Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Nuru]

Yep, Red only.........nothing green. But they mow pretty darn good in red.

I have the hydraulic offset kit and for my use, getting through a narrow barn door and mowing next to a brook it is just the thing. But without the kit you have 2 positions the the 3pth can be mounted on giving different offsets. They will be of course fixed.

what does the hydraulic kit cost?

 

[Nuru]

Yep, Red only.........nothing green. But they mow pretty darn good in red.

I have the hydraulic offset kit and for my use, getting through a narrow barn door and mowing next to a brook it is just the thing. But without the kit you have 2 positions the the 3pth can be mounted on giving different offsets. They will be of course fixed.

Well I could always paint it green!

 

[texbaylea]

what does the hydraulic kit cost?

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

 

[SPYDERLK]

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

Nuru, maybe less to buy upfront. I am getting a Rears SPF series. The hyd shift is quoted at $533 above std cost of the flail. Swings it 2' to the right.
larry

 

[IslandTractor]

Nuru, maybe less to buy upfront. I am getting a Rears SPF series. The hyd shift is quoted at $533 above std cost of the flail. Swings it 2' to the right.
larry

Just to be clear, I think that means a total of 2ft offset to the right. The mower is already roughly a foot or so offset. Also, you can manually set the mower 2ft (same distance) to the right but that is no small task and is essentially accomplished by removing the 3PT hitch attachment arms from the mower and moving them to another set of attachment points. I'm sure it would take an hour or so and is certainly not something you'd want to do routinely. The hydraulic set up allows you to do it from your seat. If you look closely at the photos of the mower you can see the extra attachment points.

 

[wrenchit]

I have a Mott flail Model 72 ,circa 1960 (that my dad bought),that I totally rebuilt three years ago. Its a solid mower and parts are still available(Mott is owned by Alamo now).I use it to cut my entire yard (1 1/2 acres)being pulled by a '58 ford 601. I keep it set low, like one inch. My yard looks like a carpet when I am done. You will need to use limiter chains to stop scalping, and sharpening knives is an all day affair. I have two sets of knives to save the straightening and sharpening for rainy days. Flails are not a rock happy mower, one good sized rock and you will be leaving a poorly cut strip that looks terrible. You will need to change cotter pins, and some clevis pins while changing knives. I swap knives midseason and grease every time its used. The days of spending 4 hours on the John Deere 38 inch tractor are long over...it is used for trimming now.If you do get a flail add (if there isnt one) a strip of rubber on the back of the mower in case it throws a knife. I found the missing ones I lost last year sticking in the side of my oak plank barn. Motts were known as "hammer knife mowers" from what I read they were the first to build them before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Just to be clear, I think that means a total of 2ft offset to the right. The mower is already roughly a foot or so offset. Also, you can manually set the mower 2ft (same distance) to the right but that is no small task and is essentially accomplished by removing the 3PT hitch attachment arms from the mower and moving them to another set of attachment points. I'm sure it would take an hour or so and is certainly not something you'd want to do routinely. The hydraulic set up allows you to do it from your seat. If you look closely at the photos of the mower you can see the extra attachment points.

I was talking about the hyd shift on a SPF series Rears Flail . Im told the leftmost shifted position is centered on the tractor. From there it will shift 2' to the right.
larry

 

[IslandTractor]

I was talking about the hyd shift on a SPF series Rears Flail . Im told the leftmost shifted position is centered on the tractor. From there it will shift 2' to the right.
larry

My bad. I thought everyone had a Caroni .

 

[Nuru]

I have a Mott flail Model 72 ,circa 1960 (that my dad bought),that I totally rebuilt three years ago. Its a solid mower and parts are still available(Mott is owned by Alamo now).I use it to cut my entire yard (1 1/2 acres)being pulled by a '58 ford 601. I keep it set low, like one inch. My yard looks like a carpet when I am done. You will need to use limiter chains to stop scalping, and sharpening knives is an all day affair. I have two sets of knives to save the straightening and sharpening for rainy days. Flails are not a rock happy mower, one good sized rock and you will be leaving a poorly cut strip that looks terrible. You will need to change cotter pins, and some clevis pins while changing knives. I swap knives midseason and grease every time its used. The days of spending 4 hours on the John Deere 38 inch tractor are long over...it is used for trimming now.If you do get a flail add (if there isnt one) a strip of rubber on the back of the mower in case it throws a knife. I found the missing ones I lost last year sticking in the side of my oak plank barn. Motts were known as "hammer knife mowers" from what I read they were the first to build them before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

thanks for the good advice "Hammer knife"

 

[Nuru]

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

thanks Vernon.

