To Flail or not to Flail

[EastTexFrank]

I just finished mowing the 5 -6 acre yard at the property owned by the local library. Man it was hot. During the summer I usually use the L4740 with the cab and a/c. Unfortunately the only mower worth using on the back of it is the 6' bush hog and I will admit that it can be a "bit" rough on what passes for a yard. There is some good St. Augustine immediately around the house but the majority of it is bahia/junk grass/weeds. This last time I used the B2400 with the 5' rear finishing mower and sweated like a pig.

I usually only cut it every 2 weeks and over the last couple of weeks we've had about 7" of rain. That bahia was about 2' tall and the little B2400 and RFM was sore pressed to cut it in places and I must admit that it looked like crap when I had finished. In the end I had to cut it 2 or 3 times to get it to look halfway reasonable. That finishing mower just doesn't cut tall bahia worth a darn especially when you've laid it over with 2 sets of tires before the mower even gets to it. The bush hog on the L4740 cuts it better/faster but it's still not pretty ... hey, it's a bush hog!!!

So here is the deal. While I was running around, sweat dripping off my nose, I got the idea that what I really needed was a 6 foot flail mower on the back of the B4740. That would allow me to cut in air conditioned comfort and still get a decent cut. If need be I could also use it on the B2400. The problem is that I know nothing about flail mowers, I've never had or used one.

So, what do you guys think. Would a flail mower cut the junk grass and the good stuff and make it look decent? Would it cut stuff like bahia in one pass so I don't have to waste hours cutting and recutting the same stuff? Will it handle rolling and uneven ground without tearing the yard up? For what it's worth, I have R4's on both tractors and they don't tear the yard up to any great extent. OK, maybe just a little.

Advice please before I approach the CFO with my hand out.

 

[dieselscout80]

I just finished mowing the 5 -6 acre yard at the property owned by the local library. Man it was hot. During the summer I usually use the L4740 with the cab and a/c. Unfortunately the only mower worth using on the back of it is the 6' bush hog and I will admit that it can be a "bit" rough on what passes for a yard. There is some good St. Augustine immediately around the house but the majority of it is bahia/junk grass/weeds. This last time I used the B2400 with the 5' rear finishing mower and sweated like a pig.

I usually only cut it every 2 weeks and over the last couple of weeks we've had about 7" of rain. That bahia was about 2' tall and the little B2400 and RFM was sore pressed to cut it in places and I must admit that it looked like crap when I had finished. In the end I had to cut it 2 or 3 times to get it to look halfway reasonable. That finishing mower just doesn't cut tall bahia worth a darn especially when you've laid it over with 2 sets of tires before the mower even gets to it. The bush hog on the L4740 cuts it better/faster but it's still not pretty ... hey, it's a bush hog!!!

So here is the deal. While I was running around, sweat dripping off my nose, I got the idea that what I really needed was a 6 foot flail mower on the back of the B4740. That would allow me to cut in air conditioned comfort and still get a decent cut. If need be I could also use it on the B2400. The problem is that I know nothing about flail mowers, I've never had or used one.

So, what do you guys think. Would a flail mower cut the junk grass and the good stuff and make it look decent? Would it cut stuff like bahia in one pass so I don't have to waste hours cutting and recutting the same stuff? Will it handle rolling and uneven ground without tearing the yard up? For what it's worth, I have R4's on both tractors and they don't tear the yard up to any great extent. OK, maybe just a little.

Advice please before I approach the CFO with my hand out.

I love my 74" 817, but I wish it was the 88" wide model.

 

[beppington]

You can get a 6' Caroni flail mower for about $1,800. My dad just got one & seems very pleased with his. I've seen the results: It's not golf course perfection, but is far better than a bush hog.

While Bahia is tough to cut, it sounds like maybe your finish mower blades need to be sharpened. Then again, if it's 2' tall & thick, I don't know of any mower that's gonna make that look perfect in one mowing.

