Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[sandman2234]

I would think the best way to elongate those holes more would be to remove the parts from the mower and take to them to a local guy with a milling machine. A few minutes of setup and 30 seconds and your hole is done.
If you don't have a friend with a mill, try a local machine shop, and take a dozen donuts with you when you head over that way.
David from jax

 

[GinNB]

If you're fresh out of donuts and friendly machinists, try an air die grinder with a cylindrical carbide burr. Donuts are cheaper though.

 

[Eagleview]

Sorry RHS just stands for Rolled Hollow Section , a term that is used for square steel tubing . The way i slot holes at home is to drill the correct sized holes at either end and take out the center section with a cutting wheel on a 4" angle grinder this gives you straight sides and neat rounded ends . One cut across the top and one across the bottom to join the holes . Use a good strong drill and use a few drill sizes starting from a 3/16" pilot hole . I think your holes will be 3/4" , its not easy work but it will only take about an hour to do as you only need to drill 2 holes in your case . The tube in your photo is for a steel hook that comes with the mower , it's purpose is to keep the PTO shaft elevated when not in use . Yes you are correct the top pin will be in the center of the slot to allow fore and aft movement of the mower which keeps it on the ground .

 

[DirtHauler]

Thought I'd just share a couple of pics of my new Coroni TM1600, I've already used it on a few jobs and how sweet it is! Breezes right through all this tall thick stuff that I get to mow.

First pic is after I put it together. Second is with my "dip stick" extension installed to stop that oily mess which was done before the first job, as you see, no oil on gear box. Simple fix for all you Coroni owners.

 

[IslandTractor]

First pic is after I put it together. Second is with my "dip stick" extension installed to stop that oily mess which was done before the first job, as you see, no oil on gear box. Simple fix for all you Coroni owners.

Nice job. You even painted it to match!. Could you kindly post a materials list/sizes for the extension. Do NPT pipe threads match the hole on the gearbox?

 

[scuvnut]

Thanks for all the thoughts pertaining to increasing the length of the slot. I do have the tools for the job, so I'm going to put that near the top of my project list.

IronHorse - thanks for all the replies. They've been a big help and I've learned alot. I can't wait until I can throw RHS into a conversation now that I'm fluent in its meaning. In regard to the tube, its likely going to have to be sacraficed to expand the slot. No big deal as I did not get the hook and a rubber bungee works fine for me anyway.

David from Jax - thanks for your input. I figure I can get through the metal with my current tools and if it takes about an hour to do it, that is probably less time than disassembling the unit to take the parts to a machine shop, so I'll keep that as my backup plan.

GinNB - Interesting input about the slotted toplink working best with a mower gliding on the mower and side skidplates. When using the mower on my own lawn (nice area's, not rough regions), I found that the skid plates were marking up the grass. Experimentally, I took them off and just let the unit ride on the roller which worked well but now I am reinstalling them and was planning on putting them all the way up so they won't mark the lawn but they will be there to protect the knifes if the rare situation arises on my property.

 

[GinNB]

Next time I have the Berti with the slotted toplinks hooked up I'll try to take a pic to show you what I mean about the funky lift position and how it breaks the toplink triangle on the mower.

 

[wstr75]

Hey, us little tractor guys have flail mowers, too! See my BCS 853 tractor with 34" Palladino flail mower. It has a 12 hp Lombardini diesel and like everyone has said here, the flail mower does a great job of shredding garden stalks, tall grass and vines. Palladino also makes larger flail mowers.
Palladino agricoltura FRESATRICI FISSE TRINCIAERBA / SCARIFICATORI FRESATRICI SPOSTABILI TRINCIAERBA MOTORIZZATI DECESPUGLIATORI TRINCIASARMENTI TRINCIASTOCCHI ARIEGGIATORI giardinaggio green star costruzione vendita
Bill in NC

 

[DirtHauler]

Nice job. You even painted it to match!. Could you kindly post a materials list/sizes for the extension. Do NPT pipe threads match the hole on the gearbox?

It's just a piece of 3/8" x 2" water pipe and a 3/8" coupling. NPT threads aren't an exact match for the gear box but it goes in, I put some liquid teflon on the pipe threads, tighten with pipe wrench. The breather/dip stick screws right in the coupling.

 

[IslandTractor]

It's just a piece of 3/8" x 2" water pipe and a 3/8" coupling. NPT threads aren't an exact match for the gear box but it goes in, I put some liquid teflon on the pipe threads, tighten with pipe wrench. The breather/dip stick screws right in the coupling.

Thanks. I'll do that. Last year when I first got the Caroni I thought there was just too much oil in the gearbox. Certainly when the gearbox is filled to the upper mark of the dipstick and the mower gets warm it bubbles quite a bit of oily mess. However, I noticed this year that even with the oil level at the lower acceptable range I'm still getting some oil oozing out of the breather cap. I think someone on TBN mentioned that the gears may simply be flinging the oil directly at the breather cap so it is not just an oil level issue but a mechanical one too. The little extension tube you and a couple of others have made should solve the problem regardless of cause.

