subcompact flail mower

[SmallTrac]

Hello everyone,

I know that flail mowers have gotten a lot of attention on this forum and for subcompact owners, some have wondered if one was even available. I am pleased to say that not only are they available, but they do a wonderful job at mowing, especially tackling tall grass and turning it into something close to lawn-like quality. The version here is the BEFCO H40 4' model (3 inch offset) equipped with paddle blades, a sort of all purpose blade. They are NOT designated as finish blades, but I will let you be the judge. I have included both pictures of the mower itself and some of the areas it mowed. On those grassy areas, bear in mind that most of them were 2-3 foot tall grass before being cut. Without further comment, here are some of my pictures from early experiments. Note: The grass pictures have been taken 1/2 finished so you can see the before and after effects of the flail mower








I hope you enjoy
SmallTrac
SubCompactTractorWorld.com
Flail Mower Page

 

[leonz]

The scoop, duck foot or shovel flail mower knives are a dual purpose
mowing knive for flail mowers with a specific flail mower rotor
assembled and welded with fewer knive mounting stations due
to the wider cut of the duck foot/scoop/shovel knive.



Small flail mowers have always been available for sale since the early 1980's
and were sold for many years by the Mott Mower Corporation and the Mathews Company
More than a handful of flail mower builders are still manufacturing them including
Maschio, Caroni, Broadmoor/Wessex, Berti, Sicma, Perugini and many others.




The quality of cut for a duck foot/scoop/shovel type mower knive
allows it to be a middle ground mower knive and is ment as a dual purpose
mowing knive capable for turf grass and light brush mowing.

To obtain a better looking cut one can always travel at right angles when
mowing to better cut the turf grass or brush.

Maintenance of the knive blade is key as a wet well knive grinder
gives the best cutting edge at all times due to the hardened steel used by most
flail mower knive stamping companies as heating the hardened edge to much will cause damage.

If a flail mower is used for mowing the proper ground speed for mowing is also key to
the use of a flail mower.


The flail mower must also be used at the 540 RPM engine speed setting to permit it to mow properly
at the correct flail mower rotor speed.


The scoop type flail mower does not permit the user to re cut the clippings as they cannot shred the clippings the same way a side slicer flail mower knive mounted singly or in pairs is is capable of doing.


The mower must also be set up properly every mowing season to eliminate any issues with the quality of cut.

 

[SmallTrac]

Leonz,

Your expert knowledge certainly shows. Thanks for the wealth of information in this brief statement. Given how well it worked on my trails, I am thinking of flailing the entire grass portion, but set at 6 inches instead of the current 4 inch setting.



SmallTrac
SubCompactTractorWorld.com

 

[SmallTrac]

Rough Cut Smooth Finish,

I just wanted to add these pictures here to show how smooth a cut rough cut knives can give. Aside from mowing, all I did to the picture was to rake off the clippings to fully expose the fresh cut grass. If anything, the raking slightly roughed up the cut. This grass is pasture grass, not finished lawn.

The second set of pictures is a small before and after series to show how this fairs while cutting woody debris. I have experimented and been able to shred thoroughly small piles of brush. This series is a combination of grass, brambles and small twigs







SmallTrac
View attachment 376452

 

[kebo]

General question: Is a flail mower any louder than the same size bush hog? Or possibly quieter?? Let's assume both are in good shape, well maintained, and no significant vibrations due to something being bent, broken, or out of balance. It seems that all those knives hanging loose would make a lot of racket, but I understand that the centrifugal force will tend to keep them in their "cutting position" until they hit something and bend backwards momentarily. I never have been around a flail mower up close (other than seeing them on some RoW tractors while I'm driving down the road) so I'm mostly just curious. Thanks...

 

[SmallTrac]

kebo,

Actually, the flail mower is rather quiet. Mine does make a rattling/clanking sound at start-up and shut-down as all of those individual flails abruptly go into motion or stop. But the actual use of the mower is rather quiet. The sound of the mowing action is considerably quieter than the RFM I still occasionally use. When the mower is engaged but still raised, the predominant sound is from air being forced out the rear exhaust. As the mower gets lowered down to the ground the sound changes to what I would call a more abrasive sound which is actually the sound of the flail blades whipping over the grass. Generally, the longer the grass, the louder the abrasive sound. When mowing over woody material, the sound is akin to a chipper and then it is definitely louder than mowing grass. But the biggest noise of all is after I kill the PTO and all of the blades suddenly stop. That sound was unnerving at first as you swear you can hear every one of those 48 flail knives clanking against the central drum. After a couple of uses though it becomes much less alarming. You are dead on about the centrifugal force. While at speed, those flails are virtually welded outward. I have not yet hit any object of any significance that would cause the flails to bend over significantly, but in that eventuality I would have to imagine that it would make quite a racket.

