Bush Hog FL60 Flail Mower Questions, Please Help

[iplumb]

Looking at a Bush Hog FL60 flail mower. This seems to be more of a finish mower? I need something for over grown weeds 3' tall with some 1/2 Box Elder saplings with this work? Or is there a heavier duty flail mower I should be looking for.
Or just go with a Brush Hog mower? I have no experience with either. Please help, Thanks

 

[iplumb]

Anybody have expertise with this mower? Advise? Thanks.

 

[kf4uda]

I don't have any experience with a flail mower. Lots of folks on here have them and like them. Others wouldn't throw a rock at one. From what I have read on here I think that a flail setup with the correct knives would do your task. Everything that I have used of the Bush Hog brand has been well built.

I can say for sure that a rotary cutter (brush hog) would do your task well. This is what I use to cut areas as you describe. I have a 10ft and 6ft. To size a rotary cutter for your tractor figure about 6~7 PTO horsepower per foot of cutter width.

 

[8404]

i got this one last year from everythingattachment.com
I cut fields for a living durring the summer and it did just fine on tall grass now i mean grass not small trees. if your wanting to cut heavy brush get a regular rotory bush hog. i use both depending on the type of field im mowing

 

[greg_g]

Anybody have expertise with this mower? Advise? Thanks.

Flail mowers can cut a variety of materials, but there's no real one-size-fits-all flail. Fine cut flails have more rows of hangers that hold a lot of individual knives. They're like finish mowers. Rough cut flails have fewer hangers and sturdier T-style knives. Brush flails have hammers instead of knives. For beating nasty stuff to death. Like most things mechanical, you Not quite a finish mower, but not quite a rotary cutter. need the right tool for the job.

From what you describe, I'd say you need a rough cut like mine. From what I can see here, the FL60 looks like a fine cut flail.

//greg//

 

[Halftrack]

I agree with Greg G. For the cutting you have described, you need a Flail mower with the heavier knives. I think any of the Mott, Alamo, Ford/New Holland and John Deere Flails will handle that type of chopping. These knives or hammers are either a scoop, sweep or 2 piece Y knife. If they don't cut the object in the first pass, they beat it to submission eventually with little harm to the knife. I have heard of these knives referred to as 3 ounce hammers. I use a Ford later model 917, 6.5 ft wide with the sweep knives and have cut what you describe with it with very few problems. A single scoop, sweep or a pair of Y knives typically cut about 2" with about 1/8 overlap wth the next knife. The flail you describe would make a great finish flail mower but would be lacking in the heavy stuff. Good Luck!

 

[iplumb]

Thanks everyone. Is it possible to just change the flails to the heavier style?

 

[greg_g]

Well, maybe. You may have to get creative with knife placement. Your 4 rows are designed to hold a pair of knives per hanger, each pair cutting maybe an inch. The rough cut T-type knives cut a good two inches each, and are more typically in 3 rows. My concern would be mutual interference between the rough cut knives. Gotta make sure they're not so long as to hit the shroud as well. You might have to come up with a layout that eliminates that interference, not leave any gaps in the cut, and balance the rotor all at the same time.

If it doesn't work, it would be kind of an expensive experiment. Maybe you should wait till a rough cut flail comes available.

//greg//

 

[gtosvx]

I just bought an FL50 bush hog flail, and it has the finish cut weight Y blades also. I went to the bush hog website and got the manual downloaded. They list the heavier knives and even cup blades for the FM series, but not for th FL 60 or 50.
Mine has a chain to the top link so it can freely rotate up when going up/down hills, but is this better than a solid bar? The manual shows a solid link with the chain as an option. I have very hilly, terraced areas to cut ad am having difficulty understanding how to keep the mower at the right height without constantly watching and adjusting the 3ph.
Any tips or tricks?

 

[greg_g]

Chain is a bad idea. Besides safety considerations, chain will go slack when the front of the tractor is higher than the mower. Slack chain means the mower tips forward, which means the revolving knives get closer to the ground. Depending upon the degree of angular difference, that can temporarily turn the flail from mower to tiller. The opposite is also undesireable, say when cresting a hill. The nose of the tractor goes down, the chain pulls the mower up; often to the point of no cut at all.

A chain will work however, if you mow parallel to the dips and rises - as opposed to up and down them. That usually leaves a narrow strip at the bottom of each valley, but is much preferable to scalping and missing on each dip and rise. But this procedure can be difficult with narrow track tractors that tend to be a little "tippy". In that case stick with the rigid toplink, and mow up and down as you originally stated.

//greg//