Flail Mower Titan Flail mower

[ktmpat]

I've been researching flail mowers and came across Titan's offering. The price seems a little to good to be a decent medium duty flail. Has anyone tried one? I would love to hear your review.
I did a search, found a lot of great information about fail mowers, just nothing on the Titan.

 

[powerscol]

Pretty much everything they carry is China or India made. I have some of their products and they are OK - not the best, but very usable. Possibly give them a call and talk to support as it is a new product for them.

 

[ktmpat]

Since the information listed on the website for the 72" flail mower was basic, I took your advise and called Titan customer support. Unfortunately, since the product is new they did not have a lot of additional information available. They did however pull up the instruction manual and try to answer my questions. Kudos for that!! I was still left with many unanswered questions: blade tip speed, number of knives, does it have a belt tensioner, slip clutch, grease fittings, etc. I do not have a problem trying a product out, I just did not want to have to pay for the return shipping if it is a sub-par product. They agreed to pick of the return shipping costs if I try it out and it does not meet my needs - 100% satisfaction. With the 10% off for being a new customer I gave it a shot. New flail for approx. $1,230. I should have it within a week and already have three projects lined up. 1) field grass, old hay field, thick at times but no brush. 2) horse pastures with grass ranging from 6" to 2'. 3) small brush, less than 1". That should be a good variety of material to cut for a honest review.

Can anyone think of any other tests to perform?

 

[jimmysisson]

Find out how hard it is to grease, to change belt(s), and to sharpen it replace knives. Flails need maintenance.
Jim

 

[Fallon]

It's way cheaper than other options. I started up a spreadsheet comparing flails & posted it in the huge flail thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4572793

I'd be happy to update the spreadsheet with a review if anybody gets one.

Impressively cheap, but that makes me wonder what quality & longterm durability will be like.

 

[sidecarist]

Interesting... in looking for this I discovered that there are two titan companies selling implements in TN!

This one I am familiar with Titan Products they make some of their stuff here.

This one just imports Titan Attachments - PalletForks.com - 8-65-8241 They have the flail. It has the same model number as the value leader brand EFGC185 so I assume it's the same. The photos make it look that way.

 

[DieselBound]

Hey, sidecarist, weren't you supposed to have your Woodmax by now? I'm really itching to hear how it turns out for you.

 

[sidecarist]

It's supposed to ship on Friday or Monday from NY to TN. I have so much going on that I'll be lucky to get it on the tractor in the next couple weeks but if it's here by next Friday I should be able to get it up and running for an afternoon or two and I'll report. At a minimum I'll post pics etc.

 

[arrows]

The big thing I notice about the Titan flail mower is that the flails are not Y-shaped like most other flail mowers. You can see closeup pictures if you search ebay for "Titan flail mower". They're a sort of 90-degree bend. The description says "forged hammer flails". I'm new to flails and trying to learn more about them - does anyone know anything about hammer flails and how they perform differently from Y flails? Perhaps this explains why they say it cuts up to 3" saplings?

 

[leonz]

The big thing I notice about the Titan flail mower is that the flails are not Y-shaped like most other flail mowers. You can see closeup pictures if you search ebay for "Titan flail mower". They're a sort of 90-degree bend. The description says "forged hammer flails". I'm new to flails and trying to learn more about them - does anyone know anything about hammer flails and how they perform differently from Y flails? Perhaps this explains why they say it cuts up to 3" saplings?

====================================================================


Lets correct a couple of misconceptions.

A "side slicer knife" is an entirely different type of mowing knife than cast or forged hammer knife.





The issue is quality of build in the hammers and "their" "advertising"

They are not telling you whether the metals used to make the flail hammers is
an I.S.O. tested metal in its casting and forging quality for these knives


Castings are only as strong as their collective design and raw materials used to make the steel period.

Their forged(supposedly) flail/hammers/knives are a design compromise
as the typical cast flail hammers made by Italian and other fabricators are
much, much, much more substantial in weight and thickness.

Shredding bamboo is much more different than clearing solid stands of sumac,
hardwood or softwood trash tree saplings or heavy thick stemmed brush that
has been growing on farmland that has not been farmed in 30 plus years.


You need to read the entire flail mower thread-yes all of it to understand more about them before you even consider making a purchase.

