Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Fallon]

The difference between the HST and Gear is interesting. I need to give that some though. I wanted a HST but got a good deal on this gear.

Ya, I can just push the pedal more & stuff more material down its throat until RPMs drop. Then let off a hair to keep going using every last HP on the machine, regardless of varying conditions. You have to stop & shift with a gear machine, so you kind of need to be in the worst case scenario gear most of the time. HST does eat up more HP than the gear tranny so I dont know how it goes in the big picture. I suspect its close.

 

[Fallon]

I find it interesting you guys are running such large flail mowers with low PTO horsepower.

Heck, my L2501 (same size as the L3200) only has 19 PTO horsepower (HST trans) and I run a small 4-foot flail behind it. That bogs down going through tall grass, especially uphill, although if you go slow it chugs along pretty well in low range.

I have 3" spacers on my rear wheels of this tractor and only a 4-foot mower. It's nice to have the mower stick out past the tires but not necessary. You just use another point of reference on the tractor while cutting (in my case, I line up the row to cut with the brush guard). Everything gets cut and the quality is very good.

it's all relative & dependent on conditions. Mowing in Colorado, we arent known for moisture or thick lush grass. If I'm mowing in a ravine where grass gets lots of water or near the runoff from my barn roof (photos above) it gets really thick. In those cases I'm barely crawling. But less dense grass or woody brush doesnt take nearly as much HP.

I also have a bad back & dont enjoy a rough ride. So if I go wide & slow I cover the same acres per hour while getting a smoother ride for me & my equipment. I tend to mow rougher pastures & fields. 5mph is often a rough ride for me.

 

[noco]

My dad bought this flail mower about 30 years ago at an auction. I think it came from the local college. We used it for 10 years or so, averaging only 20 hours a year. It sat for 20 years and I have started using again. About 40 hours a year
I changed the oil in the gear box, new belt, attached some home made skids... Its awesome I had forgotten how good this mower is!

Its missing a couple of the rings that the blades hang from. As I look around I don't see any setups quite like mine. I have read enough on this thread to know there are some experts on here. I'm hoping someone can tell me more about my mower and where I can get matching blade setups. I cant find any model numbers and haven't seen anything online. Ill put some pictures and I can get more measurements based on feedback.
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Ok here is what I found at my local Case IH dealer.
They can get them in orders of 10. the clevis is $35 each and another $30 per pair of knives.
I only need two clevis but over time as I need to replace more its going to be very expensive. it would be around $3000 for all new.

What about this.
I could replace the clevis with two chain links with close to the same weight and hang distance to balance and just attach the knives to that.
Then when it comes time to replace all the knives I can go with whatever knife I want and attach them to the chain links. if they are shorter that's ok I can just lower the mower.
If I could just find a hanger that would work I could buy whatever knives I want from Flailmaster.
here are a couple more pictures and part numbers.

 

[leonz]

Hello Brad,

It would be easier for your tractor to purchase and use a 48 inch Vrisimo minimax or a 48 inch caroni flail mower with the B rotor which uses a 2 row flail mower rotor with side slicers mounted on shackles.

If as you say you have one pair of remotes the question is whether it is a double acting hydraulic circuit or simply used for the hoisting of an implement like a blade or a mounted rake.

Buying a flail mower with a side shift and being unable to use it on your current mule will cost you more money. With your small acreage a 4 foot Vrisimo or Caroni flail mower will be easier to deal with and use as you will be a new user.

YOU must keep in mind that a hammer or scoop knife flail mower will not recut the clippings/brush to make it dissolve into the soil faster.

I would suggest that you look at Island tractors posts and pictures of how he uses his caroni flail mower with the B rotor and also look at the world he has to mow in on his farm and you will see how well his caroni flail mower does using a 2 row flail mower rotor as he uses it to mow lawn and brush with a 2 row B type flail mower rotor using heat treated side slicers mounted on shackles.

If you look at the 4 foot cut Vrisimo Minimax it has a 3 row flail mower rotor and they also use heat treated side slicer knives to mow and clear
brush with.

