Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[jmfox]

jmfox ,A question, the flail will run with a flow of 17 to 37 GPM, does it cut twice as good at 37 GPM? Do you leave the back door open all the way when cutting tall grass/weeds, or try and mulch it?

You're right about the shut off. I've been using low flow (17 GPM). The high flow would require different hoses. Since it is mowing well with low flow, and low flow is easier on the equipment, I have no incentive to experiment.

jmf

 

[IslandTractor]

jmfox ,

That automatic shut off, only applies if the flail is raised more than 10 in.

My Kioti has that feature too when I lift the 3PT. I thought "automatic shutoff" was referring to some load sensing device on the flail which I'd never heard of.

 

[DirtHauler]

I broke all three belts. So i called Agri Supply to find out what size belts i need (didn't get the owners manual). I told Vernon at Agri Supply what i did and told him that i need to know the belt sizes so that i could finish cutting. Well he asked me a few questions. Did i hit some thing (no) what size brush are you cutting (Grass, Briars, and a sapling or two) how tall/thick is the grass (4 to 5 ft)how fast are you going (low 3rd)
so he thinks i might be going to fast. . . i'll buy that because i don't know how fast you can cut with a flail The Great thing is Vernon tells me that i need a B43 belt and that i could pick them up at any parts store and then he tells me that he is going to send me a set of belts for FREE I wasn't looking for free belts but he offered. That is customer service, i will look at agri supply first for my purchases.

Bad news is that none of the stores had all three belts in stock but
one told me that they would be there tomorrow so thats not bad.

this is how the field looked where i stoped

It's been a long time since I've been on this site and been catchin' up on some of the posts, thought I'd chime in on this one since I've run Coroni's for many years now. I've gone thru 3 or 4 sets of belts (lost count!) so far this season! One set lasted a whole 20 hours, the new set I put on I lost one belt after only 5 hrs.! I've been scrathin' my head head trying to figure out the cause and this is what I've come up with;

1) you need to get "fresh" belts (good luck!) Belts get "old" sitting around a warehouse.
2) belts must be "matched" (good luck again!)
3) all manufacturers have their own idea as to the length of B43 belts (some fit tighter around the pulleys than others!)
4) DO NOT run the belts "tight".
5) clean the pulleys with brake cleaner before installing new ones.
6) be sure to grease the belt tensioner pulley and pivot pin with high temp grease.
7) grass cuttings/dust gets sucked in to the cover and tends to get into the groves of the lower pulley and in turn causes "belt slap" on one or more of the belts. (haven't figured how to solve this)

The other thing is that for some reason the "3 belt" system runs hotter than the "2 belt" system. I've been running my TM1600 with only 2 belts for the past three jobs as an "experiment" to see if there would be a problem, so far it's working fine with no difference in performance and the belts are fine!
I've had the best luck with Goodyear "Hi-torque" belts which are matched and I've had several different brands ( Bando; Gates; Optimo; Gator Back etc.) all with the same results. Belt failure is also caused by the fact that "V" belts aren't meant to run around large pulleys then suddenly be bent the opposite way via a small diameter idler pulley which seems to break the inside "V" of the belt(s). Now if Coroni could re-design the belt tensioner to where it would pull on the belts instead (like an alternator) or larger tensioner pulley, I think it would solve some of the belt problems. For those out there who have a Coroni with three belts, try running just two inside belts and see how it works for you. Other than this, I have no other complaints with my Coroni's

 

[J_J]

DirtHauler,

Check these guys out and see if they have matched sets. They say they are made for just what you describe, bending backward, etc.

1/2" Heavy Duty Kevlar Belts

 

[DirtHauler]

Thanks J J, foregot to mention in my last reply that I did order some Kevlar belts last week but they haven't got here yet. (slow boat from China?)

 

[Farmall45b]

Does anyone know anything about McConnell flail mowers? Looking a little on the web, it looks like McConnell is a European division of the Alamo Group. It would seem to me that if McConnell is owned by Alamo which as I understand it make very good flail mowers, that the European division should be just as good of quality. I really only need a light/medium duty flail for mowing a few trails in long grass in a park. I am just concerned that I may be hard to get parts for this machine. What do the minds on TBN have to say?

 

[KennyV]

DirtHauler...
Give a power band a try they are great... will last forever (almost) and obviously matched... I have ran them on large sand pumps ...
https://www.royalsupply.com/store/pc/GPT-6-B43-1090p35225.htm
KennyV

 

[kthompson]

I did not see a clear reply to the direction of flail mower rotation but from a boom mower flail manual it said to use the reverse direction of the tires for such as grass as it did lift it up to cut and the same direction as the tires for such as brush or trees as you did not want limbs and pieces of wood to get jammed between the cutters and the housing.

As for Agri Supply, over the years their customer support is as good as it gets. Hate to say once in while you get a person who really does not know but you can talk to the top person there if you ask for him.

A few years back had a peanut combine that used a flat belt. Could not find it. But in process of looking found a "person" who dealt with belts and such. He was able to order me a 3 or 4 grove belt that was cut from one piece of material. Thus all groves were the same length. The price was about the same as buying the same number of belts and if you can not get true matched belts the load will never be the same on each.

On how fast of ground speed...I have never used a flail mower in heavy grass so no idea there other than they use them a lot to cut highways side of roads here and those guys are running my guess 10 mph. Bahia grass from a foot to two tall normally with the occasional tires, hubcaps and mattresses thrown in. Their cutters may be rotating in same direction as tractor tires so it can run over such trash, no idea.

