Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[flailwithoutfail]

Hello all,

Great forum and it feels good to be around people who have valuable information after weeks of trying to get a handle on flail mowers.

I work for a Trust Estate that has around 150 acres of undeveloped land, rocky terrain, 5 foot high dry grass (mostly) and we're in the process of planting trees and building dirt roads for our service vehicles.

Its a remote area, very dry, very hot. I've been charged with the job of taming all land for this work. Our largest challenge is this tall dry, yellowish grass. The rainy season here is only a few months a year at most, so wet fresh grass will also need mowing, but it won't be the majority of the work.

We have one tractor: Swaraj 855 FE. It has about 50 HP.

I've been in contact with what appears to be the only dealer in our area that can provide a Flail Mower. He deals exclusively with Peruzzo. He has suggested the FOX model and has both 1400 and 1600 sizes.

The trouble will be with rocks mostly. Branches and roots not so much.

He has also assured me that changing out the blades for this Flail will be possible for me to do without the help of a tech because of the nut bolt design. I have zero Flail Mower experience but I am familiar with general maintenance over the years.

He has quoted around $3000 for this FOX model. We're overseas so I assume this includes import cost, etc. Does this sound right?

We will also be needing to cut grass around a dispensary clinic and 1 acre garden area with tight corners, so wherever we can get the tractor to drive, we'd also like to use the Flail in this tighter spots.

I'm also thinking a setting for the blade height will be helpful so we can set the blades a few inches off ground level to ensure the least amount of rocks hitting the blades.

I am wondering about the Peruzzo ELK model for the tractor we'll attach to it.
Is there any other Peruzzo model better suited for our work and conditions?
IS Peruzzo worth purchasing?

I've looked into Bush Hogs but have been repeatedly told "not available in your area" by many distributors.

Thank you for the help here. I'm very much in need of direction.

Sincerely,

Sal

 

[IslandTractor]

Hello Sal and welcome to TBN.

I'm not specifically familiar with the Peruzzo ELK flail but I do see that they are imported into the USA as well (Iowa Farm Equipment -- Peruzzo Elk Series Front & Rear Mount Flail Mowers). As it is an Italian brand and Italy is well known for a number of fine flail mowers manufacturers (Caroni etc) I would think it is a quality implement.

You will need to give some consideration to which type of knives or hammer to mount. An all purpose arrangement is to use clevis mounted y blade pairs as on the B series Caroni. Those can mow both light brush and tall grass. Scoop style blades would also do well. If you look at the link I provided and go down about ten or twenty photos you will see some information on knives and hammers. I would NOT use simple clips to hold the bolts in place. Use nylon locknuts. Changing blades is not difficult and can be done in the field if necessary.

One thing you don't mention is how many acres of land you intend to clear. 150 acres is a lot for a 50hp tractor. If you are however managing only 10-20 acres and mowing only a few times a year then the set up you are proposing to use would be excellent. Figure about 1-2 acres per hour depending on how lush the grass is when cut. Dry grass is much easier for a flail mower to mulch so you can go faster if cutting in the dry season.

And, don't forget to lubricate bearings each day!

 

[Catman8]

Hello, I have this flail mower and I would like to find out how much it weighs or where to search for a manual or rated PTO hp needed or any specifications. Thanks in advance.

Brush Hog
Model FH188-**01 After the 188 it appears to be 62 scratched out and someone wrote 01
It measures 78" long

 

[Fallon]

Hello, I have this flail mower and I would like to find out how much it weighs or where to search for a manual or rated PTO hp needed or any specifications. Thanks in advance.

Brush Hog
Model FH188-**01 After the 188 it appears to be 62 scratched out and someone wrote 01
It measures 78" long

View attachment 494102View attachment 494103View attachment 494104

That looks exactly like my ancient 7' Ford 917 flail. Same floating hitch, gearbox & belt cover. Technically mine is a 917 22-184, but there were a pile of various widths (the 84 in the model is 84", or 7') and various revisions over the years as it changed from Ford to New Holland & what not. You can find parts at Flailmaster & parts & a parts diagrams at Messick's.

Mine is a 7' model & was oversized for my 32hp Kubota L3200. But in general you can lift it you can spin it. I had to go slow but the L3200 ran it fine with 25hp or so on the PTO. It covered acres equal to or better than my 5' rotary due to the extra width even going a fair bit slower. And going slower is easier on you & your machine.

