Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Nuru]

No, the flails do not "blow" grass or anything else. I haven't done it but a flail could probably mulch your leaves pretty well if you drove over them. Bottom line though is that there is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a grass catcher for a flail mower and flails don't have either side or rear "discharge". There is a metal flap in front that keeps material under the mower. The roller does the same for the back and the sides are solid.

Basically anything under the mower is cut and recut until the mower moves forward. That is one way to determine how finely you want to cut up brush. Again, I've posted this photo before but the first photo is essentially what you get if you go slowly through brush up to 2 inches thick. The second shows what happens when you just drive through at medium bush hog speed.

The third and fourth photos show what happens when you run over an old rusty 2x2 angle iron with your brand new flail mower. Poor angle iron. Mower survived with just a knick or two in a couple of knives. I just had to unroll the metal to get it out and was back in business in about 5 minutes.

thanks a bunch

 

[IslandTractor]

Check out this flail mower in action:

YouTube - BrushHound 72F-3 rear pto flail mower

That is pretty much exactly the size of the Caroni. Cut is pretty much the same too. The BrushHound is centered on the PTO/wheel base however while the Caroni TM1900 is offset to the right by about 12 inches or so. The Caroni can also be fitted with a hydraulic kit to extend the offset even further. It helps when cutting near a building or fence as you can keep the tractor wheels free.

 

[AndyMA]

I asked this on another thread but I am trying to get a quick answer as I am putting together a deal this week.

Can you operate the flail mower as fast as you can the MMM rotary mowers?
I use my MMM sito blow leaves off of my grass, can this be accomplished with a flail mower? i guess with a side discharge?

Quality of cut is affected by speed. No you can't blow leaves with it as it will shread many of them in place.

Andy

 

[Mike5252]

You guys made a believer out of me. Ordered a 59" Caroni from AgriSupply this morning.

Someone mentioned the "free shipping" quoted on the internet. The free shipping is on the internet only, if you call their 1 800 number, they sell the mower for several hundred dollars less and then charge ACTUAL shipping. That worked out almost $100 to my advantage.

Should be here by Monday of next week.

 

[Reg]

Would that be PTO or engine HP?

The column heading says Tractor Power HP - It seems the word "POWER" got tabbed over (guessing).
I suppose the question only matters if you have a tractor with more than 30 total and less than 30 PTO HP.

 

[Reg]

You guys made a believer out of me. Ordered a 59" Caroni from AgriSupply this morning.

Someone mentioned the "free shipping" quoted on the internet. The free shipping is on the internet only, if you call their 1 800 number, they sell the mower for several hundred dollars less and then charge ACTUAL shipping. That worked out almost $100 to my advantage.

Should be here by Monday of next week.

Congrats;
I mentioned the "shipping included" pricing of $19xx.xx for the 1900 to anywhere in the lower contiguous wherever. I think someone else got one by calling one of their retail stores and getting ACTUAL shipping charges.
Did you have to pay extra for a tailgate lift delivery ?
To a residential or business address ?
Enquiring minds, etc.

 

[RollTideRam]

I suppose the question only matters if you have a tractor with more than 30 total and less than 30 PTO HP.

That would be me. 32 HP 25 at the pto. JC

 

[IslandTractor]

That would be me. 32 HP 25 at the pto. JC

I'd buy the TM1900 if I were in your shoes. It should run just fine. Maybe a bit slower than a 40 hp tractor in rough stuff but otherwise perfect.

 

[atpchas]

What is the HP required to run the 73" Caroni? Agrisupply does not give much info on these mowers. JC

Here is another "power needed" data point. My Caroni TM1900 operates just fine behind my B7800 (30HP/22.5 at PTO if I recall correctly). I mowed several acres last weekend, mostly 18"-24" overgrown grass and small brush, and the RPMs never dropped. I was going fairly slowly (bumpy terrain and the tractor is still breaking me in).

For the messy oil problem, I copied one of the ideas I saw here. I got a 5" by 3/8" pipe nipple, a 3/8" coupling, and a 3/8" pipe to 3/8" flare fitting. The flare threads match the threads in the gear box and the dipstick cap threads securely enough into the coupling.

Charlie

 

[Eagleview]

Without upsetting the boat here , there a few limitations a flail mower has . As i make my living with these things i know what they are . Depending on the size of the rear roller 2.5-5 kph is the speed that they can mow pasture , 5-8kph is the speed you can mow lawn . If the ground is stoney,a little rough , or has been plowed at some distant time it will bounce the mower as the roller follows the ground and can (and will) do damage (dented roller , loosening of components , damage to slip joint on PTO shaft etc ). 2" saplings is quite enough for a small flail (and that's one at a time , not a row of them at once), bigger will do damage as the flails get thrown back against the drum . As the leading edge on the mower is low , it wont allow bigger saplings anyway as you would need to knock them down first and if you do they will lay flat as the leading edge holds them down and the flails will miss them . A flail will not mow in reverse , not only are you traveling in the same direction as the flails but also the rear roller holds the material down while the cutters miss it . But because you have laid the material down going back , as you proceed forward the material is fed straight into the cutters by way of the stalks trying to stand back up and helped by suction as well as the fact they are aiming straight at the cutters . Flails cannot cut material well with the roller off the ground , the flails need to make contact with the material at it's base . Also if the roller is off the ground the top slotted link is redundant so the mower can't follow contours , as the tractor goes over a little mound the mower gets raised high at the rear and misses that spot . Flails are exellent for what they are made for but as i say have a couple of limitations . Remember to use the slotted links on your bottom arms on the 3pl , if you do'nt you will bend the mower if you go into a dip as it trys to carry the rear wheels of the tractor (steer wheels going up , mower roller comming down , drive tyres suspended ) . Also if you are mowing heavy crop or regrowth use cast hammers , i find the "P" hammer ideal .