Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[LouNY]

Your mowers height is set by the rear roller which should be on the ground and "rolling" when ever possible.
Then the height of your lower lift arms sets the height of the front of the mower, which will also adjust your mowing height too.
It is normally desired to maintain a lift arm height that keeps the side skids off the ground in most cases.
The toplink should just be along for the ride except when lifting the mower over obstructions or when trying to mow while carrying the mower at a height were the tractor is holding the mower up with the rear roller in the air.

 

[LMychajluk]

I'll give that a try. I've been trying to set it so that w/ the 3pt all the way down (rollers on the ground) , it's running high along the front edge at its min cutting height (ideally, ~3", I think) with the skids not touching (or barely along the back edges). (When I set it this way, the chains that hang along the front edge are 2-3" off the ground.) The problem I have been running into is that when it's high enough in the front w/ the 'tilt' from the top link to give me a min ~3" cutting height, I can no longer lift the mower high enough w/ the 3pt to swing it into the 90degree position, even w/ the 3pt all the way up - the gearbox hits the ground way before the mower is vertical. I'd really like to lower the roller a bit more, but there are only 2 holes available in the roller bracket, I've already lowered it to the lower (higher cut) setting, I'm not seeing any way that I could drill another or otherwise modify it to be lower...

 

[leonz]

If your right lower link is causing the gearbox to nearly touch the ground
you need to adjust the right lower link so that it is level with the left lower link.
This is the correct adjustment for an orchard and vineyard shredder/verge mower
to work properly and hug the ground as well as mow/slash with the mower in the
vertical extended position.

 

[LMychajluk]

The left and right lower links are level with each other.

 

[leonz]

Do you have adjustable length lower links or are they solid steel castings?

If they are adjustable are both lower links the same length?

Are the turnbuckles adjusted to the same length?
Are there chains holding the lower links in place and are they equal in length?

You may end up removing the lower links and raising them up two to four teeth to gain height
as they are set up for a moldboard plow.

 

[LMychajluk]

The lower links do 'extend', though I only extend them when hooking up. Once connected, I push back a bit w/ the tractor and they lock into the short position. I'm not even sure they lock in the extended position.

The turnbuckles to adjust tilt are the same length. The left one is just a fixed rod, with a turnbuckle on the right (to allow for leveling, I'm assuming?), and the lower arms sit level with nothing attached. I'm assuming it came level from the dealer, and I haven't putzed with this much since I bought the tractor, as I've never had the need. Not my tractor, but this is a pic of an identical tractor's rear setup:

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There are no chains on the rear. Would these be to adjust the lower arms side-to-side? I have a solid bar on each side that sits in a channel and gets pinned at a certain length that controls how far in/out (L/R) the arm sits. Once I get the attachment hooked up, I make sure I use the same pin holes on both sides and I know my attachment is centered.

I'll have to take a closer look to see if there's any additional pins or other method to raise the lower arms other than w/ the hydraulics.

 

[leonz]

When turn buckles or chains are used on the lower links
they prevent the lower links from shifting from side to side
your mule does not have that ability.

If your mule has the same hoisting arrangement for the
integrally mounted 3 point hitch implements you will
need to tighten the turnbuckle at least 3 threads to
prevent the mower gearbox from hitting the ground
when you rotate the flail mower shroud to vertical.

As this mule has no owner useable adjustment for the
lower links other than the right turn buckle you will have
to use the right turnbuckle to shorten the right lower link
to increase the height of the mower when it is rotated to
vertical and lock the draft control.

 

[LMychajluk]

...

As this mule has no owner useable adjustment for the
lower links other than the right turn buckle you will have
to use the right turnbuckle to shorten the right lower link
to increase the height of the mower when it is rotated to
vertical and lock the draft control.

I'm not too familiar with tractors other than my own, but I thought it seemed to have a good number of adjustments, incl. the side to side (not a chain or turnbuckle, but a pair of sliding 'braces' that can be pinned every inch or so). But, I doesn't seem that I have any vertical adjustments for the lower arms other than the hydraulics. Here's a pic of the brace on the right, and there's an identical one on the left that's not visible in the pic:

I'll play with the adjustments some more and see what I can do when I get the replacement hammers (Mon, I think) and get the mower back on the tractor. The issue w/ the gearbox hitting the ground when rotated only seemed to happen when I tried to extend the top-link to limit how far the mower tilts forward. When I did this, the yoke(? - what the 3pt attaches to) would not be vertical, and therefore the side-shift and rotation mechanisms wouldn't be on the right axis. Maybe I just need to learn to not put the arms all the way down when mowing...

Thanks for all the responses, btw!

 

[LouNY]

I'm not too familiar with tractors other than my own, but I thought it seemed to have a good number of adjustments, incl. the side to side (not a chain or turnbuckle, but a pair of sliding 'braces' that can be pinned every inch or so). But, I doesn't seem that I have any vertical adjustments for the lower arms other than the hydraulics. Here's a pic of the brace on the right, and there's an identical one on the left that's not visible in the pic:

View attachment 3637113

I'll play with the adjustments some more and see what I can do when I get the replacement hammers (Mon, I think) and get the mower back on the tractor. The issue w/ the gearbox hitting the ground when rotated only seemed to happen when I tried to extend the top-link to limit how far the mower tilts forward. When I did this, the yoke(? - what the 3pt attaches to) would not be vertical, and therefore the side-shift and rotation mechanisms wouldn't be on the right axis. Maybe I just need to learn to not put the arms all the way down when mowing...

Thanks for all the responses, btw!

Just low enough to mow well.

 

[K5lwq]

I'm not too familiar with tractors other than my own, but I thought it seemed to have a good number of adjustments, incl. the side to side (not a chain or turnbuckle, but a pair of sliding 'braces' that can be pinned every inch or so). But, I doesn't seem that I have any vertical adjustments for the lower arms other than the hydraulics. Here's a pic of the brace on the right, and there's an identical one on the left that's not visible in the pic:

View attachment 3637113

I'll play with the adjustments some more and see what I can do when I get the replacement hammers (Mon, I think) and get the mower back on the tractor. The issue w/ the gearbox hitting the ground when rotated only seemed to happen when I tried to extend the top-link to limit how far the mower tilts forward. When I did this, the yoke(? - what the 3pt attaches to) would not be vertical, and therefore the side-shift and rotation mechanisms wouldn't be on the right axis. Maybe I just need to learn to not put the arms all the way down when mowing...

Thanks for all the responses, btw!

You could remove the left lift arm side link and drill another hole about an inch above the bottom hole. Then use this new hole when you reinstall. Then adjust the right lift arm to even things out again. That should give you plenty of lift.

Like this arm that was on my Kioti.