Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

I apologize for not keeping up with the activities of the Flail Mower Nations
today as I have been dealing with the preparatory work involving a boiler replacement.

My computer which is used almost exclusively for communication with members of the
Flail Mower Nations has been in the computer hospital and will be home well recovered
and ready for more work.


The weather has been nice though for sure.

I have been calming the frayed nerves of my very large herd(400 bags) of bagged Kimmels
rice coal and they are sleeping peacefully under its silo tarp blanket. The Keystoker
coal stoker is also resting peacefully on my trailer waiting to be pulled down the
trailers ramp to the ground where I will be installing the plumbing before we roll it into
place when the old boilers are gone and set aside to be loaded on the trailer.



The issue is the disease called maximus paintus obliterus allus my partus o no us!

(Too much paint to make it look pretty)

Sadly this is almost the worst scourge to our fellow members of the
flail mower nations when it comes to taking care of our used/adopted
flail mower babies when doing major surgery that hurts.

Sadly your going to have to invest in more time and a **** good work light as you
will have to spend time digging out the set screws that anchor the 25A flail mower rotor
stub shafts to the bearings.

The outer bearings are removed first as they are simplest to remove and toss in the scrap bin INSERT ;^( here.

You need to invest in 2 pound brass hammer for your tool box and the paint is so thick your going to need to either
scrape all of it off the bearing flanges to find the set screws.

You will have to dig the paint out the set screws most likely as well to allow the allen wrench to be pushed all the way into the base of the set screws opening.

you will need a good chisel to break the bond of the paint to get the flanges off.

OK once loosen the bearing flanges you will slide the rotor to the side to allow it to be removed.

It is so much better to put the flail mower on its back and do it that way as you will be able to see all
the underside of the flail mower and the bearing parts. you will be able to weld the patch for the shroud
as well if you want to repair it from the inside first and then attach a second flap of steel to the outside of
the shroud.

No worries my friend, it just needs some more time to work on it slowly and carefully one step at a time.

 

[Alien]

Looking at getting a Flail shortly and see that they are now using Spiral Mills which they claim require less HP than a straight mill. Anyone have any experience with a spiral Mill? It appears that they may need less hammers too but I could be wrong on that. Wrong, they are about the same. Just checked.

 

[Fallon]

Looking at getting a Flail shortly and see that they are now using Spiral Mills which they claim require less HP than a straight mill. Anyone have any experience with a spiral Mill? It appears that they may need less hammers too but I could be wrong on that.

I'd doubt it would cut HP much if at all. You still need to push all those knives through all that material. There is enough of a flywheel effect from the rotor to mitigate any rows have vs. a spiral cut. Sounds like mostly or completely marketing BS to me.

 

[leonz]

Hello Alien,

what you are referring to as a "spiral" is a "Flail Mower Rotor".

It is what is referred to as "lacing" creating the overlap with the scoop knives.
Is it an INO brand flail shredder that you are looking to purchase?

Now what is more important is what you are intending to use the flail for???

Tell me what you are going to do with it please and I can and will help you
make the right decision for your needs. I would also like to know what the horsepower
is that you will be using for the flail mower.

The thing is that the type of lacing they use being INO and others lets them use a scoop hammer/knive and reduce the knive count and essentially have a flail mower/shredder that will cut once and be unable to recut the material.



What you refer to as a Spiral mill" is actually the "Flail Mower Rotor"

 

[Alien]

This is the mower I am referring to HERE Check out the hammer spiral layout photos.
I previously looked at rotary slashers but after some research decided the Flail would suit me best. I have cleared timber from my paddocks and cut stumps off at ground level. At present it is a bit rough with lots of small sticks that have dropped off the trees I cut and having a bad back I can't get out and pick them all up. Also woody weeds need knocked down and saplings, although I have managed to cut and poison most of them. Grass is trying to grow and should now the trees are gone. Looking at about 9 acres of rough and roadside long grass. I have a 700 meter road frontage. I also have bush tracks that need a cleanup now and then cutting out regrowth. (I have 40 acres)
Secondly the reason I am looking at the flail is that we are looking at another property and blades can be changed to suit as there is more lawn area there. (I have a Ride-on Mower as well)
So, to answer your question. I need to tame these paddocks first and then, after a couple of cuts, it should be relatively easy going from then on.
I have a CK30 HST that has handled a 6' slasher for a day no problems but I wouldn't keep using one that size indefinitely.