Once again, I have rambled on, but before I go, if I were to rank-order the mowers from quietest to noisiest, the order would be

1) flail mower

2) Rough cutter

3) RFM (or MMM)

I hope this helps, from the look of things, you have quite a collection yourself!




SmallTrac
SubCompactTractorWorld.com

 

[RockyLn]

kebo,

Actually, the flail mower is rather quiet. Mine does make a rattling/clanking sound at start-up and shut-down as all of those individual flails abruptly go into motion or stop. But the actual use of the mower is rather quiet. The sound of the mowing action is considerably quieter than the RFM I still occasionally use. When the mower is engaged but still raised, the predominant sound is from air being forced out the rear exhaust. As the mower gets lowered down to the ground the sound changes to what I would call a more abrasive sound which is actually the sound of the flail blades whipping over the grass. Generally, the longer the grass, the louder the abrasive sound. When mowing over woody material, the sound is akin to a chipper and then it is definitely louder than mowing grass. But the biggest noise of all is after I kill the PTO and all of the blades suddenly stop. That sound was unnerving at first as you swear you can hear every one of those 48 flail knives clanking against the central drum. After a couple of uses though it becomes much less alarming. You are dead on about the centrifugal force. While at speed, those flails are virtually welded outward. I have not yet hit any object of any significance that would cause the flails to bend over significantly, but in that eventuality I would have to imagine that it would make quite a racket.

Once again, I have rambled on, but before I go, if I were to rank-order the mowers from quietest to noisiest, the order would be

1) flail mower

2) Rough cutter

3) RFM (or MMM)

I hope this helps, from the look of things, you have quite a collection yourself!




SmallTrac
SubCompactTractorWorld.com

I purchased the Befco 48" flail through SubCompactTractorWorld.com[/QUOTE] in early 2015 so I have now had two seasons with it. I run it on my Massey GC 1705 subcompact which has 19hp at the PTO. I went with the paddle blades since most of what I do is field and brush. I set it at 4" that first season and have never had a need to change the height. I wanted to have enough height to avoid any pesky rocks that might be hiding in the grass. I am very satisfied with how well it performs. I don't have a huge barn to store things so the smaller footprint of the mower was a factor in my decision. I had previously used a 4' hog and that took up about twice the space. Plus I find I can turn and maneuver tighter spaces with the flail. Most importantly, the flail really shreds through everything I run it through like buckthorn, wild grape, tall grasses, etc. I may need to go a little slower through exceptionally thick grasses but for the most part the engine isn't noticeably working harder as has happened with the brush hog.

My initial "learnings":
1. The PTO shaft the mower came with fit but was just long enough to be a PITA to connect. This can be remedied by cutting the PTO or better yet, just get Pat's hitch like I did. Beyond the primary benefits of Pat's hitch is the fact that it will add 3-4 in. in length to your hitch arms. The uncut PTO shaft is now painless to connect and I have the benefit of hooking up vs. aligning holes with pins.
2. There is a rubber flap on the tractor side of the cutting area. This didn't last very long, only some remnant of it left. Honestly, I don't really see what benefit it provided to begin with so I am not missing it.
3. Some minor workmanship issues in the form of poor or missing paint on the roller and inside the working area under the shroud. These areas don't stay pretty very long but I let Befco know as I think that first impression is important and can be an indicator of other quality problems if not corrected. Made in America has to mean something so I always provide feedback to manufacturers so they can be the best.
4. Some learning involved on when to let the mower ride the ground on the roller versus just maintaining a static position by lifting it a bit. All depends on the terrain from what I can tell.

Overall, very satisfied with the Befco flail and working with Eric at SubCompactTractorWorld. The flail is a great tool for the subcompact and when I am not mowing it also makes a great counter weight for the FEL.

Hope I am in the right thread/forum for this commentary. If not, oh well, someone may still benefit by reading my two cents

 

[Catman8]

I was only able to use my flail mower about 20 minutes before my tractor broke down and the one thing I remembered was the tires smashing the grass over and the flail mower not able to cut where my tire tracks were because the grass was laying flat, anyone have that problem.

 

[RockyLn]

I was only able to use my flail mower about 20 minutes before my tractor broke down and the one thing I remembered was the tires smashing the grass over and the flail mower not able to cut where my tire tracks were because the grass was laying flat, anyone have that problem.

Check the mower specs before you buy. A good flail will spin the cutting blades opposite to the forward direction of the tractor and actually lifts the grass or other vegetation while cutting as the tractor moves forward.

 

[ovrszd]

Check the mower specs before you buy. A good flail will spin the cutting blades opposite to the forward direction of the tractor and actually lifts the grass or other vegetation while cutting as the tractor moves forward.

My Ford Flail spins forward, or same direction as tractor tires are turning. It doesn't seem to leave tire mark strips. But what it doesn't do is mulch. It only cuts the grass once and then spits it out the rear of the mower.