Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Either a Maschio or Del Morino Orchard and Vineyard boom mounted flail shredder with cast hammer knives.

 

[LouNY]

I'd also be interested in recommendations for a ditch bank mower for my M59 HST for cutting along field edges and fence lines to control weeds and brush. I have rocks and roots and fallen branches to deal with.

I have the chinnese version a Victory bank mower their heavy duty model in 78";
I also have a boom arm mower it's a Twose 400 hedge trimmer.

It is a heavy mower and it makes my Branson 8050 bounce around a wobble a bit especially when you get everything off camber. One of these days I'll mount it on my NH 8160 to see how much better it feels.

The ditch bank mower,

And this is the boom arm mower, it is also a handfull at times on a tractor that's tipping the scales at a bit over 11,000 pounds before the mowers.

Both mowers are very handy and do a good job, the ditch bank mower is faster to hookup and cuts a wider swath and is a bit easier to work with.
The boom arm mower is much more versatile and has more reach, it also takes much more attention while mowing as the terrain changes and obstacles get in the way.
They both have their place and I use them both at times along with a brush hog.
Both of them are equipped with "hammers" not the Y blades.

 

[Fallon]

I am brand new to all of this and need a recommendation for a flail mower to pull behind our new JD 5090E: 90hp engine, 75hp PTO, 8000lbs, 92" wheelbase, cat 2 hitch.

A few weeks ago we closed on 92 acres just outside Austin, TX. Mostly flat with black clay soil. There are many unmaintained and overgrown acres that we want to clear and restore back to its natural Blackland Prairie state. The mower needs to be able to handle the heavy brush as well as provide good mulching (to help the native flora). We also plan to use the mower to keep some grassy areas and lawns cut and hopefully maintain some trails.

I figured a mower about the same width as the tractor would be a good balance between speed and maneuverability. Especially with the ability to side shift.

We need to start mowing very soon so availability will be a factor.

I have been looking at the following models:

1. Maschio CORAZZA 210S/230S
2. Del Morino FARM 214
3. Peruzzo Bull 2200
4. WoodMaxx FM-96H
5. Nova MXZ-220

The WoodMaxx and Nova are nearly 1/2 the price of the others, which makes me worry about their performance and reliability - but I know price does not always equal quality. I like high quality tools and am a buy-once-cry-once kind of guy, but obviously don't want to waste money for no reason.

They are all "heavy-duty" mowers, which I am not sure if we need, but the point may be moot as the HP of our tractor exceeds most of the light and medium duty mowers I have seen.

Is there any objective basis to the marketed max material diameter cut capacity? The Maschio CORAZZA claims 4" and the Peruzzo Bull claims 4-5" which seems crazy big while the WoodMax FM-96H describes it's hammers as for "clearing saplings 1in diameter or less" which seems quite small. The Del Morino doesn't make any claim at all. Are we talking 4" of fir, oak, or mesquite here?

Appreciate any and all advice. Thanks!
- Mike

I have a Peruzzo brush bull 2200 behind my 40hp L4060. It's a bit heavy & I'm tapped out on HP a lot, but it runs it. I can cut wrist sized scrub oak with it. I've ran into football sized rocks a number of times & the machine is fine. I did take some damage finding a 70lbs chunk of railroad track.

Bushings on the slide mechanism have been a weak spot, but not super problematic. Had to replace roller bearings which wasn't easy.

I'd think twice about another Peruzzo Brush Bull 2200, but mostly related to being a hair big for my machine than durability. Would be fine for a 90hp machine.

 

[ning]

I have the chinnese version a Victory bank mower their heavy duty model in 78";
I also have a boom arm mower it's a Twose 400 hedge trimmer.

It is a heavy mower and it makes my Branson 8050 bounce around a wobble a bit especially when you get everything off camber. One of these days I'll mount it on my NH 8160 to see how much better it feels.
View attachment 881567

The ditch bank mower,
View attachment 881568View attachment 881569

And this is the boom arm mower, it is also a handfull at times on a tractor that's tipping the scales at a bit over 11,000 pounds before the mowers.
View attachment 881571View attachment 881572
View attachment 881573View attachment 881574

Both mowers are very handy and do a good job, the ditch bank mower is faster to hookup and cuts a wider swath and is a bit easier to work with.
The boom arm mower is much more versatile and has more reach, it also takes much more attention while mowing as the terrain changes and obstacles get in the way.
They both have their place and I use them both at times along with a brush hog.
Both of them are equipped with "hammers" not the Y blades.

The county "mows" the side of the local road with one of those, varying ground as well as in a vertical position to shred the tree/shrubs as they grow back every few years to crowd the road.

 

[CliffordK]

OOPS!!!!!

The blades seem to be holding up fairly well to some hard abuse. But I may start hunting for a new set, or try to make my own.

4130 Chromoly?

 

[Indian Territory]

I bought a 10' Maschio Tigre 300 last June. I'll never own a brush hog again. It's built like tank, can clear up to 4" woody undergrowth and then turn the pasture into near yard quality. They are well worth their high cost and weight.

 

[arto98607]

OOPS!!!!!

View attachment 883399View attachment 883400

The blades seem to be holding up fairly well to some hard abuse. But I may start hunting for a new set, or try to make my own.

4130 Chromoly?

Wow what was that, was it just weeds or did it have some wire mixed in?

Couple of years ago I bought two new sets of 96 side slicers from Flailmaster at excellent price and they have stayed pretty sharp so far!

Not sure what kind of steel, but it's very hard.

Old Vs. new:

 

[John_Mc]

The blades seem to be holding up fairly well to some hard abuse. But I may start hunting for a new set, or try to make my own.

4130 Chromoly?

Finding the correct alloy is just the start. Getting the heat treatment right is a major part of their longevity: Too soft, and they wear too quickly. Too hard and they are brittle, chipping or breaking when they hit something hard (and flinging bits of shrapnel when they do).

A lot of the chrome alloys are very particular about their heat treating - much more so than regular high-carbon steel.

 

[Greenland South]

Hello Flail Nation.
I’m looking for a Canadian source for hammer blades for my Sicma TE200. Tram sales in western Canada used to carry the Sicma line but no longer. They apparently have 7 hammers left in stock. I need 26. I have reached out to Flail Master but have not heard back yet. Any one on here have a source for these. I’m not opposed to ordering them from the USA but a more local source would be better.
Thanks

I found a Canadian source for the flail hammers. Found them at a company called AgriCan in Quebec. $460 for 26 hammers delivered to my door in NE BC. I bought the bolts and nuts locally. They are not an exact match but very close. Tested them out today and I’m happy with the results. A lot less vibration as well, probably due to the odd chunk missing from a few of the old ones.

 

[CliffordK]

Wow what was that, was it just weeds or did it have some wire mixed in?

It was a mixture of grass and blackberries. I have a mixture of the larger Himalayan blackberries, and a local variety that my neighbor calls "mountain blackberries" with smaller berries, and a very tart taste, and they come about a month before the Himalayan berries. But those mountain berry vines are very stringy, and I had some of those balled up in it. No wire.

Still, with a few stickers, a mess to pull it all out.