Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Looking at a Ford 917 Flail mower that is set up for fine cut. Are the blade drums the same for the 917's with the fine and coarse cuts? Can this be converted over to a coarse cut by just installing new coarse cut blades?
Thank you.

Yes, the rotors are the same. You will only use 1/3 of the stations. I believe there is also a difference in balance weights bolted to the rotor (there is a page from the manual someone posted somewhere in this thread to show that). You can go with the airplane wing blades or you can go with the side slicers. When I got my 917 I went with the "extreme service" side slicers from flailmaster (M-105319M), but also considered the "heavy duty" side slicers (FM-7). I am turning 20 years worth of CRP land back to usable land so I wanted something stronger than the airplane wings. I may order a set of the wings when I need to mow areas that need to look good. The airplane wings do leave a better finish than the side slicers.

 

[Fallon]

Yes, the rotors are the same. You will only use 1/3 of the stations. I believe there is also a difference in balance weights bolted to the rotor (there is a page from the manual someone posted somewhere in this thread to show that). You can go with the airplane wing blades or you can go with the side slicers. When I got my 917 I went with the "extreme service" side slicers from flailmaster (M-105319M), but also considered the "heavy duty" side slicers (FM-7). I am turning 20 years worth of CRP land back to usable land so I wanted something stronger than the airplane wings. I may order a set of the wings when I need to mow areas that need to look good. The airplane wings do leave a better finish than the side slicers.

I've mangled around half a dozen of my side slicers on my 917... well head, football sized rocks... They cut well up to around finger sized brush. Much beyond that & they just gnaw off the bark unless the material is soft or brittle.

 

[MGHarper]

Anyone out there with experience with Ventura Ditch Bank Flail mower. I'm considering the 181E to pair with a NH Powerstar T4.75 for cutting about 20 acres, roadsides, trails and around a 3 acre pond.

 

[whirly]

I have a similar mower but with the gearbox inboard of the belts. The Ventura Ditch Bank Flail's outboard gearbox allows the full mower to extend past the rear wheels as opposed to the inboard which does not. Ventura's design is much better.

 

[mred2]

Looks like a good mower. I think this type of mower will be used more and more in the future. But read all you can on them before you buy. You must run the PTO at full speed and mow slow. But I know I already love mine.

 

[MGHarper]

I've been studying up on it for a while and one of the things I really like is the more extended reach. Does needing to run the PTO at full speed create any issues for you?

 

[mred2]

No, as almost all new tractors require you to run the engine at 22 to 26,000 rpm. You start off slow, engage the pto and increase engine rpm. The ground speed (to me) will not be as fast, but does a better job. Others on here that have had their mowers a lot more years can tell you more on that. But I have no problem losing a little speed to get a better cut.

 

[retiredfarmer]

I am quite impressed with the heft of the Mott 72 Fine Cut mower I picked up. However I am now considering a Coarse Cut flail mower to use in thick material instead of my rotary cutter.

I have seen Alamo mowers with the rear gauge wheels, and I am curious. Are these wheels in addition to the rear roller, or used in place of the rear roller. If the rear wheels are on an Alamo mower 74 or 88, do you need the rear roller?

 

[Fallon]

I am quite impressed with the heft of the Mott 72 Fine Cut mower I picked up. However I am now considering a Coarse Cut flail mower to use in thick material instead of my rotary cutter.

I have seen Alamo mowers with the rear gauge wheels, and I am curious. Are these wheels in addition to the rear roller, or used in place of the rear roller. If the rear wheels are on an Alamo mower 74 or 88, do you need the rear roller?

I believe they are in addition to. My 917 had rear wheels in addition to the roller. The frame for wheels & tires had been long removed & rusted to pieces before I got it.

 

[whirly]

I've been studying up on it for a while and one of the things I really like is the more extended reach. Does needing to run the PTO at full speed create any issues for you?

The only problem you might have would be minimum forward speed in 1st gear @2160 RPM. In tall and thick foliage you can either bog down the mower or slip the belts if you can't slow down. I switch to an HST tractor for just that reason.

