Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[dieselscout80]

She has helped me multiple times too and always has great service.

 

[saxtonhill]

I too have had very good service from Flail Master. I believe too that it was Carrie that was so much help.

I replaced the rear roller bearings on my Caroni last year. I wound up getting the bearings from Agri Supply to ensure a proper fit. $104 each. Having no experience replacing bearings it was frustrating. Getting the old outer races out PITA. The freezer trick installing the new ones was great! They dropped right in.

Last year I also had to replace my Caroni roller bearings.i may have a big mistake which remains to be seen. I found a set of sealed bearings that fit perfectly that were only about $30 each. Fingers crossed.

 

[joshsiddle2]

I just bought 5 acres and will build a new house, probably this fall. I plan to have about an acre around the house as a lawn area and the balance will be cut only two to three times during the growing season. I had intended to use a rotary cutter to cut the 4 acres, but the more I hear about flail cutters the more interested I get. I have used rotary cutters for years, but have never used a flail mower. Does that sound like a good option for cutting the four acres? I would appreciate people who have experience with flail mowers to chime in and give me the good, the bad and the ugly.

Raised by Iron Horse, this was my primary drive for transitioning. I lack control over pedestrian and child traffic in the mowing areas, and I find greater peace of mind with the flail mower.

 

[leonz]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for a bit of advice, any recommendations for a flail mover that would suit 35HP (CK3520SE)? I'm in Canada (Alberta specifically) and I'm having a hard time finding much - I was leaning towards a TMG Industrial 60” Flail Mower but having read a few threads on here about them it seems like a should stay clear.

I won't be using it a great deal, maybe once every 2 months, clean up around an orchard and then knocking down a wildflower meadow twice a season.

Thanks.

I am sending you a PM.

 

[powerscol]

@lazaroo
I have a Bobcat CT235 (35 hp) and run this unit Maschio Giraffetta 160SE Flail Mower (this is an offsetting ditch bank mower) It has been a good match. Zero issues over the years I have had it. Somewhere here I have a thread of what I went through to choose it. Leon was a grate help educating me.

BTW I am mowing at 6500 feet with a naturally aspirated diesel tractor, so I am probably at 25 HP. If the grass is real heavy, I just slow down.

Stay Safe

 

[CliffordK]

Oh, it looks like I have a little reading to do. I just started flailing around yesterday!!!

The mower (knife flails) really chews up blackberries.

Is there any reason not to just remove the rear roller so that I can attack stuff both directions? Perhaps add either skid plates or castors to the side.

 

[leonz]

Oh, it looks like I have a little reading to do. I just started flailing around yesterday!!!

The mower (knife flails) really chews up blackberries.

Is there any reason not to just remove the rear roller so that I can attack stuff both directions? Perhaps add either skid plates or castors to the side.

What brand flail mower do you have mounted on your mule/tractor?
What type of knife is it equipped with, formed spoon/scoop, side slicer/cast hammer?

The rear roller serves five purposes,
(1) to prevent scalping
(2) to prevent damaging the mower knives
(3) damaging the flail mower rotor from a ground impact and breaking the knife mounts and hangers
(4) maintaining the rigidity of the flail mower shroud, the tubular steel bracing
and preventing the steel components from wracking/twisting
(5) the rear roller is used as the mowing height gauge


To operate effectively the flail mower/crop shredder needs to create a suction lift-negative pressure gradient
to lift the clippings up and over the flail mower rotor.
It does this by pulling the surrounding air under the flail mower shroud as the flail mower rotor
spins at 2,200 RPM+ as it cuts the grass or brush.

If the flail mower has side slicer knives it can recut the material on the second pass as the side slicer knives
act as an airfoil. The side slicer knives that are mounted on D ring hangers become airfoil's/airplane wings and the centrifugal
force of the high speed of rotation increases the blade tip speed to slice rather than rip the grass or brush and the following
knives also the grass blade assuring a level cut.

The stationary knives mounted on the twin stub weldments of most flail mowers only allow the knives to orbit the flail mower rotor and not become true airfoil's as they are bolted in place due to the narrow width of the knife mounting stations which is the thickness of 2 flail mower knives. This creates a saw tooth grass pattern that looks a bit rough and does not damage the turf.

 

[CliffordK]

What brand flail mower do you have mounted on your mule/tractor?
What type of knife is it equipped with, formed spoon/scoop, side slicer/cast hammer?

Man, you guys start with the tough questions!!!!

The tractor is a Landini 60F.

Frankly I'm not quite sure what the mower is. It is about 5 foot wide. I do intend to mow both backwards and forwards.

Excuse the upper link pin. I'm still working on getting stuff working. The Landini is still a work in process too.

Anyway, I'll probably keep this old yellow setup for steep mowing of blackberries. Perhaps I can get some grass seeded. And it is pretty clear that the slope isn't at all uniform, so perhaps that rear roller will be vital, unless I get it replaced with something better.

I did pick up an older Rinieri TRC 185 70" Flail Mower yesterday. It is stunning the differences between the old yellow mower and the TRC 185. The TRC has obviously taken some abuse, but it is made STOUT. I was hoping for hammers, but it has heavy duty knife flails which may suit my needs. I'll upload some photos once I get it unloaded and start testing.

The TRC 185 (new) is listed at 50 to 80 HP and 1210 lbs.

https://bdimachinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TRU%20TRU-D%20+%20TRC%20TRC-R.pdf

I think the Landini should be able to handle it, but perhaps it will be better to keep the lighter mower on it when mowing the steep stuff. I'm maxing out at somewhere around 45°.

 

[leonz]

I love seeing that Mott Interstater Flail Mower on the back of your Landini,
how old is the Landini?

Are the side panels missing on your mule??

A new replacement rear roller will help you a great deal if you decide to
invest in one and new bearings and bearing mounts.

The rubber guard is something you can replace with a wide
round baler belt and new nuts, bolts and washers.

Whether you want to sharpen the side slicer knives or simply flip them
is an issue you have to mull over as the knife mounting stations do not
look healthy and the mower has seen a great deal of use and removing
the nuts with a grinder would be the way to go on this.

Mowing in reverse allows you to knock down whatever you wish to mow
in 2 passes as long as you travel slowly and allow the knives to work to
make small clippings that you can recut again.

 

[CliffordK]

Mott... Thanks.

I'm not quite sure how old the Landini is. It came to me at auction a month ago as a non-runner.

See thread here:

Landini Trekker 60F

I picked up a Landini Trekker 60F at auction last week. Data Plate lists 1TAL/AS, but it seems to match the Trekker 60 or 60F. Listed as a Non-Op. If it runs, the price will be an absolute steal. If not, an expensive boat anchor, although the engine may be worth more than I paid, if it...

www.tractorbynet.com

It had been partly cannibalized (and thus not a chance it could be started before purchase). I'm slowly getting it back stable enough to use.

It has a date on the engine tag:
Yanmar 4TNV94L-N
This engine conforms to 2004 Model Year US EPA Regulations.

The engine side panels are missing. I'm not sure if they're available in the USA.

However, I can tell that driving forward through the blackberries will ultimately tear up the remaining part of the grill and hood.