Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Fallon]

I did not bother with matched pair $ingles, just got two standard belts for my 917L (which I think is clearly a different model than your 917).

Seems to work fine and why not - it's just a mower!

There definitely are some noticably different versions of the 917. Pretty noticeable differences but similar vintage, quality & engineering.

I got 2 single belts from the same batch. Pretty sure they were Kevlar, but it's been a few years. I'd recommend just getting a pair from the same batch & calling it a day rather than hunting a much more rare (and probably expensive) dual belt. If you get different length belts the tighter one will take all the power & wear out or snap, leaving the remaining belt to a quick death as well. Belts on a mower aren't super precision though, so as long as they are pretty close you'll be fine.

My new $7k Peruzzo flail came with 4 single belts on it. I haven't touched them in the 3ish years I've owned it. I put new single belts on the 917 because the ones on there were belts you would expect on a $100 beat to hell mower. Only had to touch em when I replaced the rotor bearings.

 

[Skagit]

Thanks all. I've had no trouble finding standard replacements, hence the part number in my original post. I've just seen kevlar belts recommended and tought someone might have found one for this mower, since its a common one. I'll just keep a standard replacement handy.

You don't need kevlar belts, just run a good quality banded ag belt like the one you have. Banded belts are very robust, there are 12ft mowers with 3 rib B58 belts, as long as your pulleys are aligned you should have no issues.

 

[arto98607]

..........................snip........................ as long as your pulleys are aligned you should have no issues.

No kidding, just take a look at the two thick shims I had to make in order to align the two V-belt pulleys in my 917L mower!
The two pulleys were totally out of alignment before installing the shims.






This mower is probably 25 - 30 years old and who knows what the previous owner did to it, so it may have left the factory perfectly aligned?

 

[leonz]

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the He** did they do to it Art??????????????????????

The tube looks like it has a slight bend in it unless its the angle of the photo image you provided.

 

[arto98607]

.....snip.............

The tube looks like it has a slight bend in it unless its the angle of the photo image you provided.

The tube is straight no worries.

By the way, the mower works very well and is a perfect fit with my 19 HP Ford 1310 (manual shuttle-shift/synchromesh transmission).
The mower is 60 inches wide and has side slicer flails.

Uses less hp and cuts nicer than my JD 48 inch brush hog in tall grass at high ground speed!

 

[Alien]

art, do you run it at 540 rpm?

 

[arto98607]

art, do you run it at 540 rpm?

Yes that is the recommended PTO speed and that is how I have run it so far.
I like the fact that it does not do scalping and no need to mess with the 3 pt height adjustment when mowing in an uneven forest area, unlike my brush hog.

I've been using it for one year so far and after the initial repairs it's been trouble free, but I would expect maintenance requirement be little higher than brush hog in the long run and am fine with that.

 

[Racenut]

I'm looking at flail mowers. My tractor is 66 inches wide, but only 28hp at the PTO, so a bit underpowered to run a flail wider than the tracks. I was looking at hydraulic adjustable offset so I could push it out past the wheels on one side for edges, fence line and around trees and stuff. This vs just having a fixed position that's maybe not centered but sticks out on one side a bit. I guess I'm asking those that have hydraulic offsets how often do you actually need it? Or those that don't, how often do you wish you did?

 

[leonz]

Hello Racenut,

what your asking us is a reasonable and valid question.

If you have two sets of remotes on your mule it can be a plus. It will save you time when doing manual trimming when you become more used to the side shift function.

You have to be careful to clean the grass dust off under and around the slide cylinder to make sure the dust does not build up against the packing gland and the rod seal as it can affect the ability of the flail mower to slide in and out. this is simply because the dust and chaff from mowing will build up and pack down while it rots away. It is easy enough to clean off with a hose with hot water if you have it or cold water if you do not have access to hot water.

its better to know what your tractors limitations are as far as the lifting power/weight limit at the
three point hitch and understand them before you even start looking at flail mowers of either type.

it is also important that the PTO shaft is cut to the correct length so it does not bend when the mower is raised as the flail mower is closer to the tractor.

 

[Alien]

Mine is a fixed offset and it works for me that way. I am glad I didn't have extra expense on a side-shift. It would have been unnecessary expense. I can drive the left wheel up against trees knowing the mower will cut close without touching the tree and I use the extended side to go along fence lines. When I bought it I thought I could add the hydraulics later if need. Glad I didn't waste my money.
I can see there could be some benefit on a larger mower. Mine is 1.5 meters.