 

[Dan in MN]

I'm pretty sure my tractor can handle the SHD88 and I like the idea of more width, slower pace. But, I also like the idea of a warranty.
Carl

You have more than enough tractor to run an SHD88, I'm running one behind a much smaller and lighter John Deere 3038e. Mine is *just enough* tractor for the weight of it, you could handle the 96" easily. Also, who says you have to go slower? You have plenty of power, the mowers ability to process the grass will be the limiting factor for speed, not hp. I had a Chinese 68" first and the old Alamo, and am much happier with the Alamo..

 

[Fallon]

You have more than enough tractor to run an SHD88, I'm running one behind a much smaller and lighter John Deere 3038e. Mine is *just enough* tractor for the weight of it, you could handle the 96" easily. Also, who says you have to go slower? You have plenty of power, the mowers ability to process the grass will be the limiting factor for speed, not hp. I had a Chinese 68" first and the old Alamo, and am much happier with the Alamo..

I ran my 7' 719 behind a 32hp (25pto) L3200. You can always go slow or partial passes if you are underpowered. The bigger issue & kind of the hard limit is the lift capacity of your 3pt.

Amusingly my L4060 couldnt lift my new Peruzzo SuperBull on the pallet (alledgly 1,950lbs) with the loader. Its heavy but plenty within the capacity on my 3pt.

 

[cscholz]

You have more than enough tractor to run an SHD88, I'm running one behind a much smaller and lighter John Deere 3038e. Mine is *just enough* tractor for the weight of it, you could handle the 96" easily. Also, who says you have to go slower? You have plenty of power, the mowers ability to process the grass will be the limiting factor for speed, not hp. I had a Chinese 68" first and the old Alamo, and am much happier with the Alamo..

Dan - thanks for the confirmation. The lift capacity of the PTO is about 2300 lbs, so it's more than enough for either unit (the 88 is about 1000 lbs from what I can tell).

Update on the used Alamo:
I looked at the particular Alamo the other day (actually both the 88 and 96). They were purchased by the current seller from an airport, and were set up to be front mounted (apparently attached to some kind of truck). So the gearbox was turned around, the PTO bars were turned around and then the bars were modified with an L extension on one end. They also added another rubber debris shield on the front edge (the cutter side of the mower). Otherwise, the unit was well used but in good shape. The knives are probably original, but one side of them looks unused. So they could be flipped and used for a long time (Y-blades). Looks like the grease fittings had been well greased. The whole unit had been repainted a long time ago (already chipped in some places).

The seller is working to swap the configuration back to the normal rear PTO position at their expense. Once they have that ready, they will let me know and then we can talk. I'm not in a huge rush, and I definitely want to see it running (they couldn't demo it easily in it's current configuration). I'll have to see if they think the price should go up after they've put time and money into them. I don't think they are worth more then $2500 or so me.

Carl

 

[dieselscout80]

My old 917 hood looks like popcorn almost. Probably helps you figure out how I only paid $100 for it. But it worked just fine. I'll agree & disagree on the rotor. Ya, walk away from a bent rotor. I'll let you figure out how straight the mounting bars on the rotor are... There was a little vibration with a proper set of knives installed, but not enough for it to run fine for about 4 years. More noise & vibration came from that crack in the hook (no that's not bad pixies on the photo) I never bothered to weld up.

My new Peruzzo Brush Bull has a way thicker hood. I assume the Alamo would be similar while the Woodmaxx, Chinese & cheap Italians would be similar to the Ford's hood thickness. While lighter duty the Ford is still hanging in there after being well used for 20-30 years. A few dents wouldn't phase me at all. A lot wouldn't either if the price were right.View attachment 587224View attachment 587225

Fallon or Others,

Do you think the duckfoot (single piece knife) see picture in the below link, these could be run with the same spacing as your "Y" cut (two piece knives)?

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...wers-170357d1278268119-lets-talk-flail-mowers

 

[Fallon]

Fallon or Others,

Do you think the duckfoot (single piece knife) see picture in the below link, these could be run with the same spacing as your "Y" cut (two piece knives)?

