Flail Mower Caroni TM1900 Flail First Impessions

[IllMarty1]

I posted this to another thread but don't know if anyone saw it.

Hey Guys,

The synopses have covered all the angles I think. Great job.

I just bought a Caroni flail mower, a TM1900, from Agri-Supply. It has the heavier cutting blades(Y shaped), and there are 56 on this model. It was used the first time this weekend, and it performed great. I was cutting down 4-5' talls weeds and light brush with ease. Mowing the lawn around my summer place was a piece of cake in 6th gear, and it left the clippings dristibuted evenly instead of windrows the RC used to leave. The clippings would be finer if I slowed down a bit. It has 2 positions for 3 pt. hook up, and I used the offset position. It cuts about 2' outside my right wheel. This offset is great for mowing around the house, the trees, and most importantly, the pond.

I bought this mower mainly for safety reasons. As much as I would tell my family and guests to stay clear of the tractor while mowing with the RC, I would always have someone closer to me than I liked. I also like that I can worry less about projectiles hitting my house and breaking something. No windrows is nice too.

I priced out a similar Land Pride flail mower (both units weighed about the same) and it was over $4000. The Caroni was just over $1800 with shipping direct to me included. The phrase "no brainer" comes to mind here.

I was able to haul this mower easily in the bed of my truck, and with a few clevises and choker cables, was able to easily unload with my bucket.

If you are looking for a finish look, Caroni has models with finish blades too.

So far I am very happy. Time will tell.

Marty

 

[millpond]

Marty can you tell me if you're cutting fields / lawn with any rocks..? I'm trying to determine if the rolling pin will get damaged on my fields. They are
brand new and won't be cut until next Spring, but how big a rock will Caroni flail roll over without ant trouble. Obviously I know a rock stick'n up a foot high isn't going to be good. But will flail mowers roll over a 6 inch bump without that lower unit getting into heavy maintence..?

 

[IllMarty1]

I only have a few very small rocks in my fields. They are just the ones I have dropped from a too full bucket of breaker run rock I am putting around my pond. I would think 6" boulders may hurt it. You may want to keep the mower at a higher level until you mow it once.

Marty

 

[millpond]

Thanks. I think the fields need more finishing work if I am going to get into flail mower. Can you cut with the roller off the ground..?

 

[IllMarty1]

Yes, I mowed some spots of my clover fields with the mower just high enough to take the grass off and leave the clover.

Marty

 

[texbaylea]

I posted this to another thread but don't know if anyone saw it.

Hey Guys,

The synopses have covered all the angles I think. Great job.

I just bought a Caroni flail mower, a TM1900, from Agri-Supply. It has the heavier cutting blades(Y shaped), and there are 56 on this model. It was used the first time this weekend, and it performed great. I was cutting down 4-5' talls weeds and light brush with ease. Mowing the lawn around my summer place was a piece of cake in 6th gear, and it left the clippings dristibuted evenly instead of windrows the RC used to leave. The clippings would be finer if I slowed down a bit. It has 2 positions for 3 pt. hook up, and I used the offset position. It cuts about 2' outside my right wheel. This offset is great for mowing around the house, the trees, and most importantly, the pond.

I bought this mower mainly for safety reasons. As much as I would tell my family and guests to stay clear of the tractor while mowing with the RC, I would always have someone closer to me than I liked. I also like that I can worry less about projectiles hitting my house and breaking something. No windrows is nice too.

I priced out a similar Land Pride flail mower (both units weighed about the same) and it was over $4000. The Caroni was just over $1800 with shipping direct to me included. The phrase "no brainer" comes to mind here.

I was able to haul this mower easily in the bed of my truck, and with a few clevises and choker cables, was able to easily unload with my bucket.

If you are looking for a finish look, Caroni has models with finish blades too.

So far I am very happy. Time will tell.

Marty

My Caroni TM1900BSC came yesterday, ordered on the 25th and received on the 30th. I think that is very good service. The unit is on a double length pallet and was presented to me with the gear box and drive at the far end. I had a medium duty 5' Bush Hog on the tractor. It was good that my pallet forks are 48" long or I might not have been able to unload the unit. As it was it was a little touchy and close to the balance point even with my loaded tires. If it had come off the truck with the gear box toward me it would not have been any problem.

A bit of information I have not seen in any of the threads is that the "tower" the top link hooks to is not assembled to the unit but packed underneath the unit along with the PTO shaft, the gear box safety shield and the manuals. It was obvious where the "tower" was but I was wondering whether the other stuff was lost and I would have to file a claim.

I did not have time today to finish assembly but will tomorrow. I also noticed that it looks like the mower has been throughly lubricated including adding gear oil to the gear box. I will initially set it for a high cut until I get all the cut brush and new growth leveled then set for 3-4" cut.

My place is all sandy soil which will probably abrade the hammers fairly fast. I will keep everyone posted on the service I get from the mower.

Vernon

 

[have_blue]

Yes, I mowed some spots of my clover fields with the mower just high enough to take the grass off and leave the clover.

Marty

Hey Marty,

I take it the TM1900 is 1.9 meters wide, or a little over 6'. About how much PTO HP is required for it?

Have you seen the finish blades demo'd, or have you heard how smoothly they cut? Do you know if they would cut anywhere near as smoothly as a finish mower?

Assuming no rocks or sticks, have you heard how much blade maintenance is required on the finsh blades? How about your standard unit?

Thanks, and have fun with your nice implement.

 

[IllMarty1]

Bob,

Yes the mower is 73".

I never saw either unit demo'd. The cut I received on the lawn was as good as my Toro mulching rider, but with bigger clippings laid out directly behind the mower.

Here is a link to Caroni showing the sizes and styles available along with tractor HP requirements.I have a 31 HP tractor with 27PTO hp and it runs this unit easily.I would think the fine cut with twice as many blades as the regular cut would perform well on any lawn type surface.

Caroni S.p.a.

I am not sure about maintenance issues with this mower's hammers just yet.

Marty