Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Hello Jthibideau89,

I see that your flail mower is one of the units made in Mexico. My fathers 25A was made in Moline, Illinois.

The image with the V belt pulley that walked out you were so kind to provide is very detailed. It appears to me that there is a grease fitting that may be broken at the top of the bearing flange.
I would talk to the flail master folks and or the JD Deere dealer and ask them about this as you must find out if it has a sealed bearing set or not.

I would also check to see how much it would cost for replacement bearing mounting flanges with grease fittings installed in the machined part as you have a 7 foot wide cut flail mower that if purchased new it would cost $8,000.00+- plus freight and sales tax if purchased new.

 

[leonz]

Hello Jthibideau89,

I see that your flail mower is one of the units made in Mexico. My fathers 25A was made in Moline, Illinois.

The image with the V belt pulley that walked out you were so kind to provide is very detailed. It appears to me that
there is a grease fitting that may be broken at the top of the bearing flange.

I would talk to the flail master folks and or the JD Deere dealer and ask them about this as you must find out if
it has a sealed bearing set or not.

I would also check to see how much it would cost for replacement bearing mounting flanges with grease fittings installed in
the machined part.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Thanks for your help. The grease fitting on the drive shaft is intact. I was able to grease that bearing. I will discuss the cutter shaft bearings with the folks at Flailmaster. I have machine tools in my shop and can add the grease fitting and distribution groove myself.

 

[jonsstihl]

Jthibideau89,

Did you try the scoop knives before installing the side slicers. I have side slicers on my MOTT 72 but I was wondering which style of knife is better for what jobs. The side slicers work fine for thick brush and weeds but I would thing the scoop knives would work better if you were looking for a nicer cut with more frequent cutting. I would also think the side slicers would have more of a mulching effect

 

[Ricn]

Duck foot blades for heavy brush and saplings, double side slicers as you call them are best for grasses and they are reversible when one side wears down to much.

ricn

 

[jthibodeau89]

My 25A came with a set of worn out scoop blades. After reseaching the differences and considering my application, I decided on the side slicers. I never even tried the mower with scoop blades installed. You can see in my photos that I am cutting 5-6' briars and field weeds. There is an occaisional privette bush or sapling, but nothing much heavier than that. I think the side slicers are the correct choice for my application. Once the pastures are back in control I plan to bale them 2-3 times/year. I plan to cut with the 25A 6-8 times this year and hope that the grass thickens up once given a chance. 2-4-D is not an option for us as we are going organic.

 

[Ricn]

The side cutters work pretty well for me on light brush and very well for grasses even our tall rye and what I mow most of the time.
sounds like a good choice for you too.

Ricn

 

[jthibodeau89]

From what I read, the scoop blades don't mulch as well in tall grasses as compared to the side slicers. When used on shorter, finer grass the scoops are supposed to give a better finished appearance. When i went across my dam, i could see the sawtooth appearance of the slicer blades in the previously mowed grass. This is fine for a pasture, maybe not so good for a lawn.

 

[leonz]

The hockey game was a bust so I am back visiting the forum.

Nope the scoop knives do not mulch. You need to mow at a 90 degree angle to counter the waffling pattern created by the scoop knife.

 

[D2Cat]

jthibodeau89, I think you can get a replacement bearing at just about any farm supply store. Those bearing are very common. Bolted between two metal plates that you can reuse. The bearing has a locking collar that is the part that is driven on tight with a punch (in the hole that does not have the set screw) and then set the set screw to hold in place.