Flail Mower Just got a Cironi flail... any setup suggestions?

[JimCan]

It arrived today. I am replacing both an brutish bush hog and a 'Bush Hog' brand finish mower - neither seem exactly right for a job in the middle. I have an unused pasture of about 5ac on the Eastern Shore of MD full of a full assortment of weeds and gum seedlings. I typically cut about every six weeks along with some other misc. openings around our 25ac.

The first thing I notice is the side rails are at their most-up setting. Which prompts the question about basic settings for you who already use them.

I did see a recent post about not having the mower cutting while lifting? I see videos where they clearly 'lift - back up - lower' then move forward over some brush. I also have two 'rear PTO/attachment' marks (brackets) on the tach of my JD 1080; they appear to be more about RPMs/power ..but I keep reading about '540'. All my attachments speed up when I increase the RPMs? Apologize for the dumb question.

Jim

 

[leonz]

Hello Jimcan,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the Flail Mower Nations.

OK which Caroni Flail mower did you buy from Rodney Barbour???? lets start with that.

IS the PTO Shaft the right length for you mule?? Did you cut it to the proper length using the YOU TUBE videos showing how its done????



The rear roller is what dictates the mowing height. The mower has to be properly leveled after the mowing height is adjusted by raising or lowering the rear roller.

The side skids protect the flail mower rotor from damage if the mower nose dives do to a dip in the land etc.

Leave them at their current position please if they are the adjustable type.

NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In order for the mower to work properly it has to sound like a vacuum cleaner that means that the knives are near the ground creating the ground effect which is the negative pressure gradient needed to allow the mower slice the brush and lift it up and over the rotor and back down to the ground.

If the mowing height is higher than that the mowr will not mow very well and you will have to mow more often.

NOW: lets say you want to mow at 2 inches which I believe is the next to last hole near the top on both sides of the rear roller hanger.
unbolt the rear roller and re-position it there. if you have blue loctite use that to hold the bolts and nuts to keep them in place and not vibrate off.

After the rear roller is secured at that mowing height I need you to use a torpedo level to obtain the correct height at the front of the mower.

1. Place the torpedo level on the top flat of the gearbox

2. adjust the top link so that the torpedo level is centered with the bubble in the middle(meaning it is level from front to back using the gearbox case as a reference point) the mower is ready to use-provided you have greased it and checked the oil level in the gearbox.

3. lock the top link in place with the lock nut if it has one.

4. grease the PTO shaft universal joints and the sleave grease fitting that is usually half way down the female half of the PTO shaft . It is best to do this with the shaft disconnected the first time.

5. Its better to take half cuts at first to get started as you will need to run it a while to see how it operates for you .

a. take your first pass at a slow speed to open up a path or simply start mowing in a spiral pattern. you will not have to brake or turn around to mow by mowing in spiral pattern.


b. its better to mow slowly so you better understand how your new flail mower works.

c. IF you mow at a fast travel speed your going to burn up the drive belts and spend lots of time changing them and untangling brush off the Flail Mower Rotor Bearing Housings

d. pump 6 shots of grease into the Flail Mower Rotor bearing and no more each time you mow or every 6- 8 hours of mowing. Do the same thing with the rear roller bearings until you see fresh grease come out of the bearings.


e. It is going to take you a while to get used to your new mower and how well it mows on the first pass AT VERY LOW SPEEDS IN TALL BRUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


f. after you get it all knocked down your going to want to leave the Flail Mpwers cutting height at two inches the year round as it will be easier to mow and you will have few if any saplings to deal with.


g.Your flail mower MUST be run at the engine speed dictated for the 540 RPM integrally mounted implement that is indicated on the mules tachometer.

h.With the tall brush you have your going to be mowing very slowly, very slowly
until you get it all knocked down.


Re read 5 a-h you have to be patient with a small mule and small flail mower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Happy Mowing

 

[Fallon]

I don't know about the need to lift, other than not to mash down stuff with the rear roller, but my flail won't cut for crap going backwards. 50% of the material gets cut tops when going backwards at 25% of my forward cutting speed. I hear others are the same.

 

[JimCan]

Thanks guys.. I've read about every posting in this thread .. I have considered a bunch of used units including some that just came off service for the State. Even tho' the State mowers are 'among the best, tax $$ can buy' ..and used, priced close to the same money, they probably got 200X the hrs. on them that I will ever put on this 72" - CARONI, TM 1900. (my Italian is a little weak)

(photo missing - I do not yet have five posts..)

Leonz... The first thing I noticed was that my roller is fixed. There is only a single position.


I got a little touch-up paint and will get a good coat of wax on it before I haul it home. I'll get a couple of more posts so I can ad the pics.


Jim

 

[JimCan]

Now I can put up the pic.. Here's what I meant about the roller being fixed.

Jim

 

[skipperbrown]

I agree with all the comments so far. Go ahead and buy additional belts now. You are going to break a few. Get the toughest ones you can find. Leave the belt cover off so you can tell as soon as you start smoking them. This presents a safety factor so don't get close enough to get hands or clothing in the moving parts (duh). You will get a feel for it as you gain experience. My experience was I had to mow at about half the speed I did with a brush hog so go slow at first and try not to mow anything higher than your tractor. All the material you cut has to flow between the drum and the mower shell. There is only so much space there so don't overfeed it. Tighten the zerks. A couple were loose on my unit and I lost one. Finally, I could adjust my roller. Lift it up and look underneath. Keep it well lubed.

 

[JimCan]

BTW - I attempted to add this to the long establish flail thread, but was only able to 'reply' to an existing post. Perhaps an ADMIN can move this.. (sure wish I spelled the name right..)

Thanks for the tips Skipper... I am of a mind - I would prefer a cleaner looking pasture slower than a quicker mess.

You can see in the above pic - there are a number of paint scratches; I figure before I beat it up myself I would touch up the paint. Lucky me, the first one I picked at Lowes was nearly spot on, albeit a little more shiny. At $4.68, it was a dollar more than a similar Red ..but how could I pass up FARM & IMPLEMENT?

Jim

 

[leonz]

Now I can put up the pic.. Here's what I meant about the roller being fixed.

Jim

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Hello Jim,

Glad your new implement is home and safe. when you have the lower links mounted tot eh mower be sure to level the mower the way I told to to level it as you will have fewer problems.

Leave the skid mounting bolts as mounted so that the mower operates at the most efficient level.

Please be sure the PTO Shaft is the proper length so that when you raise the mower it will not damage
the PTO Stub on the tractor or the gearbox on the mower. you have plenty of time to mow slowly and mow well with your new mower.

 

[powerscol]

Just a thought that I did not see above - be sure the gearbox is filled correctly. Many are shipped empty.

 

[JimCan]

Ya-ya.. Copy that. I'm human, and sometimes things leave my business with errors. Cheers.

Jim