Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[aczlan]

You would be better off to rent a true stump grinder. They do very fast work and can take them deep enough to have grass grow back over.

We had a guy out this summer to grind out 4 stumps (and what was the base of a large bush, probably 4' across) ranging from 6" to 3' across. Took him about an hour and a half with a self propelled tracked stump grinder to grind everything down to 6-8" below grade. IIRC, he charged around $400 and it was all in little pieces when he was done.

Aaron Z

 

[powerscol]

OK folks my search is almost over. I have found two units that will clear my rear tires to the pivot points. The only units that will work for me need to have an outboard gear box so I can sit on the road to mow down the bank. The two units are Maschio Giraffetta 160SE and possibly the Teagle (Berti made) TA/L 145. I know many of you have these brands, How are they holding up?

BTW if you are considering a ditch bank/verge mower, double check the pivot point location. My tractor is not that wide, but many brands and models fall far short of shifting wide enough to mow a ditch bank and stay on the road to be safe due to the inboard gear box arrangement.

Jack Yaun, just a suggestion and I hope you dont mind, but you may wish to look at your swing arm lengths to get your mower head out further. This may take an outboard gear box arrangement though. In my case I needed 32" (CL PTO to outside of tire) as I am running r4 tires. I hope this helps in bettering your product line. Uwe in California, was excellent to work with, but the units you provide him wont swing wide enough. Possibly take a look at the TA/L 145 geometry as it gets 10" to 12" further out than the Maschio if I read the information correctly.

Thanks for everyone's help, especially leonz. This man is a gem folks - you cant find better help here. Leon - I hope your hat fits in the morning

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Well my little tractor passed the lift test with ease. I hooked up to a Kubota RA 1035 rotary hay rake (926lbs) picked it up with ease, then two guys climbed on the rear of the rake (about 500 lbs) and still no issue, so I can handle the weight reasonably. There is a little front end bounce, but with some ballast added to the front bucket I should be in good shape for transport mode. I remember seeing some old suitcase weights at a dealer in a big pile. Ill see what they run. I can tie them to the bucket through my clevis hooks so the will not bounce around.

I also want to say that Iowa Farm Equipment, Iowa Farm Equipment , has been a great help in working with me. If you have questions please talk to Andrew. he has excellent knowledge on his products. I will be ordering from them once we figure out which unit will be best for my needs . They have good pricing and answer their phones and emails. A+ on customer service in my book. More later on the final decision.

 

[kimaran]

I wouldn't DELIBERATELY grind a stump with a flail, although I have been known to bump a few stumps and take some chips out of them.
Same with the Harley rake, it will leave its mark but would take a long time and a lot of bump 'n jump to make a big difference.
They will both chew at surface roots a bit, but grinders are for grinding, mowers are for mowing and Harley rakes are for seed bed prep and LIGHT grading.

I think that's what I meant I don't plan to just sit on top of the stump and try to grind it but I have limbs that have fallen and been rotting and I may go over them like maybe Up to 3 inches but I feel like they're fairly rotten I just didn't like the way my rotary cutter was sounding lots of brambles and heavy Doveweed but there will be some sticks

 

[IslandTractor]

I think that's what I meant I don't plan to just sit on top of the stump and try to grind it but I have limbs that have fallen and been rotting and I may go over them like maybe Up to 3 inches but I feel like they're fairly rotten I just didn't like the way my rotary cutter was sounding lots of brambles and heavy Doveweed but there will be some sticks

Most things like old rotten tree limbs hidden in the grass just make a racket as you "mow" over them. The only thing I ever had trouble with (other than pieces of metal or hoses) was a chunk of split firewood that found itself in the middle of a field. The mower lifted it and it jammed between the rotor and mower body stalling the tractor. Took a while to unjam it by manually counterrotating but there was no damage.

 

[kimaran]

Thanks
Have you ever changed the knives or blades mine has the medium I want the hammerhead

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks
Have you ever changed the knives or blades mine has the medium I want the hammerhead

Until I switched clevis type, I lost knives routinely in my rocky terrain so there are relatively few original knives left if any by now. I've never switched knives though, I just replace the missing ones with Flailmaster knives and clevises.

 

[kimaran]

Ok
So it's OK to mix the type of knives mine look like a duck's foot

 

[powerscol]

Ok
So it's OK to mix the type of knives mine look like a duck's foot

I'm not sure if I would make that assumption. To keep proper balance all the knives/hammers need to be of similar weight. If you havent already done so, you should read the entire thread of posts as this has been discussed several times.

Hope this helps. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will explain better.

 

[leonz]

Ok
So it's OK to mix the type of knives mine look like a duck's foot

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NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mixing knife types is not a good idea period.
It guarantee's premature bearing failures for the Flail Mower Rotor Bearings
because the G force created by the orbits of the two different knife styles which
creates huge uneven G forces along the Flail Mower Rotor that are transmitted to
the Flail Mower Rotor Bearings.

The heavy cast vineyard and orchard knives have a specific mounting system that is
either a Piano Hinge Mount or separate mounting stations for each hammer knife
using a nut and bolt.

The INO flail shredders and others either have a spiral mount circling the Flail Mower Rotor
or horizontal with overlapping rows hammer knives.

The scoop/duck foot knives are not hammer knives. They are formed steel knives that are
stamped and or heat treated and then ground.

The Cast Italian made hammer knives are heat treated with a sharp edge than can be
used for sod mowing or brush mowing.

The Chinese Made forged hammers are a "modified scoop knive" with a low weight and low
mass compared to the cast hammer knives made by the Italian metal casting companies that
make spare parts for agricultural machinery.

 

[IslandTractor]

Ok
So it's OK to mix the type of knives mine look like a duck's foot

No that is not what I said. I replaced lost knives and clevises with the same type from a different manufacturer. In my case the new clevises weighed a bit more but the knives were a pretty close match.