Flail Mower caroni flail mower question

[millpond]

What does the hydraulic lift kit do..? I'm confused..? The three point hitch lifts and adjusts height of mower..right..?

 

[IslandTractor]

Are you sure it is not a hydraulic shift kit. The bigger Caroni flails can be shifted from midline to the right I believe and perhaps the kit is to do that hydraulically. My apologies if this is way off base.

 

[millpond]

Yes it's shift kit. Is it worth getting this equipment ? Does it make cutting that much easier. Or is this really for municipalities where there's constant
obstacles.

 

[IslandTractor]

It would be most useful for mowing near trees or buildings etc. Depends on how far past your wheels the mower reaches already too.

 

[GreenMtns]

If you click the thumbnail you can see that there are two positions to mount the top tower on the Larger Caroni flail mowers. The bottom mounts swap by just pulling a pin and moving it over. There is about an 8" to 10" difference in the two. I have the TM1900. If it is set up to mount in the left position the left side of the mower is in line with the outside of the left tire of the tractor. I need to use the right side mounts which position the mower about 20 to 22" beyond the right tire.
However, I have a problem with a bridge. In this position I can just get through. Not enough space to make you feel good about crossing so I ordered the shift kit.
If you don't have a clearance problem and can get it into your garage (another problem, 9' wide doors, it goes but I worry about the trim if I am not careful) You might not need the shift kit. I have been told that Agri Supply is going to stock the kit starting about the end of the summer so you might want to try it first. It is an add on so it can be mounted at any time.

By the way, I have been so pleased with the mower I sold my RC.

Al

 

[millpond]

Al: Great info. I will mowing in western Vermont as well and it seems like Caroni flail is absolutely the ticket. I've cleared about 3 acres so far and have half mile on each side of driveway which will need cutting. Do I need
the tm1900 6 footer or can I go down in size. There are quite a few rock
guard rails along the drive as we have some steep drop offs into culvers. Is this the area where having a shift system would allow me to get in closer against the rocks vs driving tight without the shift. Did you review any other flail mowers vs Caroni..? Bill

 

[tensaw12]

I am going to buy a finish mower, in the next couple of weeks.Is there an advantage to a flail, over a regular mower?

 

[IslandTractor]

I am going to buy a finish mower, in the next couple of weeks.Is there an advantage to a flail, over a regular mower?

Caroni flails are less expensive than good quality finish mowers of similar size. Cut quality depends on whether you get the flail with regular blades (similar to finish cut) or hammer blades (similar to bush hog cut). The flails are much shorter than rear finish mowers so if storage is a consideration that helps and it also helps with manuvering (no wide turn issue). The bigger flails such as the 72" Caroni can also be temporarily offset to the right which can be an advantage in some situations (see discussion above). Flails are less prone to eject high velocity missiles than rotary style cutters so are presumably a bit safer in settings were pedestrians or buildings are present. Flails are less likely to be damaged by hitting an obstacle as the pivoting blade just pivots out of the way as with a bush hog.

With the exception of the Caroni's which are medium duty, most other flail mowers are much heavier duty and therefore much more expensive than finish mowers. That, it seems to me, is the main reason why more people don't use them.

Servicing the blades on a flail mower takes more time and replacement of all 60-90 blades more expensive than servicing (sharpening) or replacing finish mower blades.