Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[JimCan]

Folka, I am one of those converts - running my second season with a Caroni mower behind a 40hp JD, but I have an issue with 'skid marks' ...(not in my shorts). Whenever I make a turn, I seem to cut a furrow if I don't lift the mower. I would love to add castoring wheels but think that excessive. Anybody have a cure? Thanks.

Jim

 

[leonz]

Folka, I am one of those converts - running my second season with a Caroni mower behind a 40hp JD, but I have an issue with 'skid marks' ...(not in my shorts). Whenever I make a turn, I seem to cut a furrow if I don't lift the mower. I would love to add castoring wheels but think that excessive. Anybody have a cure? Thanks.

Jim

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Hello and good afternoon Jim,


Caster wheels are not excessive they help protect the mower.

The first question is this, Is the mower level?? The skid shoes are there only to protect the flail mower rotor from possible impact damage.

If the mower is level the skids will not dig in the ground.

If you have small level you can place it on the gear box and then adjust it for level using the top link.

The skids will ride above the sod with no contact to the ground when mowing.


If you have a hydraulic top link you will have to add a needle valve if it leaks by the piston packing's.


You can always add caster to make life easier while mowing with a bit of work with steel tubing and
thick flat stock to attach the adjustable casters to.

You could purchase the adjustable casters from flail master and then fabricate the mounting point on the Caroni flail mower later.

Check to make sure the mower is level first.

 

[GManBart]

I've been pondering this question for awhile and now, after using my flail a few times I came to a conclusion. Flails do not rob HP, they do use more fuel than a bush hog because you have to keep rpm's up and ground speed low if you want to cut 12-15" stuff down to 3 -4" and leave a clean cut. If I cut 12-15" in one pass with high ground speed (5.5) it doesn't look pretty, a second pass does make it look pretty. If I cut 12-15" with low ground speed (2.7) it looks pretty first time around. From our logs, we have used 7 gallons more fuel than this time last year with a bush hog. I am very pleased, so far, with the flail purchase and don't miss the bush hog. I did hit a chunk of concrete the other day which ejected pieces forward past the tractor but tree limbs and other debris get chewed up and sent out the back, just right for mowing field edges and right of way cleaning.

What do you mean they don't rob horsepower? Any implement powered by the PTO robs power.

The RPM setting should be PTO speed, which is the same for all 540 RPM implements. If you're setting it higher than PTO speed you could be putting more power to the gearbox than it was designed for.

Lastly, if you need multiple passes to cut 12-15" weeds at the speeds you're talking about, something is wrong. I can cut weeds 2-3 times taller than that in one pass at those sorts of speeds, and take them right down to the ground. That's because I have sharp blades on my mower, and enough power that the flail doesn't lose RPM when it cuts heavy stuff.

Sicma TE22 - YouTube

 

[def38]

I have a Chinese made flail from these folks Titan Flail Mower 6" 3 Point PTO Tractor Attachment Heavy Duty Cutting EFGC155 . The mower is well built, the shipping is free and their service is first rate. The welds are very good, the steel fabrication is excellent and I would buy again. My only issue is with Chinese ball bearings but, US or Japanese replacements are available on the internet at reasonable prices if and when the OEs need replacement. My 60" flail came with hammer flails...good thing...I have plenty of junk that was left by the previous land owner, Buick hubcaps, logs and a brick or two. The flail handles them just fine with my M-F 231S with 38 PTO hp. When researching mowers, I used the mower's weight/cut width to estimate how rugged the machine would likely be. That is a fair comparison. I have seen other flails of similar size that were lighter and suffer damage.

 

[Ricn]

JimCan.
My Woodmaxx had that same issue and like Leonz says, if the mower is level it should not scalp the turf, however, and after leveling mine I still get some scalping but not near as much as when not level. I solved it by tilting the front of the mower up just a little and slightly out and that solved my issue. BTW - I got lots of help here on TBN in learning how to use my mower and fixing the cylinder issues last year. Anyway, upon every use I now level the mower using a 4 foot level while on the shop floor concrete and having top and tilt cylinders makes this an easy task along with lockout valve in the hose line as my tilt cylinder bleeds off slowly fowling up the level when mowing. The top cylinder does not seem to have this issue very much unless the tractor sets for a week or so still, easy to level it. My field is not flat with many undulations and also very bumpy as it was cow and horse pasture for many years so still I get a little scalping but very minimal. Would love to disk it up and plant new grass but this ground is very rocky so I leaving it alone, just getting to old to pick rocks now. Good Luck with your adjustments and mower.

