Seppi flail? (used)

[DieselBound]

On my "equipment to buy" list I have "fail mower." Budget is limited to that of a new cheaper (Chinese?) flail or a used quality one (which likely will need a little work/elbow grease). I've got a candidate identified which falls under the "new, cheaper" category, but am still wanting to hold out (have time) to try and track down a used, quality one. I am aiming for a 7' flail for my Kioti. Rough pasture cutting, with some woody debris.

Flails (for CUTs) are pretty rare in my area. Even more rare are used ones. And rarer yet something in the 7' range. So, I was a bit surprised to find a used Seppi smo225 pop up. Not a lot of info in the Ad, other than it's a 7-footer. No idea on vintage: a fresh coat of paint was slapped on it, a possible red flag. Figured I'd check with folks here first before attempting to contact the seller: unit is a fair distance away, not a quick trip to just have a look. Existing/past posts on this site have almost no information: someone asked about finding some replacement blades/cutters, and that's pretty much it. Anyway....

Looking for input from anyone having knowledge/experience with these flails: thanks to the epic flail thread I have a fair understanding of flails themselves.

 

[leonz]

Hello DieselBound.


As I am suffering from Snowmuditus here in the east I wanted to respond to your post.

If you take a 4 pound hammer with you to check the welds that will tell you how sound
the welds are on this flail mower or any flail mower for that matter.

The Seppi folks have been building farm equipment for a long time like the Caroni family and many other firms like the Peruzzos.

if I was closer of course I would not hesitate to look at it with you or for you.


I would make my decision based on price and condition of the flail mower under the shroud long before I began dickering with the owner.

You can always send the Seppi folks here in the states an email to ask about the flail mower if the ID plate is still intact and legible.


Leon

 

[mrmikey]

That's a pretty big mower, make sure you're on the high end of the range of required HP, I'm thinking at 55 engine HP you've got 45± PTO roughly?. That size head requires 48-95 PTO HP according to the Seppi site so you're going to be on the extreme low end. I'm thinking you're going to be disappointed as well as hard on the tractor. Seppi parts aren't cheap so keep that in mind.
We have a couple of TV145's at work with Seppi heads, mind you it's a lot bigger head and machine I realize. They used to have the flail heads but were converted over to fixed hammers as the pivot shafts were a pia to remove. Again, a different setup I realize as it was a one piece shaft for each row of flails. Bearings on each end are a constantly replacing item and an occasional balancing. Ours are hydraulic drive now as a the direct pto drive was too hard on the tractor, kept tearing gearboxes out because of the shock load.

When you do go for a look, check the pivots of the flails and make sure the pivots themselves as well as the mounts for them are not egg shaped. Check the rotation of the drum for bad bearings as they take a lot of abuse as well as the main shaft going thru the drum. If you can't power the mower up, use something to check for runout on each end as you turn the drum manually.......Mike

 

[Fallon]

That's a pretty big mower, make sure you're on the high end of the range of required HP, I'm thinking at 55 engine HP you've got 45± PTO roughly?. That size head requires 48-95 PTO HP according to the Seppi site so you're going to be on the extreme low end. I'm thinking you're going to be disappointed as well as hard on the tractor.

I ran a 7' Ford 917 behind my 32hp L3200 & still run it behind my current L4060 (40hp). I'm looking to replace it with a newer heavier flail but about the same width. If you can lift it you can spin it. Might have to go slow if you are short on HP.

 

[DieselBound]

leonz, thanks for the reply (sorry you're under the weather (it's not any better here; running a flail right now isn't going to happen- off-season, however, is the best time to land a deal)

I'll probably contact the seller and try to get some more info/pictures. For $1,200 it might be worth the risk (though it's MANY hours away, and my truck is a real pig to drive even on short distances!).

mrmikey, it's about speed, mostly (as Fallon notes). My ground is too uneven (and littered with trees) to be going very fast: if I have to go slow I figure better to be running a bigger mower! I run a 6' bush hog and the NX5510 drives it extremely well, grass OR brush.

