Brought home a Flail mower

[Builder]

Beautiful flail. Everything I see used is destroyed. However, I found a John Deere 25A flail on CL for $1,050.

The 25A appaears to be offset somewhat, although the Deere site says it's "centered". http://allentown.craigslist.org/grd/1742495882.html

I have 7' of width on my rear tires. Unwise to buy a 6'-6" flail? Seems like it would be OK, other than that you cut only a 6'-6" swath.

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Hey Builder that one looks great for the price,

I was looking for one to put behind our DX60, got a bonus that it will run well behind the T2220. We checked her over and did not touch the knifes yet. It needs a couple but it runs really balanced no vibration. Here are a couple shots of her cutting, I did this little patch and took a dinner break, then went out and mowed for 3 more hours with it. Can't wait to see what it will do with all good knifes.

We ended up with a new patch of Pennycress, some of it was taller than the hood of the tractor, in the thick of it the engine woud only drop about 100 rpm so I just kept going and it never missed a beat.

 

[Builder]

How wide is yours? The seller of the one I found claims it's 96" cut. JD website says it's a maximum of a 90.5" cut.

Seller claims it is not offset, yet CL pictures seem to indicate it is somewhat offset. JD says 12" or 26" offset is available.

Did the 25A come in an 8' cut width? :confused2:

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Hey Builder,

That one on Craig's list is offset, I just went out to the shop and measured ours, the whole unit is 101" wide, the drum area is 94" and the knifes come within 1" of the side so this one has a 92" cutting area that is hit with the knifes.

I'm not sure of the 25A, don't know if you have seen this but here is JD's website page on that one.

Product Specification for 25A Flail Mower

 

[Builder]

Wonder if it would be stupid to have a flail mower that won't cut as wide as one of my back tires, but wider than the other?

I can picture the set up in my mind, but wonder what moments of awkwardness will happen while cutting.

 

[greg_g]

If you've got a seven foot track Builder, I'd hold out for nothing smaller than a decent 8 foot flail. Alternatively, narrow the track.

//greg//

 

[gwdixon]

Wonder if it would be stupid to have a flail mower that won't cut as wide as one of my back tires, but wider than the other?

I can picture the set up in my mind, but wonder what moments of awkwardness will happen while cutting.

It really doesn't matter if the cut is smaller than the track. The tires push down the foliage on the first cut anyway no matter the cutter width.

On the next pass, the overlap will take care of the tire track and the foliage may have sprung back up enough to be cut low.

If you plan out the cut to where the covered tire side cuts the uncovered tire track it will look nice and pretty. In the end though it really doesn't make much difference.

A slight offset will allow cutting closer to fences, trees, and obstructions so that would seem to be an advantage depending on the application.

 

[Builder]

If you've got a seven foot track Builder, I'd hold out for nothing smaller than a decent 8 foot flail. Alternatively, narrow the track.

//greg//

That's what I was thinking, but the offset gives me pause. 8' centered would be perfect. Sounds like this one has a 7.5' cut, but it's offset.

Can't narrow track-tires filled and love the stability.

man, talk about a tough decision......

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

I'll post up some photos today, but where your tires run you will get rows of weeds that did not get fully cut down, it looked great the first day but yesterday they started to stand up.

For the price I don't think that mower can be beat, we got ours for $2900, I goofed and did not inspect the belts at the dealer and they needed replacement...$120 each so there went $240. Now if I decide to replace all the knifes it will be another $680 for all the parts, that includes bolts, nuts, clips, rings and all new knifes. But with the shape our mower is in it's worth it to us.

Our Flail was in it's lowest position, we raised it to the next hole that would put it at 1.5" cut which is what you saw in the photos.

 

[greg_g]

That's what I was thinking, but the offset gives me pause. 8' centered would be perfect. Sounds like this one has a 7.5' cut, but it's offset.

Flails aren't like rotary cutters or finish mowers in cutting swath versus overall width. For example, my offset Ford 917H is a full 86" wide - yet only cuts a 74" swath.

So if it helps, that 86" implement is behind a 66.5" rear track on my 45hp utility tractor. The left (drive belt) side extends nearly to the outside edge of my left rear tire. Since it's the drive side, there are no knives actually in position to cut in the left rear track. The actual cut starts 9 inches from the outside left, and stops 3 inches short of the outside right. But I can drive right alongside objects to the left without worry of snagging them with the flail. The offset side extends about a foot and a half past the right rear tire. I definitely prefer the offset, as it permits me to trim up closer to obstacles without worry about hitting anything with the tractor.

So in actuality, this 86" wide/74" cut model is sized about right for my smaller tractor (a somewhat narrower 35hp CUT). I think the 88" version of the 917H would be a better fit behind my 45hp utility tractor. As such, I stand behind my recommendation that you should hold out for at least an 8 footer behind your 7 foot track.

//greg//