Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Ok folks - I am looking for US and Canada dealers for these. So far only Iowa Farm Equipment shows up. I especially looking for a Maschio Girafetta 160SI . So any dealer help is appreciated. I can wait to buy, so I am, trying to find a fall sale or better shipping. Anyone used a good local dealer?
Thanks

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United States headquarters

Maschio-Gaspardo North America
112 Third Avenue E.
Dewitt, Iowa 52742



Contact information:


Mr. Filippo Lavelli
Tel. 1-563-285-9937
Fax 1-563-285-9938


E-mail

flavelli@maschio.com

 

[powerscol]

Thanks - I will be calling tomorrow
In researching some other brands, I am finding they only offset as little as 18". From the center of my PTO to the outside of my R4 tires I have 34". If I run the tire on the edge of the road I need enough offset to reach the side of the bank. The 160 SI looks like it offsets only 24" while the 160 SE goes out 31" from the PTO to the inside pivot point. Hopefully I am thinking correctly. With the PTO being elevated I believe i will have a 4' cut down the bank.

My only other solution is to scrounge around for a 7' bar for my 9' IH 1300 sickle mower and use that, but I wont be munching things up like I want

 

[leonz]

1. Ask for the information package.

2. tell them what the center line height is from the PTO stub of the mule to the pavement.
a. if your current mule is not a low profile mule-meaning row crop tell that to them first then the model type and number designation.
3. tell them if you have loaded tires

The more weight the better for the left side for the stability of the mule-liquid ballast, suit case weights, left wheel wheel weight-no extra weight on right side as the weight of the mower is of center and creating a great deal of potential for tipping if the exact or greater amount of weight is not present opposing the flail mowers weight above the ground/pavement.


What you will have is referred to as an over center load with the boom and mower away from the center line of the tractor.


The specification sheets will show/should show the rear of a tractor with the specific mowers reach and measurements.



They will help you from there on.

 

[smilinjak]

I think the deck material will be the same thickness and the 6mm vs .250 is simply conversion rounding.

Take a look at this thread for more information:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...rge-flail-mowers-post4480299.html#post4480299

The posting by Jack Yuan is interesting and you can perhaps PM him with questions since he sources the mower for Victory. Perhaps he also knows who sources Value-leader.

Jack also commented in this thread when I mentioned my AG180 mower in this post:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...alk-flail-mowers-post4514172.html#post4514172

The comments are for the AG1xx series mowers but likely relevant for other series.

If you search for AG180 flail mowers you will find several outfits selling similar mowers including Europe, New Zealand and Australia. You can likely do the same for the model you are considering and compare various suppliers' features with Victory and Value-Leader brands.

I bought a no-name AG180 from a local supplier who imports them in my area. I think the build quality is good. The welds are continuous and look good (to my untrained eye) and the overall finish looks good.

Jack did highlight valid differences for my mower though. In order of importance for my application they are:

1.rotor quality and balance: vibration and balance weights--my mower has virtually zero vibration with 292 g and 257 g weights on each end. That does not seem excessive since just the bolt for each of the 16 blades weighs 225 g and the blades average around 1,040 g.

2. vent plug instead of solid plug on horizontal shaft from the transmission to belt pulleys. Mine had a solid plug which I replaced with a vented plug. I also let my vendor know Jack's recommendation.

3. transmission: mine has a smaller 50 hp rated transmission than Value-leader's 65 hp rating. Jack said some vendors make their own. Since my tractor is just 28 hp at the PTO I am not too worried. Also, my manufacturer supplied the transmissions for Comer in Italy and I believe they have a good reputation for driveline parts.

4. flail blade weight variance. Jack supplies forged vs cast blades for more consistent weight. But he did not specify an acceptable variance. The weight range for my existing 36 blades (2 sets of 16 plus 4 spares) was 1,003 to 1,072 g. I think it is easy to compensate by grinding sets to similar weights (I did my spare set yesterday). I also compensated for weight difference in my current set (which I have not ground to similar weights) by installing them in balanced pairs as shown in this post:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...alk-flail-mowers-post4559547.html#post4559547

I don't know if it is worth the trouble, but it can't hurt.

5. front debris guard: my mower uses hanging chains vs steel plates which are safer.

6. BX (segmented) instead of B (solid) V-belts: Jack Yuen mentioned this in another post. BX belts create less heat. I assume the Victory mowers use BX belts since he sources the mowers. I think most flail suppliers use B belts.

One "plus" for my mower is an extra cover protecting the lower part of the standard fan belt guard. It may have saved my standard guard a couple of times.

Jack's comments are good in helping evaluate mowers. Of course there are things such as bearings that we cannot see, and availability of parts is important.

Good luck in your search.

