Finish mower vs brush hog?

[FreedomFamilyFarms]

This thread on Flail Mowers is Epic. You might check it out before committing to a rotary mower.

 

[MESSMAKER]

A rotary mower will make more money than any other implement. You can pick up a decent medium duty cutter for less than $1200 new. It will pay for itself in the first year and last 3-4 years with hard use.

 

[kthompson]

A rotary mower will make more money than any other implement. You can pick up a decent medium duty cutter for less than $1200 new. It will pay for itself in the first year and last 3-4 years with hard use.

For a good quality mower how much are you running it to last 3-4 years?

 

[MESSMAKER]

For a good quality mower how much are you running it to last 3-4 years?

I mow about 250 hours a year. A good portion is building lots and code violation. I would think most people will not mow more than 50 hours a year.

 

[LD1]

250hrs per year.......3-4 years.....

I wouldnt say that a mower that lasts 750-1000hrs is of good quality. Unless it is abused. (running over tires, fence posts, boulders, cinder blocks, etc).

 

[LD1]

The heavy bushhog in these pictures is a bushhog model 306. I acquired it maybe 4 years ago. ITs a model from the 1980's. IT has mowed ~700 acres for me over the last 3-4 years. And I am sure it has sever hundred if not thousands of hours of life left in it.

 

[IslandTractor]

For mowing irregularly maintained areas that involves saplings and unseen debris, it's hard to imagine anything lighter than a medium duty rotary would be practical. Only exception I can think of would be a medium or heavy duty flail which will give a nicer cut but will cost more to buy and take more time and money to maintain.

I'm a big flail fan and own a Caroni TM1900 medium duty flail but I still keep a Woods 600 BrushBull for first mowing of unknown areas or for quick mowing of brush when I don't care what the field looks like afterwards. Occasionally I'll hit the field with the Woods first and then clean up with the flail but more often I just do the second cutting with the flail a month or two later.

 

[screamin400]

The flail mower thread sure is interesting. I certainly did not read it all. I have not seen one in person as they do not seem to be a big seller here. I have no interest in knocking down trees and cutting them up so the flail looks like the way to go if the price is the same.

 

[IslandTractor]

The flail mower thread sure is interesting. I certainly did not read it all. I have not seen one in person as they do not seem to be a big seller here. I have no interest in knocking down trees and cutting them up so the flail looks like the way to go if the price is the same.

You can get a flail for roughly the same cost as a bush hog of the same duty rating and width.

 

[screamin400]

What would the down fall of the flail be? I remember flail choppers when I was a kid. Long time ago. I believe maintenance would be more? Wondering if a client would pay more for a nicer job or not care. Is the flail slower?