Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[allen ledford]

Thanks for the info. I have another question. The Caroni has 2 belts. some of the other brands have 3 belts for the same size mower. Is 3 belts better?

 

[allen ledford]

Please try to explain the pully diameter factor.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Thanks for the info. I have another question. The Caroni has 2 belts. some of the other brands have 3 belts for the same size mower. Is 3 belts better?

Typically more are better. In the end it is more about belt width - wider means more hp can be transmitted (so 3 are usually wider than 2 but depends on the belt). For the same hp, wider belt means less stress on the belt.

hpwever you DO want a weakest link - slipping a belt, even if it has to be replaced, is a good way to prevent damage should you jam the rotor.
Then there is belt material; Kevlar type are typically better and last longer.
Finally you can get combo belts, where you can buy one wide belt that is the same width as 2 (or 3) standard belt. Advantage there is there is no “matching” of lots to ensure different belts don’t have slightly different characteristics.
However proper belt run design with tensioner, etc and proper tensioning and pulley alignment is far more critical to belt life than the belt itself. There is a large amount of science around belts that can be used; depends on the machine manufacturer which is one reason why the Chinese imports are regarded as slightly inferior to US/Italian models which typically draw on that body of engineering knowledge more heavily

 

[Beeenvenue]

Please try to explain the pully diameter factor.

Beside Determining the speed ratio, in general a smaller pulley is worse on belts because of the lower contact area (allows more slippage) and greater bending (wear on the belt) so more tension is required to properly transmit HP. Those are general considerations though and depends on specific design calculations which vary by total belt path, belt width, hp to be transmitted, potential desire to allow slippage to reduce shock loading, etc.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

As far as belt quantity goes, my Alamo SHD88 only has 1 belt, a size C belt. As far as I know all Alamo mowers use 1 belt. I've had the belt shred when I've hit things I probably shouldn't have hit (logs that jammed the rotor tight). Otherwise it would last for a long time. I think the belt is the "shear pin" on my mower. It saves the gearbox from certain demise when my mower finds things my eyes didn't. It provides more of a cushion than a slip clutch would. I just keep an extra belt on hand at all times as I typically only go through 1 a year.

Belt tension mechanisms are important. It's best to have an extra pulley as the tensioner. I feel spring tensioners are better than solid tensioners. I've seen the Chinese mowers use the jack shaft (between the gearbox and the belt) as the tensioning mechanism. That is a poor design in my opinion. It does not guarantee parallelism between the pulleys. Pulleys that are not parallel will cause all sorts of issues with the belt(s).

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

As far as belt quantity goes, my Alamo SHD88 only has 1 belt, a size C belt. As far as I know all Alamo mowers use 1 belt. I've had the belt shred when I've hit things I probably shouldn't have hit (logs that jammed the rotor tight). Otherwise it would last for a long time. I think the belt is the "shear pin" on my mower. It saves the gearbox from certain demise when my mower finds things my eyes didn't. It provides more of a cushion than a slip clutch would. I just keep an extra belt on hand at all times as I typically only go through 1 a year.

Belt tension mechanisms are important. It's best to have an extra pulley as the tensioner. I feel spring tensioners are better than solid tensioners. I've seen the Chinese mowers use the jack shaft (between the gearbox and the belt) as the tensioning mechanism. That is a poor design in my opinion. It does not guarantee parallelism between the pulleys. Pulleys that are not parallel will cause all sorts of issues with the belt(s).

I found the Jack shaft simple and effective as long as the gearbox which has vertical adjustment is adjusted with the output shaft.

 

[leonz]

I can't stand it any longer. I just got to get me one of these damn FLAIL mowers. I live in north central Louisiana and we have no dealers in my part of the woods. I have been looking at a CARONI brand mower 73" for about $ 2600.00

Do any of you guys have any info on this brand. this REDNECK COONASS needs some help. My tractor is 65 HP.
Thanks for info,
Allen

Hello and good morning Mr. Ledford,

You have come to the right place for information about flail mower in general.

The first thing you should really do is read the lets talk flail mowers and then
come back and ask questions.

My Brother in laws joke about a coonass was this;
"What's the difference between a coon ass and a dumb ass??; Answer, The Sabine River.

Once you have read the flail mower thread and asked questions you will know which type
of flail mower you need.

 

[DieselBound]

I can't stand it any longer. I just got to get me one of these damn FLAIL mowers. I live in north central Louisiana and we have no dealers in my part of the woods. I have been looking at a CARONI brand mower 73" for about $ 2600.00

Do any of you guys have any info on this brand. this REDNECK COONASS needs some help. My tractor is 65 HP.
Thanks for info,
Allen

What are you looking/needing to mow?