 

[DieselBound]

You need to read the entire flail mower thread-yes all of it to understand more about them before you even consider making a purchase.

And then if you ask questions (that have no answers- other than "buy Italian!") you'll still be slammed.

 

[cch750]

Did you get this flail? How did it perform?

 

[Wsmitty]

Since the information listed on the website for the 72" flail mower was basic, I took your advise and called Titan customer support. Unfortunately, since the product is new they did not have a lot of additional information available. They did however pull up the instruction manual and try to answer my questions. Kudos for that!! I was still left with many unanswered questions: blade tip speed, number of knives, does it have a belt tensioner, slip clutch, grease fittings, etc. I do not have a problem trying a product out, I just did not want to have to pay for the return shipping if it is a sub-par product. They agreed to pick of the return shipping costs if I try it out and it does not meet my needs - 100% satisfaction. With the 10% off for being a new customer I gave it a shot. New flail for approx. $1,230. I should have it within a week and already have three projects lined up. 1) field grass, old hay field, thick at times but no brush. 2) horse pastures with grass ranging from 6" to 2'. 3) small brush, less than 1". That should be a good variety of material to cut for a honest review.

Can anyone think of any other tests to perform?

Thought I'd revive this one. I've looked at a bunch and am interested how this performed for you. I'm looking at the Titan 60". Just curious to see what you think of it after having it for a few months.

 

[troverman]

Well, add me to the list. I'd like to hear if this mower is any good or not.

If I hear nothing, I'm planning on buying a 6-foot Titan flail and try it out. For me, I'll be using it commercially but only to mow field grass with very little brush growth. I have a limited budget and my options are to buy a beat to crap old Ford or Mott which probably needs new knives, bearings, and belts...or spend a couple hundred more and get a brand-new albeit Chinese made flail mower. New belt, bearings, knives. Plus a one-year warranty.

I've been using a 4-foot Vrisimo for several years which is very old - circa 1989 - but still performs well. I've replaced all the knives several times, as well as the belt. The greaseable bearings are original, but the driveshaft u-joints are going to need to be replaced.

I'm willing to take a chance.

 

[Wsmitty]

I found a lightly used 5' Value Leader EFG-155 on ebay that looked almost new so I pulled the trigger on it. The guy agreed to deliver it to me COD on his way up north next week. Maybe I can hold off mowing until then.


ETA: I e-mailed Titan and was told that they don't offer "Y" blades for their flail mower. I'm sure you could use another brand but the Titan sure looks like a Value leader / Farmers helper / Betstco. For sure it's Chinese.

 

[tommott77]

I found a lightly used 5' Value Leader EFG-155 on ebay that looked almost new so I pulled the trigger on it. The guy agreed to deliver it to me COD on his way up north next week. Maybe I can hold off mowing until then.


ETA: I e-mailed Titan and was told that they don't offer "Y" blades for their flail mower. I'm sure you could use another brand but the Titan sure looks like a Value leader / Farmers helper / Betstco. For sure it's Chinese.

I have the Betstco/Value Leader/Farmer Helper EGG-105. I think you made a good decision. The Titan flail looks almost identical to my flail, good chance that it's a shared design or comes from the same supplier. The Betstco website actually has specs and the sales folks are very knowledgeable....all for about the same price as the Titan.

I've had great success with mine as it's just about gone through a full season of several clearing jobs AND weekly mows around the yard with zero issues thus far. Got a bigger tractor and am looking at upsizing to hydraulic offset 60" flail. I'll probably put mine up for sale at the end of the season.

 

[baedkew]

I have the Betstco/Value Leader/Farmer Helper EGG-105. I think you made a good decision. The Titan flail looks almost identical to my flail, good chance that it's a shared design or comes from the same supplier. The Betstco website actually has specs and the sales folks are very knowledgeable....all for about the same price as the Titan.

I've had great success with mine as it's just about gone through a full season of several clearing jobs AND weekly mows around the yard with zero issues thus far. Got a bigger tractor and am looking at upsizing to hydraulic offset 60" flail. I'll probably put mine up for sale at the end of the season.

