Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Fallon]

8mph is a bit fast for a flail. Most people go around 3 when running a flail. Flails mulch a lot more, so going slower really helps with the quality of the cut & mulching.

 

[DavesTractor]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking at a used 84' Motrim flail mower on eBay. It looks good, knives really good, but the upper hitch is slightly bent down. I'm also looking at a ford 918H eight footer, also on eBay, but it looks like it was backed into something. The roller looks slightly bent.
The allure is that these are both around $1200, and I have to keep about 20 acres of pasture down while we are without cows. Any thoughts? I run a ford 7000 as my mowing machine, it runs a woods 84 and doesn't know it's there. I'm looking for a better finish, with mowing about every 3-4 weeks. Can I run one of these at 8 MPH, or fourth gear on my ford?
Thanks

I would not buy an abused flail unless you could actually test it first. Normal usage of a flail will never bend it. Cracks along welds due to cumulative vibration is normal on an older flail. A worn out roller can be replaced. A bent main rotor is a big problem. I mow at 3-5 MPH with my 10' flail.

 

[Code54]

I would not buy an abused flail unless you could actually test it first. A bent main rotor is a big problem.

Very good points and the main rotor is an expensive problem! (I been looking at some flails and been checking parts availability and costs and a rotor is big bucks)
Good luck on your search

 

[IslandTractor]

Agree with above comments. A bent main rotor is essentially impossible to fix properly without expensive dynamic balancing equipment that the manufacturers use in building them. You'd probably have to simply replace the main rotor which would be quite expensive (pretty sure it is the single most expensive part on a flail mower). If it is just the rear roller that is bent, you could probably bang that back into shape or fabricate a new one with steel pipe (maybe salvage the ends and reweld to a new pipe). Dents don't matter in the rear roller but a bend would cause the mower to go up and down giving a wobbly uneven cut.

 

[Blade Breaker]

I found another type of swing flail mower. Berti makes a bunch of options. Looking at something similar to model TA/PS 220

Anyone had any experience with these?

http://www.edneyco.com/assets/files/category_public/Cutters and Mowers/Berti Flail Mowers.pdf

 

[Kodiak45]

Yes it was at 540pto. It's just odd on how it really didn't cut anything. I think the height is set at about 4 inches. It's one hole from the highest, which I believe is 5 inches. Take a look at these pics. The 2ft tall Johnson grass was only pushed over. I'm going to have to get all new bolts and blades. All the bolts and nuts are rusted on and for the most part stripped. It was hard to tell even what size socket to use. I'm probably going to have to grind or torch them all off. I tried for almost 30 minutes to get just one off so I knew what size and length to replace them with and after fighting the fire ants from the grass from being on my back I decided to give up. I need to go ahead and order some blades so maybe I can cut this weekend. One of the bearings had a little resistance, but it wasn't grinding or anything and I can easily turn it by hand, but i'll probably go ahead and replace both the roller and shaft bearings as time allows. I just wanted to make sure the cutting shaft wasn't warped or bent before I put a bunch of money in this thing.
On another note, what is the overload point on flail mowers, meaning I'm used to seeing a shear pin or slip clutch. I assume it's just belt slippage maybe and a burnt up belt. I know the blades will just pivot back if a rock is hit, but I guess there is no break point between the tractor and gearbox.

Am I crazy or these blades don't seem reversible. I got my new blades thinking the cutting edge would be down, but its on the back side of the open faced V. Leonz said the reverse cutting side should be better, but these new blades do not seem reversible at all, only one cutting side has an edge.. help me figure this puzzle out. The flail rotor spins the same at tractor tire...forward motion.. The open faced V side is not doing any cutting..? right?

 

[IslandTractor]

View attachment 437248

Am I crazy or these blades don't seem reversible. I got my new blades thinking the cutting edge would be down, but its on the back side of the open faced V. Leonz said the reverse cutting side should be better, but these new blades do not seem reversible at all, only one cutting side has an edge.. help me figure this puzzle out. The flail rotor spins the same at tractor tire...forward motion.. The open faced V side is not doing any cutting..? right?

I've only seen double edged blades myself. Certainly if blades are single sided then the direction would be critical. You should be able to determine which way the rotor spins by raising the 3PT, turning off the PTO and then dismounting to watch it slowly come to a halt.

 

[smilinjak]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking at a used 84' Motrim flail mower on eBay. It looks good, knives really good, but the upper hitch is slightly bent down. I'm also looking at a ford 918H eight footer, also on eBay, but it looks like it was backed into something. The roller looks slightly bent.
The allure is that these are both around $1200, and I have to keep about 20 acres of pasture down while we are without cows. Any thoughts? I run a ford 7000 as my mowing machine, it runs a woods 84 and doesn't know it's there. I'm looking for a better finish, with mowing about every 3-4 weeks. Can I run one of these at 8 MPH, or fourth gear on my ford?
Thanks

You must have a very large and powerful tractor to run any kind of 84 foot mower at 8 mph. Is there possibly a typographical error or do they have big mowers in Indiana?.
Smilinjak

 

[whirly]

View attachment 437248

Am I crazy or these blades don't seem reversible. I got my new blades thinking the cutting edge would be down, but its on the back side of the open faced V. Leonz said the reverse cutting side should be better, but these new blades do not seem reversible at all, only one cutting side has an edge.. help me figure this puzzle out. The flail rotor spins the same at tractor tire...forward motion.. The open faced V side is not doing any cutting..? right?

This looks like your blades and it does have only one cutting edge.

If in fact the blades are installed backwards then you certainly should be able to turn them around. However, I would check visually like Island suggested to insure your rotor is turning the way you think it is.

 

[Kodiak45]

The rotor does appear to turn in reverse rotation, which does make sense as this would give it the ability to recut clippings. Forward spinning rotor wouldn't cut very efficiently. I thought the blades were mounted backwards, but it does not seem to be the case as the edge of these has formed on the open v side. I hope new blades will make this thing cut, especially after 5-10 hours of welding and metal prep for paint. There is no reason it shouldn't cut well, I'm just surprised the old blades didn't cut at all.