms?