Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[CADplans]

CADplans I found the weight specs:

JD370: 904 lbs

JD390: 1093 lbs

That's interesting because that was not something I had even considered being a problem for the 4 series tractors.

I use the 1,100 pound flail behind a ~8,000 pound tractor (it weighs about 10,000 with the loader,,)

The IH 584 really knows the flail mower is behind it,, the tractor is REAL easy to steer with the flail lifted,,
Power-wise, the 584 has plenty of PTO horsepower for normal mowing,, a half ton on the three point hitch arms is a LOT,,,

you are talking about pulling a flail with a tractor half the weight of the one I use,,
that is why I voiced the concern about tractor size,,

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I use the 1,100 pound flail behind a ~8,000 pound tractor (it weighs about 10,000 with the loader,,)

The IH 584 really knows the flail mower is behind it,, the tractor is REAL easy to steer with the flail lifted,,
Power-wise, the 584 has plenty of PTO horsepower for normal mowing,, a half ton on the three point hitch arms is a LOT,,,

you are talking about pulling a flail with a tractor half the weight of the one I use,,
that is why I voiced the concern about tractor size,,

CADplans that is a sharp looking tractor that you have there! Like it!

I just looked up the hp specs on your tractor and your tractor is very close to the 4066M.

I can see that the 390 is offset on your tractor a good bit, do you think that might account for a lot of the weight distribution issues that you have described?

 

[CADplans]

I can see that the 390 is offset on your tractor a good bit, do you think that might account for a lot of the weight distribution issues that you have described?

Thanks for the tractor comment,, I have had the 584 for twenty years,,

As far as the offset, the 584 does not even notice the offset,,
the 4105 showed noticeable rear tire distortion on the offset side when I lifted the mower,,

 

[jonsstihl]

you are going to spend a lot of time mowing unless the ground is really smooth. it takes me about 4 hours to mow 8 acres with a 6 ft flail but that is 3 - 4 foot high grass not mowing regularly and with lots of trees to go around. But I wouldn't want to go much faster unless the ground was pool table smooth.

 

[electrycmonk]

Okay folks. All things being equal. In the past I have posted pic's and details on stuff and have missed out on them for others saw my thread and were able to get these different items before i could...this has been over the last decade plus in time.....

I have an update on the beast I shared pictures above. Here are the emailed pics of it and i have a 2.1mb *.mov short video they sent me of it running. I can't upload it? format issues? the audio had a solid acoustic signature to my ears. I didn't hear anything suspicious but, i did *see* a missing blade or two in the video. The frequency was running somewhere above idle for the tractor from my assumption so any major vibration from missing blades would be very minimal if at all I will assume here and now.

If you had the time and the ability, would you consider a drive of 200+ miles (South of me)one way to get this puppy? Their asking price is now down to $650.

I just yesterday made a 2.5hr one way drive (east bound) to get a nice solid 3-pt backhoe that was out near Tyler, Tx.

I can't realistically em-barque on a run for this until probably this weekend or Monday.

I have heavily canvased the 500+ mile radius from the DFW area for over 2 months now. This puppy's been out there for over a month now. and from what I've read in here its seems to be thought of as a more stout model then the Ford 917, Rhino, landpride and caroni's? A lot cheaper then a new Caroni', Titan, etal, or even several of the used ones in the $1-5K plus club like Rhinos, land pride, Ford 25A's, & Peruzzo's (locally a guy is retiring and selling some nearly new ones at 1/2 prices on craigslist)

There are a couple Ford 917's up in OKC area that are in the 700 & under price window as well as a mystery ford that looks to need a lot of TLC from the email reply... they are hoping to get the model info for me tomorrow on this mystery ford one listed for $200.


I have also seen alot of folks dialogue & debate the "handyman" ratio for this or that tractor or implement or what have you. I'm a gearheaded geek(as history has established) and i'm not apposed to a gearbox cleansing this winter or buying the wet-grinder mentioned in many replies since 2015(?).....

i don't want to "take a bath" on an item but, i'm not seing this "yellowbelly flail as a potential money pit. My ignorance awaits wisdom filled replies.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

you are going to spend a lot of time mowing unless the ground is really smooth. it takes me about 4 hours to mow 8 acres with a 6 ft flail but that is 3 - 4 foot high grass not mowing regularly and with lots of trees to go around. But I wouldn't want to go much faster unless the ground was pool table smooth.

