Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[beppington]

I ordered (in January) a Caroni 6' flail with F style blades from AS. It is a special order, and am hoping to receive it in mid to late May. I will be mowing mostly lawn, field grasses and very light brush. It does have twice the number of flails, 112 IIRC.

Please do post a pic or 2. I'm not sure what the F blades look like. Thank you.

 

[RFB]

I do not have the mower yet, but here is a photo of the different rotors/flails used in the various Caroni models.

The flail in the B and F is the same shape ("Y") , but more of them and I think the flail attachment point is different.

 

[leonz]

I do not have the mower yet, but here is a photo of the different rotors/flails used in the various Caroni models.

The flail in the B and F is the same shape ("Y") , but more of them and I think the flail attachment point is different.

The F Rotor on of the Caroni flail mower has the attachment weldment points at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'oclock positition as shown on the parts manual.

As your mower has 112 side slicer knives you have fourteen mounting stations per row mounting 14 side slicer pairs=28 knives per row.

 

[DirtHauler]

The "B" and "F" rotors have "Y" blades. The "B" rotor blades are shorter and attache to rotor via a shackle and bolt/nut allowing them more deflection when encountering rocks etc. and are half the number of blades as an "F" rotor i.e. my TM1600F has 96 blades and my TM1600B has 48.
The blades on a "F" rotor are longer and attach via a nut/bolt and, from experience, they will tend to bend when hitting hard immovable objects as they hit, fold back and splay outward.
The "F" rotor will work well if you have a fairly clean area to mow but if not, then I'd recommend the "B" type rotor/blades as they'll take quit a bit of abuse.
"Scoop" type blades don't like much more than lawns and/or fine grasses as the cutting edge will chip and/or bend if a hard object is encountered -----just my experience.

 

[dieselscout80]

Is there any reason that the fine cut blade on the left will not provide a good finish cut.

Does anyone have any pictures for comparison, using the best blades on each cutter.

My Ford 917 has those type blades shown on the left in your pic and it cuts as good as a lawn mower.

 

[ME83]

Is there a difference in ground speed when mowing a field between the B and F rotors? Does the F require any more power to run?

Sorry if this has been asked (don't remember all 120 pages), but can the Caroni work with the JD Imatch?

 

[IslandTractor]

Is there a difference in ground speed when mowing a field between the B and F rotors? Does the F require any more power to run?

Sorry if this has been asked (don't remember all 120 pages), but can the Caroni work with the JD Imatch?

I think Dirthauler is the only one here that has both styles so maybe he can answer. My bet is that you would not notice the difference. The finish version has more blades and therefore makes more contact but typically is mowing lawns which require a lot less HP than brush would. I can mow in pretty thick brush with my B series mower and not bog down even though I virtually never run full PTO power.

 

[beppington]

So nobody knows of anyone with Caroni's P knives (scoops I guess they're called?) shown in the pic posted by RFB (below again)?

That's what I think I'd like. Seems like the perfect combination of manicured lawn cut but still with the ability for the blade's to bounce back off a solid objects like a bush hog/rotary cutter.

 

[whirly]

... Seems like the perfect combination of manicured lawn cut but still with the ability for the blade's to bounce back off a solid objects like a bush hog/rotary cutter.

Actually, the knives on ALL versions will "bounce back off a solid objects". Each knife is individually hinged and will move over a solid object that is not higher than the blade cylinder.

 

[DirtHauler]

Is there a difference in ground speed when mowing a field between the B and F rotors? Does the F require any more power to run?

Sorry if this has been asked (don't remember all 120 pages), but can the Caroni work with the JD Imatch?

Just added a pic of the 1600F to my post, sorry 'bout all the mud but that's what happens when you mow a field of wet grass with tons of gopher mounds! As far power required between the two types.........not really. With my tractor I do almost all mowing in 3rd/low @ 540 pto rpm, if conditions allow, I'll run 4th/low. As for the 1600F if I use it in a field that has what we call out here "Harding" grass, I'll sometimes have to drop down to 2nd/low in order to allow it time to chew up the thick stalky stuff and spit it out. If not and ground speed is too fast it tends to "jamb" up the mower with large balls of grass. I believe this happens because of the number blades and the fact that it re-cuts the grass/weeds more than the 1600B before it spits out.(just my analogie) Other than that, I use the 1600F on fields and yards that are to some, thier "back yards" where thay like that carpet look after it's cut.
As for the JD iMatch, I've heard it will work, you may have to flip the lower lift pins towards the center of the mower.