Rear Finish Mower RFM vs Rotary mower?

   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #2  
WilliamBos said:
Are rear finish mowers built to takt the same abuse as rotary cutters??
Click to expand...
Absolutely not. One look underneath would be all the explanation you need. The finish mower has belt-driven blades on spindles, just like a riding mower. The rotary cutter has two heavy swing arm blades attached to a center disc that driven directly by the transmission. One rotary arm weighs more than all three finish mower blades combined. When a finish mower blade hits something, all the force is taken by the blade and the belt. When a rotary cutter blade hits something, it just temporarily pivots backwards on the center disc. Centrifugal force quickly spins it back to work though. And the deck on the rotary cutter is much thicker too, since those heavy swing arms tend to slam some pretty big chunks around inside.

//greg//
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #3  
A finish mower is like a lwnmower.. thin blades made for fine cut. rough mowers have massive bldes that bust up stuff..

soundguy

WilliamBos said:
Hi All,
Are rear finish mowers built to takt the same abuse as rotary cutters?? I am asking because we want a rotary cutter, but prefer the dimensions of the RFM.

We want the dimensions of this,
King Kutter Incorporated

and wonder if it is as durable as this,
King Kutter Incorporated
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   / RFM vs Rotary mower?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
so then if we want smoething compact, a flail would be the way to go.
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #5  
Look around. it's likely you can find a rough cut mower not too much bigger than the finish mower.. in any case.. width will be nearly the same.. length is all that will change. depending on the size, a 2-spindle rough cut mower will be shorter than a single spindle mower of the same size.. etc.

Flails are ok.. but IMHO ar emore maintenance than a plain old 'brush hog'.

soundguy
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Soundguy said:
Look around. it's likely you can find a rough cut mower not too much bigger than the finish mower.. in any case.. width will be nearly the same.. length is all that will change. depending on the size, a 2-spindle rough cut mower will be shorter than a single spindle mower of the same size.. etc.

Flails are ok.. but IMHO ar emore maintenance than a plain old 'brush hog'.

soundguy
Click to expand...

Oh ok, so a rough cut mower is the name for it... THANK YOU. The length is what we do not want, but the width is fine. A rotary mower hitched to our tractor on the trailer will be a little too long, and will hang off, so I will have a look for rough cut.

Yes, I agree with you on the flails, and for the initial cost of them, another reason why I will not buy one.

Thanks.
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #7  
What size mower are you thinking of? what tractor and trailer combination? The average 30-ish hp tractor and 5'/6' brush mower is just about all you can do on a 16' trailer.. usually leaving you a 1' overhang that you need to flag.. It's about the most you can get by with on those sizes.

sounduy
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #8  
Some rotary/rough cut/brush mower/(in MY terms...)BUSH HOG's aren't a LOT "tougher" than some of the better finish mowers, but they're designed to do a TOTALLY different job. Finish mowers are just what the name implies. They cut a fine "finish" to a lawn or clean turf. (Again, where I'm from the "other mowers" are ALL knownas "bush hogs" so I'm going with that!) A Bush hog is CAPABLE of cutting a lawn, albiet not to the degree of "finish" that the finish mower will. But that bush hog can cut sticks, limbs, saplings, brush, weeds, withstand the occasional rock, ant hill, or a number of other "hidden treasures" you may encounter in a field of tall weeds. Some super-heavy-duty bush hogs are capable of mowing darn near anything the tractor can push over. Do that with even the best high dollar finish mower and you'll get up close and personal with the guy at the parts counter. (if not the guy at the scrap yard

A flail mower can bridge both types of use to a certain extent. They won't mow large (4") trees, but they'll do quite well with the occasional rock or small sapling. Like so many tools, the quality of flail may effect it's ability to withstand certain levels of abuse. In the end, if you're going to hammer on a flail mower, there is a slightly higher expectation of maintenance issues and parts wear over a heavy duty bush hog.
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower? #9  
And the but, a flail mower does not throw stuff as much as a rough cut mower can and will. You can see the road crews run over a tire with a flail mower and it almost not move. Not sure that is wise but have seen it done. Have seen rough cut throw stump 40 plus feet and dent a car. No doubt a hammer can and does also come off but the flail mowers I have used and notice seem to cover them right well.
 
   / RFM vs Rotary mower?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Who makes new rough cut mowers?? I have not been able to find anyone that does.
 
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