Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Nuru]

Yep, Red only.........nothing green. But they mow pretty darn good in red.

I have the hydraulic offset kit and for my use, getting through a narrow barn door and mowing next to a brook it is just the thing. But without the kit you have 2 positions the the 3pth can be mounted on giving different offsets. They will be of course fixed.

what does the hydraulic kit cost?

[Nuru]

Yep, Red only.........nothing green. But they mow pretty darn good in red.

I have the hydraulic offset kit and for my use, getting through a narrow barn door and mowing next to a brook it is just the thing. But without the kit you have 2 positions the the 3pth can be mounted on giving different offsets. They will be of course fixed.

Well I could always paint it green!

[texbaylea]

what does the hydraulic kit cost?

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

[SPYDERLK]

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

Nuru, maybe less to buy upfront. I am getting a Rears SPF series. The hyd shift is quoted at $533 above std cost of the flail. Swings it 2' to the right.
larry

[IslandTractor]

Nuru, maybe less to buy upfront. I am getting a Rears SPF series. The hyd shift is quoted at $533 above std cost of the flail. Swings it 2' to the right.
larry

Just to be clear, I think that means a total of 2ft offset to the right. The mower is already roughly a foot or so offset. Also, you can manually set the mower 2ft (same distance) to the right but that is no small task and is essentially accomplished by removing the 3PT hitch attachment arms from the mower and moving them to another set of attachment points. I'm sure it would take an hour or so and is certainly not something you'd want to do routinely. The hydraulic set up allows you to do it from your seat. If you look closely at the photos of the mower you can see the extra attachment points.

[wrenchit]

I have a Mott flail Model 72 ,circa 1960 (that my dad bought),that I totally rebuilt three years ago. Its a solid mower and parts are still available(Mott is owned by Alamo now).I use it to cut my entire yard (1 1/2 acres)being pulled by a '58 ford 601. I keep it set low, like one inch. My yard looks like a carpet when I am done. You will need to use limiter chains to stop scalping, and sharpening knives is an all day affair. I have two sets of knives to save the straightening and sharpening for rainy days. Flails are not a rock happy mower, one good sized rock and you will be leaving a poorly cut strip that looks terrible. You will need to change cotter pins, and some clevis pins while changing knives. I swap knives midseason and grease every time its used. The days of spending 4 hours on the John deere 38 inch tractor are long over...it is used for trimming now.If you do get a flail add (if there isnt one) a strip of rubber on the back of the mower in case it throws a knife. I found the missing ones I lost last year sticking in the side of my oak plank barn. Motts were known as "hammer knife mowers" from what I read they were the first to build them before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

[SPYDERLK]

Just to be clear, I think that means a total of 2ft offset to the right. The mower is already roughly a foot or so offset. Also, you can manually set the mower 2ft (same distance) to the right but that is no small task and is essentially accomplished by removing the 3PT hitch attachment arms from the mower and moving them to another set of attachment points. I'm sure it would take an hour or so and is certainly not something you'd want to do routinely. The hydraulic set up allows you to do it from your seat. If you look closely at the photos of the mower you can see the extra attachment points.

I was talking about the hyd shift on a SPF series Rears Flail . Im told the leftmost shifted position is centered on the tractor. From there it will shift 2' to the right.
larry

[IslandTractor]

I was talking about the hyd shift on a SPF series Rears Flail . Im told the leftmost shifted position is centered on the tractor. From there it will shift 2' to the right.
larry

My bad. I thought everyone had a Caroni .

[Nuru]

I have a Mott flail Model 72 ,circa 1960 (that my dad bought),that I totally rebuilt three years ago. Its a solid mower and parts are still available(Mott is owned by Alamo now).I use it to cut my entire yard (1 1/2 acres)being pulled by a '58 ford 601. I keep it set low, like one inch. My yard looks like a carpet when I am done. You will need to use limiter chains to stop scalping, and sharpening knives is an all day affair. I have two sets of knives to save the straightening and sharpening for rainy days. Flails are not a rock happy mower, one good sized rock and you will be leaving a poorly cut strip that looks terrible. You will need to change cotter pins, and some clevis pins while changing knives. I swap knives midseason and grease every time its used. The days of spending 4 hours on the John deere 38 inch tractor are long over...it is used for trimming now.If you do get a flail add (if there isnt one) a strip of rubber on the back of the mower in case it throws a knife. I found the missing ones I lost last year sticking in the side of my oak plank barn. Motts were known as "hammer knife mowers" from what I read they were the first to build them before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

thanks for the good advice "Hammer knife"

[Nuru]

My kit was under $700 delivered about 6 mos ago.

Vernon

thanks Vernon.