Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[dmiletich]

I just bought a used 7'4" Rears Pak-flail. Rather than having the round pipe at the rear, it has small baloon tires at the rear corners. I called the dealer and was told that Rears sells them either with the pipe or rear tires for the same price. When they are used in orchards or vineyards, or anywhere that they make long straight mowing runs, they usually use the mowers with the pipe in the back. The ones with tires in the back like mine are used for mowing smaller areas where you do a lot of turning, which is what I do. My question is when looking at the back, because there is no pipe, there is quite a gap. Since I have not used it yet I do not know how much material it will kick out which is a concern since I mow around houses. I surely do not want to be knocking windows out. Is there anything that is made that will cover that rear gap, such as the heavy rubber flap there is in the front, or would this cause some other unforseen problem?

[IslandTractor]

. My question is when looking at the back, because there is no pipe, there is quite a gap. Since I have not used it yet I do not know how much material it will kick out which is a concern since I mow around houses. I surely do not want to be knocking windows out. Is there anything that is made that will cover that rear gap, such as the heavy rubber flap there is in the front, or would this cause some other unforseen problem?

It depends a bit on whether your mower cuts forwards or backwards to determine which way debris would be thrown. I'd imagine you can figure that out pretty quickly. Putting a rubber dam on the back should be pretty easy though. You could use the same material that is sold by Woods for that job and you'd probably need to fabricate some sort of frame out of angle iron to attach it to.

[leonz]

I just bought a used 7'4" Rears Pak-flail. Rather than having the round pipe at the rear, it has small baloon tires at the rear corners. I called the dealer and was told that Rears sells them either with the pipe or rear tires for the same price. When they are used in orchards or vineyards, or anywhere that they make long straight mowing runs, they usually use the mowers with the pipe in the back. The ones with tires in the back like mine are used for mowing smaller areas where you do a lot of turning, which is what I do. My question is when looking at the back, because there is no pipe, there is quite a gap. Since I have not used it yet I do not know how much material it will kick out which is a concern since I mow around houses. I surely do not want to be knocking windows out. Is there anything that is made that will cover that rear gap, such as the heavy rubber flap there is in the front, or would this cause some other unforseen problem?

Congratulations,

You are our one thousandth poster with the "Lets Talk Flailmowers" thread.
NO I did not count my posting-

The gap is simply the rear edge of the shrouds/mower hood; the flail rotor spins opposite the direction of travel slicing the grass and carrying it over the rotor and throwing it back to the ground, so no worries; But if you are concerned-

You can add a flap of thick sheet metal stock or rubber from a cow stall mat to the rear as an additional barrier as long as its slightly above the ground level.

You will need the following-

Two pieces of strap iron 1/8" thick, one inch wide by 7'6" long to secure the sheet metal or rubber flap from a new cow stall mat from TSC for example

You will need patience, a long straight edge, and a good sabre saw to cut the cow mat as they are thick rubber.


The bolts should ideally be 1/4 inch socket heat cap screws(allen head) one inch long fine thread 24 thread per inch, 1/4" nylock nuts 24 threads per inch.

Before you buy the socket head cap screws be sure the grass slicer knives clear the hood by at least 3/8" of an inch.

You can drill the strap steel by clamping both pieces together prior to measuring and pin punching the drill holes.

You will be able to clamp the rubber or sheet metal between the straps and drill the holes for bolts after you drill the strap iron pieces to maintain the same spacing.

You will be able to clamp one piece of strap iron to the rear portion of the hood and drill the mounting holes easily as well.

BUT before doing all this I would mow with it to see how the grass flows over the rotor and down back to the ground as thats how all the flail mowers work except the ones that mow and discharge forward like the high flailmowers.

[KennyV]

...Is there anything that is made that will cover that rear gap, such as the heavy rubber flap ...

Just get a chunk of conveyor belting ... cut to fit & bolt it on... done.

[dmiletich]

Thanks for all the ideas. I have one other question. When I engage it there is a little vibration. I looked at the blades and some appear to be worn. I plan to take them all off and replace all, but was wondering if when I get them all off if I run the machine with no blades in order to see if there is still a vibration, which I suppose would indicate a bent rotor. Is this OK to do or not?

[KennyV]

Without anything hanging on it it should spin free and smooth...
The knives can be folded up when you first start and not spin out for a second or so... KennyV

[GinNB]

Best way I've found to check for a bent rotor is visually. Stand back about 10 feet and visually line up one long "edge" of the rotor with either the frame or the bottom roller while someone else spins the belt pulley slowly. It'll be quite obvious, especially near the middle where the bend usually is.

[IslandTractor]

I would imagine you could check for a bent rotor with a straight edge even without removing all the knives. I don't recall that bent rotors are common though. It is the roller bearings that wear out and requure replacement most often. A bent rear roller is more common after snagging on a stump or rock.

Initial vibration is pretty common but it usually smooths out as you increase rpm. Missing blades is probably the most obvious cause of abnormal vibration.

[North Country]

Obligatory: Just finishing reading the whole thread!


Any updates from the Chinese/Betst folks? How are they holding up entering year 3?

[sweettractors]

Just got a good old made in USA Used 6 ft flail in for $595. Ken Sweet