Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[ukrkoz]

Hi ukrkoz, is its belt tension tightened by one single spring which is nearly half inch diameter? Like this one? View attachment 603370View attachment 603371
According to the photos on their site, it looks like same belt tension system like this. This type belt tension system was proved not solid for years work. I think even Betstco didn't realize it, they started ATV flail mower sale not so long time. My suggestion is that you can buy some of that spring, clutch, belts in your stock.

I just want to know if that factory improved on this point. Thank you.

Mine has THREE belts but tension system is same, indeed. Roller is much wider to work with three belts.
It looks simple enough to be reliable but what I do NOT like is how much racket is produced when clutch engages. That does not sound reliable. I had many calls placed with BETSTCP teck, Jason, he saus it's normal. I might actually get a spare clutch for that exactly reason.

 

[powerscol]

Flail Mower Nation? Where's that? Its the fine group of folks here running flail motors of all types and brands and the sharing of knowledge both new and old. We all look down in pity those running other inferior mowers....Just kidding:thumbsup::cool2:

Leonz will be along shortly to correct me

 

[ukrkoz]

How dare you to mock the sacred? We, the Flail Mower Nation?

 

[troverman]

I bought this one here:

PK-AT Gas Flail Mower |

for $1600 plus tax. Should have offered less, they grabbed offer right away.

Those are imported from China and sold online for around $900 plus importing expense.

I mowed twice with it, yesterday being a long mow, around 2 hr.
It actually mows very well. I bought because of the wtland, I have to mow over puddles and mud pits. So I use SXS to pull it behind, as SXS does not care, goes anywhere.
I have 59 inch version. Not sure how wide it is with wheels.
Spoke with their tech, he swares it's same Honda engine, told me they charge him $45 to put HONDA sticker onto it, as it's made in the same factory Honda engines are.
Yes, it's a bit tight hard to turn and takes learning curve to figure how to properly pull it. I have severla tight spots in my property, around trees and fence corners, so I left that for my ol' faithful craftsman and trimmer.
But overall, it saved me about 2 hrs of mowing, as I can mow at high speed (7-8mph) and it leaves pull table smooth surface.
Goes very well over bumps in the property, I have **** for grading. My 60 '' ZTR takes 4.5 hr to do entire property with some trimming left. I did yesterday 80% of it in around 1 hr 40 min with flail.
2 things I really miss in it - gas gauge and remote shut down. You can install battery and it will crank engine with starter for you.
If you have long straight runs to mow and plenty of space to turn - that thing is great!

This is the biggest lie I've heard. China makes thousands of knockoff Honda small engines, but in no way shape or form does Honda allow exact clone engines to be built and "charges" for the Honda name on them. That's not how it works. If a company wants to use a Honda engine, they pay Honda's price for a genuine Honda engine which comes as standard with Honda badges, and Honda is responsible for the engine warranty. There are plenty of youtube videos out there of knockoff Chinese Honda engines being torn down, and unfortunately they are more often than not very poor quality inside. I absolutely detest the way Chinese companies boldly steal successful products and make clones which are inferior quality and sell them at a price which cannot be competed with. The Chinese government does precious little to protect patents, copyrights, and intellectual property as they want their domestic companies to succeed. Of course, we the public are fully complicit as more often than not we buy the cheaper comparable product. Stores are complicit as well marketing this junk under American sounding names at prices they are making a killing on. OK, rant over. I wish you the best with your new mower; what can I say...I've bought several Chinese "TITAN" branded flail mowers which have universally been junk.

 

[ukrkoz]

Back to flail mowers...
We all know that it is VERY common and makes financial sense to have a plant that manufacturers a device and then brands is variously for retailers. You have tons of examples in generators, mowers, small engines, etc.
Honda, Yamaha and other DO have engine plants in China. That's fact. Do those plants re brand their product for retailer? We do not know. That engine I have has "Made in Japan" components on it - fact.
So untill we KNOW - back to flail mowers discussion, as we, The Flail Mower Nation....

 

[hunt4570]

Back to flail mowers...
We all know that it is VERY common and makes financial sense to have a plant that manufacturers a device and then brands is variously for retailers. You have tons of examples in generators, mowers, small engines, etc.
Honda, Yamaha and other DO have engine plants in China. That's fact. Do those plants re brand their product for retailer? We do not know. That engine I have has "Made in Japan" components on it - fact.
So untill we KNOW - back to flail mowers discussion, as we, The Flail Mower Nation....

What doesn't?? Heck my Harley has Japanese parts on it..

 

[leonz]

Hello ukrkoz,

You have a different style clutch than what I have on my Lawn Genie.
My Lawn Genie has a Hilliard friction disc clutch system.