Ricn

 

[StuartDK45SE]

I think that unless your are mowing commercially, most of the Chinese units are okay. My WoodMax might get 20 hour of use a year on nothing but grass. There would be no reason for me to buy a $6k flail mower.

 

[JimCan]

Gentlemen, thanks.. BUT: "The skids will ride above the sod with no contact to the ground when mowing." ...I had to lower my skids so the mower wasn't making an intolerably low cut. I originally thought the rear roller would have been adjustable like on some other brands, but not on this mower — it's fixed. I first bought an XL toplink to force the mower back on its heels to raise the nose, but that did not work well, partially because the tail is still down near to the roller height.

It's a pasture, not a lawn, so I only cut it when about knee or better high; I'd like about 6-8" ..just enough to keep the saplings and brambles from getting established. To cut with the roller on-the-ground really makes the mower work ..and slowly at that. Mind you, I totally love the way this cuts. My pasture looks clean vs. the lumpy, ole' windrowed crapus the rotaries would belch out. ...'but I'd like that 10% I cannot seem to find. Thanks again.

Jim

 

[leonz]

Hello Jim,


I had forgotten that they changed the design for the mowing height-shame on me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have the time the mott type casters from flailmaster would be a good fit for you to keep the front end at a reasonable height to mow with as they are adjusted with washers by moving the lower washer to the top and the top ones to the lower position as desired.

I am unsure if you can purchase the weldment for the caster shaft attachment from flail master or from alamo as that would be the fastest way to do it.

Happy mowing

 

[ddbackhoe]

What do you mean they don't rob horsepower? Any implement powered by the PTO robs power.

The RPM setting should be PTO speed, which is the same for all 540 RPM implements. If you're setting it higher than PTO speed you could be putting more power to the gearbox than it was designed for.

Lastly, if you need multiple passes to cut 12-15" weeds at the speeds you're talking about, something is wrong. I can cut weeds 2-3 times taller than that in one pass at those sorts of speeds, and take them right down to the ground. That's because I have sharp blades on my mower, and enough power that the flail doesn't lose RPM when it cuts heavy stuff.

Sicma TE22 - YouTube

uh huh

 

[JimCan]

Ya, Leon, it looks like I'm going to have to find a beatup finishing mower to salvage the casters from. My old 'Bush Hog' brand finishing mower had them. Thanks. Jim

 

[leonz]

Hello Jim,


The beat up finishing mower casters are not worth the trouble-my father had them on his wheel horses and they did not last for crap and always bound up the belly mowers hoist linkages on slopes.

You can purchase good mechanical pneumatic casters with mounting plates at several places and TSC and just have the weldments made to attach them to the caroni when your ready.

You just have to decide if you want 2 or 4 of them with the rear pair at the same elevation of the rear roller at all times to aid in steering without gouging the turf. you just have to be doubly sure to have weldments long enough to allow the easy rotation of the ball bearing casters when backing either by turning or using the steering brakes which will be harder on a close mounted caster .

 

[bruceha2000]

If you detach or unplug your loader (bucket only maybe) and use longer hoses, you could have rear hydraulics

That is my pl

JimCan.
My Woodmaxx had that same issue and like Leonz says, if the mower is level it should not scalp the turf, however, and after leveling mine I still get some scalping but not near as much as when not level. I solved it by tilting the front of the mower up just a little and slightly out and that solved my issue. BTW - I got lots of help here on TBN in learning how to use my mower and fixing the cylinder issues last year. Anyway, upon every use I now level the mower using a 4 foot level while on the shop floor concrete and having top
...

Ricn

And how does one level the mower when the only level spot outside on the property is the deck attached to the house?

 

[leonz]

You build a simple frame of 4 by 4's with a sheet of plywood on it using heavy wooden shims to level the plywood floor.

OR You can simply back out to the edge of road after you have parked the car or truck on the shoulder with the 4 way flashers on to alert the traffic that the car and mule are on the road and parked.
Make sure the flashers on the mule are on and a second person is there to watch for traffic and then just use a torpedo level on the top of the gearbox as you crank the top link up or down to level it while the mule is parked on the road. The crown of the road will not affect the level of the mower when you adjust the top link so you can just back out a foot or two to level it using the road as a floor.