 

[Farmall45b]

I cut the 10 acre dog park near my house with my flail mower and it looks great. There is one area that is mostly grass from mowing it again and again and the flail cuts this area like a golf course, even when it is fairly long. It can also handle the brush like buckthorn and thorny locust that we have in areas and the ocasianal rock that it may find hiding. I am very happy with my flail.

 

[leonz]

I just finished mowing the 5 -6 acre yard at the property owned by the local library. Man it was hot. During the summer I usually use the L4740 with the cab and a/c. Unfortunately the only mower worth using on the back of it is the 6' bush hog and I will admit that it can be a "bit" rough on what passes for a yard. There is some good St. Augustine immediately around the house but the majority of it is bahia/junk grass/weeds. This last time I used the B2400 with the 5' rear finishing mower and sweated like a pig.

I usually only cut it every 2 weeks and over the last couple of weeks we've had about 7" of rain. That bahia was about 2' tall and the little B2400 and RFM was sore pressed to cut it in places and I must admit that it looked like crap when I had finished. In the end I had to cut it 2 or 3 times to get it to look halfway reasonable. That finishing mower just doesn't cut tall bahia worth a darn especially when you've laid it over with 2 sets of tires before the mower even gets to it. The bush hog on the L4740 cuts it better/faster but it's still not pretty ... hey, it's a bush hog!!!

So here is the deal. While I was running around, sweat dripping off my nose, I got the idea that what I really needed was a 6 foot flail mower on the back of the B4740. That would allow me to cut in air conditioned comfort and still get a decent cut. If need be I could also use it on the B2400. The problem is that I know nothing about flail mowers, I've never had or used one.

So, what do you guys think. Would a flail mower cut the junk grass and the good stuff and make it look decent? Would it cut stuff like bahia in one pass so I don't have to waste hours cutting and recutting the same stuff? Will it handle rolling and uneven ground without tearing the yard up? For what it's worth, I have R4's on both tractors and they don't tear the yard up to any great extent. OK, maybe just a little.

Advice please before I approach the CFO with my hand out.

You have come to the right place for help.

A finish mower or brush mower has only so much cutting edge per blade to cut the brush or grass per revolution.

A flail mower has a full width cutting edge which is always followed by the three knives following it and overlapping the cut for the entire width.

The slicing edge of all the Y blades in a finsh mower are greater in total length than an RFM of brush mower and slice the grass using what is called the verticut method where the knives are rotating in the opposite direction of travel (in most models) and lift the sliced grass up and over the rotor and deposit harmlessly behind the rotor.

The slower you move forward or in reverse while mowing the finer the slicing of the grass or brush will be and the sooner the cuttings will deteriorate to mulch. and you will be able to overlap and remow knowing the grass is being sliced a second or third time with no issues.

The Caroni mowers have a hydraulic side shift option which allows a lot or a lttle side shift depending upon whether you locate the threee point hitch at position zero or position one.

The mowers can be used with the 2 mounting positions by manually attaching the three point hitch to position one or zero.

The knives for a finish mower rotor with four rows of Y blades have more cutting edge than the RFM or brush mower and slice the grass or brush continuosly at the 540 RPM tractor speed.

The sharp Y blades slice the grass where a RFM or brush mower tears the grass blade as they must make a full circle to cut it and it is nor sliced to tiny pieces as is accomplished with a finish Mower Y Blade.

The flail mower runs much quieter than an RFM or brush mower as the noise i contained under the mowers shroud and the grass knives are traveling at a much faster speed which slices and reslices the grass or brush as it advances or travels in reverse.

If you mow too fast it will stall a flail mower if the brush or grass is thick unless you have a very high horse power tractor-100 plus HP and a flail mower rated for that size tractor.

The nice thing about flail mowers is they do not make missiles of anything they hit which can injure or kill someone- Ifr you read iron horses experience with a brush mower its both scary and informative.

My neighbor always hits my garage with something when he mows his property every few years and the first time his contracted brush mower which was mounted on a log skidder hit something and it broke my garage south windows- FYI the brush mower was 200 feet away next to the other neighbors property when it picked up what ever it threw and broke the window- no he is not the kind of neighbor you can chat with about things as he is the type that is an absenteee landlord. he would not even sell a few acres to me as I am butted up against his property which is not producing income with crops or animals or lumber.


