Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

RobS · Feb 21, 2017

Hey guys, stick to Flail Mowers please. Feel free to discuss politics in the Friendly Politics forum.

Dan in MN · Feb 22, 2017

Anyone running an Alamo? I think they are highly regarded, but don't remember anyone specifically running one?? Just found this one near me..

1988 John Deere 95 Tractor

I'm waiting on more info, but it looks like at least an 88" (I wouldn't want the 74" they offer, barely bigger than what I just sold).

IslandTractor · Feb 22, 2017

Dan in MN said:
Anyone running an Alamo? I think they are highly regarded, but don't remember anyone specifically running one?? Just found this one near me..

1988 John Deere 95 Tractor

I'm waiting on more info, but it looks like at least an 88" (I wouldn't want the 74" they offer, barely bigger than what I just sold).

I don't have one but rest assured Alamo Flail mowers are VERY highly regarded. The one in that tractor ad looks to be in excellent, almost new, shape too. I would imagine that new it would cost pretty darn close to what they are selling the used tractor and mower for.

Fallon · Feb 22, 2017

IslandTractor said:
I don't have one but rest assured Alamo Flail mowers are VERY highly regarded. The one in that tractor ad looks to be in excellent, almost new, shape too. I would imagine that new it would cost pretty darn close to what they are selling the used tractor and mower for.

I agree. I'd be all over that at $2-3k here in Colorado, probably more if I could afford it.

Alamo is usually heavy public works gear for mowing road sides. So it has to stand up to frequent trash & heavy abusive enviroments.

Dan in MN · Feb 22, 2017

I'm still waiting on a callback and a little anxious as it seems too good to be true... I've done my best to estimate width off looking at pictures of some others and it might even be a 96", I'd take 88" but 96" would be even better...

IslandTractor · Feb 22, 2017

Dan in MN said:
I'm still waiting on a callback and a little anxious as it seems too good to be true... I've done my best to estimate width off looking at pictures of some others and it might even be a 96", I'd take 88" but 96" would be even better...

Even if the mower is 88" or even just 72", I agree with Fallon, that mower would fly into my barn for $1500. That is a steal!

A JD950 only puts out 31hp so I wonder if it could efficiently run a 96" or even 88" flail. I suppose if it is just cutting an athletic field regularly or a golf course it might work.

Fallon · Feb 22, 2017

IslandTractor said:
Even if the mower is 88" or even just 72", I agree with Fallon, that mower would fly into my barn for $1500. That is a steal!

A JD950 only puts out 31hp so I wonder if it could efficiently run a 96" or even 88" flail. I suppose if it is just cutting an athletic field regularly or a golf course it might work.

My L3200 had 25hp PTO, 32hp engine & spun my 7' flail fine. Just had to go slow.

Dan in MN · Feb 22, 2017

I wasn't clear when I put that link up, not wanting the tractor just the flail. I'm looking for a tractor in the 50+ range.. The last thing I want is the old "you can always go slower" flail mower fallback...I'm mowing 20+ acres so I want everything I can get out of it... :thumbsup:

leonz · Feb 22, 2017

How often are you going to mow? Just keep in mind that once that brush is down to 2 inches
its very easy to manage and turn into good sod if you want.

if you want to mow faster your going to need power and a gear drive mule.

Fallon · Feb 22, 2017

Dan in MN said:
I wasn't clear when I put that link up, not wanting the tractor just the flail. I'm looking for a tractor in the 50+ range.. The last thing I want is the old "you can always go slower" flail mower fallback...I'm mowing 20+ acres so I want everything I can get out of it...

It is a fallback for a lot more than just flails. But x HP can cut y acres per hour. Assuming you are power limited if you double the size of the mower you half your ground speed & you still mow the same acres per hour.

Personally I prefer a wide mower & going slower as it means a smoother ride for me & my equipment.

The rotary cutter rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of width. While that is only a ballpark number it's as good as any for a starting point for a rotary or flail. If you don't have the tractor yet & you are the impatient type shoot for a little over the rule of thumb. That way your spine & terain smoothness are the limiting factors, not you engine. With my 7' flail on my new L4060 (40 engine HP -5-6hp for my 6,500' altitude HP tax) I could definitely use some more HP to keep from slowing down. 50+HP isn't a bad target for a big Cat1 or a Cat2 flail.

