Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[sunspot]

How tough is that lantana? Easily cleared by a machete, or the sort of stuff the machete bounces off?

I don't know about the lantana in Oz but in South Florida, it's an invasive plant that grows wild in the hinterlands. About 3-4' tall with a woody stem up to 1/2" thick. It could be cut with a machete. The butterflies love the flowers.
Don't ask about the Australian Melaleuca trees taking over the Everglades.

Melaleuca quinquenervia -- Non-Native Invasive Plants in the United States

 

[Nuru]

Nuru, I agree with IslandTractor. I called the distributor and they said that to change the rotor from a "B" type to an "F" or "A" type, the part would be $1,200 plus shipping! So, for about $500 more you can buy an entirely new unit, so not really worth buying just the rotor. I hope normal replacement parts are this costly!

Dave

yep that is the conclusion I came to after checking around for pricing.

 

[Nuru]

I'm guessing the TC45 is about 45hp. The width of flail mower will obviously depend on how you use it (brush vs pasture vs lawn). I use a 75 inch Caroni flail with my 41hp tractor and it is about right for brush but I could easily pull a bigger flail if I was just doing lawn and probably bigger if I was doing pastures that were cut more than once a season.

I think you will find that the larger flails are very expensive (>$4000) and quite heavy. Most of the discussion here has been about six foot flails which can be had for prices varying from $1700-4000.

I think the Caroni is the only one under $2k right? i thought all the rest were $3k plus?

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

I found this one for $400.....he said it's a 90" Alamo........

Will my tractor handle it? He said it need a bearing and that he'd make sure it isn't missing and teeth and that he'd throw in an extra dozen teeth after that......

Whadda ya'll think?

i'll be clearing everything from grassy field to thick over-grown.......i have a 5' hog, so once i clear the land, it'll just be cutting it 2-3 times a year

 

[jjmarotz]

Good 22 pg read. I too have a ? on my flail, just got this last fall for free and obviously it needs new knives, but am wondering if one could just build these? I will need 230 total blades, ouch. Or what other type of replacements are available? It is a Brillion mow sale, 61" cut, everything turns freely and smooth. Anyone know any info on this brand, as I can't find them or parts anywhere. Thanks fellas.

 

[Ductape]

As far as i can see, Brillion is still in business. No idea if they still support that particular mower........ but you can check here.

Brillion Farm Equipment Online

 

[IslandTractor]

I think the Caroni is the only one under $2k right? i thought all the rest were $3k plus?

To my knowledge, yes...unless you want to count the Chinese imports that end up on eBay periodically. Certainly Caroni is the only one with a track record and stable source of parts (AgriSupply).

 

[Nuru]

Question to All experienced Flail mower owners. I was contacted by the dealer and informed that my desire to use my existing Turf specals is complicated by the fact that if i ever want to go to a MMM, that I cannot use an MMM on the 3x20 series unless i have R3 or R4 tires on the tractor. The reason i don't just take the R3's is that the fronts dug into my lawn and the tractor left a lot of trails when I cut with the R3s on the 4310/MMM combination, and since the 3520 Cab is heavier I an concerned it will do the same. The Turf Specials do not have this issue, and so I am happy with their performance.

My question is, since the flail will be cutting after the tires run over the grass, would the flail take care of the R3 impressions on the grass?

I am currently leaning to just setting the tractor up with mid PTO anyway and going with R3s and just use them when I am doing loader work, or if i ever got a MMM (not likely if the flai works out), or wanted to use a snow blower.

Or i could save the 400 bucks and go with the Bar tires and save trhem for a really bad snow day! I wish i could get the R3 fronts and Bar tire backs!

 

[IslandTractor]

I found this one for $400.....he said it's a 90" Alamo........

If it is savagable then $400 as an investment is not bad at all. You could fix it up, try it out and if for some reason it doesn't work out you'd be able to sell a reconditioned big brand flail mower that probably cost $4000 new. I'd say the only question is how much it would cost you to revitalize the mower.

I would imagine that a TC45 could handle a 7 and a half foot flail without too much trouble so long as you are mowing pastures 3-4 times a year as stated. Not sure I'd use it for major brush work unless you go real slowly.

 

[Eagleview]

Great pictures Iron Horse.

How tough is that lantana? Easily cleared by a machete, or the sort of stuff the machete bounces off?

Pretty tough and very toxic . Our stuff ranges from around 1/2"-3" stalk diametre . If you look closely at the first pic you will see the average stalk size we have . You can't really cut it by hand because if you are scratched , and you will be it can really give you problems requiering Antibiotics to clean it up . Scratch an eye and you will loose the sight in that eye . Cattle from the same paddock can tolerate it but cattle from another area brought in will die an agonizing death straight after eating it . The birds fly the seeds around and it's become a major problem woldwide . It makes me $5000 a week so i do'nt mind it all that much