The grass knives being the Y blades will simply fall back as it runs over the object it encounters.

The full width rotor also reduces scalping to a minimum or zero depending on the terrain and the full width roller keeps it flat on the ground and I think they all have grass scrappers for the rollers.

I really like our flail mower as there are no issues of belly mowers going out of adjustment and broken anti scalp wheels because of that issue and we burn less gas because it mows at a faster rpm at the rotor than the belly mower.

I mowed our 5 acres with 2 gallons of gas in the flail mower as the grass was thicker than normal with all the rain we had last week.


As long as you keep the rpm speed at 540 at the pto with the rated engine speed for the 540 RPM and mow with an eye to conditions-slower with heavy tall growth or with a raised mower on the first slow pass it will work wonders for you.

The more knifes the easier it is to slice the grass or brush with less effort.

Mowing more often will allow you to mow at a faster pace than with a finish mower or brush mower as well.


Agri Supply - Farm Supplies, Tools, Lawn Mower Blades, Cast Iron Cookware
Caroni S.p.a. - Costruzioni meccaniche


Several members have the 1900 MM width mowers on the board here and many have the 1500 MM 59 inch mowers with the F rotors and 88 or 112 Y knife blades.


leonz

 

[Builder]

I love my 74" 817, but I wish it was the 88" wide model.

Try finding an 8-footer! dang near impossible.

 

[spo307]

run a 7 foot alamo shd 88, I run mine on an L4400 no problem. love my flail

 

[EastTexFrank]

Thanks guys, especially leonz, that was some great information.

See what you can learn here. I didn't realize that flail mowers were counter-rotating. After I run over the bahia with the tractor tires the flail may be able to pick it back up and cut it without me having to recut it at a different angle numerous times to try and make it look decent. It doesn't have to be perfect, just passably good. Heck, I've been cutting it with a bush hog for over two years.

I think that this justifies further investigation. Someone said that a 6' Caroni would cost about $1800. That's a lot less than the JD and Landpride models that I had initially checked out. I'll go do some more research. Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[leonz]

Thanks guys, especially leonz, that was some great information.

See what you can learn here. I didn't realize that flail mowers were counter-rotating. After I run over the bahia with the tractor tires the flail may be able to pick it back up and cut it without me having to recut it at a different angle numerous times to try and make it look decent. It doesn't have to be perfect, just passably good. Heck, I've been cutting it with a bush hog for over two years.

I think that this justifies further investigation. Someone said that a 6' Caroni would cost about $1800. That's a lot less than the JD and Landpride models that I had initially checked out. I'll go do some more research. Thanks a lot for the help.

Your most welcome.


Payment gladly accepted in home baked molasses cookies at ones convenience or a small donation financial or otherwise to your local animal shelter;

They can never have enough of these items:


foster parents for puppies and dogs waiting for adoption
newspapers-no advertising glossy flyers -lead in ink
old towels or sheets no longer used
peanut butter
puppie biscuits
cat litter
canned and dry dog food
canned and dry cat food
puppy chow
kitten chow

small bales of wood shavings for the bunnies and other animals like gerbils and hamsters.

small salt licks for bunnies
hamster and gerbil food
paper towels
latex and nitrile gloves
bleach unscented- the chlorine used for pool disinfection goes a long way and is more cost effective than household bleach as it is higher in chlorine content
bleach-scented for washing bedding and towels
laundry soap powder or liquid
Arm and Hammer washing soda-makes the soap work better in hard water

Donating time for dog walking and play time with the animals is always in short supply.



I have to tell Woodstock to get off the Zamboni again now as he forgot that we defrosted the hockey rink.

 

[horse7]

I'd like a flail to prevent the missile effect... people (priceless) and glass (expensive) nearby... at least an 84 with minimum 24" hydraulic side capability. Saw an Italian one that had 31" side but it only came with one of those grass around the post mowing attachments, and cost nearly as much as a flail bank mower.

Going to have to live with a Bushhog 278 and doing some places with other methods till the wallet fattens up