Flail Mower Experiences

[ditchseeder]

I currently have an 8' Land Pride 3596 rotary mower on a JD 5425 and have some other additional mowing jobs to do so looking at putting a John Deere 390 or 25A flail mower on a Deere 4120 tractor that is weighted down. I have never been around a flail type and looking for comments. Wondering if anyone has been around these and how they are for reliability, how they handle debris and how maintenace needs are on them? Thanks for your comments...

Ryan

 

[Eagleview]

Flails don't throw debris and do a great job . They are however a very high maintanance item , belts , knives , bearings etc. all require a lot of attention . Any out of balance will see the machine destroy itself quickly . They are very safe , i slash beside houses and cars with little worry of damage .

 

[GreenWannabe]

The 390, at 7.5' cutting width, may be a little large for the 4120. JD specs fot the 390 say 40 PTO hp min, 4120 is 35 or 35.5, depending on whether it is hydro or gear. The 25A, 360, and 370 should be fine as they have min 30 hp rating.

 

[IslandTractor]

The 390, at 7.5' cutting width, may be a little large for the 4120. .

I doubt it would be a problem but might require going a bit slow in really thick grass or brush. It doesn't take much HP at all to turn a flail mower so the rated HP required really depends more on what you are trying to cut and how fast you want to cut it.

 

[IslandTractor]

They are however a very high maintanance item .

Well, I cannot argue that when compared to box blades, rakes, boom poles and bush hogs. Rather than call them very high maintenance though I think of the flail as requiring regular maintenance the same way the tractor itself does. Lube the tractor before each use and then hit the bearings on the flail. Check belt tension per manufacturer's recommendations pretty much the same way you'd do that on a tractor or other belt driven piece of equipment. Check the knives periodically and replace or sharpen when you no longer like the performance. I am using the same knives going into my third season and haven't even reversed them yet but that obviously depends on what type of cutting, what type of terrain and how many hours of use.

I do agree with IronHorse that flail mowers need more maintenance than a bush hog/slasher and perhaps more than a finish mower but I wouldn't characterize them as "very high maintenance" at least not in the sense that they might be considered delicate or fussy.

 

[kthompson]

The cut will depend a lot on the type of knives or cutters you have on it. If you expect a level cut be sure you don't use the "Y" cutters. No idea on the cutter you are talking about but many offer a good selection of knives to match the work you will be doing.

 

[charleyfarmall]

I agree with the comments above. I have two and wouldn't be without them again. My bushhog almost never gets used. Both of mine have Y blades but on a high density spindle ( 99 pair on my 6') and on a level field it looks like a finish cut. I no longer have a finish mower as a result.

I grease mine just about everytime I use it ( 3 zerks, no big deal). The belts really don't need maintenance. If you are not going through heavy brush or hitting rocks, the blades last well, I end up replacing or turngin the whole lot every two years and a replacing a few several times a season (rocks).

I currently have a Caroni 5' and a Mott 6' (resurrected from a junk pile) and also had a Ford 917. The Ford 78" was a power hog and used every bit of my 42 PTO hp.

The only disadvantage to me about flails is the entry price, otherwise they are the cat's meow.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I wonder why some manufatures have way different hp requirements for these unit. I had been thinking of a JD flail until I saw the specs. I only have 25hp @ the pto so I figured I was out of luck. Well the more I looked the more manufacture's I found that make 6'or 7' unit that work with 20-25 hp. So I wonder what's the big difference in build that varies the hp req's so much. I was looking at loftness cutters they seem to be quite hd. I think the 4120 would run any of the JD flails without issue. Of course I've never run one so I could say for sure.

Matt

 

[groundcover]

What are the thoughts on Flail vs Drum mowers? HayMaGNUM Disc Mower and Hay Mowers
Looks like the drum might have some advantages for taller grass and mowing above and below tractor level on banks. Looks like they can both run faster than a Bush Hog ?

 

[IslandTractor]

What are the thoughts on Flail vs Drum mowers? HayMaGNUM Disc Mower and Hay Mowers
Looks like the drum might have some advantages for taller grass and mowing above and below tractor level on banks. Looks like they can both run faster than a Bush Hog ?

As I understand it, drum mowers are specifically designed for haying. They cut the hay but don't mulch it. The flail will mulch anything under the "hood" so you could not use it to cut a hayfield for harvest. On the other hand, you can drive a flail anywhere you can drive a bush hog.