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...wers-170357d1278268119-lets-talk-flail-mowers

I'd guess so if you got them spread out right, but I never looked into it though. I'd recommend calling the guys at Flailmaster, they can probably tell you.

 

[Fallon]

Dan - thanks for the confirmation. The lift capacity of the PTO is about 2300 lbs, so it's more than enough for either unit (the 88 is about 1000 lbs from what I can tell).

Update on the used Alamo:
I looked at the particular Alamo the other day (actually both the 88 and 96). They were purchased by the current seller from an airport, and were set up to be front mounted (apparently attached to some kind of truck). So the gearbox was turned around, the PTO bars were turned around and then the bars were modified with an L extension on one end. They also added another rubber debris shield on the front edge (the cutter side of the mower). Otherwise, the unit was well used but in good shape. The knives are probably original, but one side of them looks unused. So they could be flipped and used for a long time (Y-blades). Looks like the grease fittings had been well greased. The whole unit had been repainted a long time ago (already chipped in some places).

The seller is working to swap the configuration back to the normal rear PTO position at their expense. Once they have that ready, they will let me know and then we can talk. I'm not in a huge rush, and I definitely want to see it running (they couldn't demo it easily in it's current configuration). I'll have to see if they think the price should go up after they've put time and money into them. I don't think they are worth more then $2500 or so me.

Carl

If you are lifting with your PTO something is gonna break quickly. I assume you mean your 3pt hitch.

Be careful with front mounted stuff. It's often setup for a PTO running at 2,500rpm & the other direction.

If you look at marketing for my Peruzo Brush Bull PTO Hydraulic Offset Flail Mowers -- Iowa Farm Equipment, half the photos, or videos show machines pushing them rather than pulling. That configuration works fine (better on your neck & probably a better cut with fewer tire track mohawks I'd wager). But you need to make sure the powertrain & gearbox are properly matched. There are usually front & sometimes rear castor wheels for front usage that aren't needed for 3pt pulling, as well as the obvious linkage changes.

 

[cscholz]

Fallon - Ha! Yes, I'll be lifting with the 3pth, not the PTO.

Apparently the Alamos were designed to work either way with some simple unbolting/rotating. When you flip the gearbox over, the result is the rotator spinning in the opposite direction. The gearbox even has two level plugs so when you flip it, there's always one at the right level. Not sure if the bearings will care that they will spin in the opposite direction now, but I suppose that's something to consider. But I believe the units are intended to spin at the same speed in either configuration. These units did not have any castors, just the usual roller. But the linkage was modified, perhaps because the 3 pth on the trucks they were using was higher than a typical tractor. Not sure.

Carl

 

[Fallon]

Fallon - Ha! Yes, I'll be lifting with the 3pth, not the PTO.

Apparently the Alamos were designed to work either way with some simple unbolting/rotating. When you flip the gearbox over, the result is the rotator spinning in the opposite direction. The gearbox even has two level plugs so when you flip it, there's always one at the right level. Not sure if the bearings will care that they will spin in the opposite direction now, but I suppose that's something to consider. But I believe the units are intended to spin at the same speed in either configuration. These units did not have any castors, just the usual roller. But the linkage was modified, perhaps because the 3 pth on the trucks they were using was higher than a typical tractor. Not sure.

Carl

Ya, given their frequent industrial application it's not surprising or concerning at all. Just like with my Peruzo (although I got that one new, so it was a known configuration when I got it). Just make sure the gear ratios & directions match. It's a little more complicated as 540rpm wasn't the only option. It's just the price of getting a beefier used industrial machine over a lighter one new or used.

 

[retiredfarmer]

I see Gearmore Flail Mowers on Ebay and Tractorhouse.

Are replacement blades and other parts available for these?

 

[DavesTractor]

I see Gearmore Flail Mowers on Ebay and Tractorhouse.

Are replacement blades and other parts available for these?

Gearmore is a distributor of quality implements. They mostly service dealers in the western states, California etc. They do a good job regarding parts, although they generally sell through dealers and not direct. You should have no problems with parts, and truth be told most parts that are needed for mowers are generally blades and bearings, both of which are available aftermarket.