Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Foozle]

The more I read the more interested I'm becoming as well. With the Caroni, if you wanted to mow lawns as well as fields, would you need the "A" or "F" type rotors or will the "B" work pretty well?

If I were interested in an 84" flail, what would be good options to look at? I'm surprised Caroni doesn't make larger than 75" (unless I missed something on their site).

Thanks

 

[GreenMtns]

No kidding i was wavering about a flail but I am gonna go for one soon. Going this route, will probably get me back down to the 3320 vs trhe 3520, unless the dealer comes back with a surprising price on the 3520! I think i can drop the Mid-PTO option now since I will be going witha flail.

Hi Nuru

I run my Caroni TM1900 on my JD3520 and it doesn't even know it's there. I used to have a 6' Rotary Cutter on a 45hp non turbo unit and it made it work. it seems once the flail mower comes up to speed it takes less hp to mow. Could be wrong, have been once or twice , but I like what I have and would not go back to a rotary mower for anything.

 

[IslandTractor]

This truly has been a great thread. I also searched under "flail" and read for several hours.

It seems that a Coroni 1900B may be in my future.

Two concerns:
A) Will the Caroni TM1900B cut a pasture field of 18"-24'' tall grass/weeds at a tractor travel speed of say 3.75 - 4.25 mph (miles per hour) down to a remaining cut height of 3"-4"? (Note: My enjoyable reading time seemed to find many contradictory reports on this subject. Many of the older threads under "flail" seemed to indicate that slow travel speed was required in tall grass/weeds. Many of the newer threads seemed to to indicate that normal tractor travel speeds were possible in tall grass/weeds. Some of the contradiction could be due to different knife styles the posters used, but who knows for sure).

b) What about us tractor owners with non-live PTO? My tractor (1978 Kubota L285F with 26.45 PTO hp) has a tranny driven PTO with a built in over-running clutch. This is not a problem with my bush-hog as the blade loses very little momentum when I deprress the clutch. I can change gears or even direction without issue while the blade continues to cut weeds due to the flywheeling effect of the large blade. How long will the Caroni TM1900B cutter drum continue to cut weeds or flywheel without PTO power?

Thanks for all replies!

I'm afraid that I've never paid much attention to speed and just plain old don't know how fast 3-4mph really is while sitting on a tractor seat. I can say that I could mow in the conditions you describe in mid range HST on a 40hp tractor and my speed is determined mostly by my comfort level being bounced around in the tractor seat. I barely notice the mower. Having said that I mow in fields that are not particularly fertile and the grasses are certainly not lush.

The question about the non-live PTO is also difficult for me to answer. My PTO is live. I would however say that there is much less mass to the flails on my Caroni than there is on a Bush Hog. If I stop the PTO it seems to me the Caroni spools down pretty quickly compared to my former Bush Hog.

 

[IslandTractor]

The more I read the more interested I'm becoming as well. With the Caroni, if you wanted to mow lawns as well as fields, would you need the "A" or "F" type rotors or will the "B" work pretty well?

If I were interested in an 84" flail, what would be good options to look at? I'm surprised Caroni doesn't make larger than 75" (unless I missed something on their site).

Thanks

I think the B works fine for lawns but I am not fussy about manicured lawns so I may not be the best judge.

There are quite a few US companies that make flails up to about 20 feet in width (gangs) but these are almost all very expensive. I don't know of any flail bigger than the TM1900B that could be bought for even twice what the Caroni costs.

 

[Nuru]

Hi Nuru

I run my Caroni TM1900 on my JD3520 and it doesn't even know it's there. I used to have a 6' Rotary Cutter on a 45hp non turbo unit and it made it work. it seems once the flail mower comes up to speed it takes less hp to mow. Could be wrong, have been once or twice , but I like what I have and would not go back to a rotary mower for anything.

Thanks GreenMtns, and hello, this is another good input . BTW are all the Caroni's red in color?

 

[Eagleview]

These are the travel speed specifications that come from my Berti mulcher cattle dog . Multiply by .6 to get MPH . DOH ...

 

[Eagleview]

I'll try that again .

 

[GreenMtns]

Thanks GreenMtns, and hello, this is another good input . BTW are all the Caroni's red in color?

Yep, Red only.........nothing green. But they mow pretty darn good in red.

I have the hydraulic offset kit and for my use, getting through a narrow barn door and mowing next to a brook it is just the thing. But without the kit you have 2 positions the the 3pth can be mounted on giving different offsets. They will be of course fixed.

 

[Foozle]

I called the Agri-supply dealer about the Caroni and he said that they carry the TM1900B, which I'm assuming is the B rotor type. According to the guy I talked to, he said it is not really made for cutting tall grass, but this contradicts the Caroni website (which says it is made for cutting bushes and such), and also contradicts what all of you have been saying. I have to believe the guy at Agri-supply is mistaken, but seems strange they wouldn't know more about their own product.

I may still order it - just doing some last minute thinking on it before I do.

 

[IslandTractor]

There must be some new guys at AgriSupply because last year the sales people were quite knowledgable. I would not worry at all about the TM1900B and tall grass. That is exactly what most of us use it for along with some brush cutting.