Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Fallon]

Well, you could hook up the lift/lower cylinders to the dump/curl part of the valve, no?

Lift cylinders are just double acting cylinders, so it would work, albeit really fast & week going up. May be worth it if you have QDs on the loader, probably not otherwise.

Personally I adjust my loader a lot when mowing. Kubotas loader is pretty darn easy to attach/remove I hear, but I've never bothered. I use the bucket as a push guard in brush & stuff.

 

[dnw64]

The but end of a cylinder is always going to be bigger than the rod end (because the rod takes up part of the piston). If you apply apply say 1000psi to both sides of a 1 square inch cylinder that has a 1/2 square inch rod. The but end will experience 1000lbs of force, the rod end will experience 500psi (half the surface area). So the piston would extend. All the fluid from the rod end would get forced into the but end so it would extend faster. Both sides of the cylinder are pressurized so air wont get sucked in as a heavy bucket pulls on the hydraulics faster than the pump can provide fluid.

If you hook a regen valve up correctly to a normal double acting cylinder it will work. Extend will be fast & weak, but it will work. If you hook it up to a pair of single acting cylinders (angle on a snow plow) both pistons are the same size so they fight each other equally & nothing happens. Similar results for a hydraulic motor, both sides get equal pressure & balance each other out (maybe blowing out seals in some cases).

Sounds like you have a 4 stage valve & need to go to the power dump stage to get work done.

That certainly makes it a bit clearer, but I'm not ready to try and explain it to someone else (which really means that I still don't totally understand).

Personally I adjust my loader a lot when mowing. Kubotas loader is pretty darn easy to attach/remove I hear, but I've never bothered. I use the bucket as a push guard in brush & stuff.

I've only removed/attached mine once so far, but yes - pretty easy. Would be easier yet on smooth/flat "ground", such as a concrete pad...

 

[bruceha2000]

Well, you could hook up the lift/lower cylinders to the dump/curl part of the valve, no?

I could surely try that. I bet I'll be curling/dumping the bucket instead of sliding the mower a lot. I wonder why the dealer suggested borrowing the dump/curl lines.

Lift cylinders are just double acting cylinders, so it would work, albeit really fast & week going up. May be worth it if you have QDs on the loader, probably not otherwise.

Personally I adjust my loader a lot when mowing. Kubotas loader is pretty darn easy to attach/remove I hear, but I've never bothered. I use the bucket as a push guard in brush & stuff.

There are QDs on the loader, otherwise I would not have gone this "cheap" route. And they are all male so I have females on that end of both hoses for the mower and they will connect to any of the 4. I was also using the bucket to push down the tall stuff before it got to the grill guard.

What would be slick, and more expensive, is if I could use the rear remotes that the BH plugs into, the hoses are already there (2 source, one return, or whatever the proper terms are). When the BH is off the return line is plugged into one of the source lines. If I WERE to buy the proper valves and somehow mount them on the back of the tractor, would the "block" need a return port?

 

[Fallon]

I could surely try that. I bet I'll be curling/dumping the bucket instead of sliding the mower a lot. I wonder why the dealer suggested borrowing the dump/curl lines.


There are QDs on the loader, otherwise I would not have gone this "cheap" route. And they are all male so I have females on that end of both hoses for the mower and they will connect to any of the 4. I was also using the bucket to push down the tall stuff before it got to the grill guard.

What would be slick, and more expensive, is if I could use the rear remotes that the BH plugs into, the hoses are already there (2 source, one return, or whatever the proper terms are). When the BH is off the return line is plugged into one of the source lines. If I WERE to buy the proper valves and somehow mount them on the back of the tractor, would the "block" need a return port?

All CUTs have open center hydraulics. That means fluid is always going from the pump through every valve then back to the tank. Actuating any control valve temporarily diverts that flow to a cylinder or pump.

When you plumb in a backhoe you cut that loop & put the hoe's valves in the loop. When you remove the hoe you need to restore that loop with that patch hose. If that loop is blocked & cant flow your relief valve kicks open. Things overheat really quickly in that case. You add in additional valves by inserting them inline into the loop. Usually permanently but can be temporarily like the case of removable backhoes.

