Offset Flail Ditch Bank Mower

[leonz]

Hello Terry,

I never never never ment to infer that "your" specific use of a side shifting flail mower would be more dangerous to operate on your property. I tend to go into extreme detail when it comes to flail mowers as my friends on the forum can attest to as it is second nature for me and quite often I cannot upload my responses as I have timed out haha. :drool::thumbsup:

I only mentioned what may be needed to operate it safely depending specifically where it may be operated. Many side hill farms have very steep terrain that requires a mule or a combine that can tilt to operate and to harvest or a require spraying of insecticides

You will not have any issues with the property you are mowing if you use a side shifting flail mower, and the mowing job will also look much nicer.

I am sorry if I created a misunderstanding with regard to your specific needs.

No worries you will be fine with the recommended side shifting flail mower from Iowa Farm Equipment for your tractor.


Happy holidays.

 

[powerscol]

Good morning Terry

In some ways I think leonz is trying to say with the flail you may want to be open in changing how you mow (but you probably know that). An example on the side hill you will want the mower head above you (not on the down hill side). While the swing arm will somewhat prevent a roll over if you have it below you, it can possibly get bent and also mess up your 3pt linkage. When I switched from my rotary I could feel a positive difference in the tractor behavior. Much less bouncing and easier to turn around (I have wiped out a few fences in my time )

When I mow my steep ditch banks I am on the gravel road shoulder,. I do get a gut feeling I am at the limits sometimes by the way my tractor behaves, especially in heavy grass or willows. My steering gets light if the mower gets hung up. I can also feel the rear sliding in loose gravel in thick stuff, so I go slow. I have the R4 GP tires filled which helps greatly.

There is a learning curve. I left big slash marks the first timed I mowed as I had the skid shoes on the grown and they dug in on turns. I then went back and actually read the operations manual. :confused3::laughing: You will also find a sweet spot in operation speed that may be different than the rotary. Experiment in the mower position and your pattern. It will also take a while to tune your mower roller and side skid settings for your field conditions and desired cutting height. Top link adjustment is more critical then the rotary as it sets the side shoe geometry. You want to be riding on the rear roller with the side skids off the grown. You should find a sweet spot where it begins to sound like a huge vacuum cleaner and you will see the grass at the sides pulled in.

As for the tilt meter it can be helpful. I used one to measure curve safety at speed in my work (old school). Now they have fancy computers to do it. FIL had one on his old JD, but the funny thing was when plowing and one wheel in the furrow it measured near the danger zone :shocked: . FIL did have a mark on it where he determined it became unsafe - I never got close to it before my butt meter kicked in.

Hopefully this helps

 

[TerryR]

I realize that I'll have to make some adjustments in my mowing pattern. For starters, I'll have to mow everything "backwards," that is keep the working edge on the right instead of on the left. My RC is narrower than my tractor tires, so I've pulled it to the left with the 3pt hitch. I used that side because it seemed the direction of rotation seemed to pick up the grass the tire had run over better that way. But the offset flail mounts to the right.

I expect I can mow most or all of my banks sideways from the top or bottom with the mower extended rather than backing up them as I do with the RC. Experimenting will tell.

Then I have to see whether I like mowing the bulk of the field with the flail extended or behind the tractor. I think that depends on how much having it extended pulls the tractor to the right, especially going up the steep parts. If it works I think I'll prefer using it extended to keep from running over the grass/weeds before mowing.

I used to mow much of the field up and down the hill but the last several years I've done that just on the steepest part, and mow around the "level" areas - the parts under 15 degrees of slope. That seemed to me to waste less time than dead-heading across between passes and cutting the long skinny triangles I never seem to avoid when I set off a new "land." I'll see if I want to change that pattern with the new mower. I wonder if I can make square corners without stopping with the offset flail like the hay guys do with sickle bar and disk mowers?

I don't have much that needs mowing this time of year but I'll try to test it a little. It should be here late next week or early the following one. I hope it's this coming week as there is a big tower crane in town that's supposed to come down a week from Monday and it'll require lots of hands-on "supervising."

 

[TerryR]

It arrived today. Not great timing, as the snow is only half melted and it didn't arrive until 5:00 pm as it was getting dark. Truck can't get to the house so had him drop it beside the road, and had to drag it off the liftgate with my tractor. Fortunately my neighbor came by with his side-by-side as I needed the help, and the lights, to cut it loose from the skid and hook it up to the tractor to cart it home.

Here's what it looks like once free of the packing:



Looks well made and nicely finished. They included extension hoses to reach my FEL outlets, with right-angle fittings and connectors, which I'll have to install.