 

[sunspot]

Over all, I am pleased with the Caroni 1900. It's a bit bigger than my very old 65" Brush Hog. SHMBO was also pleased with the appearance of the fields. The off set made it easy to mow into the windrow to cut the pesky brush that wants to pop up.
I was disappointed that the PTO shaft was too long and I had to use my hard labor to fix it. At least I didn't have to find a shop that could do it for me $$$.

Compared to a rotary:
Pros,

Cuts smoother
Quieter
Faster
Less scalping
Easier to back up
Uses less power

Cons.
It does not cut well in reverse
Misses some seed stalks
Watch out for thick Grape Vines. When they wrap the rotor, you get showered in dirt and debris.
....................................................................................................

To Foozle, DirtHauler and all Caroni owners.
The U-Joints have minimum grease
The belts are loose
While you have the side cover off, there are two more grease fittings under the cover.

Have you tried adjusting the shoe/skid yet?

NO, I left it in the upper position. It still scrapes sometimes on hard turns but it's not a bother to me.

Iron Horse.
The shortening went well. I checked and it can articulate freely. I greased it up very well when I reassembled the shaft. It was well greased out of the box.
I have my unit set for the least offset. It is only a few degrees out of line. The booklet says it can be up to 45 degrees for a maximum time of 5 minutes and I think 20 degrees for normal mowing.
The Caroni has the slotted top link. That is what I am using.

 

[DirtHauler]

The other thing us Caroni owners must remember is to pump a lot of grease into the bearings initially because there is a large "air gap" in the bearing housings, if you don't do this, you could have premature bearing failer.
As far as the "loose" belts......tighten the tensoiner a little but not so tight that it won't slip a little if it gets jammed up. Cutting in reverse, I do it but at a slow speed mostly on really tuff stuff, then go forward over the same path to cut it all the way down.

 

[coastalguy]

I havent posted in a while but asked about flail vs. rotary and didn't get too many respones.

I am glad yall are taking them seriously now!

Where can I purchase a good used one from? I am looking for something 7 feet wide or over.

 

[Foozle]

To Foozle, DirtHauler and all Caroni owners.
The U-Joints have minimum grease
The belts are loose
While you have the side cover off, there are two more grease fittings under the cover.

Thanks. My Kubota dealer assembled for me but probably makes sense to check all the grease.

 

[sunspot]

As far as the "loose" belts......tighten the tensoiner a little but not so tight that it won't slip a little if it gets jammed up.

The spring on my tensioner was fully compressed and the belts had slop. I only tightened it until I had some air showing between the spring coils.

 

[Eagleview]

There should not be any "slop" in the belts . They should only deflect about 3/8" at thier center . Make sure the idler is not binding . If they slip easily they will burn up in no time .


Just found a couple of good flail mowers on Ebay . The blue one is "in good condition" and runs "smooth" and it's at the low starting price of $1500 and the other is "as new" and it's starting price is only $3000 . I'd hate to see what he calls a bomb .

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

fellas i just bought my 88" super heavy duty on craigslist for 300......few seals and some parts that were missing....i'll have about 400 in it.....

from everything i've been watching for about 2 months, you should be able to get a nice one for 700 or much less.....

just my two cents

There should not be any "slop" in the belts . They should only deflect about 3/8" at thier center . Make sure the idler is not binding . If they slip easily they will burn up in no time .


Just found a couple of good flail mowers on Ebay . The blue one is "in good condition" and runs "smooth" and it's at the low starting price of $1500 and the other is "as new" and it's starting price is only $3000 . I'd hate to see what he calls a bomb .

 

[coastalguy]

fellas i just bought my 88" super heavy duty on craigslist for 300......few seals and some parts that were missing....i'll have about 400 in it.....

from everything i've been watching for about 2 months, you should be able to get a nice one for 700 or much less.....

just my two cents

Can you post a pic? Just curious what $300 will get you.

Looking for a flail my self.

 

[John861]

Can you post a pic? Just curious what $300 will get you.

Looking for a flail my self.

Keep in mind, looks aren't worth much. Most of the older flails will be dented and rusty, but plenty of these have a lot of life left in them. What really matters is how they run, which is why I would be cautious about buying one sight unseen. If there is significant imbalance and vibration, things could get expensive.

I bought my Ford 917 (unknown age, but could be as old as the 60's) from a guy who offered to run it on his tractor to verify function. Lots of the eBay ones are sold be equipment resellers, many of whom specifically state that they have not run the mower. Buyer beware. In my case, $325 got me a nice mower in need of a bit of sanding and painting, and missing 6 knives (at $0.89 a piece). I'm happy with my purchase. Here is a picture from before the sanding and rattle can paint job.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/5384

 

[coastalguy]

Nice!

What width is that?