 

[Catman8]

That looks exactly like my ancient 7' Ford 917 flail. Same floating hitch, gearbox & belt cover. Technically mine is a 917 22-184, but there were a pile of various widths (the 84 in the model is 84", or 7') and various revisions over the years as it changed from Ford to New Holland & what not. You can find parts at Flailmaster & parts & a parts diagrams at Messick's.

Mine is a 7' model & was oversized for my 32hp Kubota L3200. But in general you can lift it you can spin it. I had to go slow but the L3200 ran it fine with 25hp or so on the PTO. It covered acres equal to or better than my 5' rotary due to the extra width even going a fair bit slower. And going slower is easier on you & your machine.

Four years ago I purchased a Used MF 30B tractor and the guy sold me this flail mower, I bought five acres and needed to control the weeds, I got the tractor home started to cut the grass/weeds and the tractor stopped working 20 minutes into the job, after diagnosing the problem it was the Diesel pump, I dropped the flail mower in the field and towed the tractor with my pickup into my barn to work on it, four years later and I still haven't fixed it. So I bought a new JD Compact and was surprised that it picked up the flail mower and I was able to get it out of the field where it has been sitting for four years. Time sure does fly by when you have so many projects and so little time.

There was another picture I seen where there was two big rubber wheels at the back that would seem more practical for an uneven field, do you know what the big metal roller on the back does.

Do you think I can use this flail mower on my JD2032R, how would I protect the PTO from damage, slip clutch or sheer bolts.

 

[leonz]

Hello all,

Great forum and it feels good to be around people who have valuable information after weeks of trying to get a handle on flail mowers.

I work for a Trust Estate that has around 150 acres of undeveloped land, rocky terrain, 5 foot high dry grass (mostly) and we're in the process of planting trees and building dirt roads for our service vehicles.

Its a remote area, very dry, very hot. I've been charged with the job of taming all land for this work. Our largest challenge is this tall dry, yellowish grass. The rainy season here is only a few months a year at most, so wet fresh grass will also need mowing, but it won't be the majority of the work.

We have one tractor: Swaraj 855 FE. It has about 50 HP.

I've been in contact with what appears to be the only dealer in our area that can provide a Flail Mower. He deals exclusively with Peruzzo. He has suggested the FOX model and has both 1400 and 1600 sizes.

The trouble will be with rocks mostly. Branches and roots not so much.

He has also assured me that changing out the blades for this Flail will be possible for me to do without the help of a tech because of the nut bolt design. I have zero Flail Mower experience but I am familiar with general maintenance over the years.

He has quoted around $3000 for this FOX model. We're overseas so I assume this includes import cost, etc. Does this sound right?

We will also be needing to cut grass around a dispensary clinic and 1 acre garden area with tight corners, so wherever we can get the tractor to drive, we'd also like to use the Flail in this tighter spots.

I'm also thinking a setting for the blade height will be helpful so we can set the blades a few inches off ground level to ensure the least amount of rocks hitting the blades.

I am wondering about the Peruzzo ELK model for the tractor we'll attach to it.
Is there any other Peruzzo model better suited for our work and conditions?
IS Peruzzo worth purchasing?

I've looked into Bush Hogs but have been repeatedly told "not available in your area" by many distributors.

Thank you for the help here. I'm very much in need of direction.

Sincerely,

Sal

=========================================================================



Namaskar Sal,


You have definitely come to the right place even though we are a bit further
from you than Gujarat, Delhi or Mumbai by train.

If you have time please read through the flail mower thread and then come
back and ask more questions.

You have your work cut out for you as you need to do some homework on
deciding a number of things like the type of cut you want and expect to
maintain and how often you will want to mow. Island Tractor has opened
the door for you and now all you have to do is walk in to visit and ask questions,
read some more, come back and ask more questions, then go back and
read some more and ask more questions before the purchase is made
and the machine is eventually delivered to the Trust Estate.

We want to help you with your decision as you will have a mower that
outlast your current tractor.

I look forward to welcoming you as the first resident member of the
Flail Mower Nations from India when you receive your flail mower.