Fallon, do you have something in mind? Curious as to the comment about getting a heavier one. My NX's box blade is 7' and it's 1,200 lb; not sure if a 7' flail weighs this much (but the NX will lift over 3,000lbs at the rear- I'm not looking to try and test that!)

 

[Fallon]

leonz, thanks for the reply (sorry you're under the weather (it's not any better here; running a flail right now isn't going to happen- off-season, however, is the best time to land a deal)

I'll probably contact the seller and try to get some more info/pictures. For $1,200 it might be worth the risk (though it's MANY hours away, and my truck is a real pig to drive even on short distances!).

mrmikey, it's about speed, mostly (as Fallon notes). My ground is too uneven (and littered with trees) to be going very fast: if I have to go slow I figure better to be running a bigger mower! I run a 6' bush hog and the NX5510 drives it extremely well, grass OR brush.

Fallon, do you have something in mind? Curious as to the comment about getting a heavier one. My NX's box blade is 7' and it's 1,200 lb; not sure if a 7' flail weighs this much (but the NX will lift over 3,000lbs at the rear- I'm not looking to try and test that!)

Peruzzo Elk 2000, 79”, Peruzzo Bull 2200, 86” Iowa Farm Equipment -- Peruzzo Elk Series Front & Rear Mount Flail Mowers Iowa Farm Equipment -- Peruzzo Bull Series Offset Flail Mowers or a Land Pride seem to be at the top of my list. 1,000-1,500lbs for the Peruzzo's & they are rated to chew up 2" thick brush all day long. Cost $6-7k though. Vrismo wants over $10k for something in the same league. Woodmaxx looks interesting, & is good bang for the buck, but not beefy enough if I keep tackling heavier brush Same with Carconi.

Not so much looking for a heavier one, but a heavier duty one & one rated to go through a bit thicker stuff. But beefier units kind of intrinsically weigh more.

My 917 has been a good machine, but it was thrashed when I bought it. It's held up better than I could have expected really, even more so when you look at some of the brush & rocks I've mowed with it. The hood was dented when I got it. It was missing knives because they would hit the hood. Torched out a good chunk & patched it. New set of knives, belts, PTO shaft & I got it back up & running. Since then I've mangled a few knives & blew a rotor bearing. Not hard to replace, but it's getting less worth it. Lots of knife mounting brackets on the rotor are bent (a few are my fault), the roller use to be adjustable, but was welded solid years before I got it. Hood has a big crack in it I can't be bothered to weld up. I put grease in the gearbox rather than spend $70 for new seals. Have maybe $600 total into it & have gotten 3+ years out of it personal use & with my side gig doing a few tractor jobs a month (mostly mowing). Probably pushing 200 hours of use. Not disappointed at all, just need something beefier & more reliable now that I'm doing a decent amount of mowing.

 

[Fallon]

That's a pretty big mower, make sure you're on the high end of the range of required HP, I'm thinking at 55 engine HP you've got 45± PTO roughly?. That size head requires 48-95 PTO HP according to the Seppi site so you're going to be on the extreme low end. I'm thinking you're going to be disappointed as well as hard on the tractor. Seppi parts aren't cheap so keep that in mind.
We have a couple of TV145's at work with Seppi heads, mind you it's a lot bigger head and machine I realize. They used to have the flail heads but were converted over to fixed hammers as the pivot shafts were a pia to remove. Again, a different setup I realize as it was a one piece shaft for each row of flails. Bearings on each end are a constantly replacing item and an occasional balancing. Ours are hydraulic drive now as a the direct pto drive was too hard on the tractor, kept tearing gearboxes out because of the shock load.

When you do go for a look, check the pivots of the flails and make sure the pivots themselves as well as the mounts for them are not egg shaped. Check the rotation of the drum for bad bearings as they take a lot of abuse as well as the main shaft going thru the drum. If you can't power the mower up, use something to check for runout on each end as you turn the drum manually.......Mike

Were you mowing with them or mulching large brush & small trees? Sounds like you beat them hard. I can't imagine those kind of shock loads pasture & field mowing.