I have the EFGC-125 from Betstco. It's basically a 48" and haven't had any issues with it. These EF EFG and EFGC mowers all come from the same place across the pond. They are essentially the same across distributors but with a different paint/sticker scheme. The EF EFG and EFGC aren't the same but the EFGC's are all the same across distributors. The EF are light duty, the EFG are medium duty, and the EFGC are heavy duty.

I've had mine for about 5 months and really no issues except once I first had it going. I didn't adjust the height of the blades before heading out in the field and low and behold it cut WAY too low. I guess when they ship them they put them on the lowest setting? I adjusted it up and it's fine now.

I've been clearing some honeysuckle out on the edge of the woods so the area is a mess. I use it to 'clean' everything up and it chops things up pretty good with just the grass blades. I ordered the hammer blades as well but haven't installed them yet.

So in summary; I would buy the EFGC series again. However, I would probably buy the 155 vs the 125. I was told that with 18 hp at the pto I should probably go with the 4' (the 125 is 1.25 meters=48" and the 155 is 1.55 meters=60"). On top of that, everything I read said the same thing so I went with the 4'. In hindsight I wish I would have gotten the 5'. My Kubota B7500 doesn't struggle at all and turns the 4' fine. I think it would be fine with the 5'

 

[troverman]

Well, add me to the list. I'd like to hear if this mower is any good or not.

If I hear nothing, I'm planning on buying a 6-foot Titan flail and try it out. For me, I'll be using it commercially but only to mow field grass with very little brush growth. I have a limited budget and my options are to buy a beat to crap old Ford or Mott which probably needs new knives, bearings, and belts...or spend a couple hundred more and get a brand-new albeit Chinese made flail mower. New belt, bearings, knives. Plus a one-year warranty.

I've been using a 4-foot Vrisimo for several years which is very old - circa 1989 - but still performs well. I've replaced all the knives several times, as well as the belt. The greaseable bearings are original, but the driveshaft u-joints are going to need to be replaced.

I'm willing to take a chance.

To follow up, I just placed an order for a 72" Titan flail this morning. $1369 including shipping seems like a bargain. For the fall cutting, I'll be running my old 48" Vrismo MightyMax behind the Kubota B2920 AND this 72" Titan behind the L4310. I think these tedious jobs will go much better. I just changed the driveshaft u-joint on the Vrismo plus replaced a couple of hangers and knives.

I used to run the Y-shaped industrial side knives on the Vrismo. I find the mower cuts grass better with the duck-foot hammers, so I am running all those on the Vrismo now. I'm pleased the Titan flail has this same type.

Couple of observations:

Changing knives is a breeze on the Vrismo. You simply remove the skid shoes (4 bolts to do both sides) and then remove a cotter pin that holds a long steel rod in on the drum. Pull the rod out, and one whole row of knives drops to the ground. Do that two more times, and they are all out. I noticed the Titan uses individual welded mounts for each knife with a bolt. That will certainly be tedious to change all of them.

Also, the Vrismo knife mount system is 3 pieces: an oval loop from the drum rod, then a triangle hanger from the loop, and finally the knife (or knives). This means that if you hit a rock or other obstacle, the knife can "kick back" in two stages which protects things better. It also means that if something is damaged, it will likely be the knife, triangle, or loop...not the rod mount. Since the triangle has a break in it on one side (to allow the loop and knife to slip on) it means the triangle will usually spread open if the knife contacts a rock or obstacle. These are easily replaced. On the Titan, the knife can only kick back in one stage, and further damage would rip the welded knife mounts off the drum. The only repair possible would be to weld new mounts back on...nowhere near as good as the Vrismo system.

I have not seen the Titan belt system. I can see it is under a belt guard cover which needs to be removed with a bolt. The Vrismo uses a quick release rod. The Vrismo has a spring tensioner with a manual nut for increasing tension. I like that design. It also has an incredibly rugged double-belt...much like a snowmobile transmission pulley belt. We'll see how the Titan is in this regard.

Anyway, I'm excited to get the larger flail and I'll report back in a month when mowing starts. Maybe sooner with additional photos and observations.

 

[Guidshir]

I am considering the Titan 60" as well and would love to know how these have worked out so far.
Thanks

 

[Guidshir]

I bought one and got it yesterday. I'll have to get the gearbox oil and replace a grease nub that I broke before I can test it. It seems solid. I had to put together the upper third point connection, but that was just some bolting. The hammers are really big.