Leonz

 

[Fallon]

Four years ago I purchased a Used MF 30B tractor and the guy sold me this flail mower, I bought five acres and needed to control the weeds, I got the tractor home started to cut the grass/weeds and the tractor stopped working 20 minutes into the job, after diagnosing the problem it was the Diesel pump, I dropped the flail mower in the field and towed the tractor with my pickup into my barn to work on it, four years later and I still haven't fixed it. So I bought a new JD Compact and was surprised that it picked up the flail mower and I was able to get it out of the field where it has been sitting for four years. Time sure does fly by when you have so many projects and so little time.

There was another picture I seen where there was two big rubber wheels at the back that would seem more practical for an uneven field, do you know what the big metal roller on the back does.

Do you think I can use this flail mower on my JD2032R, how would I protect the PTO from damage, slip clutch or sheer bolts.

If ypu can lift it, you can spin it. You already indicated ypu can lift it, so give it a try.

The belts on a flail are the protection, they will slip if there is a jam.

All flails have that roller to control height. Only a few come with tires. Mine came with the frame & rusted rims. Never bothered to fix em up or get rubber on em. Runs fine without em.

Just grease up all the bearings (my idler pully isnt greasable, some aren't) U-joints & PTO shaft and make sure there is lube in the gearbox. There should be 90wt gear oil in there, but I put in pourable grease when my seals started leaking rather than spend $70 or so for new seals.

 

[flailwithoutfail]

Firstly, thank you very much for the warm welcome and initial information that has been provided. I will definitely read through this site as much as I can!
I should have been more specific, while 150 acres is total land, it certainly will not be the total required land needing to be mowed. I will get a better estimate of total land for mowing purposes during tomorrow's session.
A finer cut will be necessary as we will not have the man power or time to collect and clear large clumps of grass left here and there.
The links provided are most helpful and appreciated; I will use this new information in discussing options with the Peruzzo dealer. I will study up before returning with what I hope to be well informed questions.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Sal

 

[powerscol]

Hello all,

Great forum and it feels good to be around people who have valuable information after weeks of trying to get a handle on flail mowers.

I work for a Trust Estate that has around 150 acres of undeveloped land, rocky terrain, 5 foot high dry grass (mostly) and we're in the process of planting trees and building dirt roads for our service vehicles.

Its a remote area, very dry, very hot. I've been charged with the job of taming all land for this work. Our largest challenge is this tall dry, yellowish grass. The rainy season here is only a few months a year at most, so wet fresh grass will also need mowing, but it won't be the majority of the work.

We have one tractor: Swaraj 855 FE. It has about 50 HP.

I've been in contact with what appears to be the only dealer in our area that can provide a Flail Mower. He deals exclusively with Peruzzo. He has suggested the FOX model and has both 1400 and 1600 sizes.

The trouble will be with rocks mostly. Branches and roots not so much.

He has also assured me that changing out the blades for this Flail will be possible for me to do without the help of a tech because of the nut bolt design. I have zero Flail Mower experience but I am familiar with general maintenance over the years.

He has quoted around $3000 for this FOX model. We're overseas so I assume this includes import cost, etc. Does this sound right?

We will also be needing to cut grass around a dispensary clinic and 1 acre garden area with tight corners, so wherever we can get the tractor to drive, we'd also like to use the Flail in this tighter spots.

I'm also thinking a setting for the blade height will be helpful so we can set the blades a few inches off ground level to ensure the least amount of rocks hitting the blades.

I am wondering about the Peruzzo ELK model for the tractor we'll attach to it.
Is there any other Peruzzo model better suited for our work and conditions?
IS Peruzzo worth purchasing?

I've looked into Bush Hogs but have been repeatedly told "not available in your area" by many distributors.

Thank you for the help here. I'm very much in need of direction.

Sincerely,

Sal

With 50 HP you can run something bigger than the 160 model. I too considered the Peruzzo Elk flail before buying my Maschio. Well made and a good unit. Question - do you need an offsetting flail? If not you choices open up.
First some sources for information Iowa Farm Equipment -- Peruzzo Elk Cross Ditch Bank Flail Mowers Also here is Maschios main web page http://www.maschio.com/catalog/category/trincia/en_US. You can contact them and see if they have a distributor that serves India - They are world wide, You can probably go as wide as 210, or possibly more. Take a look at their various lines like the Giraffa. I have the lighter Griaffetta 160SE and running it with 26.5 PTO HP (limited use so far). Also when choosing and offsetting flail, be sure the offset point clears you rear tire, For bank mowing the pivot point needs to be outside you tire track so you can stay clear of the bank edge. You can also suck the unit in right behind the tractor and mow too.

