Mowing Which finish mower to buy???

[Rick_Taylor]

Can you guys help me fill in some of the blanks. I'm needing a finish mower to mow mostly pasture type land with a TC-40D. We've been using the Bush Hog for 5+ years and I think it's time to mow to a finer level. I've been looking at flail mower and rotary type finish mowers. Specifically, the BEFCO H-70 88" flail appears to be best for my situation. Has anyone had experience with these mowers. In Texas, flail mowers aren't very popular so getting good information has been very difficult. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[djradz]

Rick, behind my 40D I use an old Woods RM 306. It cuts a nice 6ft path, very smooth. I don't know anything about flail mowers. Most of the places around here don't stock them due to their unpopularity, but don't get me wrong, I've never heard anything bad about them either. If you go with a 3-blade rotary mower, make sure your setup allows the mower to float to follow the terrain, either with 4 casters or the setup shown in the following post. check chains

 

[bobnewjersey]

Hi Rick.......I bought a 6' Walco finish mower (3 blades) to dress up some area's that needed it. Your a bit larger than me at 120ac, but I've had no problems with the Walco at my place. I chose the 3 blade finish style because it's easy for me to sharpen and replace the blades. I've always noticed that the highway departments use flail mowers, but I don't know why.

 

[Hoeman00]

How big of an area do u mow?
The Woods RM990 is a heck of a mower and u have the power to pull it.
Guys around here are using Landpride RD8400 too and like them.
I'm running the 84" MMM and does a great job, just costs more.
If I didn't get the MMM it would have been a Woods 990.

 

[Rick_Taylor]

Well I guess this thread is moot because I bought a BEFCO H-40 6' flail mower. So far I am very impressed. The fine grass cut with it looks just like a test strip next to it I cut with our commercial ZTR mower. I hit some fields with native grasses and wildflowers (aka-weeds) around 8-10" tall today. The cut was fast and looked quite nice. The commercial mower would have clogged up underneath very early, and our Bush Hog SQ-84 would have made a ragged cut. Overall I think I made a good purchase. I went with the H-40 which is rated for 15-40 hp over the H-70 (30-70 hp) because the price was ~$1600 less. Paid $2295 out the door and delivered. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif