Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

I jut bought a Ironcraft FL-165 to cut about 7 acres of overgrown pasture. It has been so wet this summer in Maine, haven't been able to cut with my bush hog. Bogs down the tractor. Flail came with hammers installed but also came with Y blades. Should I change blades for first cut or just go with the hammers? The grass is about 5-6 ft tall and very green.

First be sure the rear roller is set at the lowest cutting height which requires the rear roller to be
mounted at the highest adjustment point(mounting holes) on the side weldments.

Remove the cast hammers and install the side slicer knives, you will be able to recut
the clippings and heavy brush with no difficulty and you will not have dead grass
covering the sod.

With the smaller acreage you have you will be able to mow in 2 acre blocks and keep
it cut at a 2 inch height after you mow it the first time.

The hammer knives will not recut the brush for you as they will not have the ability to
lift the clippings and cut them again.

You need to mow at the lowest forward travel speed for the first cutting to be able to
create the highest pressure gradient to create the lift needed to slice the brush and carry
it over the flail mower rotor and throw it back down on the ground.

Make you first pass to the center of the acreage and then start mowing inn a small spiral and
only take a half cut after the first pass and continue doing it this way until you are done.
B doing this you will be recutting and cutting at the same time and shredding the clipping to
a much smaller size and they will dissolve faster.

Do not depend on the Tattle tale air restriction indicator on your air filter as they are extremely
inaccurate. Do nothing more than use shop vacuum with a soft brush to clean it, do not bang it
on something as it will damage it.

The drier the brush becomes the more often your trash screen in front of the radiator will plug so
be very mindful of that.

Once you have it cleared and cut at 2" you will be able to mow at a faster ground speed while mowing
in a spiral pattern.

Yes, it will be boring, perhaps you can invest in a fender radio or a set of radio earmuffs from Gemplers
to pass the time while mowing?

 

[leonz]

Hi folks. I’ve been wondering if a flail mower is right for me. We’re rotationally grazing sheep over about 17 acres, although next year it’s going to be about 60. We tend to mow after we move the sheep, just to keep uneaten vegetation from going to seed and encourage new growth. Last year and this year we’ve been mostly using our 60” mower deck on our John Deere 1025R, or our 60” rotary mower on our Kubota L3130. The JD mows a little lower than we’d ideally like, even at its highest setting. It’s OK this year, but isn’t going to “cut it” next year when we’re moving 4 acre paddocks every 4 days. Too much time spent mowing. The rotary mower leaves a semi-windrow as it passes and doesn’t distribute the cuttings well, which tends to inhibit new growth where the cuttings lay.

We also mow occasionally around the horse pasture, and the rotary mower isn’t great there for the same reason.

Is a flail mower the right tool for cutting grass after sheep? It’s usually not hard work as the sheep have ideally eaten most of it. The more mulching/shredding it does, the better, both for sheep and horses. On a semi-related note, I just paid a neighbour >$1000 to chop 32 acres of cut hay as it got ruined by rain. It would have been slow going with my 31hp Kubota, but $1000 would have gone a long way towards buying me a nice mower.

I’m just looking for ideas on whether I should be getting a flail mower/shredder, or some other type of mower. Then, is 72” about the max for my tractor or could I safely go wider? I guess I have more research to do too on the different types of blades for each application. Thanks.

Hello and good afternoon aclarke,

A 48" Del Morino or Maschio boom mounted orchard and vineyard crop shredder for your kubota will work well for you as it will allow you to mow close to fence lines and when fully extended it will let you mow in a spiral from the center and clip the pasture at a 2 inch height.

 

[Bkstanley2]

Hey guys, any information you can give for this Ford Flail mower? Its at an auction this weekend and I'm interested but I believe its to big for my tractor. What's the HP specs for these?

 

[dieselscout80]

Looks like a 5’ Ford 917.

I have a 74” (actual cutting width not overall) and I have a TC45DA and it works great.

 

[Fallon]

Hey guys, any information you can give for this Ford Flail mower? Its at an auction this weekend and I'm interested but I believe its to big for my tractor. What's the HP specs for these?
View attachment 811859

I ran a 7' one behind my L3200, 32hp, 2,500lbs orvso. Had to go slow, but it did decent.

I paid $100 for the beat to hell flail 8-9 years ago. Have maybe $500 into it now with a PTO shaft, belts, new knives & some bearings. It's survived 5+ years as my main mower for my side hustle. My new flail is currently down due to roller bearings. So I've been using the Ford this year & haven't gotten to fixing my main Peruzzo. It's still beat to hell with a cracked hood & lots of other issues. But it's still working at probably 20+ years old.

 

[Bkstanley2]

Yeah wasn't sure if my Branson would be enough, with 25HP and PTO estimated at 18. Also I cant seem to find a picture of any other Ford flail with red lettering "FORD" on it.

 

[Fallon]

I ran a 7' one behind my L3200, 32hp, 2,500lbs orvso. Had to go slow, but it did decent.

I paid $100 for the beat to hell flail 8-9 years ago. Have maybe $500 into it now with a PTO shaft, belts, new knives & some bearings. It's survived 5+ years as my main mower for my side hustle. My new flail is currently down due to roller bearings. So I've been using the Ford this year & haven't gotten to fixing my main Peruzzo. It's still beat to hell with a cracked hood & lots of other issues. But it's still working at probably 20+ years old.

Slow going in that thick stuff, but it went.

 

[Sid Post]

I'm not the "bucket police" and your ground looks pretty flat but, I'd lower the bucket for Cg reasons.

 

[aclarke]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I guess I don’t have my notifications set right or I’d have been back sooner. To address some questions and follow up:

I get the rules of thumb like 12” of mower per 5 PTO hp. However, what I’m cutting is very light. Sheep have already grazed it for 2-5 days, so it’s just what’s left and can be run over very quickly. Not to mention that it’s in a field so if something gets missed, I’m not going to cry over it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a situation where my Kubota wasn’t enough tractor for my 5’ rotary mower. I just drive slower if the grass is thicker. I’ve run it once or twice behind the JD for the lolz and that’s a different story but if I buy a flail mower it will be for the Kubota.

I get that people always think they or I need a bigger tractor. I’d love a bigger tractor, and I’d love a telehandler, and an excavator, and also a winter ski chalet in the Alps and a magical flying pony while I’m wanting things. However, the sheep have to pay for equipment, and with fencing in two fields this year that’s a cost I need to recuperate first. I’m not cutting 60 acres at a time, just 4 acre paddocks every 4 days or so after the sheep are moved. And I will get a bigger tractor at some point I’m sure. Just not this year.

Interesting idea, moving goats after sheep. We might possibly run cattle after the goats for that reason, just custom grazing a few head over the summer to convert some of that uneaten grass into money. Cattle and sheep don’t share parasites so there’s an advantage there too. But I would still likely cut after some times of the year, and I am doing too many new things next year already to add cattle as well.

Sounds like I should be looking for a 6’ flail mower with Y blades. And I need to research the different chutes and mulching options on different mowers. I really appreciate the responses.

 

[Sid Post]

For what you say, I would look at Agrisupply and the Caroni flails built in Italy. They work really well in conditions like what you describe with similar tractors.