Any tips on how to vet the air from the hydraulics?

It's going to be a while before I do much testing I'm afraid.

 

[lostcreekranch]

It arrived today. Not great timing, as the snow is only half melted and it didn't arrive until 5:00 pm as it was getting dark. Truck can't get to the house so had him drop it beside the road, and had to drag it off the liftgate with my tractor. Fortunately my neighbor came by with his side-by-side as I needed the help, and the lights, to cut it loose from the skid and hook it up to the tractor to cart it home.


Any tips on how to vet the air from the hydraulics?

.

Somebody needs a set of pallet forks.

Hook up your cylinder to your remote QD’s and just cycle the cylinder 10-15 times. Presto ...... Air gone!

BTW ..... very nice flail mower!

 

[Fallon]

It arrived today. Not great timing, as the snow is only half melted and it didn't arrive until 5:00 pm as it was getting dark. Truck can't get to the house so had him drop it beside the road, and had to drag it off the liftgate with my tractor. Fortunately my neighbor came by with his side-by-side as I needed the help, and the lights, to cut it loose from the skid and hook it up to the tractor to cart it home.

Here's what it looks like once free of the packing:
View attachment 531635
View attachment 531636

Looks well made and nicely finished. They included extension hoses to reach my FEL outlets, with right-angle fittings and connectors, which I'll have to install.

Any tips on how to vet the air from the hydraulics?

It's going to be a while before I do much testing I'm afraid.

Just hook up the hydraulics & cycle them back & forth a few times, sometimes up to a dozen & it get the air out. The oil will entrap the air & cycle it on out. When sitting unpressurized in the tank it will come out.

My Peruzzo Bull Super 2200 Flail should be here by the end of the month. Has some hydraulically adjustable offset, but not nearly as much as your ditch bank mower.

 

[TerryR]

Thanks guys for the tips on how to deal with air in the hydraulics. It looks like the cylinders and factory hoses do have fluid in them and it's just the extensions the dealer put on that are dry, as I learned after draping the open hoses over my tractor overnight and finding oil on the floor this morning. It will be a few days before it's warm enough for me to play with it.

Somebody needs a set of pallet forks.

Hook up your cylinder to your remote QD’s and just cycle the cylinder 10-15 times. Presto ...... Air gone!

BTW ..... very nice flail mower!

Thanks.

Yes, the truck driver would have appreciated the pallet forks, but it's the first time I can recall having a need for them. And, at 991 lb. shipping weight, this would be a tad over the spec'd maximum capacity of my FEL.

Just hook up the hydraulics & cycle them back & forth a few times, sometimes up to a dozen & it get the air out. The oil will entrap the air & cycle it on out. When sitting unpressurized in the tank it will come out.

My Peruzzo Bull Super 2200 Flail should be here by the end of the month. Has some hydraulically adjustable offset, but not nearly as much as your ditch bank mower.

That looks like a very nice unit. I don't have tractor enough for that, and I think on my place the ditch bank capability will be very handy.

 

[RoyJackson]

It arrived today. Not great timing, as the snow is only half melted and it didn't arrive until 5:00 pm as it was getting dark. Truck can't get to the house so had him drop it beside the road, and had to drag it off the liftgate with my tractor. Fortunately my neighbor came by with his side-by-side as I needed the help, and the lights, to cut it loose from the skid and hook it up to the tractor to cart it home.

Here's what it looks like once free of the packing:
View attachment 531635
View attachment 531636

Looks well made and nicely finished. They included extension hoses to reach my FEL outlets, with right-angle fittings and connectors, which I'll have to install.

Any tips on how to vet the air from the hydraulics?

It's going to be a while before I do much testing I'm afraid.

Very nice!!!

 

[bspeedy]

That's a really great looking machine. Do you mind sharing a ballpark price on it? My guess is 4-5 grand, but that's just a guess.

 

[TerryR]

That's a really great looking machine. Do you mind sharing a ballpark price on it? My guess is 4-5 grand, but that's just a guess.

It's looking great. We'll see how it performs when the weather warms up a bit.

Five grand plus shipping is about right. I choose this one because it offers the widest offset in it's class, which is important to me with the wide rear wheels you see in the second photo, and because it's relatively light weight which I thought best because of the size of my tractor and my hills. The Del Marino is a bit cheaper but the offset isn't as large and it weighs more. The Chinese-made brands are a lot cheaper but I questioned the quality and couldn't find anyone who owns one who was willing to vouch for them.