Flail Mower flail mowers-how are they holding up?

[leonz]

I run a Bush Hog FH-188. Its a 88" cut and will cut from soft bermuda grass to heavy brush up to 1" with no problems. I was sold on nothing but a finish mower for a good quality cut. Once I had a chance to mow with a flail mower and I saw how well it would cut and how it used less HP, I bought the biggest one I could run behind my tractor and sold my Land Pride finish mower the next day. Yes, there are pros and cons to flail mowers, but I would run a flail any day over a finish mower hands down.

:thumbsup:

 

[charleyfarmall]

I have a very old 6' Mott Hammer Knife Fine cut and a 5' Caroni with hydraulic offset. Love them both. I will be heart broken if the Mott gives up on me. I rarely use a bush hog anymore and have no use for a finish mower. Lot's of quality flails come up for sale if you wait and watch. i would not buy a chinese mower to save money. You won't. If I had to buy a new one, I would probably get another Caroni or a Befco Hurricane. Yes new flails have a high entry fee but it is so worth it:cloud9:

 

[leonz]

I have a very old 6' Mott Hammer Knife Fine cut and a 5' Caroni with hydraulic offset. Love them both. I will be heart broken if the Mott gives up on me. I rarely use a bush hog anymore and have no use for a finish mower. Lot's of quality flails come up for sale if you wait and watch. i would not buy a chinese mower to save money. You won't. If I had to buy a new one, I would probably get another Caroni or a Befco Hurricane. Yes new flails have a high entry fee but it is so worth it:cloud9:

:thumbsup:

 

[TDVT]

This will be my 3rd season with the Caroni 1900 & I just broke my first part about an hour ago.

I was mowing a very uneven field that wasn't mowed at all last year, hit the tip or a rock about 8" around, 6" high & broke the clevis that held one set of blades. The missing blades threw the rotor out of balance so I knew something was up & the blades were lying right where they came off, waiting for me to pick them up.

Foolishly, I had never ordered spares, which is why I'm online now. I have a few sets coming from AgriSupply but was searching for cross-referenced blade replacements & saw this thread. Did anyone with a Caroni end up getting some that fit from Flailmaster?

As for the unit itself, I read all the belt woes, etc. but have not had one issue with mine until today (operator error). I have yet to flip or sharpen the knives but will now do so when the new parts arrive.

The knives that came off & are sitting on my desk, look surprisingly good, WAY better than the typical condition of the lawn tractor blades I sharpen 2 or 3 times each season & we only cut grass with that.

Like most of the other Caroni guys on here, I'm very happy with it & would buy another. I try to keep up with all the lube points through the season & keep it covered over the winter.

The only thing I'm thinking about doing to it is making up a new set of skids with a steel wheel on the front tip. I have found that on uneven terrain (every field around here) the right side (w/the offset) will tend to gather grass if it is running in a row I have already cut even though I don't run it on the skids. There is not a problem if it runs through uncut grass but that isn't always possible. It can be adjusted slightly the the 3PT to minimize but it would be nice to drop the mower all the way down to a pre-determined setting independent of the lift arms & just lift over obstacles.

 

[flusher]

I've been following the 60+ page thread on flail mowers and decided that I want one, but I want one of the economical units which appear to be the Caroni for about $2400 or so and the chinese Betstco sold on ebay for about $1350.

Locally I've found the alamo and other brands to be about $4000.

Several of you said you were going to buy these models and I'd just like to check in after a few hours of cutting to see how they were holding up and if you have had any warranty/repair issues.

Thanks.

I have the Value Leader 68" flail (Betstco). Used it 3 times so far on my 6 acre hayfield (short weeds and stubble). Works OK. Only problem: the grease zerk on the left axle bearing (the one on the belt side of the mower) has stripped threads so I need to retap them to get the zerk reinstalled (greasing the two main bearings is very important for mower life).

 

[sunspot]

I wore out the right side skid on my Caroni TM1900. I called Agri-Supply and very easily ordered a replacement.:thumbsup:

It was worn and bent. I believe that is the reason that cut grass was bunching up on that side.

 

[psj12]

My caroni 1900 had a belt failure the first season and I replaced them with Gates belts and have not had any other issues. I use it behind a 55 hp tractor.

 

[bandit67]

Are the Caroni gearboxes loud? I've been told they make a ton of noise compared with the cheap chinese units and the expensive US-made units. If so, is it obnoxious? Do you need to wear hearing protection? I typically don't with my machine, as nothing I run on it seems to be overly loud.

 

[beppington]

Are the Caroni gearboxes loud? I've been told they make a ton of noise compared with the cheap chinese units and the expensive US-made units. If so, is it obnoxious? Do you need to wear hearing protection? I typically don't with my machine, as nothing I run on it seems to be overly loud.

With my dad's Caroni TM1900, all I hear is a sort of low-note rumble that sounds exactly like you'd expect, not loud at all, no gearbox noise that I can pick out. Sounds about like any other mower or bush hog that I've heard.

 

[leonz]

Are the Caroni gearboxes loud? I've been told they make a ton of noise compared with the cheap chinese units and the expensive US-made units. If so, is it obnoxious? Do you need to wear hearing protection? I typically don't with my machine, as nothing I run on it seems to be overly loud.

The noise issue is hearsay as the noise level is strictly dependent upon
the material being shredded by the flail mower or crop shredder.

The Caroni gearboxes employ a splash lubrication system like all the others
and like any other rotating piece of machinery they emit noise but it is well
within the E.U., noise decibel requirements.

The rush of air created with flailmower rotor while mowing creates more noise
due to the pressure gradient created by the flail mower rotor and grass slicers
in motion at a high speed of rotation when the power take off is engaged and
maintained at the 540 R.P.M. operating speed.


One should aways wear hearing protection when or if an open station tractor is used.
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Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool: