Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[kiotidk45SE]

I got a 88 Alamo flail from a State auction in Virginia for $400. I put $144 worth of hammer, springs, etc on it, lubed it and it cuts very nice. I will not go back to a RC after running this flail.

 

[gtrippleb]

I've been reading through this thread for most of the day and I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to get a flail mower vs a rotary cutter. My question is, depending on what a used flail mower needs, what would you guess would be an average cost in bringing a used one up to a good working condition? The reason I ask is that I've found a few used ones for a pretty cheap price, a Motts and a Ford. I would assume the Motts probably has better parts availability than the ford, but the ford is cheaper. I'm looking at a 60" mower that I'll be pulling with a CCY Sc2400 that has 24 hp. I'm thinking I'll be ok with the size after reading some of the posts.

 

[J_J]

This is a good site for parts.

Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster -

 

[Reg]

I've been reading through this thread for most of the day and I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to get a flail mower vs a rotary cutter. My question is, depending on what a used flail mower needs, what would you guess would be an average cost in bringing a used one up to a good working condition? The reason I ask is that I've found a few used ones for a pretty cheap price, a Motts and a Ford. I would assume the Motts probably has better parts availability than the ford, but the ford is cheaper. I'm looking at a 60" mower that I'll be pulling with a CCY Sc2400 that has 24 hp. I'm thinking I'll be ok with the size after reading some of the posts.

Kinda depends what it needs (-:
A set of hammers is easy enough to price and that is regular maintenance anyway.
Bearings ? again probably not a lot of money and they are standardized parts, but could be a hassle to change.
Then there is the manufacturer specific and perhaps hard to get stuff, like a rear roller.
I think I would price out the usual stuff for the mowers you are considering and take it from there.
That little price shopping expedition should give you all the info you need on parts availability too, after all if you can't get it then cheap doesn't count.

 

[gtrippleb]

Thanks for the answers. I pretty much figured it would depend on the items that need to be changed. Talking with the person that has the motts, the blades have about 75% life left and he has replaced the bearings. So even though it's more money, it might be cheaper in the long run as I wouldn't have to replace the blades after I bought it. I haven't been able to get in touch with the person with ford flail mower so I don't know what the condition of it is in.

 

[Eagleview]

So I said to the guy today , is there anything laying in that long grass I should know about ? No mate , shes all good . 1/2 hour later , sorry mate , I forgot about that old truck axle .

 

[GinNB]

Got any "after" pix of the flail?

 

[jmfox]

So I said to the guy today , is there anything laying in that long grass I should know about ? No mate , shes all good . 1/2 hour later , sorry mate , I forgot about that old truck axle .

Does sorry mean he's responsible?

jmf

 

[Eagleview]

GinNB , no damage to the flail , it's built like a tank .

jmfox , that'll be the day .


It's easy to do when the tractor is travelling at a couple of feet a second and it takes two seconds to get your clutch in and the brake on AFTER you are alerted by feel or sound . The grass was about 5 feet tall and I had the rake down , feeling my way but the protruding right side of the flail found the axle .

 

[Ductape]

Anyone recognize this? Mott maybe? Anyone want to speculate on whether gearbox parts, or replacement gearboxes are available?

 

[jab-law]

After some searching, I found a Bradey pull-behind crop shredder flail mower -- an old one in good shape, 6 foot model. I'm doing about 20 acres of really rough territory, old industrial site (old brick yard). The flail on this are big and heavy, and it does a beautiful job. But -- I think it may to too heavy duty for my little 30 hp Ford 1920 diesel. Also, there is no shear pin on the pto.

It takes a LOT of power to get the flail turning, but once it is turning, it has a lot of power (like a fly-wheel effect) -- so it keep turning when I shove in the clutch and I'm concerned it will tear up my tractor's transmission if it hits one of the many obstacles hidden around (or the many dirt undulations).

Will a tractor-mounted slip clutch be adequate -- or is this simply too much flail mower?

(I think the flywheel effect is because this machine was probably buil in the 1950's, so extra power was generated by the flywheel, as the tractors were much smaller then, and less powerful).

BYW -- I also picked up an old Alamo 6 foot flail that needs a lot of work -- basically all the teeth -- but machanically seems pretty good -- it is a lot easer to turn than the Bradey (no flywheel effect).

Any thoughts on putting a slip clutch on the tractor PTO for the Bradel? Should I not even be using this type of mower for this tractor (I really like it, as it is so heavy duty -- but don't want to wreck the tractor).
Jim

 

[Reg]

I don't quite get your logic.

The inertia (flywheel effect of the rotating mass) is acting against whatever is being cut/chopped/shredded, or in the worst case HIT and stopping the flail.
Without a slip clutch or shear pin a BIG JAM could stall your tractor, but the amount of inertia of the flail should make little/no difference to what happens in a stall - other than more inertia is more likely to munch through more obstructions, so the probability of stalls is lower.

I've stalled my tractor a few times, typically when running the rototiller too slow.
Even with a slip clutch properly set up, if you don't have the revs (inertia) it is possible to stall a tractor and unless it is a FRAGILE tractor the risk of damage is low.
Flails will absolutely EAT tarps and stall if the revs are low, or spin the slip clutch if the revs are high.

I was a bit slow figuring out the SUCK FACTOR around flails, so it happened more than once (-:

 

[jab-law]

Thanks, Reg.

I've given it more thought, and it seems that this old crop shredder was probably made for a tractor like the Farmall H I grew up with -- and it seems that had less torque than my Ford-New Holland diesel. So, the flywheel effect should be okay -- I just need to get the hang of starting it slowly until the revs get up, then giving is some more juice -- unlike the tractor mounted flail motors I've used before, that are easy to turn, and rev up (and slow down) quickly.

I'll give it another go, and see how it does. I must say -- it sure shreds everything nice and even -- much nice than the other flail mower I was using before.
Jim

 

[Eagleview]

Maybe a little late on this but , no slip clutch is required on any flail mower as the belts are designed to slip before mechanical damage is done .

 

[spo307]

I got a 88 Alamo flail from a State auction in Virginia for $400. I put $144 worth of hammer, springs, etc on it, lubed it and it cuts very nice. I will not go back to a RC after running this flail.

AMEN.. I have the alamo flail 88 heavy duty, just re furbished it paint and all have pictures on here under photos. cuts super

 

[spo307]

[/URL] [/IMG]

 

[nh DRAGON]

Great job! spo307, I am keeping an eye out for a bit smaller one. Thank for the pics.

 

[dcyrilc]

AMEN.. I have the alamo flail 88 heavy duty, just re furbished it paint and all have pictures on here under photos. cuts super

WOW, great job. Looks brand new by the time you finished. How did you prep it for repainting? Did you dissassemble and sandblast it?

 

[spo307]

7 foot flail, I took the whole thing apart a lot of wire brushes, 4" wheel, 6" wheel, new bearings, belt, all stainless bolts, zerk fittings, primed painted, my buddy, made the decals, paid $700 used, put about $300 new parts, a new heavy duty 7' alamo flail runs between $6k-$8k, I pull it with a kubota L4400, no problem with 5 foot grass and weeds, my neighbor was using a brush hog and after constent hitting of rocks and the ground blew the bearing, it was a lot of work but i am very happy, weighs about 1k lbs.