I'm running a 7' flail on my 55hp Kioti and am mowing all sorts of crap, in which case I had to have a mulcher type of flail (as well as having hydraulic side-shift): the flail is rated for 60hp to 120hp machines (I have to operate at slower ground speeds so I figured I could get by being a bit under-powered). Prices have gone up and are now around $4,300 for this flail: I got mine for $3,500. Lighter-duty flails are, of course, less.

 

[Wasmeneh]

I have a Bestco AGL 165 Ditch bank flail mower. Anybody gone to the Y blades on this one? If so where did you get them since I would also need the appropriate spacers? Emailed Bestco awaiting a response, but perhaps there is a better source.
Thanks\Mike

 

[workinonit]

What are you looking/needing to mow?

I'm running a 7' flail on my 55hp Kioti and am mowing all sorts of crap, in which case I had to have a mulcher type of flail (as well as having hydraulic side-shift): the flail is rated for 60hp to 120hp machines (I have to operate at slower ground speeds so I figured I could get by being a bit under-powered). Prices have gone up and are now around $4,300 for this flail: I got mine for $3,500. Lighter-duty flails are, of course, less.

What exactly do the tines do for you on that Nova mower? Are those mulching tines? Mine has a stationary strip of teeth that do the mulching.

 

[Number15]

I think I am going to get the Sicma MLA - 160. Anyone have experience with this brand/flail?

 

[Fallon]

What exactly do the tines do for you on that Nova mower? Are those mulching tines? Mine has a stationary strip of teeth that do the mulching.

My Pruzzo has fixed teeth out of dull bar stock. Seems to provide a good fixed jaw for the hammers to chew up & mulch stuff against.

 

[electrycmonk]

I can't stand it any longer. I just got to get me one of these damn FLAIL mowers. I live in north central Louisiana and we have no dealers in my part of the woods. I have been looking at a CARONI brand mower 73" for about $ 2600.00

Do any of you guys have any info on this brand. this REDNECK COONASS needs some help. My tractor is 65 HP.
Thanks for info,
Allen

Right now on FB-marketplace here in my “Hometown” of Denton, Tx is a Ford 917 for a modest $950! (Rolls eyes) it’s been listed for about 2 weeks as of tomorrow.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Right now on FB-marketplace here in my “Hometown” of Denton, Tx is a Ford 917 for a modest $950! (Rolls eyes) it’s been listed for about 2 weeks as of tomorrow.

That one has been on and off for more than 6 months. (I’ve been tracking it or was until I bought a different unit)

 

[arto98607]

Right now on FB-marketplace here in my “Hometown” of Denton, Tx is a Ford 917 for a modest $950! (Rolls eyes) it’s been listed for about 2 weeks as of tomorrow.

Depends on condition - if it's in good condition and not in need of major overhaul it's perfectly OK asking price.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Right now on FB-marketplace here in my “Hometown” of Denton, Tx is a Ford 917 for a modest $950! (Rolls eyes) it’s been listed for about 2 weeks as of tomorrow.

Ford 917 is a good choice because it has decent aftermarket support. Also, Alamo course cut blades will fit on that unit as well (in the course cut positions). As arto said, if it is in good condition that's a fair price for it. I bought one missing the rear roller for $750, made a new roller for it and replace the blades. After using it for a year I sold it for $1200.

 

[Greenland South]

I think I am going to get the Sicma MLA - 160. Anyone have experience with this brand/flail?

This is what I've been using and cutting with a 40hp PTO for the last 6 years. Of course with the fields beat back now it's much easier.

 

[dieselscout80]

Nice how wide is it?

 

[workinonit]

Interweb says it's 87" cut and 94" overall. Looks like a very good mower. I'm curious if he has knives or hammers on it? I have the Italian Maschio 300 with hammers.

 

[Beeenvenue]

New member of flail mower nation with a Loftness 177/72M. I have a post on it including pictures. Loftness 3pt Flail (new to me)

I’m looking for recommendations on improved mulching. With y knives I would have thought I would get good mulching but I end up with nicely cut grass and long blades laying on it. What I have done:

All blades new or freshly sharpened.

run at 540 rpm

mowed slowly

Top link parallel to gearbox shaft

Run back over it - doesn’t seem to help, and neither fresh nor 2 day old dry cuttings seem to be picked back up by the flails.



What else can I do to improve recutting/mulching?

Tilt overall mower forward/backward with hydraulic top link

Try a higher roller setting or lower (can’t go much higher/lower cut but I have some room)

Add some heavy material over back discharge chute to possibly encourage recutting (what I have is the original discharge deflector which has no adjustment)

Which of the above or other ideas are most likely to help more finely shred the cuttings?