What kind of flail and tractor do you have?

 

[Lnk]

Duplicate, sorry.

 

[Lnk]

That appears to be a finish cut flail. The long blades with a single pivot point gives me that impression. I am not sure if it can be converted to a rough cut. What are you planning to cut, lawn or pasture? Also, that mower has 57 blade stations it seems. So 114 blades, would cut a lawn like nobody's business.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

electrycmonk,

That is a finish cut. If you are cutting lawns or short grass it will do well. I would recommend just replacing the blades instead of trying to sharpen them. There are a few that are bent (they should lay flat against each other) so it doesn't pay to sharpen those, just replace. At that point to maintain balance you should replace all of them. It appears to be a Mott from the drive system. Parts are readily available for those as they are what many municipalities use. If you are going to be cutting tall grass I'd suggest passing on this and going with a Ford 917. The Mott would require a new rotor which will likely cost nearly as much as the mower. The 917 will just need different blades and hangers. From what I've seen most 917s are course cut. Parts are available for the Fords, just not as readily. You will need to do some more searching. Messicks can still get some parts if needed. I had a Ford 917 and can identify most of the Ford mowers if you'd like to send me the pictures of the $200 one. Typically the model info doesn't have any usable info without a through google search.

 

[electrycmonk]

electrycmonk,

That is a finish cut. If you are cutting lawns or short grass it will do well. I would recommend just replacing the blades instead of trying to sharpen them. There are a few that are bent (they should lay flat against each other) so it doesn't pay to sharpen those, just replace. At that point to maintain balance you should replace all of them. It appears to be a Mott from the drive system. Parts are readily available for those as they are what many municipalities use. If you are going to be cutting tall grass I'd suggest passing on this and going with a Ford 917. The Mott would require a new rotor which will likely cost nearly as much as the mower. The 917 will just need different blades and hangers. From what I've seen most 917s are course cut. Parts are available for the Fords, just not as readily. You will need to do some more searching. Messicks can still get some parts if needed. I had a Ford 917 and can identify most of the Ford mowers if you'd like to send me the pictures of the $200 one. Typically the model info doesn't have any usable info without a through google search.

just sent you a PM as requested.

I concur as to the pictures being a Mott. I've just read around and ignorantly taken users experience/opinion with as little bias on my part as possible to take maximum advantage of all the wisdom and experiences as a whole. I have saved the parts pages several folks have listed or linked in this thread and others....

we have currently 2.5-3 acres of yard, no where near a perfectly manicured lawn.

I'm not apposed to the ford 917's or even a 25A if i were to run across one... I just can't rationalize dropping basically 2 grand on a brand new unit when there are currently 6 potentially very usable within a short drive (to me) to get and tweak or just clean up and use. (shrugs)

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I would recommend the Mott based on your use. Parts are easy to get and it is a finish cut for your yard. If you intend on cutting grass over a foot tall, go slow. Otherwise it will cut yard grass with ease.

That's a long drive. Make it a mini Vacation. That's what I typically do when I have to make a long drive for something. I drove 3 hours to get my Alamo.

 

[leonz]

We love pictures as we are always bragging about our flail mowers even in the non mowing months here in the northeast.

 

[electrycmonk]

I would recommend the Mott based on your use. Parts are easy to get and it is a finish cut for your yard. If you intend on cutting grass over a foot tall, go slow. Otherwise it will cut yard grass with ease.

That's a long drive. Make it a mini Vacation. That's what I typically do when I have to make a long drive for something. I drove 3 hours to get my Alamo.

To me anything over 8hrs is a road trip. Anything less is a days drive /yawn .... I used to OTR as well so, before that in college I'd marathon to parents in Michigan from Denton, Tx (UNT) in my ole Subaru's..... My best run was just over 16hrs.

