Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[IslandTractor]

I have an unrelated related question....

I'm still looking for a replacement tractor to run the 88" flail I picked up a while ago. I currently mow my 1-1/3 acre lawn with a 60" zero turn that works great. I've been looking for a tractor with a loader this time so I can do more with it, one of the problems is most of the older tractors are too heavy to use much on my yard and also R1 ag tires to tear things up. I found a 40hp Massey Ferguson 1540 with R4 tires and my big debate is whether I could run a rear finish mower on it to do my yard and then use the flail for outlots that I mow. Anybody use an RFM for actual yard? Will it cut similar to a regular mower or never quite as good? The tractor weighs 3000lbs without the loader and I'm a bit worried about compacting the soil and/or tree roots. Also have some ditches that concern me as I would go 72" to get outside of the tires and even my 60" zt is a little wide for the curve of the ditch. So, definately would be compromised for mowing the yard but then I could have one machine to do it all, and one light enough I could run it all over the yard for other things.. Being able to sell my zt and snowblower allows me to justify looking at this much nicer tractor (compared to the other old ones I'm looking at), but only if I can use it for all.. Anybody running an rfm on nice finished lawn, not just open areas..?

Flails are certainly used on yards, golf courses, athletic fields etc. Two main issues: type of rotor/knives and travel speed. Caroni for example makes a "rough cut" version of the 75" mower that has about 56 knives and a finish cut version that has something close to double that number. I have found however that even using the rough cut flail, if I want to cut close and fine, I can do that simply by slowing down. I can take brush down to dirt if I want just by adjusting cut height and moving slowly. I have cut my lawn with the Caroni a few times but I found it very difficult to maneuver my tractor and wide mower under trees and around obstacles etc. The cut itself was not an issue.

 

[IslandTractor]

I been tryig to find a happy place with my Caroni flail. With the standard JB top link the upper mast of the mower was canted forward ~10-20deg. A couple of days ago I bought an XL top link at the tractor store ($39). Here's what it looks like now...

If I may offer my take on adjusting your flail mower or most any kind of implement. First I don't want to sound as if I'm disputing any suggestions already given you because I've received a lot of good information from a lot of folks much smarter than I. So here goes:

1. With the mower resting on the rear roller and the 3 pt lift arms connected take your top link off the mower side.

2. Raise your 3 pt lift slowly until you have it looking level from the side.

3. Put your top link in the slotted hole and adjust it until it's half way of the slot.

4. The position your 3 pt lift arms are in will be the position you should cut with the mower.


If your cutting height is not what you want, adjust the rear roller height either up or down then you'll need to adjust your 3 pt lift arms a bit so the mower looks level again and you may have to adjust the top link so it rides in the middle of the slot again.

Your 3 pt lift arms will hold the front of the mower while it rests on the roller. The rear roller should always be on the ground when cutting. The top link will come into play when you need to lift your mower. Having the top link in the middle of the slot will allow your mower to pivot a few inches and follow the terrain. It will only pivot a few inches then catch itself after it runs out of slack in the slot. Most of the time that's all that's needed to get a good cut.

Excellent description of how to do it.

 

[leonz]

Adding to Island Tractors and Steaves comments;

As I do not have my copies of the caroni manuals in front of me:

I believe you can extend the lower mounting arms one or two holes forward
to level the flail mower to solve this problem.

Happy mowing.

 

[leonz]

I have an unrelated related question....

I'm still looking for a replacement tractor to run the 88" flail I picked up a while ago. I currently mow my 1-1/3 acre lawn with a 60" zero turn that works great. I've been looking for a tractor with a loader this time so I can do more with it, one of the problems is most of the older tractors are too heavy to use much on my yard and also R1 ag tires to tear things up. I found a 40hp Massey Ferguson 1540 with R4 tires and my big debate is whether I could run a rear finish mower on it to do my yard and then use the flail for outlots that I mow. Anybody use an RFM for actual yard? Will it cut similar to a regular mower or never quite as good? The tractor weighs 3000lbs without the loader and I'm a bit worried about compacting the soil and/or tree roots. Also have some ditches that concern me as I would go 72" to get outside of the tires and even my 60" zt is a little wide for the curve of the ditch. So, definately would be compromised for mowing the yard but then I could have one machine to do it all, and one light enough I could run it all over the yard for other things.. Being able to sell my zt and snowblower allows me to justify looking at this much nicer tractor (compared to the other old ones I'm looking at), but only if I can use it for all.. Anybody running an rfm on nice finished lawn, not just open areas..?

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RFM are used a lot for good sod and depending on the condition of the turf will provide a good cut. we used a towed motorized EZrake twin spindle side discharge mower that discharged to the both the left and right and we used it for lawn and field mowing.

In your situation, and as an "example" I think you could use a JD series 2 mule with loaded turf tires or diamond turf tires and use the flail mower for both the home place and the mowing jobs.

 

[IslandTractor]

Adding to Island Tractors and Steaves comments;

As I do not have my copies of the caroni manuals in front of me:

I believe you can extend the lower mounting arms one or two holes forward
to level the flail mower to solve this problem.

Happy mowing.