The smaller width flail mower will be less taxing on the engine and you will be better able to mow with at very low speeds especially when taking half cuts.

You will need to take half cuts if your brush is as bad as you say it is and once you get it cut down to 2 inches you will spend very little time mowing.

Once you break a cast flail hammer you cannot continue to use it and it needs to be replaced as the flail mower rotor will become unbalanced.

I would also suggest that you call iowa farm equipment and ask them how much a Peruzo motorized towed flail mower with the cast hammers would cost to buy as you
do not have that much land to mow and if you have a small lawn mower you can use it to tow that flail mower.

When you become involved with flail hammers it becomes a completely different world as far as balance and mowing quality if you expect to use it for mowing and if you break on you cannot continue to use it and the broken one needs to be replaced quickly if you expect to keep mowing. The same thing goes for a broken pair of side slicers as well.

Cast hammer knives are expensive to buy and they will put up with a lot of abuse but the side slicer knife is less costly to buy and easy to sharpen using a wet grinder which should be used for cast hammer knives as well.

 

[leonz]

Ok here is what I found at my local Case IH dealer.
They can get them in orders of 10. the clevis is $35 each and another $30 per pair of knives.
I only need two clevis but over time as I need to replace more its going to be very expensive. it would be around $3000 for all new.

What about this.
I could replace the clevis with two chain links with close to the same weight and hang distance to balance and just attach the knives to that.
Then when it comes time to replace all the knives I can go with whatever knife I want and attach them to the chain links. if they are shorter that's ok I can just lower the mower.
If I could just find a hanger that would work I could buy whatever knives I want from Flailmaster.
here are a couple more pictures and part numbers.
View attachment 616947

Hello noco,


Please do not use chain links to substitute for the knife hangers you will be asking for trouble. Please call flail master and see what they can do for you and the clean cutter folks in California if flail master cannot help you.

The shackles are a must have but you can buy side slicers from flail master at a very economical price. check with flail master to see if they have that type of shackle and tell them what size side slicer you have.

In order to purchase the correct side slicer you must provide them with the following:

1. the total knife length measuring vertically from the tip of the side slicer to the top of the vertical portion of the side slicer

2. the knife steel thickness

3. the diameter of the mounting hole
a. the distance from the top of the mounting hole to the top of the side slicer knife

4. you must use a protractor to correctly find the angle of the side slicer knives cutting edge. to do that you must have the single side slicer flat and then use the protractor to measure the angle of the cutting edge. Now very carefully bring the side slicer toward the center of the protractor and then you will be able to read the bend angle of the cutting edge. If its anything like mine its 37 degrees.

Its more important that you have the correct spare shackles for your mower. The knives you can buy in large lots if needed at a low cost per unit and the nuts and bolts you can buy by the bag at Fastenal.

Flail master may have them and you will not know until you call them.

 

[Fallon]

I havent noticed much difference in mulching action between my old Ford 917 with side slicers & the new Peruzzo with hammers. The Peruzzo has reutter bars in it, which probably evens things out a lot though. Both qualify as way better than a rough cut rotary cutter spot I've never looked at the clippings close for a comparison.

I probably need to get a spare set of hammers here soon. They can't be resharpened easily. They still cut well despite being slightly sharper than a ballpoint pen cap at the moment. The 917 side slicers were a buck or 2 per knife. Messed up a dozen or 2 on rocks & the well head. The hammers are definitely MUCH stronger. But are probably $30 each. Even a 1/3 the number it will be way more to replace the hammers.

 

[Okie Again]

Hello Brad,

It would be easier for your tractor to purchase and use a 48 inch Vrisimo minimax or a 48 inch caroni flail mower with the B rotor which uses a 2 row flail mower rotor with side slicers mounted on shackles.

If as you say you have one pair of remotes the question is whether it is a double acting hydraulic circuit or simply used for the hoisting of an implement like a blade or a mounted rake.

Buying a flail mower with a side shift and being unable to use it on your current mule will cost you more money. With your small acreage a 4 foot Vrisimo or Caroni flail mower will be easier to deal with and use as you will be a new user.