But, this stage of life, I'm looking at this as a me-time investment for me to have less stress ......(shrugs)

Hey leonz, are you asking me to share a pic of our backyard in question ??? So, then would that still be 'in topic'?

 

[electrycmonk]

Re: your observations on tractors diesel v. Gas has A LOT of merit.

Gas "HP" is in the top side of RPMS, usually much higher then every diesel out there. Gas torque compared to diesel is not something gas typically will win. Torque is the diesel strong suite. The easiest example one can use is the V8 car/truck engines for 'seat of the pants' meeter reading.
A BBC 454 or Dodge 426 or Ford 427 are all monsters, have sizable torque too but, their strong suite is HP in the high side of the RPM band. The numbers are nearly twice that of the peak spot of diesel torque ~1600-2000rpms. Does this help make more sense of your seat of the pants' meeter?

Now I know I'm gonna get someone out there going to want to slap my hand for some generalizing here.

The physics doesn't like. With gassers there is no substitute for cubic inches. (Old saying I grew up with from muscle cars)
HP to weight ratio - friction, etal.
Gearing and torque and you could pull a house off it's foundation with that thing...... Another old saying about trucks and tractors geared right with a diesel power plant.

When I grew up we had several pickup around us. Almost everyone was a gaser. There was a flat fact that was like a glass ceiling. The trucks HP + gear ratio = a very obvious upper limit of weight it would pull before crying uncle. Especially if it was an automatic tranny!
The last 15+ years have really shown me a harsh comparison. The 5.9L & 7.3L diesel trucks when stacked against a trailer of equal weight will out pull the gassers ever day of the week. It's shocking to me still. It's fasinating when you draw that scale down to the TDi's in our older VW too. The similar gas engine in a different car will not have the "off the line" strength of the TDi.... It's almost laughable. It brings me back to the physics of it all.

Sorry for my babbling. Night night.

 

[nova3930]

So I got a yanmar 2420 back before Christmas and starting to look at flails for cutting some margins on my property. Back 10 acres is under lease for row crop but I keep the fence lines clear along with a terrace line.

Previously I ran a 6ft Ford 917 on a Boomer 50 so I have some experience.

Any suggestions on brand, type and size to look for. Would prefer used but seems like most of the ones around me are on the larger side and I'm not sure the little yanmar can cope.

 

[leonz]

Yes seeing your pictures will still be on topic so no worries there.

 

[leonz]

So I got a yanmar 2420 back before Christmas and starting to look at flails for cutting some margins on my property. Back 10 acres is under lease for row crop but I keep the fence lines clear along with a terrace line.

Previously I ran a 6ft Ford 917 on a Boomer 50 so I have some experience.

Any suggestions on brand, type and size to look for. Would prefer used but seems like most of the ones around me are on the larger side and I'm not sure the little yanmar can cope.

=======================================================================================


Hello nova3930,

One of the Caroni B rotor(2 row flail mower with the side slicer knives) should be fine for what you want.

Just be sure to purchase the right size for the horsepower of the mule you now have.

I have to waddle off now.

 

[Lnk]

Just be careful around fence line, nothing rolls up loose wire like a flail mower. I have spent more time cutting wire from the ends of my rotor than I care to admit. I now will not cut a new area unless I am positive there is no wire there. I cannot stress this enough. Good luck with your purchase, sorry I can't help you with picking a mower. My dandl is 9' wide and it is the only flail I have any experience with.

 

[nova3930]

Just be careful around fence line, nothing rolls up loose wire like a flail mower. I have spent more time cutting wire from the ends of my rotor than I care to admit. I now will not cut a new area unless I am positive there is no wire there. I cannot stress this enough. Good luck with your purchase, sorry I can't help you with picking a mower. My dandl is 9' wide and it is the only flail I have any experience with.

It's all places that have been cut regularly for the past several years. I've just been borrowing the neighbors tractor and cutter.

 

[nova3930]

=======================================================================================


Hello nova3930,

One of the Caroni B rotor(2 row flail mower with the side slicer knives) should be fine for what you want.

Just be sure to purchase the right size for the horsepower of the mule you now have.

I have to waddle off now.

Am I correct in assessing that as a 5ft or less unit?