Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[KenB2920]

For clarification, I would do this job the exact same way in the future ..... Turned out fantastic in a short amount of time.

 

[hunt4570]

For clarification, I would do this job the exact same way in the future ..... Turned out fantastic in a short amount of time.

What flail mower are you using?

 

[ovrszd]

I can see you cannot recognize a sarcastic joke. I mentioned the belts a couple of posts ago. You confirmed they were not the issue. You then made a comment about walking on water. I picked up the riff as a joke but apparently it got past you.

As best I can tell you are having a unique experience. Your own supposition that it has to do with travel speed is perhaps the best explanation I have heard but it still seems unlikely to be the whole answer. I do typically mow in low range HST but I don't crawl even in heavy stuff.

Have you checked to see how far above the ground your blades are? If the grass is very long and being pushed over as it enters the mower I suppose it is possible that it is simply being flattened and not cut. Seems unlikely but if the blades are somehow set high then perhaps it could happen. Have you set the mower for a very low cut, almost scalping, to see what happens?

I never said I was "sharp".

I've not specifically checked the height of my cut. Although, I'm now cutting at the highest setting possible.

I'll try the low cut method. Although I see no way possible that will make the machine cut better. But I'm game.

 

[Thomabear]

I'm curious ovrszd, Does your mower rotate forward or reverse?

 

[IslandTractor]

I never said I was "sharp".

I've not specifically checked the height of my cut. Although, I'm now cutting at the highest setting possible.

I'll try the low cut method. Although I see no way possible that will make the machine cut better. But I'm game.

So long as your blades are sharp....

Actually, if you have the blades set high (understandable if making a first pass in high grass based on typical settings for bush hog etc) then it is just possible that as the mower moves forward it pushes the long grass over and the rear roller then keeps it down while the blades whirl harmlessly above. Conceivable if the mower front is set low and the rear roller is high that such a setting would pin long grass on the ground and prevent cutting.

If I were in your shoes I'd do just as you mentioned: lower it until almost scalping the ground and then see how it does. Besides adjusting the 3PT, a flail cutting height can be adjusted by changing the toplink to tilt the mower front up or down or by lowering the rear roller. The rear roller adjustment is I believe the best way to adjust for a consistent cut height but I do sometimes adjust the other methods when in the field. I personally don't fiddle with the rear roller much (I have it set fairly low) and I don't usually adjust the toplink while mowing but I simply raise or lower the 3PT over obstacles or to limit cutting if in really thick grass.

Good luck

 

[Fallon]

The roller on my 917 is fixed. I just put my hydraulic toplink in float & use the 3pt to set height. Works well.

My 917 "pushes" with the tractor going forward, if it had any traction to help push. It boggles my mind how useless it is trying to cut when backing up. It doesn't cut for diddily in reverse. Even when I go forward again over the backed over stuff it cuts poorly because the roller pushed things down. It cuts well in 4' grass though, which is way taller than the hood of the flail, so its bending the grass a bit before cutting.

 

[whirly]

Richard - Let's bury the hatchet and let me identify at least one of the differences between your 917 and my Mott.

The the "throat" of the flail is the space between the lift arm attachment points and the ground. My Mott has an open throat - there is nothing in front of the blades below the lift arms. As I move forward anything in front of the flail is hit by the blades coming off the top of their arc rotating from top forward to bottom.



The 917 has a semi closed throat. There is sheet metal approximately 6" below the lift arms and in front of the blades. This basically causes the flail to only cut what is almost directly under the blades. The blades cannot engage the grass until they are well past the first 90 degrees of that forward arc.


I am assuming this Ford 917A is similar to your 917 if not I apologize.

What Island is saying is this could be bending over the tall grass and for some reason the grass is not springing back up to get cut at your high setting. By lowering the blades to as near the ground as possible you would engage more of the stalk closer to the ground and get a better cut.

That is not necessarily what I would do but it's worth a try.

 

[KenB2920]

What flail mower are you using?

This time I used the ford 907.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm curious ovrszd, Does your mower rotate forward or reverse?

It rotates the same direction as the tractor tires when cutting.

 

[ovrszd]

So long as your blades are sharp....

Actually, if you have the blades set high (understandable if making a first pass in high grass based on typical settings for bush hog etc) then it is just possible that as the mower moves forward it pushes the long grass over and the rear roller then keeps it down while the blades whirl harmlessly above. Conceivable if the mower front is set low and the rear roller is high that such a setting would pin long grass on the ground and prevent cutting.

If I were in your shoes I'd do just as you mentioned: lower it until almost scalping the ground and then see how it does. Besides adjusting the 3PT, a flail cutting height can be adjusted by changing the toplink to tilt the mower front up or down or by lowering the rear roller. The rear roller adjustment is I believe the best way to adjust for a consistent cut height but I do sometimes adjust the other methods when in the field. I personally don't fiddle with the rear roller much (I have it set fairly low) and I don't usually adjust the toplink while mowing but I simply raise or lower the 3PT over obstacles or to limit cutting if in really thick grass.

Good luck

It only took a few minutes for me to figure out how to adjust cutting height. As I stated earlier, roller is at it's highest setting, top link extended until the cutter rests flat when 3pt is dropped.

I'll try dropping the cutting height.