 

[JimCan]

Thanks, Leon... I actually have to go over there today to get dog food. I even thought about adding a disk from a disk harrow that would slide around, or adding wide shoes to the skids. If I get off my backside - I'll post it - good/bad. Cheers. Jim

 

[StuartDK45SE]

The digital level on my iPhone works for me, even when the ground is not level.

 

[leonz]

Hello Jim,


Wide skid shoes would work well but they will be Butts ugly unless you paint them IH red and you will have to use 2 or 3 inch angle iron that has been cut and bent up on both ends to make a 2 direction ski of sorts and have the 2 pieces of angle iron pre drilled by the job shop so you can dril through the existing skid weldments. be sure to mount them on the outside to prevent the flail mower knife from contacting them with the blade edge-noisy nasty )(*&^%$#%^&*() time to change the knives type of mess that will fill a swear jar if the knifes is no longer useable from impact damage.
Measure your skid height and then decide whether you want to cheat fate and simply mount the skis flush with the skid before you have it made up and drilled by the welding job shop.

Making up the skids may be more time consuming than buying swivel casters from TSC and pre drilled angle iron from a welding shop that will bolt up to the strongest part of your caroni flail mower but you will have to decide which is better for you as the last thing you need is more ruts. the other issue is whether you have enough exposed square tube stock to take advantage of to do this.

God Bless Mr. Mott; he had his rear wheel weldments attached the thick shell of the flail mower shroud if I remember correctly.
I think I still have a the PDF of the Mott manual that shows the location of the weldments on the shroud which do not interfere with the rear roller.


Leon

I have to go to town for supplies etc.

 

[otus_branch]

Before going crazy with casters and other fabrication projects, can you try lengthening the top link even more? At 25 or 30 degrees between the front of the mower and the rear roller, I don't see how the skids or blades could possibly hit the ground.

 

[powerscol]

Be careful with the skids as they should not ride on the ground. If the do they will tear up everything. I get the best cut with the unit riding 100% on the roller and the skids up 1/2" and level. For my neighbors rough pasture I adjust up to 1" as the field is rough.

The other day I learned how to smash down a big willow patch by backing in with the unit raised then slowly lower it while walking back and forth. The first time I tried I just mowed through and a lot of long stems were left.

Hope this helps

 

[lostcreekranch]

I’ve lost track here. Which model Flail Mower doesn’t have adjustable roller height.

Ive been looking into buying a flail Mower for several months and read this thread front to back a couple of months ago.

Maybe I’m wrong but..... my understanding is that cutting height is determined by roller height and 3-point lower arm height with the cutter drum suspended between them? In that case the upper link’s sole purpose would be when lifting entire unit?

Skid’s would be adjusted slightly above ground what cutting?

Would there be any benefit in putting blocks under the skids when parked or when the FM is removed from your tractor to keep the roller off the ground?

I’m currently looking into the WoodMaxx FM88H for my LS XR4155HC.

FM-88H PTO Flail Mower (88")

 

[leonz]

I’ve lost track here. Which model Flail Mower doesn’t have adjustable roller height.
Ive been looking into buying a flail Mower for several months and read this thread front to back a couple of months ago.
Maybe I’m wrong but..... my understanding is that cutting height is determined by roller height and 3-point lower arm height with the cutter drum suspended between them? In that case the upper link’s sole purpose would be when lifting entire unit?
Skid’s would be adjusted slightly above ground what cutting?
Would there be any benefit in putting blocks under the skids when parked or when the FM is removed from your tractor to keep the roller off the ground?
I’m currently looking into the WoodMaxx FM88H for my LS XR4155HC.

FM-88H PTO Flail Mower (88")

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Good Afternoon Mr. Gufstason,

Have you considered a used JD290 (84") or JD390 flail mower(96")?

The Caroni flail and John Deere mowers still have the adjustable rear roller to to control the mowing height.
The spare parts drawings for the caroni flail mowers make the height adjustment holes hard to see.
The Vrisimo flail mowers have large adjustable skids and an adjustable rear roller as well.

The skids on flail mowers should always be raised above the ground to help protect the flail mower rotor from possible impact damage. With flail crop shredders the hydraulic lift cylinders hold the mower at the cutting height.


Any time you raise the flail mower up above the ground on blocks when its not in use saves you time and aggravation when reattaching it to the three point hitch. You just have to be sure its level from side to side to avoid having it slide off the blocks.