Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[CCWKen]

I should correct myself before someone jumps my case.
When I said, "Going forward means the grass is cut at the base like a rotary cutter", that's actually incorrect technically. The grass blades are cut several times by the flails in an arch. This is why the grass coming out appears to be chopped fine. With a rotary cutter, the grass is cut at the base but stays under the deck until it's fine enough to exhaust or be thrown out in clumps.

It can be pouring down rain and I can cut grass with the flail mower without clumps or significant build up under the housing. Try that with a rotary mower.

 

[Reg]

OK, if you are in ANY doubt about this.
Get some sports field line paint, run a line about 12 ft long.
Mow across one side of it going forwards, the other side going backwards.
See where the white painted clippings finish up relative to what is left of the white painted line.

Sure, if your mower isn't set up "right" ...well, maybe you should get that sorted out first.

Either way, what you have is what you have and it is almost certainly not worth the cost of trading it for any delta benefit.

 

[leonz]

OK, if you are in ANY doubt about this.
Get some sports field line paint, run a line about 12 ft long.
Mow across one side of it going forwards, the other side going backwards.
See where the white painted clippings finish up relative to what is left of the white painted line.

Sure, if your mower isn't set up "right" ...well, maybe you should get that sorted out first.

Either way, what you have is what you have and it is almost certainly not worth the cost of trading it for any delta benefit.

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Hello Reg,


Thank for your explaining the "Verticut" method of grass and brush mowing used in flail shredding of field crops and flail mowing of brush and grass with the sports field paint example.


leonz AKA "flail whisperer"

 

[Xfaxman]

Ditto 100%.
Mine cuts much better with the tractor going forward than in reverse. Going forward means the grass is cut at the base like a rotary cutter. Going backward, the cutters are chopping down at the grass.

I get confused every time someone tries to explain "reverse rotation". The cutting edge on my flails face forward when at the bottom of the arch. When the tractor is moving forward, the cutting edge is also moving forward just like any cutter with a blade. Why some refer to this as reverse rotation is beyond me. This should be called forward rotation, don't you think? Otherwise all lawnmowers or any rotary cutter is also cutting in "reverse rotation". :confused3:

Copied from an Alamo brochure, the shaft is rotating same as tires:

 

[flail]

I am considering buying a house with an acre or so of grass and you've convinced me to get a flail mower.
However, all the flail mowers I've seen need to be powered by a tractor. A new inexpensive tractor would cost around $16K, and it doesn't make sense to spend that amount of money on something I'm going to use for an hour a week for 5 months out of the year. (I wouldn't use the tractor for anything else.) A new ride on rotary mower would cost about $3K.
Is there such a thing as a ride-on mower with a flail instead of rotary blades? I've searched and can't find one. Thanks!

 

[justinramani]

I am considering buying a house with an acre or so of grass and you've convinced me to get a flail mower.
However, all the flail mowers I've seen need to be powered by a tractor. A new inexpensive tractor would cost around $16K, and it doesn't make sense to spend that amount of money on something I'm going to use for an hour a week for 5 months out of the year. (I wouldn't use the tractor for anything else.) A new ride on rotary mower would cost about $3K.
Is there such a thing as a ride-on mower with a flail instead of rotary blades? I've searched and can't find one. Thanks!

This is a joke - right?

 

[CADplans]

I am considering buying a house with an acre or so of grass and you've convinced me to get a flail mower.
However, all the flail mowers I've seen need to be powered by a tractor. Thanks!

One acre gets a Home Depot mower,,, regular rotary,,
I flailed 10 acres this morning in just over 2 hours.

 

[CCWKen]

Copied from an Alamo brochure, the shaft is rotating same as tires:

View attachment 475683

Who died and left them in charge? That doesn't make any sense. The cutting edge of the blades in that graphic is moving to the rear and up. As I mentioned, my flail cuts better going the other way and it still discharges out of the rear and down. Along with any rocks or wood chips. Mine has a flexible skirt on the front. The only time I get chaff blowing around is if I'm cutting with a stiff wind at my back. And if you look at the front of the cutter, you can see the grass blades being pulled into the cutter so it's not bending them over. In any case, I prefer the rotation and cut I'm getting no matter what anybody says. I'll stick with it. :tractor:

 

[CCWKen]

Oh I see what they have to do with those "backward" cutting mowers. They have to add that Quasimodo hump on the back to deflect the debris down. Wasted metal and energy.

 

[Xfaxman]

I am considering buying a house with an acre or so of grass and you've convinced me to get a flail mower.
However, all the flail mowers I've seen need to be powered by a tractor. A new inexpensive tractor would cost around $16K, and it doesn't make sense to spend that amount of money on something I'm going to use for an hour a week for 5 months out of the year. (I wouldn't use the tractor for anything else.) A new ride on rotary mower would cost about $3K.
Is there such a thing as a ride-on mower with a flail instead of rotary blades? I've searched and can't find one. Thanks!

Yep, lots of them.

Click this: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/general-lawn-garden/250220-husqvarna-r322t-awd-mower-any.html


Front mount TORO