 

[Eagleview]

Just a little tip with flail mowers with hydraulic sideshift . It is OK to shift them back and forth whilst mowing say a fence line whilst your travelling but if you are stationary , lift it off the ground before shifting . It's easier on the mower , hydraulic ram and 3pl . With side shift , you can run along the wires on a fence with it partly extended and then suck it in to go around the post and then push it back out . Mowing around trees is a breeze , mow past a tree on it's left side with the mower extended to the right , run the mower face up to the tree . Lift and suck the mower back to the left and pass the tree and carry on . When you finish that run and come back to that tree do the same as before and carry on . Tree may just need a quick hit with the wipper snipper if your fussy . When your mowing close to objects it's better to mow to the left of them in most cases as the drive pulleys are usually on the left side and keep you out about 150mm (6" for you unmetricated chaps )

 

[Nuru]

Seems there have been at least 3 or 4 different brands mentioned which is giving us flail newbees a ton of info on these mowers before we buy!

 

[Nuru]

Just a little tip with flail mowers with hydraulic sideshift . It is OK to shift them back and forth whilst mowing say a fence line whilst your travelling but if you are stationary , lift it off the ground before shifting . It's easier on the mower , hydraulic ram and 3pl . With side shift , you can run along the wires on a fence with it partly extended and then suck it in to go around the post and then push it back out . Mowing around trees is a breeze , mow past a tree on it's left side with the mower extended to the right , run the mower face up to the tree . Lift and suck the mower back to the left and pass the tree and carry on . When you finish that run and come back to that tree do the same as before and carry on . Tree may just need a quick hit with the wipper snipper if your fussy . When your mowing close to objects it's better to mow to the left of them in most cases as the drive pulleys are usually on the left side and keep you out about 150mm (6" for you unmetricated chaps )

thanks for the tips!

 

[sunspot]

I've read a bunch of posts on this mower. As I need a new cutter, I think I'll pull the trigger on a Caroni. First I need to talk to SWMBO to clear the $2k purchase.

It's about twice the price for a RM I was thinking of buying but this one seems to have a lot of advantages. Quieter, no windrows, less parking space, easy to get to cutters, less flying debris and faster cutting.

The blades seem to be $2.49 each.

 

[Grapeman]

I did a bunch of research in old threads on flail mowers and Caroni a while back. One thread suggested looking on Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster - for replacement blades. Price was as low as $1 each at time with free shipping over $50. Part # TM33713 was replacement blade for TM1900BSC according to the thread. Not sure how old info was but worth a look. Another thread listed the Caroni hydraulic side shift number as part #68318 at Agri-Supply. Might help to know that if you're talking to an inexperienced sales rep.

 

[Nuru]

I did a bunch of research in old threads on flail mowers and Caroni a while back. One thread suggested looking on Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster - for replacement blades. Price was as low as $1 each at time with free shipping over $50. Part # TM33713 was replacement blade for TM1900BSC according to the thread. Not sure how old info was but worth a look. Another thread listed the Caroni hydraulic side shift number as part #68318 at Agri-Supply. Might help to know that if you're talking to an inexperienced sales rep.

from Agri-supply with freight included



30837 Flail Mower 73" width with PTO Shaft - $1947

53413 Flail Mower 59" width with PTO Shaft - $1822

 

[Reg]

I did a bunch of research in old threads on flail mowers and Caroni a while back. One thread suggested looking on Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster - for replacement blades. Price was as low as $1 each at time with free shipping over $50. Part # TM33713 was replacement blade for TM1900BSC according to the thread. Not sure how old info was but worth a look. Another thread listed the Caroni hydraulic side shift number as part #68318 at Agri-Supply. Might help to know that if you're talking to an inexperienced sales rep.

Thanks for the link, but right now their drop down list doesn't offer Caroni as an option to search on for parts. Also putting "TM33713" in the part number search box comes up with zero hits. So I guess they dropped Caroni parts.
I might still call their 800 number during daylight hours, web based catalogues being what they are.

 

[Nuru]

I looked for the side shift and could not find it on Agri-supply's website

 

[Grapeman]

Try putting in TM-33713. A blade came up but since I don't own a Caroni yet I'm not sure if its correct. Also says you need 2 per single position. May or may not be such a good deal. I'd have to defer to some of the more knowledgable people out there. Best advice would be to call their 800#. Never really trust internet catalogs myself. Rather try to talk to a real person, (hopefully with a little expertise). Unfortunately, since I like to do my own research first I often end up knowing more than the sales person I'm speaking with. Very frustrating!

 

[IslandTractor]

Try putting in TM-33713. A blade came up but since I don't own a Caroni yet I'm not sure if its correct. Also says you need 2 per single position. May or may not be such a good deal. I'd have to defer to some of the more knowledgable people out there. Best advice would be to call their 800#. Never really trust internet catalogs myself. Rather try to talk to a real person, (hopefully with a little expertise). Unfortunately, since I like to do my own research first I often end up knowing more than the sales person I'm speaking with. Very frustrating!

I have not tried buying replacement flail blades yet but it is true that on a TM1900B you will need 2 blades/knives per station. What I cannot remember is whether there are 56 stations for 56 knives total. I'll need to look at that more closely some day. At this point I am guessing 56 knives. Check out photo.