Dan in MN · Feb 23, 2017

leonz said:
How often are you going to mow? Just keep in mind that once that brush is down to 2 inches
its very easy to manage and turn into good sod if you want.

if you want to mow faster your going to need power and a gear drive mule.

Most of it will be at least a foot tall when I mow it, the bigger areas will be hit probably 3 times during the summer. To do it more often would require the 12 ft batwing that I really want, but there's no way I can justify $9k unless I had some other work with it. The stuff I'm mowing is outlot areas for our 30 house neighborhood, there's a small amount of pay for it but not nearly enough to justify a bigger expenditure. I'm mostly doing it just because I want to.. Going from a '53 Golden Jubilee and 68" Value Leader flail last year to something bigger this year for both tractor and mower.

Fallon said:
It is a fallback for a lot more than just flails. But x HP can cut y acres per hour. Assuming you are power limited if you double the size of the mower you half your ground speed & you still mow the same acres per hour.

Personally I prefer a wide mower & going slower as it means a smoother ride for me & my equipment.

The rotary cutter rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of width. While that is only a ballpark number it's as good as any for a starting point for a rotary or flail. If you don't have the tractor yet & you are the impatient type shoot for a little over the rule of thumb. That way your spine & terain smoothness are the limiting factors, not you engine. With my 7' flail on my new L4060 (40 engine HP -5-6hp for my 6,500' altitude HP tax) I could definitely use some more HP to keep from slowing down. 50+HP isn't a bad target for a big Cat1 or a Cat2 flail.

For me I would prefer a wide mower and going fast.... :drink: I want to spend as little time as possible, which then of course becomes a fight between what I want and how much money it makes sense to spend... A Woods BW12 would be perfect, I figure it would take about 1/3 the time to mow it all as it did last year with a 68" flail (over twice the width and probably 50% greater ground speed) and then I could cut more often which would look nicer and keep the weeds down. Can't justify the cost though, so I'm back to thinking 8' flail and 50-60 hp tractor. Still haven't gotten a return call on that Alamo flail, the guy to talk to is in Florida on vacation...

ericm979 · Feb 23, 2017

Dan- how was the Value Leader, other than being too small?

Dan in MN · Feb 23, 2017

It's the only flail I have experience with, so can't compare to others. That being said the quality of manufacturing seemed pretty decent. The main issue I had was when I dropped it too close to the roller to cut shorter the tractor was bogging down, took a while to figure out the problem as it felt like the tractor was losing power. There was just not enough discharge area to get the cut material out. The overall experience was ok, but even if they offered a bigger version I would try something else the next time around.

Catman8 · Feb 28, 2017

This flail mower was purchased with my Massey Ferguson 30B and I never got a chance to use it bacause the tractor broke down, after servicing the flail mower I just hooked it up to my John Deere a much smaller tractor and the drum is rotating the same direction as my tires, and as you can see by the picture of the blades it won't cut grass in that direction.

Do all tractors have the same PTO rotation or is it as simple as someone installed the blades backwards.

CADplans · Feb 28, 2017

OOPs,, I forgot to post a pic of my flail,,,
on my "new to me" tractor,,,

The flail is a little big,, but it worked,,,
I hope I never have to drive down the paved road, at full speed,, :laughing:

Catman8 · Feb 28, 2017

Catman8 said:
This flail mower was purchased with my Massey Ferguson 30B and I never got a chance to use it bacause the tractor broke down, after servicing the flail mower I just hooked it up to my John Deere a much smaller tractor and the drum is rotating the same direction as my tires, and as you can see by the picture of the blades it won't cut grass in that direction.

Do all tractors have the same PTO rotation or is it as simple as someone installed the blades backwards.

View attachment 500299 View attachment 500298

:anyone:

leonz · Feb 28, 2017

Catman8 said:
This flail mower was purchased with my Massey Ferguson 30B and I never got a chance to use it bacause the tractor broke down, after servicing the flail mower I just hooked it up to my John Deere a much smaller tractor and the drum is rotating the same direction as my tires, and as you can see by the picture of the blades it won't cut grass in that direction.

Do all tractors have the same PTO rotation or is it as simple as someone installed the blades backwards.

