Wheels for Berta Franco flail?

[CodeMonkey]

Besides larger wheels and tires for my Grillo 107D tractor, I believe I need wheels for my Berta flail mower too.

Yes, I know there are caster wheels you can buy for either the Berta or BCS flail mowers - but I believe they would be too small for the ground I work my flail with, and they would just get caught in the brambles instead of rolling over it as I would need them to do. I know the larger tractor wheels will help this, but I am thinking that the help wouldn't be as much as I want and that front mower wheels would help a lot more.

My ground is very uneven. Besides the tractor wheels getting into a rut and getting stuck, the flail mower often bottoms out towards the front of the mower, either going forward or in reverse. This makes my work a lot more difficult. Castor wheels *might* help a little in that regard, but I believe, given the size I have seen, that they would just as frequently get stuck themselves due to their small diameter.

I am thinking of mounting a bar across the front of the mower to serve as an axle for much larger wheels - wheels about the size of very small child's BMX bike wheels - something between 16" and 20" in diameter. I know there are a lot used child BMX type bikes out there I could scavenge wheels from.

One problem would be that the wheels would be fixed - i.e., not on a caster, and therefore make turning more difficult at times, but I think the trade off would be worth it. T

he other thing is that I would probably have to find a way to adjust the height of the axle - maybe - to get the front height of the mower correct. However, I could probably live with the height of the mower being fixed for the kind of brush cutting I am doing - a few more inches of cutting height would be fine (as it is now I am often cutting right down on the ground because the ground is so uneven) - mostly I want to cut down brush that is above my waist, sometimes as tall as I am, so if it comes out 8" after being cut instead of 4 inches, that doesn't concern me - in fact, it would probably make my job easier.

Thoughts?

Has anybody done anything like this before?

TIA

 

[leonz]

If you are referring to front mount caster wheels you will want them as
the rear roller will work in tandem with them as long as the front of the
flail will be set at one height and the rear roller will follow at the height
you want to cut. The Mott caster weldments have several height positions.

You should keep the height of cut very low to keep the brush down and
manage the amount of regrowth.


IF you raise the cutting height you will lose the mechanical advantage of the
pressure gradient created with the rotation of the flail mower rotor and the
ability of the mower to mow very effectively as the clippings will not be carried
over the flail mower rotor as effectively and then decomposing quickly into
mulch that would dissolve into the sod.


The simple act of cutting right down to the ground also eliminates the
brush clumps as well where they become bigger brush clumps and will
be harder to mow over.

Having a two inch mowing height will have a beneficial effect for you as the
cutting height will regulate the growth rate of the brush.


=========================================================

NOW:


You can purchase larger pneumatic or solid tires and weld a
caster frame to the flail mower BUT it will take some doing.

Ideally you can purchase a pair of complete casters and the two Mott caster attachments from Flail Master and weld the two attachments to the mower housing but the flail mowers shroud will require the welding/bolting of a piece of tubular steel to the front of the mower with a piece of strap iron inside the hood bolted through the shroud to the tubular steel using grad eight fine threaded bolts flat washers and red Loctite to secure it in place as you never want this metal work to separate from the mow shroud.


This would be the fastest way to do this in your situation and allow you to mow more effectively.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Here is the thing about smaller caster wheels on the front; if I am having problems with the 20" diameter tires in the rear getting through the rough ground I mow, I think I can safely predict that anything smaller in the front will cause problems too.