I've looked at my Caroni manual. Pretty useless manual as far as operation goes. No guidance at all in fact.

The 3PT tractor arms attach to "intermediate" arms (about 1/2" plate 3x8" or so) that are in turn pinned to the mower in slots. Each has two pins attaching it to the mower and only two pin holes in the slot so there is only one way to attach those intermediate arms. No adjustment is possible forwards/backwards. You can move the whole mower sideways by using the extra set of slots but that only affects offset.

I'm still thinking the main issue for JimCan is that the topping lift is too long. If that were shorter and the 3PT lowered a bit I think the mower would be riding on the rear roller and roughly in plane with the ground.

 

[JimCan]

IT and Steave. I appreciate the reply. I shudda taken the pic with the mower resting on the ground... None the less, I previously ran the unit 'level' ...with a bubble level to be sure. The top mast was leaning waay forward and the skids were level. But, the skids were cutting or riding the ground too hard and the roller did not seem to be making contact. I needed elevation but I cannot get it by lowering the roller; it is fixed. I figured I 'rock it back' onto the roller by raising the front - hense, the new, longer top-link. I don't need a 3" lawn cut for the pasture, just need to supress the weeds.

My next test is to pull the skids forcing the roller into full contact, then check the cutting height and vary the lenght of the top-link to see what I get. (I'd almost like to see what I get without the top-link attached when the unit is totally fully, self-adjusting/trailing the tractor...) Thanks again. Jim

 

[Fallon]

IT and Steave. I appreciate the reply. I shudda taken the pic with the mower resting on the ground... None the less, I previously ran the unit 'level' ...with a bubble level to be sure. The top mast was leaning waay forward and the skids were level. But, the skids were cutting or riding the ground too hard and the roller did not seem to be making contact. I needed elevation but I cannot get it by lowering the roller; it is fixed. I figured I 'rock it back' onto the roller by raising the front - hense, the new, longer top-link. I don't need a 3" lawn cut for the pasture, just need to supress the weeds.

My next test is to pull the skids forcing the roller into full contact, then check the cutting height and vary the lenght of the top-link to see what I get. (I'd almost like to see what I get without the top-link attached when the unit is totally fully, self-adjusting/trailing the tractor...) Thanks again. Jim

Skids are there to prevent the rotor & to some lesser degree the knives from hitting the ground. They should only ever hit the ground in rare circumstances. Generally you want to have the skids raised all or at least most of the way up. If the skids were raised all the way up & still digging, ya, definately level issues to sort things out with the 3pt & roller height adjustments.

My ancient Ford 917 flail has a non-adjustable roller & skids (welded in place years or decades before I acquired it). So I'm stuck with 3pt height & toplink length to sort out cut height. On my L3200 I just left the hydraulic toplink in float, but no hydraulic toplink on the L4060 for a few more months. The 917 floats with some floating lift links rather than with anything on the toplink.

 

[OhioCowboy]

I'm trying to rebuild the rear roller bearings on my Ford/NH 918H 73" flail mower. IMHO the roller bearing system was under engineered. I feel the bearings are not up to the pounding and weight (800#) of my flail. The bearings were destroyed in 3 years of use. (probably 18 hours a week during mowing season (April-November). No numbers on the bearing survived. About all I know is the bearing bore is 1.25". Messicks wants $125 a bearing. I remember paying about $50 at the Ford dealer about 4 years ago when I last replaced them. Anybody have an idea of a cross reference 2 roller bearing that crosses to the number ME0000411 I get from Messick and NH parts listings?

 

[DavesTractor]

I'm trying to rebuild the rear roller bearings on my Ford/NH 918H 73" flail mower. IMHO the roller bearing system was under engineered. I feel the bearings are not up to the pounding and weight (800#) of my flail. The bearings were destroyed in 3 years of use. (probably 18 hours a week during mowing season (April-November). No numbers on the bearing survived. About all I know is the bearing bore is 1.25". Messicks wants $125 a bearing. I remember paying about $50 at the Ford dealer about 4 years ago when I last replaced them. Anybody have an idea of a cross reference 2 roller bearing that crosses to the number ME0000411 I get from Messick and NH parts listings?

Maybe I am doing the math wrong, but it appears you put 2100 hours on those bearings in three years? I'd say they don't owe you anything, that is pretty good. A lot of folks put maybe 100 hours a year on a mower. For them, those bearings would last 21 years. That does not seem under-designed.

 

[leonz]

I'm trying to rebuild the rear roller bearings on my Ford/NH 918H 73" flail mower. IMHO the roller bearing system was under engineered. I feel the bearings are not up to the pounding and weight (800#) of my flail. The bearings were destroyed in 3 years of use. (probably 18 hours a week during mowing season (April-November). No numbers on the bearing survived. About all I know is the bearing bore is 1.25". Messicks wants $125 a bearing. I remember paying about $50 at the Ford dealer about 4 years ago when I last replaced them. Anybody have an idea of a cross reference 2 roller bearing that crosses to the number ME0000411 I get from Messick and NH parts listings?

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Check with flail master for bearings and then you can purchase spares when you have the roller bearings ID numbers.