View attachment 500299 View attachment 500298

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

What you have is a Mott mower that can be converted to a finish flail mower which uses side slicer knives as well.

NOW;

Are you letting the rear roller touch the ground when mowing????
Those knives should be coated with grass dust and green grass stain.
The cutting height is set with the rear roller by positioning the rear roller in the pre drilled holes in the side weldment with the rear roller hangers.

IF your JD2032 is actually an ISEKI brand Mule in green paint it would rotate the PTO stub and PTO shaft clockwise.

The drum is referred to as a "Flail Mower Rotor"

The scoop knives are not backwards. We see this quite often and you can simply rotate the scoop knives and mow IF The tractor PTO is spinning it in the wrong direction.

Rotating the knives 180 degrees will throw the cut brush and grass forward which is fine but your going to get a lot of fine cut grass clippings tossed at the rear of the mule.

Just humor me and take the V belt cover off and verify the rotor is rotating counter clockwise by putting a dash of paint on either the snubber pulley or the driven pulley and rotating the flail mower rotor with the tractor PTO.

OH and if the V belt is cracked or rubber is peeling off it replace it soon as it wont last long. And remember not to drive fast as you will not cut much.

If the PTO is fine so just flip the scoop knives 180 degrees and happy mowing.

Catman8 · Mar 1, 2017

leonz said:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

What you have is a Mott mower that can be converted to a finish flail mower which uses side slicer knives as well.

NOW;

Are you letting the rear roller touch the ground when mowing????
Those knives should be coated with grass dust and green grass stain.
The cutting height is set with the rear roller by positioning the rear roller in the pre drilled holes in the side weldment with the rear roller hangers.

IF your JD2032 is actually an ISEKI brand Mule in green paint it would rotate the PTO stub and PTO shaft clockwise.

The drum is referred to as a "Flail Mower Rotor"

The scoop knives are not backwards. We see this quite often and you can simply rotate the scoop knives and mow IF The tractor PTO is spinning it in the wrong direction.

Rotating the knives 180 degrees will throw the cut brush and grass forward which is fine but your going to get a lot of fine cut grass clippings tossed at the rear of the mule.

Just humor me and take the V belt cover off and verify the rotor is rotating counter clockwise by putting a dash of paint on either the snubber pulley or the driven pulley and rotating the flail mower rotor with the tractor PTO.

OH and if the V belt is cracked or rubber is peeling off it replace it soon as it wont last long. And remember not to drive fast as you will not cut much.

If the PTO is fine so just flip the scoop knives 180 degrees and happy mowing.

Thank you for your help, yes my PTO does turn clockwise, and with the tractor off I turned the drive shaft clockwise and watched the flail mower rotor turn the same direction as my wheels if I was driving forward, I did have the roller touching the ground and the skids were off the ground, I took one pass through the field and nothing happened, no cut grass. So tomorrow I will flip the blades and see what happens.

I'm still confused how those blades could cut in the direction that they are installed now, did someone install them wrong or am I not understanding something. Are their tractors with PTO's that turn counter clockwise.

What does MOTT stand for?

There are sure a lot of blades to flip, that does not look like fun.

Thanks again

Steave · Mar 1, 2017

Catman8 said:
Thank you for your help, yes my PTO does turn clockwise, and with the tractor off I turned the drive shaft clockwise and watched the flail mower rotor turn the same direction as my wheels if I was driving forward, I did have the roller touching the ground and the skids were off the ground, I took one pass through the field and nothing happened, no cut grass. So tomorrow I will flip the blades and see what happens.

I'm still confused how those blades could cut in the direction that they are installed now, did someone install them wrong or am I not understanding something. Are their tractors with PTO's that turn counter clockwise.

What does MOTT stand for?

There are sure a lot of blades to flip, that does not look like fun.

Thanks again

View attachment 500346

As far as I know the Pto on all tractors turn the same way. As far as MOTT goes that was the man's name that invented the flail mower. I have a MOTT simular to yours and yes your blades (scoops) are on backwards. My rotor on the flail turns the same rotation as the tractor tires but my flail has side cutter knives instead of scoop. I enjoy using it because of the smooth finish and around here it's about time to get geared up for some cutting. Everything is greening up and ready to grow.