I prefer flail mower on a boom due to it's weight and how it throws stuff compared to a rotary cutter. Have never seen a flail throw anything near as large as a rotary mower often does.

 

[Eagleview]

My big CABE flail gets hungry sometimes , concrete sewerage manhole covers are it's favorite meal . They hide in the long grass , but it finds them . It looks like when you run over a dried dog poo with a mower , just grey dust and they are gone .

In regards to rotation direction , i have removed the rear roller on one of my flails so i can reverse into Lantana bushes and chop them up roughly . I then go forward to mulch them completely . If i hit a tree root or rock going backwards with the rotor spinning top down , it will break the hammer bolts as the hammers strike the object vertically and cannot swing away . If i run over the same object going forward , the hammers just lay back against the drum out of harms way . If the rock is too big to pass under the rotor , the hammers just keep kicking it forwards which gives me time to stop and lift the mower .

 

[J_J]

kthompson,

See post #664. It explains the rotation thing. It seems that most flails cut with reverse rotation, with the flail shaft turning opposite of the tractor wheels, cutting up and throwing forward and re-cutting, and then laying a finely cut up layer of mulched grass. when moving forward. This rotation scheme allows one to cut and re-cut many times, otherwise to mulch. The forward rotation, cut down and out, is used for rough stuff, cut once and throw out back. Usually used along road sides, and heavy brush, etc.

 

[sunspot]

J J, I checked out some Kevlar belts and they ran triple in cost. So far, my NAPA belts are holding up just fine. I had the belt cover off and they looked good.


I tried to tighten up the belts a bit and found that if you run the adjustment nut too far on the bolt, it (the bolt) sticks out into the flange area of the cover and then the cover can't be bolted down. I ran the nut back out a smidge and poked the bolt under with a screwdriver and snapped the cover on.

 

[J_J]

Good to hear the belts are working out. And yes, I agree the Kevlar belts are more expensive, but if they last three times longer, maybe worth it. I would recommend that after you use the belts awhile, and after the break in period, to re-check the tension. Does your flail use a set tension, or a spring tension?

 

[sunspot]

It uses a coil spring attached to an eye bolt. The bolt sits in a slot with a nut on top. Run the bolt towards the eye to increase tension.

I would buy the Kevlar belts if needed.

BTW, new crop Gallberry/Saw Palmetto honey should be out in you area at this time. It痴 very good.

 

[IslandTractor]

It uses a coil spring attached to an eye bolt. The bolt sits in a slot with a nut on top. Run the bolt towards the eye to increase tension..

I replaced my stock spring with a short piece of stiff but bendable steel rod so it fits the spring's anchor points. It allows me to get greater tension without the spring thingie hitting the cover as you noted. However, having done that, there was not any difference in the operating tempurature as measured at the pullies or the belt. I intended to go back to the stock spring but just haven't bothered to do it yet. Many hours of mowing later the system seems fine as is. Still on the first set of belts (maybe 50hrs mowing time, mostly high grass and brush).

 

[Reg]

My 1900 Caroni was doing some 4ft high wet thick stuff and started to load down the tractor a bit, I don't know what my ground speed was, but I dropped a gear and increased the revs a bit - it worked GOOD !

Later I did a bit of arithmetic; I am running on the 1,000 RPM shaft and THOUGHT I was running the engine revs at ~54% of what gives 540 out of the 540 RPM shaft.
OK, so I have been running this thing WAY fast - around 800 RPM at the shaft.
But I tell Ya ! It CUTS a lot better and does NOT load up or load the tractor down.

Yeah, I know; engines make more HP at higher revs, etc.
I think this is more about blade speed, cutting not hitting.
KOOL belts too, something about less likely to slip at higher speeds ? maybe just the better cutting equates to less load.
Anywho, it WORKS - it didn't seem to mind brush and small rocks either.

 

[sandman2234]

My JD 25a flail mower cuts great at 540 rpm, but anything less than that shows up real quick in thick stuff or wet grass. I have to keep the belt tight, as it doesn't like even a little bit of slack.(won't spin up the blades from a dead standstill with slack). It also cuts in the same rotation direction as the tires are turning, throwing stuff backward (known as climb cutting in a machine shop) Not a self adjusting belt tensioner, gotta keep an eye on it.
David from jax

 

[VAMountains]

J J, I checked out some Kevlar belts and they ran triple in cost. So far, my NAPA belts are holding up just fine.

Can someone post the part number for NAPA belts for a TM1900?

 

[DavesTractor]

.....OK, so I have been running this thing WAY fast - around 800 RPM at the shaft.....

Be concerned about the mower gearbox at higher rpms. We've seen a number of gearbox failures, both flail and rotary, when running a 540 designed box at higher rpms. They sure cut nice, but the gearbox can overheat and cook itself. So be careful.

 

[pncast]

Ok I'll just let all of you know about using the caroni flail for finish mowing. It doesn't work. I'm not sure why others say it does but here is my experience. The legs that adjust and hold the mower up tear the lawn apart as you mow. You can take then off and try it but still seems to make a mess of it. It throws so much mulch on the ground you can't get rid of it unless you sweep the lawn. I just say beware of what is said on here. Thanks

 

[Reg]

The fact that YOU have not (yet) been able to do something is not proof positive that it cannot be done.

That said;
a) Adjust the skid shoes in conjunction with the roller
b) travel slow enough to allow "mulching".
c) Get the height right with the lift arms, THEN adjust the top link so that it will "float" in the slot.

Basically if your travel speed is too fast you just "cut grass" and if it is very long then ALL you do is to "cut grass" (once), not mulch.