Thanks for all the information especially the links to Jack Yuan. I thought I remembered someone mentioning the Victory brand sometime ago but didn't remember who. Jack has a lot of good information about the Chinese flails. I'm glad we have a member at the source, so to speak, that is so knowledgeable.
You have to go to the heavy duty and more expensive models to get the 65 HP rated gear box from Valu Leader. I don't expect to ever up grade to a more powerful mule so the 45 HP rated box on the Victory model I am considering will be sufficient for my needs. I haven't checked on the front guard. Thanks for that detail. I will look into it.
Smilinjak

 

[Jack Yuan]

Thanks for all the information especially the links to Jack Yuan. I thought I remembered someone mentioning the Victory brand sometime ago but didn't remember who. Jack has a lot of good information about the Chinese flails. I'm glad we have a member at the source, so to speak, that is so knowledgeable.
You have to go to the heavy duty and more expensive models to get the 65 HP rated gear box from Valu Leader. I don't expect to ever up grade to a more powerful mule so the 45 HP rated box on the Victory model I am considering will be sufficient for my needs. I haven't checked on the front guard. Thanks for that detail. I will look into it.
Smilinjak

Thank you.

I think Leonz has more experience than me, I only started mowers and some other implements 3 years, it is just that i always stay in manufacturer factory and I can think something from the point view of manufacturer. Since I can get a lot information of customers and market from TBN, so I love this forum and thanks again.

The more I study on mower, the more difficult I think to produce a good mower.

For example about the rotor balance, kco mentioned his rotor balance 292 gram and 257 gram weight on each end, for such rotor shaft, i will throw it away. From now on, I set up this standard to factory much smaller. And I employ third party person to inspect this point for all the rotor balance, also inspect many other points on products.

By the way, I started to use Comer gear box on some of my mowers, Victory will list them soon, maybe 2 months later. Because I noticed Comer has better quality and service than JCTT after I sold thousands mowers with JCTT. So in future, we may shift more mowers to be with Comer gear box, instead of JCTT, depend on our analysis.

 

[lennyzx11]

Guys, I signed on here earlier this year with the purchase of an old Mott flail mower.
It has the Y knife style and is a finish mower determined on here.
About to order new set of blades. I'd like them to be as heavy duty as possible for my rocky land.
Can I order the hammer/spoons?
Recommendations on where to purchase and part number or links would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Lenny

 

[screamin400]

Few questions for you folks as I cannot read 367 pages. I did read many. My next purchase will be a tiller and then some type of mower. The flail does a nicer job from the looks of things. How are the prices new compared? Would a person hiring me be willing to pay more for a better job? I expect not but want your thoughts. Which mows quickest? Acres per hour when hired is critical. What is the downside of the flail other than maintenance?

 

[Fallon]

Few questions for you folks as I cannot read 367 pages. I did read many. My next purchase will be a tiller and then some type of mower. The flail does a nicer job from the looks of things. How are the prices new compared? Would a person hiring me be willing to pay more for a better job? I expect not but want your thoughts. Which mows quickest? Acres per hour when hired is critical. What is the downside of the flail other than maintenance?

Flail mowers cost more than a rotary, around double the cost when comparing size & equivalent quality & name brand.

 

[IslandTractor]

Flail mowers cost more than a rotary, around double the cost when comparing size & equivalent quality & name brand.

I think that's a bit exaggerated. Yes it is possible to spend $7000-8000 on a heavy duty Alamo/Mott but you can also spend pretty close to that for a high end heavy duty rotary of similar size. If you compare something like the Caroni TM1900 medium duty rough flail (about $2000), you'd be hard pressed to find a similar duty and quality 6ft bush hog for $1000. Indeed, a medium duty bush hog is hard to find for less than $2000.

 

[leonz]

Guys, I signed on here earlier this year with the purchase of an old Mott flail mower.
It has the Y knife style and is a finish mower determined on here.
About to order new set of blades. I'd like them to be as heavy duty as possible for my rocky land.
Can I order the hammer/spoons?
Recommendations on where to purchase and part number or links would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Lenny

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Hello Lenny,


We need to know what model Mott Flail Mower you have first.

If you have a Finish Flail Mower it has side slicers, you can buy hardened side slicer knives
or standard non hardened side slicer knives.

You have to decide how many knives, and knive hangers you want to buy as changing the knife hangers, knife hanger straps and replacing them all is always a good idea in the scheme of things due to metal fatigue.

You have to decide how many knives, knife hangers, nuts and bolts etc. you want to order and whether you want to order them from the major suppliers like Clean Cutter or Flail Master, Hard Hitter, Messicks, etc.


1. YOU Need to find the model number.

2. you need to measure the knife in several ways to make the proper identification

Measure the following items


1. with the knife being held vertical the total height of the knife
2. The width of the knife at the vertical portion
3. The thickness of the knife at the vetical portion
4. The mounting slot length and width or hole diameter
5. angle of the knife edge using a protractor
6. length of cutting edge

Until then, you and I and the rest of the forum members with flail mowers are verticutting our brush and good grass sod and rowing in circles but still floating.

You have lots of help and as a member of the Flail Mower Nations you have plenty of help here on the attachments page
of TBN



Help us to help us help you with you parts inquiry. Until then its sink or swim for you.