Travel speeds flail mower vs brush hog

[Fallon]

My Peruzzo brush bull flail is 7.2' & weighs over 1,500lbs. It has heavy hammers on it. Will chew through wrist to almost forearm sized scrub oak. I'm generally running out of HP on the 40hp Kubota L4060 rather than flail capacity. Although cutting like that I'm creeping along. Normal grass cutting I manage around 3mph.

 

[ismilelots]

Been looking at flail mowers lately and it looks like people are driving pretty slow in the videos.

I'm on the low end of the HP spec, 34, for the 6' brush hog I'm currently using but it handles what im cutting fine. If I hooked up to a 6' flail mower would it cut just adequately and allow the same travel speeds?

For me, I have to go a lot slower with the flail than I do with the brushhog. But the flail is a much nicer looking cut. I use the flail on the parts the wife can see from the patio and brushhog the rest.

 

[SwingOak]

I have both a flail and a brush hog. The brush hog mows faster, and with sharp blades will produce a very clean cut. Also for larger saplings, brush, & small trees, generally speaking if you can drive over it with the tractor the Bush hog will cut it.

I got the flail for mowing horse pastures because it breaks up the horse poo and mulches it in, so I basically mow and drag the pasture at the same time.

The flail also leaves all the clippings evenly distributed on top, which depending on how high the grass is can form a fairly thick mat and tends to slow regrowth significantly.

So I bought a finish mower, and now use that to mow pastures and the flail is rusting away in my row of parked attachments.

 

[Fields_mj]

I pull a 5' brush hog with an old 27-29hp Ford 1710. The ground that I normally bushhog no longer has any saplings left in it (thank goodness). Some of it gets mowed every year, some of it gets mowed every 2 or 3 years. The 1710 has 12 forward and 3 reverse speeds. When I'm running the bush hog I generally run in 6th or 7th gear. I'm not sure what speed that actually is, but Tractordata.com says its 2.8mph and 3.8mph respectively which seems about right as I was guessing somewhere in the 3-4mph range. Obviously, if the machine sounds like its starting to strain a fair amount, I drop to a lower gear, or if I end up going over a woody bush or sapling, I slow WAY down. I'm not going for a nice finish. I'm just knocking it down to keep it from getting too overgrown (ie no saplings) and to allow for new growth.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Flail will be slower than a rotary cutter indeed...........approx. 1/3 slower than a rotary cutter on average, it will need that time to mulch the cuttings.

 

[mike peyerl]

Been looking at flail mowers lately and it looks like people are driving pretty slow in the videos.

I'm on the low end of the HP spec, 34, for the 6' brush hog I'm currently using but it handles what im cutting fine. If I hooked up to a 6' flail mower would it cut just adequately and allow the same travel speeds?

I've found the flail mower I have takes more hp than a brushhog but does a nicer job

 

[perfdoc]

Been looking at flail mowers lately and it looks like people are driving pretty slow in the videos.

I'm on the low end of the HP spec, 34, for the 6' brush hog I'm currently using but it handles what im cutting fine. If I hooked up to a 6' flail mower would it cut just adequately and allow the same travel speeds?

I have an 8’ flail (pulled by 65hp), and I’m able to cut at 6-7 mph. I can cut at the same speed with a smaller tractor (52hp) with a 6’ rotary cutter. Terrain and sharp blades will determine quality of cut. Neither mower has been pushed hard or to maximum mph

 

[Sportsman762]

This depends on the rotation of the flail.

Flail will be slower than a rotary cutter indeed...........approx. 1/3 slower than a rotary cutter on average, it will need that time to mulch the cuttings.

With a reverse rotation flail the mower will do some mulching. However with a forward rotation flail there is little to no mulching. My Alamo SHD88 can be configured either way, but it like most Alamo SHD course cuts are forward rotation. This picks up the grass that the tractor pushes over but can cause the problem that Swing Oak noted below on high grass as the clippings are 2" long or so depending on grass height and mowing speed.

The flail also leaves all the clippings evenly distributed on top, which depending on how high the grass is can form a fairly thick mat and tends to slow regrowth significantly.

I have not noticed a need to go slower with a flail, if anything I can go faster than a brush hog as the bush hog leaves lots of things standing (comparing 45hp on 88" flail and 100 hp on 84" single spindle Bush Hog). However I can see reverse rotation flails needing more HP and having to go slower to keep the flails extended in heavy grass. Also some flails might have more slippage in the drive belt, not enough clearance under the hood to handle heavy grass, or other design limitations that hinder quicker mowing. I know I had to drive slower until I found the right belt for my flail (Alamo SHD88 use a raw edge belt not a wrapped one). Flails such as Alamo, Diamond, Kutmor, and Tiger built for production mowing along highways and can handle higher grass with a good cut at a good speed.

I should note that I have never sharpened brush hog blades as I have used them solely as a rough cut machine. Even when sharpened they are supposed to have a 1/8" flat edge on them (if memory serves from a Bush Hog or Woods manual). I should also note I have never sharpened my flail knives either. Once they get worn enough to get a curved edge I rotate them. I do sharpen finish mower blades, but a perfect cut is my desire.

 

[SwingOak]

I have found that sharp blades in a brush hog results in a very clean, non-raggedy cut in a tall grassy/weedy field, but that sharp edge does not hold up very well in brush/saplings and definitely not if you hit dirt and rocks. That's what the "detuned" flattened edge is best at, but does have a more raggedy cut.

 

[Fallon]

I have found that sharp blades in a brush hog results in a very clean, non-raggedy cut in a tall grassy/weedy field, but that sharp edge does not hold up very well in brush/saplings and definitely not if you hit dirt and rocks. That's what the "detuned" flattened edge is best at, but does have a more raggedy cut.

A dull blade mean a ragged cut. A ragged shattered stump is something you can drive over fine. A sharp stump can spear your tire.

Sharp blades or knives are better for a lawn. But if you are doing any rough, brushy, or small tree mowing you want dull blades or hammers.