Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I’m new to owning a flail mower, so here I am. I picked up a Titan Implements FMWR175 (68 inch) flail a few months ago, and finally started using it recently. I’m mowing roughly 6 acres of pasture land that’s currently not being grazed, so things grow fast. I’m trying to run it on a Ferguson TO30 (poor choice I now realize). It cuts great on well manicured grass, but anything taller than about 5 inches I’m unable to mow the entire width of the mower. Am I wrong, or so I simply just not have the power to run the mower? Thanks

Have you tried going slower through the taller stuff? I've run a 62" flail mower on a 18 PTO HP tractor with decent results. But I did go slow. Also make sure the blades are sharp. That usually makes a big difference when cutting thicker stuff.

 

[def38]

I fully understood what I was getting when I purchased the Titan flail. For my use, and how often I was going to use it, it simply didn稚 make sense to go spend 5x the money on a comparable flail. While a few of the grease fittings don稚 make sense (the roller specifically), I think some guys may not realize it痴 all in metric. That said,. I am happy with the cut I知 getting at this point, when I can run it in short grass. I guess I値l shop around for something on the higher end of 40-60 HP. Thanks for the confirmation in what I suspected.

My 60" titan is working fine and has no issues other than the orientation of the rear roller Zerk fittings. Upon uncrating my new flail, I removed the roller bearing plates and oriented the Zerk fittings so as to preclude damage when mowing. If you wanted an alternative, merely drill and tap the bearing plates in the bearing center and locate the Zerks outboard of the plates altogether. Either remedy will leave the Zerk fittings in a safe location and easy to grease with a grease gun. My only issue with the roller design is that grass gets wrapped around the ends when mowing tall damp grass. This grass is easily cleared away once the grass dries.

 

[def38]

I have cast steel hammer flails on my titan mower. What's the wisdom regarding sharpening this style flail?

 

[Fallon]

I’m new to owning a flail mower, so here I am. I picked up a Titan Implements FMWR175 (68 inch) flail a few months ago, and finally started using it recently. I’m mowing roughly 6 acres of pasture land that’s currently not being grazed, so things grow fast. I’m trying to run it on a Ferguson TO30 (poor choice I now realize). It cuts great on well manicured grass, but anything taller than about 5 inches I’m unable to mow the entire width of the mower. Am I wrong, or so I simply just not have the power to run the mower? Thanks

That doesnt tell us how much power you have unless we go look up that model #.

Personally I ran a 7' (84") old Ford 917 behind my 32hp (25hp PTO) Kubota L3200. I had to go a little slower, especially in dense grass, but it wasnt to bad. I generally was taking close to full width passes. Not the same mower, but a Titan shouldn't be that different for power requirements unless something is really messed up.

Flails do mulch & recut better than a rotary. That extra cutting action does drive up the HP requirements a bit, but nowhere near double or anything. Wild guess 15-25% maybe. And in most circumstances you can just go a little slower or overlap a bit more to compensate.

 

[leonz]

I have cast steel hammer flails on my titan mower. What's the wisdom regarding sharpening this style flail?

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If you want to keep a sharp edge on the cast hammer knives you should use a low speed wet well grinder.

The most economical one that I know of is from Micromark and I believe its still on sale.
I have linked to it in past postings here on the forum.

You need to purchase an angle setter for the wet well grinder to maintain the correct cutting edge grinder, they are available from woodcraft and others for $25.00 plus sales tax and freight.

You need a wet slow speed grind to maintain the edge on your hammer knives.

 

[Kscessnadriver]

Have you tried going slower through the taller stuff? I've run a 62" flail mower on a 18 PTO HP tractor with decent results. But I did go slow. Also make sure the blades are sharp. That usually makes a big difference when cutting thicker stuff.

I'm running in first gear, can't go any slower without backing down off PTO speed. If I had a lower gear, I suspect I would be ok, but that's going to cost more to do than looking for a different tract.

That doesnt tell us how much power you have unless we go look up that model #.

Personally I ran a 7' (84") old Ford 917 behind my 32hp (25hp PTO) Kubota L3200. I had to go a little slower, especially in dense grass, but it wasnt to bad. I generally was taking close to full width passes. Not the same mower, but a Titan shouldn't be that different for power requirements unless something is really messed up.