Both Island Tractor and Leonz have given great advice. If you read the entire thread there is a huge amount of information here to make an informed choice.
Happy New Year
Keith

 

[powerscol]

Hello, I have this flail mower and I would like to find out how much it weighs or where to search for a manual or rated PTO hp needed or any specifications. Thanks in advance.

Brush Hog
Model FH188-**01 After the 188 it appears to be 62 scratched out and someone wrote 01
It measures 78" long

View attachment 494102View attachment 494103View attachment 494104

Catman8
I'm puzzled. Cant you just weight it with the good scale set up you have like you did your tiller in your other thread?
Have you tried Bush Hog(R) Performance You Can Count On and contacting them. Many times you can get manuals for free. Here is their contact page Contact Us Also in one of the photos is a Ford label so Fallon may be on to something.
Hope this helps

 

[Catman8]

Catman8
I'm puzzled. Cant you just weight it with the good scale set up you have like you did your tiller in your other thread?
Have you tried Bush Hog(R) Performance You Can Count On and contacting them. Many times you can get manuals for free. Here is their contact page Contact Us Also in one of the photos is a Ford label so Fallon may be on to something.
Hope this helps

Thanks powerscol, yes I can weigh it but the weather man has predicted rain for seven days straight so I was looking for an easy answer, when I picked the flail mower up it sure was leaning to one side a lot. But thanks for the other info I'll check them out.:wave: my FEL has a capacity of 1,020 lb at the pivot point so if the flail mower is less than that I can weigh it. I found a photo of the wheels I was talking about, they seem more practical for uneven fields, I'm guessing that's what they are used for.

 

[IslandTractor]

Firstly, thank you very much for the warm welcome and initial information that has been provided. I will definitely read through this site as much as I can!
I should have been more specific, while 150 acres is total land, it certainly will not be the total required land needing to be mowed. I will get a better estimate of total land for mowing purposes during tomorrow's session.
A finer cut will be necessary as we will not have the man power or time to collect and clear large clumps of grass left here and there.
The links provided are most helpful and appreciated; I will use this new information in discussing options with the Peruzzo dealer. I will study up before returning with what I hope to be well informed questions.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Sal

Don't worry about needing to clear lumps of grass cuttings if you are mowing regularly. Flail mowers mulch grass pretty efficiently. Of course if you are mowing meter high grass and mowing quickly then you will see cuttings the next day when the cuttings dry out. Only cure for that is to cut regularly and slow down to allow complete mulching. A flail will do a better job in this regard than either a rotary "bush hog" or a finish mower so the problem of clippings is minimized by using a flail. I'd estimate that at a normal 1-2 acres per hour mowing speed that you shouldn't have any issue so long as you cut no more than 15-20cm at a time. If you cut 50cm or more you will almost certainly have some clippings evident but they will be evenly distributed, not in piles. I often cut 50cm+ at a time as I cut some fields only once per year. The clippings are evident for a few days and then new green grass pokes up through the clippings and they are not so evident anymore. Another trick is to remow the same area with a perpendicular pattern to the original cut. The second pass can be quick as you'll really only be remulching not cutting.

Key point is to minimize clippings more more frequently.

 

[leonz]

Thanks powerscol, yes I can weigh it but the weather man has predicted rain for seven days straight so I was looking for an easy answer, when I picked the flail mower up it sure was leaning to one side a lot. But thanks for the other info I'll check them out.:wave: my FEL has a capacity of 1,020 lb at the pivot point so if the flail mower is less than that I can weigh it. I found a photo of the wheels I was talking about, they seem more practical for uneven fields, I'm guessing that's what they are used for.

View attachment 494193

====================================================================


If you have the rear wheel mounts investing in a pair of them will only help you in you mowers use as quite often they were used to do stabilize the mower while mowing and allowing a smaller mule to be used for mowing and some of them were designed to towed the motorized Mott flail mowers that were used to mow large overgrown areas.

