Anybody with a Bestco Flail Mower Unhappy with anything at all??

[msb1766]

I just received a Bestco 48 inch medium duty flail mower with hammer knifes.
I only have a few hours on it due to getting it a few days before going on vacation.
It seems very well built, it is very smooth when running at pto speed. Cuts very well.
I would buy another Bestco product, I am looking at their choppers now as I know there build quality.
It came with good instructions, easy to put the top link arms on . Came shipped on a pallet with a metal cage around it.
The unit comes with no grease in any of the bearings it states it in the manual so make sure you get some grease before the unit comes.

 

[mred2]

I purchased a ditch bank mower the first of the year. It appears to be a good mower for the money and did a good job. I however ran through some rocks under the grass and now need a new set of hammer blades. I ordered them some time back. I have called back 4 times now. 3 times I had to leave message. The 2nd time I called, I did speak to someone that verified that my order was in the system, but could not tell me why it had not shipped. I ordered an extra set of belts and a set of y blades with the mower. I did not get the spacers to use the y blades and I was told that they are still on backorder. I need a set of hammer blades. I will try and move the blades and sharpen them, but I know that 3 or 4 are beyond repair.

 

[mred2]

New update. I just called back and spoke to Dennis. He was great. Found out that the blades were shipped and they seem to have been lost. They are replacing them today. This was good service. If I had to guess, part of the problem was that they are that busy. Again, the mower is great for the money. The damage to the blades was operator error.

 

[msb1766]

When I ordered the 48 inch medium duty flail mower they said that the were extremely busy. I wanted to get also order the Y blades also but they were all sold out.
Shipping Mine took about 2 weeks to get to me due to me being in New York state.

 

[Freep]

A question, Mred2: Were those rocks you mowed particularly big and/or did the hammers really come into serious contact? I ask because I hit rocks all the time with my flail mower* and the blades are damaged by keep working. I wonder if the hammers on the flail are one of the areas that are 'skimped' upon, and if replacing with higher quality blades/hammers might not make it more durable. I ask because if a single encounter with rocks puts the mower out of commission I'd be looking at significant downtime.

*Caveat: My flail mower is a beast of a machine on a 2-wheeled tractor. I usually notice pretty much immediately when I encounter a rock and stop pretty quick. I can imagine stopping on a 4-wheeled tractor taking a bit more time and maybe chewing up more of the rock/hammer. I have no XP with using flail mowers on a 4-wheeled tractor, but am considering buying one.

 

[mred2]

The rocks that I hit were large (like 8 to 10 inches). They had been used as a border around a flower bed. The grass on this lot had not been cut in years and I forgot about them. Was mowing at a fast rate and I had went over them before I stopped. I did continue to mow and it still work, but not as clean cut. Not the fault of the mower or the blades. I had hit small rocks on the side of the drive before with no damage that I could tell on the blades. The mower is a ditch bank mower and can be tilted up. Easy to check the blades.

 

[searcyfarms]

aaaah but yes - hitting the granite lined stones ( round river rocks from mountains ) will take the edge off if not destroy any blade - seems to me my wife has some of those 10 inch or bigger ones around our landscaping - Uh hmmmmm........... i do believe those rocks are either magnetic or possibly create a vacuum when my mower goes by like nascar side drafting because my mowers tend to somehow get pulled in their direction

 

[rgr33]

I don’t really know if my experience with Betsco is still relevant, but I have a very old 60inch model, close to 15 years old now.

It did the job for me, which was chopping up last years grape vine trimmings, didn’t use it to mow grass. During the first 3 years, I ended up replacing nearly every belt and bearing , and pulley with better quality parts. After that, it worked well, but eventually replaced it with a Mott, and A Coroni, which are much better, albeit more expensive mowers.

I still have the bestc for backup use, and it still does the job in a pinch, it was a good buy in 2004, for $525.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Perfect! For me anyway. So you would recommend the 175?
68" Cut Heavy Duty Hydraulic Offset Flail Mower, FH-EFGCH175KITT | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

I was also looking at the Woodmaxx
FM-78H Flail Mower | Flail Mower Attachment | Tractor Mower | PTO Mower | -WoodMaxx兌/url]

Similar mower, about a grand more, but has a rear door, belt tensioner, pto slip clutch, a choice on the blade type (though I'd probably use hammers), and if I bump up to the 88, I get rakes that help shred the material finer. Not sure if my tractor can run that one though (50hp min, I have 45).
[url=http://www.woodmaxx.com/product_p/fm-88h.htm]FM-88H PTO Flail Mower (88")

Seems like the Woodmaxx has more going for it. But it is also more expensive. Do I need all the whiz-bang hoo-haws? The door will make replacing blades easier. The slip clutch is an absolute must (I hate sheer pins with a passion on an electric over hydraulic PTO). So I donno. I am still researching.

I do like the Bestco. But I think the Woodmaxx is winning my business. We will see.

I picked up mine from NOVATRACTOR, the best value tractor implement in the US market, we supply flail mower, wood chipper, ditch mower, etc

 

[ddbackhoe]

I think Jack Yuan was very informative about flails and other attachments coming out of China. Some good some not so good and some bad. My experience as far as reading. I owned a 4ft offset ditch bank cutter bought from betsco and had no problems with it. I used it on a 2615 Mahindra. I had what they called the hammer blades on it if I remember correctly but it worked as described. I sold it because I went to a bigger tractor. My only issue with it was it didn稚 reach out far enough. I sometimes wish for another one but don稚 have enough use to justify buying one. This was several years ago and a lot can change but at the time I got what I paid for and was satisfied.

Jack was very patient and helpful answering all my questions.