Flails do mulch & recut better than a rotary. That extra cutting action does drive up the HP requirements a bit, but nowhere near double or anything. Wild guess 15-25% maybe. And in most circumstances you can just go a little slower or overlap a bit more to compensate.

TO-30 is 31 engine HP, 28 PTO HP claimed. Of course, that's brand new, not pushing 70 years old like it is now. I am overlapping quite a bit just to keep it running, sometimes taking as little as a 30-40% cut. I suspect not only am I on the low end of the HP curve for this mower, but my tractor isn't putting out full horsepower, just simply do to age.

 

[Kscessnadriver]

My 60" titan is working fine and has no issues other than the orientation of the rear roller Zerk fittings. Upon uncrating my new flail, I removed the roller bearing plates and oriented the Zerk fittings so as to preclude damage when mowing. If you wanted an alternative, merely drill and tap the bearing plates in the bearing center and locate the Zerks outboard of the plates altogether. Either remedy will leave the Zerk fittings in a safe location and easy to grease with a grease gun. My only issue with the roller design is that grass gets wrapped around the ends when mowing tall damp grass. This grass is easily cleared away once the grass dries.

I did the same, after reading on here about the complaints. Its not a big deal, just makes you wonder why they didn't do it that way when made. I concur on the damp grass statement as well. Otherwise I find it to cut quite well.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I'm running in first gear, can't go any slower without backing down off PTO speed. If I had a lower gear, I suspect I would be ok, but that's going to cost more to do than looking for a different tract.



TO-30 is 31 engine HP, 28 PTO HP claimed. Of course, that's brand new, not pushing 70 years old like it is now. I am overlapping quite a bit just to keep it running, sometimes taking as little as a 30-40% cut. I suspect not only am I on the low end of the HP curve for this mower, but my tractor isn't putting out full horsepower, just simply do to age.

I suspect that the age of the tractor is only part of the equation. Have you had it serviced lately? I could be the timing is a little off or the carb needs adjustment. If all of that is good, then the age is the factor, but check that stuff first. If you're in first gear, you have the right idea, can't get any slower than that.

I would think you don't need to look at 60HP tractors for a replacement. 35-45HP would be a good range if the Ferguson met your needs before. I believe the flail manufacturers rate their equipment higher than necessary so you're not disappointed when you use it on a tractor that's at the low end of the HP range. Like I said, I used a 62" on a 24 HP tractor (18 PTO HP) with decent results going slow. I wouldn't try to mow at the same speed I do now with my 45HP tractor because the tractor just couldn't handle that speed. If you are conscious of what you are doing, at 35-45HP tractor should meet the needs just fine. Plus, that seems to be the sweet spot for HP range in most manufacturers where you the most HP for the money. But that's a whole different topic.

Back to flails; It sounds like you're happy with the one you purchased, you're just unhappy with the power source for it.

 

[CADplans]

Anything more than some casual weeds, this 90" mower slows this 41HP tractor to a crawl,,,

I think the reason this tractor can not pull the flail better is that it is a very small displacement engine.
The engine is only 1.5 liters,, I think they get the HP way up with the turbo.

Once the engine RPM's start to fall,, the torque goes away quickly,,,

This tractor is 3.4 liters, no turbo, 60HP,, it can thrash the daylights out of the same flail,,,

The red tractor never looses RPM,,,:thumbsup:

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Anything more than some casual weeds, this 90" mower slows this 41HP tractor to a crawl,,,

I think the reason this tractor can not pull the flail better is that it is a very small displacement engine.
The engine is only 1.5 liters,, I think they get the HP way up with the turbo.

Once the engine RPM's start to fall,, the torque goes away quickly,,,

This tractor is 3.4 liters, no turbo, 60HP,, it can thrash the daylights out of the same flail,,,

The red tractor never looses RPM,,,:thumbsup:

There's no replacement for displacement. (or we could blame the greene paint... :confused2: )

You're also looking at a 50% power increase. (and, of course, red paint... :dance1: )

90" is also a lot of flail. Even with now having 45HP I doubt I would go over 6 foot wide mower. If I had a lot of land to clear, I could go 7 foot and just keep on top of it. But, I like seat time (and don't have permission to buy another mower...), so 5 foot it is!