 

[Catman8]

These are the paddle blades on this tiller, I will be using it to mow a field, how do I know if they are any good, can they be sharpened or do you just replace them.

 

[IslandTractor]

These are the paddle blades on this tiller, I will be using it to mow a field, how do I know if they are any good, can they be sharpened or do you just replace them.

View attachment 494604View attachment 494605View attachment 494606

The blades look fine. No dings. If you are just field mowing you are probably not concerned about having the cut resemble a fairway at a fancy golf course. No need to sharpen before you mow. If it were me I would never sharpen the blades for field/pasture cutting.

 

[ericm979]

I read the entire thread and I have a dumb question- how does a flail mower follow the terrain? A rotary cutter is free to pivot up and down on the lower links. The flails I have seem appear to be solidly attached to all three points on the hitch.

 

[leonz]

I read the entire thread and I have a dumb question- how does a flail mower follow the terrain? A rotary cutter is free to pivot up and down on the lower links. The flails I have seem appear to be solidly attached to all three points on the hitch.

====================================================================


Hello ericm979,

If you look very closely you will see that they are mounted on the three point hitch.

An integral or towed flail mower/crop shredder is free to follow the ground contour and follows the ground contour better than a rotary cutter or finish mower just as long as it is left in the float position as it is shorter in total length.

The rear roller acts as the height of cut gauge on most flail mower brands that are made today and follows directly behind the mule powering it and the rear roller position on the side weldments adjuster holes regulates the cutting height.

The exceptions are the towed motorised units popular in Europe that have either a single hand crank connected to a worm gear that connects to the landing gear on the two wheel towed motorised flail mowers or the units that have four wheel adjustments with two sets of hand cranked worm gears that connect separately to the front wheel sets and the rear wheel sets to adjust the mowing height as most all these towed motorised units are strictly ment for heavy brush mowing using quad bikes or SUV's to tow them.

The other major exceptions are flail choppers for harvesting green chop or flail crop shredders that do not have rear rollers as they are not needed as the height of cut is regulated by a lift cylinder on the flail chopper body or the wheel sets that allow the flail shredder to control its mowing height.

A towed flail shredder or flail harvester is adjusted using a hydraulic cylinder or cylinders to control the height fo cut.

 

[Milo]

If you look very closely you will see that they are mounted on the three point hitch.

An integral or towed flail mower/crop shredder is free to follow the ground contour and follows the ground contour better than a rotary cutter or finish mower just as long as it is left in the float position.....

Just to help me I assume you're referring to a "float position" on the flail itself, correct? There isn't a float on some three point hitches is there?

 

[Xfaxman]

I read the entire thread and I have a dumb question- how does a flail mower follow the terrain? A rotary cutter is free to pivot up and down on the lower links. The flails I have seem appear to be solidly attached to all three points on the hitch.

With no attachment on your lowered three point, grab a lower link and pull up on it, both lower links will come up.

The top link just keeps the flail from tilting forward or backward.

Very few tractors have down pressure on the three point and it will float when pushed up by the attachment.

 

[IslandTractor]

Just to help me I assume you're referring to a "float position" on the flail itself, correct? There isn't a float on some three point hitches is there?

I think what he meant is that when the 3PT is lowered sufficiently that the flail rides on the rear roller rather than being supported by the 3PT. The 3PT pulls but does not control the height of the flail in that setting. The terminology is confusing.

It is possible to mow with the 3PT elevated so either 1) the cut height changes a bit as the rotor pivots upwards while the rear roller is still on the ground, or 2) you can still cut when the 3PT is elevated further so the rear roller comes off the ground. In this latter situation you can still cut but as the mower will now be bouncing around and varying height of cut as the tractor bounces along, it does not lead to a quality cut and there will be less mulching. Still, there are times when you are just knocking down weeds or light brush when it is faster to run in that configuration.

In thick grass I often raise the 3pt but leave the rear roller on the ground just a bit to cut less. It is essentially a quick and dirty way to adjust the height of the cut.

In thick brush, I sometimes raise the rear roller off the ground so I quickly knock down light brush or so I can back into the brush to make a first pass, then drop the roller and mow the same area again as I drive out.