Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks for the replies on the tilt/swivel mower. I don't have lots of road banks but I do have ravines and swales and a lot of undergrowth amid trees I would like to clean up. Now I am considering the trade off between the 48" model at 620lbs and the 55" at 685lbs. The smaller one would be better at getting into constricted spaces. The larger one would cover the tractor tracks on the flat.

 

[Fallon]

Anyone figure out the "BEST" replacement belts for the Caroni 1900 ?
It seems I bought a set of 3 spares when I bought the mower a dozen or so years ago, now that I need them I have discovered that they are 48 inch ones and WAY too long.

Is it worth buying the fancy (kevlar) ones ?

Yes. Kevlar ones are generally worth it if they are going to be abused with shock loads & harder enviroments.

 

[def38]

Anyone figure out the "BEST" replacement belts for the Caroni 1900 ?
It seems I bought a set of 3 spares when I bought the mower a dozen or so years ago, now that I need them I have discovered that they are 48 inch ones and WAY too long.

Is it worth buying the fancy (kevlar) ones ?

Do I understand, your belts lasted 12 years? What is the price difference between regular and Kevlar belts? Divide the difference by 12 and you have the cost per year for Kevlar over regular. Then, do the same analysis assuming the Kevlar belts last, say an additional 5 years. Now you can make the call.

 

[Fallon]

Do I understand, your belts lasted 12 years? What is the price difference between regular and Kevlar belts? Divide the difference by 12 and you have the cost per year for Kevlar over regular. Then, do the same analysis assuming the Kevlar belts last, say an additional 5 years. Now you can make the call.

I add in a pain in the *** modifier for buying the belts & having to install them. That tips things in favor of the longer lasting wear items by a bit most of the time.

 

[def38]

I add in a pain in the *** modifier for buying the belts & having to install them. That tips things in favor of the longer lasting wear items by a bit most of the time.

Agreed.

 

[Darvish]

Well, those hydraulic articulated side-reachers look pretty snazzy, particularly for the $$. I'd carefully investigate why the "Medium duty" is almost 30% more than the "regular duty": could be instructional.

The Vrismo I bought over 30 years ago is still going strong, but only because I reinforced the frame with a heavy piece of angle iron shortly after purchasing it: and re-routed the upper arms so they weren't dependent on two 3/8d 1 1/2 " bolts in the cast iron of the transmission/rt. angle drive on top. The design wasn't the best, but the metal gauge was good.

I had backed into a stump with my old 245DT, and dented the roller. After trying to straighten it and undimple it, I made do for a year, though the grass had unseemly ripples in it.

So I took it down to Vrismo, and asked what the replacement price was, which was just under $300. I suddenly became awak-er upon hearing this: and commented on how it appeared to be a section of truck driveline, with end fittings, and I would have to check a couple of things afore I invested that much.

Cost me $65 at a driveline place in W Sacramento. Mo betta

 

[downsizingnow48]

I looked up the specs on the medium duty version, seems to weigh almost 2x as much as the standard duty. Much heavier construction.

I do wonder about the price and the quality. I see EA sells an equivalent 47" bank and slope mower for about $5500. Generally EA is very competitive on price and quality. So what explains a 3.5k price difference. I dunno.

Well I figure I will probably go with the cheap eBay mower. If something is not working right or breaks I can always fix it.

 

[retiredfarmer]

Flail Mower Vibration:

So, I bought a couple of 79" state used flail mowers as winter project machines. One had some vibration. Through a process of ratchet strapping steel weights, running the mower and welding them to the rotor as the vibration improved, I have one running smoothly.

The other has more severe vibration and the process of systematically attaching weights yields no improvement whatsoever. This mower did have a bearing seize on the idler side of the rotor (not the belt drive side).

My question is; where is this vibration coming from? All the blades are off the rotor. The rotor is 79 inches wide, 17 inches in circumference, and has a 45mm bearing axle on either end. One bearing was just replaced (SKF), the other bearing had no perceptible play. These are self aligning bearings. There are 21 stations to which hammer flails attach.

I'm having a hard time believing that this rotor is bent. It is very heavy.

Now that I am writing this though, it occurs to me that I do need to put a dial indicator on the drive and driven sheaves to see if perhaps the sheaves are the cause of this vibration.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Thank you,
RF

 

[3Lfarms]

Is the PTO shaft straight?

 

[retiredfarmer]

3L,
I will check this.
It is the same shaft I used to balance the other mower. I suppose I could have simply balanced the other rotor to offset a bent PTO. Hmmm... I need to look at that.

I was reading on another TBN flail post that the bearing could seem good but the rollers could all bunch up under load. Seems like the bearing would have some play in it.

Thx,
RF