 

[FarmLife4]

What tractor are you using it on? Did you order Y or hammer blades?

Yes, very good questions.
So I will be pulling the flail with my 2006 JD 4120. Engine HP is 43 rated and pro is 35 (?)
I ordered the 62h vs the 78h for a couple of reasons. First being maneuverrability and second was the fact that a smaller unit will will be operating somewhere towards tbe middle of tbe hp requirements.
I also opted for the ha.mer blades on account ah because I have more sticks than grass.
I was told that it will ship on monday the 28th. Cant wait!

 

[ronjhall]

Yes, very good questions.
So I will be pulling the flail with my 2006 JD 4120. Engine HP is 43 rated and pro is 35 (?)
I ordered the 62h vs the 78h for a couple of reasons. First being maneuverrability and second was the fact that a smaller unit will will be operating somewhere towards tbe middle of tbe hp requirements.
I also opted for the ha.mer blades on account ah because I have more sticks than grass.
I was told that it will ship on monday the 28th. Cant wait!

Your Mower may be a day late. Monday is the 29th.
I like mine. It cuts better than my rotary cutter did and gets job done in half the time.

 

[FarmLife4]

I was finally able to use my WoodMaxx 62H a week and a half ago. Had to wait for them to design and manufacture an adapter to make it Cat 1 quick hitch compatible. No way I can muscle 700 pounds to get it on the 3 point directly. Clearly someone, potentially not with authorization, changed the design of the lifting arch and it was Cat 3, not Cat 1/2 height from the 2018 and prior models. I don't know if they are shipping the adapter with the machine since it is sold as Cat 1 compatible or if one needs to request it.

@FarmLife4 - if you plan to use it with a Cat 2 QH, also order the bushing set from WoodMaxx and make sure you get the adapter (you might also want to get a tractor to pull the flail ;D). It consists of 2 heavy duty plates, a solid rod and a bolt with washers and nut that connect the plates to the slot in the lifting arch and a longer clevis pin since the one that came with the mower wasn't long enough to go through the adapter plates. I will say that is is very well made, very solid.

My tractor dealer had hoses made up so I could "borrow" the curl/dump function from the loader and got adapters for the flail's male thread end fittings plus the needed quick connectors. I connected all that and shifted the mower left, but one of the adapters leaked and I couldn't shift it back to the right. So I disconnected the hydraulics and mowed with the mower all the way left. I have finally gotten a replacement adapter at Advanced Auto (same store different guy, the guy the prior Saturday didn't have any. The guy last week said he probably didn't look in the Hydraulic section :thumbdown: )

Pictures of what I mowed and what it looked like. I got the knives, not the hammers/duck foot.
View attachment 614419 View attachment 614420

Wait! I thought the JD 4120 was a formidable tractor....geesh am I going to have to upgrade so soon?
The wife is going to kill me.

 

[FarmLife4]

Your Mower may be a day late. Monday is the 29th. ��
I like mine. It cuts better than my rotary cutter did and gets job done in half the time.

Noted! I will chisel that correction into my stone calender.

 

[bruceha2000]

Wait! I thought the JD 4120 was a formidable tractor....geesh am I going to have to upgrade so soon?
The wife is going to kill me.

Well it is, but according to your profile your tractor is "None yet".
I'm actually surprised you got a 5' mower for a 6' wide tractor. I read your reasoning but unless you are planning to mow a jungle, you presumably have the PTO power for a 72H.

 

[FarmLife4]

My decision was based mostly on the fact that i do live in a heavily wooded area and maneuverrability is more impkrtant than the exfra 13" cutting width that the 78H offers.
Equally if not more impkrtant is the hp requirements. Id rather operate on the upper end of available pto power than right at the bottom.
I know that there is a suggestion that Implements shoupd cover the rear wheels. while i agree with that I feel that a brush mower is a hammer. Its meant to do one thing, destroy what ever you throw under it.
Im ok with taking longer to do a job. Speed is of zero concern.