YOU must keep in mind that a hammer or scoop knife flail mower will not recut the clippings/brush to make it dissolve into the soil faster.

I would suggest that you look at Island tractors posts and pictures of how he uses his caroni flail mower with the B rotor and also look at the world he has to mow in on his farm and you will see how well his caroni flail mower does using a 2 row flail mower rotor as he uses it to mow lawn and brush with a 2 row B type flail mower rotor using heat treated side slicers mounted on shackles.

If you look at the 4 foot cut Vrisimo Minimax it has a 3 row flail mower rotor and they also use heat treated side slicer knives to mow and clear
brush with.

The smaller width flail mower will be less taxing on the engine and you will be better able to mow with at very low speeds especially when taking half cuts.

You will need to take half cuts if your brush is as bad as you say it is and once you get it cut down to 2 inches you will spend very little time mowing.

Once you break a cast flail hammer you cannot continue to use it and it needs to be replaced as the flail mower rotor will become unbalanced.

I would also suggest that you call iowa farm equipment and ask them how much a Peruzo motorized towed flail mower with the cast hammers would cost to buy as you
do not have that much land to mow and if you have a small lawn mower you can use it to tow that flail mower.

When you become involved with flail hammers it becomes a completely different world as far as balance and mowing quality if you expect to use it for mowing and if you break on you cannot continue to use it and the broken one needs to be replaced quickly if you expect to keep mowing. The same thing goes for a broken pair of side slicers as well.

Cast hammer knives are expensive to buy and they will put up with a lot of abuse but the side slicer knife is less costly to buy and easy to sharpen using a wet grinder which should be used for cast hammer knives as well.

The rear hydraulics are a kit from Kubota L7334 I have read the first position is always double acting on the OEM Kubota. Would that mean it should work well with a hydraulic slide?

 

[bruceha2000]

The sales guy at WoodMaxx talked me out of the 78 flail for my 25 HP PTO tractor last summer, minimum per their specs is 30 HP. He could have sold it to me that day and made more money, they didn't have any 62s so I ended up waiting until March to get it. When fully shifted the 62H gets just a few inches to the right of my right rear wheel so it is good for a fence line but there is no cutting under trees with it.

Regarding the rear remotes, is there a control valve for them? I have rear remotes for the backhoe but the valves are on it not the tractor. I "borrow" the loader curl/dump circuit to shift the flail. That requires only 2 hoses with the proper quick connect fittings and of course can only raise and lower the bucket when the flail is connected. You'll have to buy the proper quick connects for the WM flail regardless since it comes only with male threaded fittings on the hoses. I set it up with 1 male and 1 female so pushing the loader lever left shifts the mower left, didn't have to mark the hoses. They are marked on the loader valve end.

I do like the rear "hatch" on the WM, I replaced the lower bolts and nuts with clevis and hairpins for easy access without tools.

 

[troverman]

Maybe my grass is not as dense as yours. How do you rate it? If it was hay, you could say "X bales at Y pounds per bale per acre"... I actually do have a couple areas so steep (measured at over 50% grade) that I need low range just to go up regardless of whether I'm mowing or not).

I have 2-1/2" spacers on my wheels. I have the flail offset to the right, and as such my left wheels ride on already cut material, leaving only one track that gets smashed down and therefore not cut as well.

Well since you're in Eastern VT and I'm in Western NH our grass probably isn't all that different. But some areas are very dense and somewhat wet, and the flail mower bogs in that area.

Here's an example of my grass:

 

[Hilbilly]

I've got a Caroni TM1900 with a heat issue. After using it for about 30 minutes the cover over the belts is so hot I can't keep my hand on it. I felt along the driveshaft cover and the gear box and could tell the heat was being generated from the belt drive end of the shaft. Pulled the cover and found the belts were trashed. I replaced the belts with new kevlar ones and the heat persists. When the belts were off I turned all of the moving parts on that end to see if I could feel or hear a bad bearing but everything felt fine. When I checked the gear oil the level was fine but it had an odd color, kind of a creamy color, not grey which would suggest water. I replaced the gear oil anyways but still have the heat issue.

Any ideas?