Rear Finish Mower Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM

   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #1  

demoman357

Bronze Member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
98
Location
Southwestern Oregon
Tractor
Bobcat CT335, Case 480C
This is my review of a Hanmey RF1800 rear finish mower purchased for Betst Products.

I visited the dealer 5 days ago (Creswell, OR), agreed to purchase one of four 72" rear finish mowers he had in stock. He said that he would have it all ready for me when I would arrive 5 days later.

I arrived today and found the mower still in the shipping crate, ready to go, some assembly required, batteries not included. I said that I thought it was to be assembled, tested, and ready for me to load on my trailer. He replied "Yeah, sorry 'bout that." To make amends, he sold me a 3PH platform for $50 that became the basis of a custom ballast box. I could not hav3e bought the steel for that price.

Assembly of the mower was confusing as the instructions provided were for a different model. Two calls to the dealer confirmed this and that the parts I thought I needed but were not included had been deleted with a design change.

Next, the rubber caps provided to cover the holes in the belt cover to access the spindles did not fit the same. One fit properly, two others looked like round circles cut out of an inner tube. Very lame.

The steel for the top link arms were not bent equally. This caused a lot of "wondering what went wrong" as the mower mounted to the 3PH listing to port.

There was no lubricant anywhere. The gearbox was dry, the spindles had no grease, etc. Worst of all, the zerk fittings to grease the 4 wheel axels were drilled into a almost 90 degree corner of the wheel. One could not possible thread the zerk fittings in more that one turn before the hex head of the fitting was obstructed by the "V" shape of the wheel wall. Totally unacceptable.

One more call to the dealer was returned 3 hours later. He said that he looked at the other units he had and admitted that there was a problem. He told me that he would call me the next day with a solution. He would even swap out with new, better wheels if I would just bring the old wheels back. I accepted this as a solution even though it means a 90 mile drive.

Once the mower was lubricated and fitted to my tractor, it was time for field trials. I had left a 2 acre section grow for two weeks and the grass was knee to mid-thigh high. The mower cut the grass well at slow speeds but if I tried to cut it at the same travel speed that I use with a riding lawn mower it would leave many stalks sticking up and lots of clumps. Oh well, my rider does that same thing in tall grass. The "shark dorsal fin" like metal dangly thingies at the rear of the mower seemed to "catch" the cut grass and make 5 distinct wind rows out the back. This was much less noticeable when cutting grass that was of normal height (4 to 6 inches). The belt never slipped even when I went into some wet, waist-high grass as a torture test. The tractor engine RPM dropped just a little and the clippings were still small and short, not like cut hay or straw, just grass clippings.

Overall, my impression of the dealer was å*µo back to flipping burgers? This may be changed by how well he handles the warranty issues. The machine is made in China and sold to non-Chinese persons such as myself who seek the absolute lowest priced item that will work. It does not have the well thought out features of better-made products, like a belt de-tensioning device for winter storage, or larger round sided tires, or free floating attachment points. The steel deck would not double for a shelter during a motor attack. What it was expected to be and so far has lived up to is, a reasonably well-designed entry level mower. It does mow and I believe that it will provide me with several years, not decades, of useful service. I have a small private golf course that I have been mowing with riding lawn mowers for decades, It take a lot of lawn mower repair and about 14 hours to mow. Now I think that I can do all ten acres in about 4 hours. I will have to finish the greens as well as groom around the trees with a rider but I think this RFM will do the trick for now.

I will post a future update at the end of august when I have more experience with the machine and the dealer.
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #2  
I live the next exit on I5 to the south of Creswell, and have dealt with Keith on a few occasions. I have no Beef with him.
If you ever need some assistance regarding something you are going to buy from him, I offer you full access to tools to assemble it, and a tractor to test it out. This way you could work out the bugs before you leave the area. (I'm 8 miles south of him, drive by every day going to work). He has the neatest 3 point roller I want....
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM
  • Thread Starter
#3  
I have no real beef with Kieth. I attempted to be objective but my crudely honed sense of cynicism may have come through. Perhaps my initial assessment of the gentleman was too simplistic. I admit that even though the telephone is rarely answered at that business, Kieth did call me back, twice. He readily agreed to the existense of the problem and quickly offered an acceptable solution.

If I had paid the price of a King Kutter, Land Pride, or Woods, I would not have had the same expectations. I chose to get the absolute lowest priced piece of equipment so I was not surprised by a few anomolies.

What I was really interested in was the flail with hydraulic side shift. Way cool.

Thank you for having served Technical Sergeant. My wife and I both are retired.
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #4  
Demon357,

Does it look like this? (except 6')

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98777

I have one like it, and aside from the wheels being worthless, I find it quite serviceable. The blade tip speed is on the low side (home owners speed), so it must be run wide open. Even then, I have to cut lower than I want to in order to get a clean cut.

My wheels are permanently greased ball bearings, and had no Zerks. So it sounds like they TRIED to improve the unit (assuming it's like yours). All the bolts vibrated loose, and they started wobbling like a cheap child's toy.

The gear box looks very sturdy, the deck, guards, pulleys, spindles, and belts seem rugged and are easy to adjust. I like the chain guard and the massive rod (or maybe pipe) protecting the front of the deck. My A frame was formed a bit crooked too. If I ever unbolt the 2 halves, I better stand back or I'll get whacked as it springs back. Everything looks easy to repair if it breaks, so I'm only worried about the gear box. As I said, it looks sturdy, and very familiar. I've seen it around on other machines.

The worst thing about mine (besides the wheels) is, when I lift it with the 3 point, the front wheels rub on my tractor tires. Glad I noticed that before I had a disaster.

