Finish Mower vs Flail Mower

[blb078]

I've looked a lot of the flail mower threads and it seems like they are all comparing them to how they cut the thick heavy stuff vs a rotary cutter. What I want to know is how well one like a caroni or woodmaxx will cut vs a finish mower. I've got about 1 acre of lawn with another 1/2 acre of random thick stuff. Can I get away with cutting the lawn with one with of these flail mowers and the 1/2 acre of thick stuff? I'm not looking for the lawn to look like a golf course but somewhat decent looking. My budget is in the $2-3k range so it's either one of these fails or buy a used cutter and a new or used finish mower.

 

[leonz]

I've looked a lot of the flail mower threads and it seems like they are all comparing them to how they cut the thick heavy stuff vs a rotary cutter. What I want to know is how well one like a caroni or woodmaxx will cut vs a finish mower. I've got about 1 acre of lawn with another 1/2 acre of random thick stuff. Can I get away with cutting the lawn with one with of these flail mowers and the 1/2 acre of thick stuff? I'm not looking for the lawn to look like a golf course but somewhat decent looking. My budget is in the $2-3k range so it's either one of these fails or buy a used cutter and a new or used finish mower.

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In one word "Yes". its a night and day difference in mowing and you will have a healthier lawn with much less thatch.

Now if you purchase a flail mower you want one with a finish rotor with 3 or 4 rows of side slicer knives to mow your lawn and your nearby jungle.

You can turn it into good turf after you are done mowing for the season after mowing it at a 2 inch height and spreading good grass seed, lime and gypsum after the last mowing that will germinate late in the fall and choke out your weeds.

The first thing you need to do is price out the mowers you mentioned and others like the peruzzo finish flail mower from Iowa Farm equipment and compare prices and then pick the one you want and decide if you can afford it.
And then you look at the situation versus buying a small riding mower and investing in it for v belts and mower blades
and spending more time mowing every week as a very large rider will cost as much or more than a 5 foot caroni finish flail mower.

AND John Deere riding mowers and lawn tractors love to eat V belts.

You want a riding mower that is 20 hp plus simply to have the power to run the mower as the rear axle will only be getting 2-3 horsepower to run the lawn tractor.

SO you take the delivered price of the lawn tractor complete and spare air filters, oil filters, mower belts and a spare set of mower blades. for the first year.

Replacing V belts is an annual thing and expensive because they wear out from the shock loading of mowing.

a finish flail mower will slice the grass into its smallest length and if the grass gets ahead of you you will have the wability to recut the grass to a fine mulch which is something that is not possible with a rotary mower of any size unless the grass is dry and brittle but by then the dead grass laying on the sod has killed the grass underneath it.

SO you have a bit of work to do before you write a check or finance a purchase of a flail mower.

We will help you as much as we can with your decision.

We only want you to succeed.

 

[blb078]

Thanks, I pretty much set against getting riding mower. I don't need another full size machine and my tractor has a cab which right now we've been on a 2+ week run of 95*+ weather and the cab is awfully nice for that. So it's either a flail to do it all or a used rotary cutter and finish mower. Like I said my budget is $2-3k and looking online it looks like I can get either Woodmaxx or Caroni for that price, I just don't know what to do with them to make it cut a lawn good and switch to cutting thicker stuff.

 

[leonz]

You will not have to do anything special to make them cut thick brush.
All you need to do is set the cutting height before you mow the brush and
drive slowly that is all.

No fuss, no muss, no issues, as long as you do what is needed to set the mower
up for mowing by asking us for guidance to set it up properly and once that is
done you never have to touch it except for greasing and checking the knives,
V belts and oil level in the gearbox on occasion.

 

[dalola]

I was in a similar situation recently, and was very interested in a flail. But, as discussions turned towards cutting height, the consensus was the flails don't cut so well at 4" and up, which is where I mow all the time, usually at 4.5", for my yard, and the light pasture lanes.

So, something to be aware of as you make your decision. It ultimately pushed me back to a RFM.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I agree with Leonz (surprise!?), a flail can cut lawn grass quite well. It will not reach the golf-course manicured appearance, but with sharp knives and regular cutting it is more than good enough for most lawns.

That said, I have always kept a separate dedicated lawnmower, not for cut quality but to avoid driving a 5000lb+ tractor setup (with R4 and now R1 tires) across lawn areas. If you have a much lighter tractor with turf tires this is not an issue. I would consider turf tires a must for cutting nice lawn areas.

I was in a similar situation recently, and was very interested in a flail. But, as discussions turned towards cutting height, the consensus was the flails don't cut so well at 4" and up, which is where I mow all the time, usually at 4.5", for my yard, and the light pasture lanes.

This has also been my experience with flails. I leave them low because that's what I want, but if you actually want a 4.5" cut height then the conventional finish mower is probably a better choice.

 

[blb078]

I'm not to worried about cut quality as much as just having it look decent. A guy up the road from me cuts a large area with a older tractor with ag tires and it looks ok to me. So while I don't want it to look like junk at the same time it's doesn't have to look like Augusta National either. If a flail will do that for me along with cutting some thick stuff that may be the way to go instead of getting a rotary cutter and finish mower.

 

[aschwerin]

I have an old Ford tractor, an old Howse rotary cutter, an old Ford flail mower, and a new ZTR Hustler mower. It seems I would have something useful to say. I guess I usually use the tractor in the fields and the ZTR around the house and gardens. When the grass is low(winter) I might mow a couple acres with the ZTR. I use the rotary cutter more to "push back" the woods from the pastures. I really enjoy how the flail mower lays down the grass instead of chopping it up and spitting it out like rotary mowers. But most of the time I use the flail when the brush hog is broken. The brush hog is broken now, so I'll be reminded soon of how the flail mower does in tall, thick pastures.

 

[sidecarist]

I've found the flail to be a bit slower per acre, but it does such a good job of cutting the grass into fine clippings even when mowing foot thick clover and grass that my ZTR can't touch without windrowing. My brush cutter will mow faster but leaves unsightly clumps.

The only caution I'll offer is that tight turns can cause the skids to dig in. Other than that I'd say go for the flail. It's the most versatile mower out there.

FYI my woodmaxx has the duck foot blades. With the standard blades it would cut even better.

 

[blb078]

I've found the flail to be a bit slower per acre, but it does such a good job of cutting the grass into fine clippings even when mowing foot thick clover and grass that my ZTR can't touch without windrowing. My brush cutter will mow faster but leaves unsightly clumps.

The only caution I'll offer is that tight turns can cause the skids to dig in. Other than that I'd say go for the flail. It's the most versatile mower out there.

FYI my woodmaxx has the duck foot blades. With the standard blades it would cut even better.

I just put a deposit down on a Woodmaxx 78h. Suppose to be in around mid August. I got the duck blades and the Y blades. Seems like a good middle ground for having a decently cut lawn and being able to do some of the nasty stuff. And by not getting a rotary cutter and finish mower it's one less thing I have to worry about storing somewhere.