leonz
Super Member
Sorry, did not mean to rant.
I was just thinking that the rotary cutter was likely heavier and positioned further back than a flail mower would. I absolutely understand about the importance of easing through dense vegetation, that is exactly what I do now.
Are flail mowers that much heavier than rotary cutters? My LX4 weighs over 400 pounds and much of that weight is located far from the tractor's center of gravity.
A front mounted mower sounds intriguing indeed--sort of a snowblower for brush. Unfortunately, I would have to take off my loader which is invaluable as I move material around in the woods now. Some of the downed limbs/trunks can be positioned so that I can get a better shot than as it fell. I think that I would want to leave the bucket in place, maybe even add teeth to it to enhance its ability to get under debris and drag it if necessary.
I keep coming back to the BEFCO H-40 series that comes in a 60 inch model and claims to be rated from 15-40 HP. The weight is comperable to my LX4 and I believe less than my RFM-60. Better yet, its weight would be located closer to the tractor so the tractor would have a good mechanical advantage. Is this an even remotely reasonable option, knowing that I will have to slow down for dense vegetation, just as I do now? Thank you for all the help you are offering, this site is the only source of experienced, practical information that I have on the subject as flail mowers are reletively rare pieces of equipment.
thanks as always,
SI2305
JD 2305
200CX, LX4, 60" Grader blade, 60" LandPride finish mower that replaced our old lawn mower, middlebuster, home made grass rake for long field grass collection, and now a specialized trailer to move heavy logs
Thanks
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The arc of travel for lifting any flailmower is always closer to the tractor as the flail mowers rotor is closer to the integral hitch.
The issue for you is power loss/power needed to operate the transmission and steering system and what ever is left is available for the mounted implement to allow for "efficient" use of the mower- if you have plenty of time to mow then its not an issue and crawling allows you to mow and recut effectively and efficiently, thats where a fender mounted radio comes in nicely to relieve some of the boredom.
The flail mowers belt drive and its ability to transmit power to the flail mower rotor are your main concerns as it will be directly affected by the density of the brush encountered by the flail mowers rotor at speed.
I have a flywheel clutch/Hilliard go cart clutch on my belt drive so I am able to wind the 16 horse power B+S I/C engine up to 3000 rpm+ and have plenty of power when I mow brush at a slow tractor speed and mow quickly on good turf.
Foremost your pocket book is going to be your guide with this decision.
But saying that my 48 inch flailmower is 32 years and still works great and you will have the same efficiency, power and life span with a smaller flail mower as long as you take care of it. I would chat with Ken Sweet as he is forum sponsor and spend your money at his firm.