Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[JWR]

Those Y knives (new) look exactly the same as mine on an aging 88" Alamo. I'm not sure how many acres I have mowed with mine but in 3 seasons they are nowhere near as worn as the one on the right in your photo. And my clevises are not worn like that. And whoa ! That bolt is pretty badly worn. Those parts look to me like they have 200 hrs or more on them !? My Alamo has pins rather than bolts but I have never seen a pin noticeably worn nor anywhere near the ruts that have been worn in your bolts! That seems strange UNLESS you have hundreds of cutting hours on your machine. Any idea how many hours or how many acres you've cut with those?

 

[John0829]

I would guess he is located in an area with a lot of sandy, gritty soil and it is the abrasive action of the dust and dirt that caused the wear. Just my guess since neither my Alamo or New Holland 918H show wear that extensive after MANY hours of use.

 

[JethroB]

Those Y knives (new) look exactly the same as mine on an aging 88" Alamo. I'm not sure how many acres I have mowed with mine but in 3 seasons they are nowhere near as worn as the one on the right in your photo. And my clevises are not worn like that. And whoa ! That bolt is pretty badly worn. Those parts look to me like they have 200 hrs or more on them !? My Alamo has pins rather than bolts but I have never seen a pin noticeably worn nor anywhere near the ruts that have been worn in your bolts! That seems strange UNLESS you have hundreds of cutting hours on your machine. Any idea how many hours or how many acres you've cut with those?

Not sure of the hours of use on the mower before I reclaimed it from my nephew. It was my dad’s, his granddad’s. (Hey, grandpa will have it fixed!) 100 hours maybe? (10 x 10 years?) I do know he ran it in our sandy loam dirt almost like a tiller for years sometimes behind 75 & 100 HP JD’s. He also had the idea it was a heavy brush cutter. Misuse bordering on abuse likely. Once I determined last year that it was still ‘sound‘ I replaced everything.
He no longer gets to borrow it.

 

[JWR]

Not sure of the hours of use on the mower before I reclaimed it from my nephew. It was my dad’s, his granddad’s. (Hey, grandpa will have it fixed!) 100 hours maybe? (10 x 10 years?) I do know he ran it in our sandy loam dirt almost like a tiller for years sometimes behind 75 & 100 HP JD’s. He also had the idea it was a heavy brush cutter. Misuse bordering on abuse likely. Once I determined last year that it was still ‘sound‘ I replaced everything.
He no longer gets to borrow it.

Sure, that explains the wear. Going forward I would guess that adjusting height so it is not digging into gravel,rocks and sand will minimize the wear. Probably a new set of knives would last for a long time...

 

[gcagle]

I would guess he is located in an area with a lot of sandy, gritty soil and it is the abrasive action of the dust and dirt that caused the wear. Just my guess since neither my Alamo or New Holland 918H show wear that extensive after MANY hours of use.

Texas clay soil. And lots of crawfish pillars. All my grass is surrounding a 10 acre pond so the crawfish will always be there

 

[gcagle]

I'm sure this is asked and answered, but sorting through 700 pages of this wonderful thread? Crikey!

After one season of mowing with my wonderful new flail mower, the grass and weeds are not coming out with a clean cut anymore. Sure, I'm going to raise it up and grind the Y knives (or reverse them), but while I'm at it I'd love to get a better knife set. Something hardened, that will cut better, and for longer before needing another sharpen. Would like your advice on what to buy, and from where?


Flail: Del Morino Funny Top FT158C 62", 24" manual offset option. Stock Y Knives. (happily purchased from Good works tractors, replace the frequently failing stock belts with kevlar, never replaced another belt since.)

Tractors: I alternate between my 1025r and 2025r, depending on what's attached already.

Mowing: 15 acres of grass, wildflowers and weeds. Nothing thick enough to need a hammer. Over the next few years most of the fields will be nothing but white clover and a few wildflowers.

To see example of the grasses in the fields, view of video or two here:. https://m.facebook.com/cordolake

Is a representative of flailmaster here on the forum? Seems like I saw them give some pretty detailed advice somewhere else in the thread?

If yes, I can tag them here

Flail Mower Blades and Parts - Flail Master

Flail-Master® offers replacement flail mower blades and a large variety of other flail mower parts for mowers being used by roadside maintenance crews, vegetation management, public works departments, orchards, and personal use. Manufactured right here in middle Tennessee, our “Made in America”...

flailmaster.com

 

[LCA078]

Looking for input here on operating a flail mower without the rear roller. Seller has heavy duty flail mower 84" wide he thinks is an Italian model with the two-part "Y" style blades but the rear roller was ripped off many years ago. Seller says he 'floats' the mower a few inches above ground with his 3pt hitch without issue so he never replaced the roller. Says it does better without the roller when backing up on brush too. I'd be using it to knock down tall clump grass and keep cedar seedlings at bay around the ranch in central Texas. Definitely not looking for golf-course cutting but I wonder if without a roller I'd just be asking for trouble.

 

[JWR]

I see that as a desperate attempt to sell you a partial piece of equipment. Stay away from it unless you have a good means of replacing the roller which will be expensive. With that approach by the seller I'd have to assume the mower is beat up badly overall. And trying to operate the mower without roller is just a path to disaster. You'd be replacing knives constantly. Anything MIGHT be done. Should you? Good heavens NO !

 

[Fallon]

I see that as a desperate attempt to sell you a partial piece of equipment. Stay away from it unless you have a good means of replacing the roller which will be expensive. With that approach by the seller I'd have to assume the mower is beat up badly overall. And trying to operate the mower without roller is just a path to disaster. You'd be replacing knives constantly. Anything MIGHT be done. Should you? Good heavens NO !