IMHO, this unit is nothing more than a cheap 6' lawn mower deck. It isn't designed to do anything more than mow a large yard, and doesn't like long grass at all. I use it to mow about 1/2 mile of lanes that my Bush Hog won't mow low enough. It does that well. It makes way more noise than my Bush Hog rotary cutter, but my friend's Bush Hog finish mower is just as noisy.

Although I welded the pivot pins back on to the wheel forks, I still want to replace them. Can't use larger than the stock 8", or they will hit my tractor wheels. Do you know which wheels your dealer gave you?
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #5  
demoman357 said:
......Worst of all, the zerk fittings to grease the 4 wheel axels were drilled into a almost 90 degree corner of the wheel. One could not possible thread the zerk fittings in more that one turn before the hex head of the fitting was obstructed by the "V" shape of the wheel wall. Totally unacceptable.

I know EXACTLY what you mean...I Had the same issue with a set of wheels I got from Surplus Center... "Extended Length" Grease Fittings fixed it in minutes..now that I've got a baggie of them I've found all sorts of places I like these long fittings.

211934_300.jpg
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM
  • Thread Starter
#6  
No, it is not like the HF machine linked.

It can be seen here on the manufacturer's web site: HANMEY AGRI-MACHINERY

Betst called me today and said that hge had replacement wheels ready to be picked up. I asked him how they solved the problem. He replied that they just used a open-end wrench to tighten them. I told him that I had tried that as well but the hex portion of the fitting would contact the wheel surface and prevent tightening any more that one turn. I am skeptical but I will go see what he has.

The previous post showing an extended zerk fitting looks like the correct answer to me.
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM
  • Thread Starter
#7  
In my original post, I referred to the machine as a RF1800. This seems to be the designation used by Betst. Betst is a reseller of Hanmey implements. The machine is manufactured by Hanmey Agri-machinery, 89 # 4th HuanBao Road, Huanbao Industrial Part, Hi-Tech District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China

Hanmey designates this machine as a model FM N180.
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #8  
Hi,

I had my BETST, well hanmey european non branded flail in yesterday.

Same general conclusion as OP. The thing is not bad it would only be nicer if it is indicated that the device comes pre-assembled, not ready for use.

My additional remarks:

- pulleys: to check the alignment: top pulley was not in line with the bottom pulley. With enough tension on the belts you wont notice but you will use belts faster.
Loosen the top tensioning mechanism of the pulley (should be allen key) and rotate by hand, the pulley will move itself in the right position sliding on the axle.

- gearbox flange sealing: Check the 4 bolts holding the flange at the PTO shaft. As should be during application of the liquid sealing the bolts are not tightened completely to allow the seal to settle a bit thicker as necessary. You need to tighten these bolts after drying time, what they did not do in production.

- I had a small burr on the pto connector avoiding the shaft to slide all the way down.

- After a first grease shot where necessary, spin the flaill a minute and then pump grease again. As everything comes dry, the grease needs to be thrown around a bit in the housings to allow full greasing.


Only cut a couple of meters of old grown knee high grass. Results were nice and impressive for a newby to flails. Was too dark to continue.

So for me it looks as a nice unit for its price if you accept the fact that the flail comes assembled not aligned. Not an issue for me and an explanation why premium brands are more expensive. Or the dealer or the manufacturer has to invest 1 hour in the alignment and greasing before delivery to a customer.

:)
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #9  
Demon357,

Does it look like this? (except 6')

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

I have one like it, and aside from the wheels being worthless, I find it quite serviceable. The blade tip speed is on the low side (home owners speed), so it must be run wide open. Even then, I have to cut lower than I want to in order to get a clean cut.

My wheels are permanently greased ball bearings, and had no Zerks. So it sounds like they TRIED to improve the unit (assuming it's like yours). All the bolts vibrated loose, and they started wobbling like a cheap child's toy.

The gear box looks very sturdy, the deck, guards, pulleys, spindles, and belts seem rugged and are easy to adjust. I like the chain guard and the massive rod (or maybe pipe) protecting the front of the deck. My A frame was formed a bit crooked too. If I ever unbolt the 2 halves, I better stand back or I'll get whacked as it springs back. Everything looks easy to repair if it breaks, so I'm only worried about the gear box. As I said, it looks sturdy, and very familiar. I've seen it around on other machines.

The worst thing about mine (besides the wheels) is, when I lift it with the 3 point, the front wheels rub on my tractor tires. Glad I noticed that before I had a disaster.

IMHO, this unit is nothing more than a cheap 6' lawn mower deck. It isn't designed to do anything more than mow a large yard, and doesn't like long grass at all. I use it to mow about 1/2 mile of lanes that my Bush Hog won't mow low enough. It does that well. It makes way more noise than my Bush Hog rotary cutter, but my friend's Bush Hog finish mower is just as noisy.

Although I welded the pivot pins back on to the wheel forks, I still want to replace them. Can't use larger than the stock 8", or they will hit my tractor wheels. Do you know which wheels your dealer gave you?

Blade tip speed is very important to mowing quality. Mowers are designed to run at PTO speed . I know a lot of guys on this board try to out think the engineers who design these products. As far as mowing tall knee to waste to knee high grass with this mower, it is a finish mower, not a Brush Hog.. ie, use it for the purpose it was designed for.

Andy
 
   / Reveiw of Hanmey (Betst Prod) 72" RFM #10  
Blade tip speed is very important to mowing quality.
Andy

Yes sir, it is. That's why I crank up the blade RPM until I get a good job on all my mowing machines. My Chinese RFM has such a low tip speed that I have to run it wide open, and it still needs to go a little faster. That was my point. That mower is noisy as ell running the PTO at 540! :mad:

I know a lot of guys on this board try to out think the engineers who design these products

No, not "out think". Just plain "think".
 
 
 
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