Hi
I have 12 acres of 2-4 foot grass that I would like to top. I have tried my new flail mower (using my 32hp Iseki tractor) but it really struggles. With the 3point link right down (so the mower is riding on the ground) I can only go at a very very slow crawling pace. With the 3pt link up a bit I can go quite a bit faster. Is this ok? (I have read that it is not good to do so).
I have noticed that the roller is jammed with long grass - does it matter if it is jammed/not rolling free?
Also, how should he skids and roller be set (high vs low) and/or the angle adjustment using the top link for long grass?
As an aside, this thread is very long.. It would be good if someone who knows about flail mowers did a one page, cheat-sheet on how to use flails. This would be hugely beneficial to most posters in this thread.
Much appreciated.
Tim
You won't get the nicest cut but no reason not to raise the 3pt so the tractor can handle the tall grass. And, just go slow.
Leonz is our resident flail fanatic so maybe he can help with a primer.
Thanks for that. As I suspected.. (Have to go very slow). I might just have to buy a slasher as well (don't have the time to spend a week crawling over the paddocks). very annoying (I bought the flail after reading this thread, suggesting it was suitable for this).
It would be useful if someone could clarify the actual requirements of flail mowers for various uses, ie for short grass, long grass, scrub etc. height settings, tractor speed, and minimum required hp for such. I guess there are practical limits, and a definite curve/range for each.
Thanks again.
Tim
I have a similar issue with grass height. I raise the flail up to about 10-18" and do one pass then do the finish pass all the way down.
Hello Thuffarm,
Hope the folks on the island are not too sour about the cup loss.
Save your money for a bigger mule; the slasher will only use half of its cutting width to actually fo the cutting (tearing of the grass fibers actually)
I much prefer the monohulls as the new designs ruin the sport in my opinion.
I will make a cheat sheet for flail mower use.
With your high grass you can handle it in this way
with your mule.
First, raise mower height by lowering the rear roller to
the highest cut position.
Then you can mow in reverse and then drive forward over
the grass that you have essentially rolled over like using a
lawn roller with a lot of water in it.
Reversing prevents the brush from flooding the mower housing
with your low horse power mule.
It also allows the flail mower rotor to operate at the maximum
PTO speed and shreds the grass as it begins to pop back up.
It will still create a huge amount of suction providing you keep the rpms up.
Granted it will be very boring mowing in reverse but you wil be
able to manage it much better.