I concur. A rear roller is key for a flail. Without it, things won't ever be level ir smooth. The only exception would be one if the few flails with a pair of rear wheels instead of a roller.

 

[JethroB]

I see that as a desperate attempt to sell you a partial piece of equipment. Stay away from it unless you have a good means of replacing the roller which will be expensive. With that approach by the seller I'd have to assume the mower is beat up badly overall. And trying to operate the mower without roller is just a path to disaster. You'd be replacing knives constantly. Anything MIGHT be done. Should you? Good heavens NO !

I agree. With every bump or dip either the skids or blades will be in the dirt. I lift mine off the roller occasionally in rough terrain. It gives a very poor cut then.

 

[Number15]

Please keep us informed as to what you determine was the cause and fix for it.

Just an update. I replaced the belts, it was an easy process. Set them to manufacturers spec and have used the flail for about 3 hours now.
The fields I mowed was denser than the one it had the belts fail on. Happy to report everything is working as it should. I rechecked tension and belts are still good so no stretch so far. Lesson learned, always check belt tension on new equipment.

 

[LouNY]

Looking for input here on operating a flail mower without the rear roller. Seller has heavy duty flail mower 84" wide he thinks is an Italian model with the two-part "Y" style blades but the rear roller was ripped off many years ago. Seller says he 'floats' the mower a few inches above ground with his 3pt hitch without issue so he never replaced the roller. Says it does better without the roller when backing up on brush too. I'd be using it to knock down tall clump grass and keep cedar seedlings at bay around the ranch in central Texas. Definitely not looking for golf-course cutting but I wonder if without a roller I'd just be asking for trouble.

As long as you don't have a problem keeping it out of the dirt and are going for a taller cut I don't see why it wouldn't work.
Most likely wouldn't be the easiest to get set up and use. If you try it out and see how it works for you you'd have a better ideal.
A person could add a piece of 3-4 pipe with a couple of stub shafts and bearings or even a couple of wheels to maintain level.
The Y blades aren't really designed for brush work but will in smaller stuff.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Just an update. I replaced the belts, it was an easy process. Set them to manufacturers spec and have used the flail for about 3 hours now.
The fields I mowed was denser than the one it had the belts fail on. Happy to report everything is working as it should. I rechecked tension and belts are still good so no stretch so far. Lesson learned, always check belt tension on new equipment.

Thanks for reporting back Number15. I have made a mental note to check mine as well when I get it this year. By the way, how does it cut?

 

[Number15]

Thanks for reporting back Number15. I have made a mental note to check mine as well when I get it this year. By the way, how does it cut?

Cuts great. I love this flail. I also have a Sicma ditch bank flail, but I like the cut of the Befco better. They both have hammers so I don't really know why the Befco is better. The Sicma has much better reach though, but that's to be expected. I can also run the Sicma vertical if needed.

The Befco has about 16" of side shift which is pretty good for cutting without flattening grass with the wheels. Also I push this flail so I get the grass before I run over it

 

[JWR]

Beauty of a setup.. what is that low cg machine ? Is that an Aebi ?

 

[Number15]

Beauty of a setup.. what is that low cg machine ? Is that an Aebi ?

It's an Antonio Carraro ttr7600. I got it for mowing my hills, it sticks to the ground like glue. I was too scared to mow these areas with my Branson. I did it once and that was enough, felt like I was going to tip over.

 

[Number15]

Banded (multi rib) AG belts will put an end to those kind of problems and they last a lot longer. I switched a 12 ft Taarup mower conditioner and a 6ft New Holland flail over to banded belts a couple years ago, both went from destroying 3 or 4 sets of belts a season to lasting 2+ years.

Banded belts seem like they would be hard to install in this application. Did you find it more difficult? Anyway I have extra sets of singles now just in case. OEM is on now and a B/U set of Gates

 

[LouNY]

Well I just order one of the chinese offsettable ditch bank flails,
will find out if I cuss myself out after I get it.

 

[JethroB]

Banded belts seem like they would be hard to install in this application. Did you find it more difficult? Anyway I have extra sets of singles now just in case. OEM is on now and a B/U set of Gates

I have a few dozen hours on Gates B43 belts (3) and so far ok. I also bought a spare set. All from Amazon for about $8 each ($24). I looked for Kevlar types but didn’t find any. Maybe mine are but it isn’t specified.

 

[KennJ]

My property looks similar to yours in some places. I went with Novatractor because it had the meanest looking hammers I found. I was telling my wife we need to take better pics and video of what we're doing with it because so far all I find online is people just cutting grass lol. This thing eats twigs, small branches, saplings and pine cones like nothing. This was 15 minutes and was easy stuff compared to some.

View attachment 744821View attachment 744822


Also, the sideshift has been great! I have the MFZ155, my tractor is 66 inches wide. So it's 60" cut doesn't quite cover the tires but I didn't want to go wider because it can be tricky to maneuver between the trees. The sideshift lets me reach a little as well as letting me get it out of the way when turning or up against the fence line. I am glad I went with a slide model.View attachment 744823

I was a bit leary about getting one that seems almost nobody has heard of, but they've been on the market for at least a few years so hope they will be around when I need something. I do have a few spare hammers. And as I saw someone else mentioned, the back panel on the Novatractor opens up for inspection and maintenance and makes it much easier to deal with.

How is this flail mower holding up for you? I'm trying to make a choice for one, and I am a little leery too regarding the brand.