I believe what you have is a ball type grip type clutch that locks in
place when a certain rpm is reached.

The Hilliard clutch I use has a centrifugal brake pad type clutch that
engages when the 16 horse power Briggs & Stratton engine mounted
on it reaches 3,200 RPM at the crank shaft.

The speed of the flail mower rotor is less than the crank shaft speed as it is belt driven
by 4 inch identical pulleys with one V belt.


If at all possible check it with a high power flashlight for any fine dirt and if
you have an air compressor or vacuum remove the dirt from the clutch.
If you have a safety nozzle wand you can vacuum the dust up as it is blown out of the clutch assembly.

I am glad to hear from you that the moles are gone. Is your ground dry enough now to use your ztr and set the deck lower and push the clippings outward?

The two groove toothed V belt will last you a long time and in the off season you should remove it and put it in a plastic bag and seal it up to reduce the amount of ozone damage that occurs with V belts.

 

[Sid Post]

This is the biggest lie I've heard. China makes thousands of knockoff Honda small engines, but in no way shape or form does Honda allow exact clone engines to be built and "charges" for the Honda name on them. That's not how it works. If a company wants to use a Honda engine, they pay Honda's price for a genuine Honda engine which comes as standard with Honda badges, and Honda is responsible for the engine warranty. There are plenty of youtube videos out there of knockoff Chinese Honda engines being torn down, and unfortunately they are more often than not very poor quality inside. I absolutely detest the way Chinese companies boldly steal successful products and make clones which are inferior quality and sell them at a price which cannot be competed with. The Chinese government does precious little to protect patents, copyrights, and intellectual property as they want their domestic companies to succeed. Of course, we the public are fully complicit as more often than not we buy the cheaper comparable product. Stores are complicit as well marketing this junk under American sounding names at prices they are making a killing on. OK, rant over. I wish you the best with your new mower; what can I say...I've bought several Chinese "TITAN" branded flail mowers which have universally been junk.

Back to flail mowers...
We all know that it is VERY common and makes financial sense to have a plant that manufacturers a device and then brands is variously for retailers. You have tons of examples in generators, mowers, small engines, etc.
Honda, Yamaha and other DO have engine plants in China. That's fact. Do those plants re brand their product for retailer? We do not know. That engine I have has "Made in Japan" components on it - fact.
So untill we KNOW - back to flail mowers discussion, as we, The Flail Mower Nation....

China as a nation does not use BADGE ENGINEERING and to imply it does so is at best a miss-informed opinion. :2cents:

Yes, China is 'capable' of manufacturing good quality products but, are those what we typically see at our 'favorite' discount retailer? Patent, copyright, and intellectual property theft is real and the Chinese government does nothing I am aware of to stop it. All appearances are that it encourages it to bolster its own economy with NO REGARD to what it does to the rest of the world.

Could China make a flail mower the same quality as the various Italian companies at a cheaper price? Sure they could. Will they do so and who would buy it, especially compared with false specs for a seemingly similar machine at a lower price?

So yes, I just don't see myself buying a cheaper Chinese flail when Caroni is a known quantity and relatively close in price. I guess I'm lucky I have a tractor and don't need to worry about inferior gasoline powered pull-behind flails.

Best Regards,
Sid

 

[troverman]

I wasn't intending to insult ukrkoz in any way, nor the tow behind he bought. Like I said, I hope it works out well for him. I just wanted to point out that I am not aware of Honda allowing any "private label" branding of their engines. Honda has a well deserved reputation for it's high quality GX-series engines. And they cost more than even other comparable "name brand" engines such as Kohler or Briggs and Stratton. So it makes zero sense that a Chinese product which sells on cost, rather than quality, would spec a private-branded (but still very costly) Honda engine. Rather, I was just pointing out the high likelihood that the Chinese manufacturer has reverse-engineered a Honda engine and is building a clone, albeit a likely inferior quality one, at low cost. Japanese components don't mean anything, and many of the small Honda engines are not even made in Japan anymore.

As for a tow behind flail, I'd be surprised if it had adequate power to go through thick field grass. It's true all the engine's power goes to turning the drum and knives, but if it's 13HP that's not a lot. My B2920 Kubota with 21PTO HP (and a lot more torque) would sometimes struggle pulling a 4-foot Vrismo flail through tall, thick grass.

 

[Ford850]

Honda does have a joint venture in China with Jialing, and they do build the GX there for domestic China sales. I wouldn't be surprised if Jialing runs the line at higher speeds and fewer QC's on extra shifts for their own knock off sales (a common practice). Our GX engines (U.S. sales) come from Honda Thailand and not China.