 

[IslandTractor]

Alien, be aware that changing several dozen flail blades is not a trivial exercise. The rotor you display requires each blade to be changed individually (like most flails). I would budget several hours with air powered tools to do the job.

 

[leonz]

I would rather see you invest in a Maschio flail shredder rather than the Hayes units for one major reason.

The hammer knives on the Maschio units are much heavier and will handle all conditions more effectively.

The biggest problem with mowing/shredding with the scoop knives is too little power for the conditions where a two or four row
flail mower rotor with side slicer knives is better as the cut is continuous without creating rooster tails.

 

[leonz]

The other reason I suggest the Maschio vineyard model
for your use is that it has a trash a trash door that can
be opened and allow you to mow and shred material without plugging using a smaller machine AKA your DK30.

 

[leonz]

The other reason I suggest the Maschio vineyard model
for your use is that it has a trash a trash door that can
be opened and allow you to mow and shred material without plugging using a smaller machine AKA your DK30.

 

[Alien]

Maschio is a UK mower. I can't find any reference in Oz to them and apart from that they are twice as expensive. I am a pensioner. I will be sticking with the Hayes.

 

[IslandTractor]

Maschio is a UK mower. I can't find any reference in Oz to them and apart from that they are twice as expensive. I am a pensioner. I will be sticking with the Hayes.

I think it is Italian like Caroni. For some reason Italy is a big producer of flail mowers.

 

[xtn]

All flail mowers have a spiral configuration. Oh yes they do. It's just that the 'turns per foot' or whatever is higher than the one you showed.

 

[Xfaxman]

All flail mowers have a spiral configuration. Oh yes they do. It's just that the 'turns per foot' or whatever is higher than the one you showed.

Define "spiral configuration".

Mine looks straight.

 

[xtn]

Nah. That's a spiral. Looks like maybe one twist every 6" or so. It LOOKS straight because a knife happens to be placed around that imaginary spiral line with a spacing that results in there being a straight line of them along the rotor.

 

[Xfaxman]

Here is the "Straight on view"

 

[Alien]

That is a straight mill. No spiral about it but probably pointless arguing with him. :laughing:

 

[leonz]

The Toro Flail mower head in question is a finish cut flail mower.

A finish cut flail mower will have:

Balanced FLAIL MOWER ROTORS that have THREE or FOUR rows of paired side slicer knives that are spaced to follow behind and slightly left or right of the knive pair in front of it to provide adequate coverage and provide a finish cut quality to the mowing job.

Scoop knive flail mowers/shredders have wider cuting edges ment ot cut material ONLY ONCE and cannot recut the material as it has ben cut to its final length no matter how tall the grass or brush.

The Spiral mounting of a sccop knives/hammers on some flail shredders is simply a way to enable the end user to have an all purpose shredder/mower with fewer knives and a poorer cut in thew scheme of things that will not shred and slice the material finely enough to rot and dissolve quickly.

I hope this settles the issue.

 

[xtn]

That is a straight mill. No spiral about it but probably pointless arguing with him. :laughing:

That's because I'm being silly. See? Spiral:

 

[Xfaxman]

That is a straight mill. No spiral about it but probably pointless arguing with him. :laughing:

That's because I'm being silly. See? Spiral:

Yep, I can see a very tight spiral.

I can also see straight rows of hangers slightly offset from the previous row.

 

[Hoochy]

Hello all. I must say this is one long thread! New to TBN and want to thank you for all the info, specially on this thread, which help me with my decission to buy a flail. It's an Alamo SH74, fine cut. It was state DOT owned and all it needs is a decent paint job.
I have been mowing with the belt it had on but ordered a new one. The new one appears to be a little shorter than the one it had on and the idler pulley sticks out too far to attach the belt cover.
Original belt

Sorry i do not have a pic with the new belt, but I hope you get the picture
Any suggestions?