Betstco Flail Missing Parts And Very Poor Quality Control.

[5030]

I got the AGL-145 and am happy with it...but I am seeking to make a few minor mods on flow restriction and a PTO extension possible for additional shaft clearance when at full extension. I almost got a Machio, but noticed that their "Italian" made flail mowers are only the larger units. The Macho flail mowers small enough for compact tractors are apparently made in China...so I didn't see a reason for longer wait time and more expensive cost over the AGL...and mine seems to be very well made despite the "need" (preferences more like) for my soon to come mods. I am only posting this video because it was hard for me to find this out, as I was led to believe they were made in Italy...which apparently isn't the case.

Interesting. Itallian name, Chinese build but you do notice that the head folks are Itallian?

 

[Lee Robinson]

Interesting. Itallian name, Chinese build but you do notice that the head folks are Itallian?

I saw that...but wondered if it was for marketing reasons.

 

[Lee Robinson]

On their YouTube channel, I see they also have a plant in India and Romania as well.

 

[KYBobcat]

Thank you to everyone for the opinions, support and suggestions.
The purchase of this flail has been a big disappointment and very frustrating.
I still do not have an operational flail, but Betstco finally reached out last night.
We addressed the various issues, and they say they will correct them. Remains to be seen but I will remain hopeful!

I'm going to put this thread to rest now and start a new one to discuss things I've learned in hopes it might help others and get info from other users.
Betstco did say they would like to know about issues and concerns from users so I hope I can compile some good info to pass their way.
Thanks again to all.

So wait a minute, you start a post titled:

“Betstco Flail Missing Parts And Very Poor Quality Control.”​

And now you want to end the post to start a new one? I would like to know the conclusion to this. Did you start a new post? I couldn’t find it. If you did please point me to it.

Surprised you went with the Betstco since you seem to have John Deere and Italian equipment.

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and a lot of us come to this sight to get opinions on products, but right when you appear to get some customer service, you shut down the thread? I would like to know if the company made things right. Or if they didn’t make things right. When someone reads this title, and then reads the thread, they would like to know the conclusion.

Also, did I miss what parts were missing? You mentioned the bolts should have washers and you felt they were too short. Were there other actual missing parts? Do you have any photos? You mention the paint damage and the PTO alignment issue. Photos would Be helpful. Thank you.

 

[wirlybird]

So wait a minute, you start a post titled:

“Betstco Flail Missing Parts And Very Poor Quality Control.”​

And now you want to end the post to start a new one? I would like to know the conclusion to this. Did you start a new post? I couldn’t find it. If you did please point me to it.

Surprised you went with the Betstco since you seem to have John Deere and Italian equipment.

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and a lot of us come to this sight to get opinions on products, but right when you appear to get some customer service, you shut down the thread? I would like to know if the company made things right. Or if they didn’t make things right. When someone reads this title, and then reads the thread, they would like to know the conclusion.

Also, did I miss what parts were missing? You mentioned the bolts should have washers and you felt they were too short. Were there other actual missing parts? Do you have any photos? You mention the paint damage and the PTO alignment issue. Photos would Be helpful. Thank you.

Hi and thank you for pointing these things out.
I have not had a chance to start a new thread. With holiday's, cold weather etc. everything kind of got put on the back burner.

As far as flail brand, I wanted something I could justify the cost of that was larger than one flail and not as big as my other! Also wanted to go with hammers this time.
At the time of purchase I felt it may not get a lot of use, hope that changes, so couldn't justify the cost of a top end implement.
After a lot of research and the great feed back on here I decided Betstco was the one to deal with. Subsequently I find the issues I have experienced are quite common. Seems Betstco has gone through some stuff in recent years but also seems to be making an effort.
In my case they finally got back with me and I hope the dialogue will continue. I feel they do want to get things corrected so I am encouraged by that.
I have not been able to use mine yet as I still need to change out the gearbox. Equipment is mostly hibernating for now!

I'll try to get a new thread going to lay out what I have learned, how I have addressed issues and hopefully the experiences and advice from other users.

 

[KYBobcat]

Hi and thank you for pointing these things out.
I have not had a chance to start a new thread. With holiday's, cold weather etc. everything kind of got put on the back burner.

As far as flail brand, I wanted something I could justify the cost of that was larger than one flail and not as big as my other! Also wanted to go with hammers this time.
At the time of purchase I felt it may not get a lot of use, hope that changes, so couldn't justify the cost of a top end implement.
After a lot of research and the great feed back on here I decided Betstco was the one to deal with. Subsequently I find the issues I have experienced are quite common. Seems Betstco has gone through some stuff in recent years but also seems to be making an effort.
In my case they finally got back with me and I hope the dialogue will continue. I feel they do want to get things corrected so I am encouraged by that.
I have not been able to use mine yet as I still need to change out the gearbox. Equipment is mostly hibernating for now!

I'll try to get a new thread going to lay out what I have learned, how I have addressed issues and hopefully the experiences and advice from other users.

Thank you. Perhaps you could bring this one to closure when / if you get corrective action from Betstco so we know what type service they provided. I am also evaluating one of their products, so I am curious.

Did they send the replacement gear box?
What became of the alignment issue?

Hopefully they made things right. We all expect to get what we pay for. It really helps when a company has a failure, they make it right.

 

[wirlybird]

Thank you. Perhaps you could bring this one to closure when / if you get corrective action from Betstco so we know what type service they provided. I am also evaluating one of their products, so I am curious.

Did they send the replacement gear box?
What became of the alignment issue?

Hopefully they made things right. We all expect to get what we pay for. It really helps when a company has a failure, they make it right.

Got a wordy new thread up. Thanks for the push.
I think Betstco means well and given the chance will get it done.

 

[Lee Robinson]

I like my Betstco AGL-145 but it isn't perfect by any means. The extension/contraction allows the mower to go far enough out to the side to hit the frame of the mower itself. I will video this. It seems as if the mower was designed for the gear box to be mounted on the outer side of the mower...BUT, I will be mindful of this and not to full extension. A piston with a shorter extension would resolve the issue...as would a mild PTO extension forward of the first u-joint on the driveshaft. I also modified the flow hydraulic fluid rate with flow restriction...of 0.045 on the extension/contraction and 0.031 on the tilt...as mine is the ditch bank version.

The thing however cuts VERY NICELY...way better than a rotary cutter...and it cuts bigger material as well.

 

[TMGT]

I like my Betstco AGL-145 but it isn't perfect by any means. The extension/contraction allows the mower to go far enough out to the side to hit the frame of the mower itself. I will video this. It seems as if the mower was designed for the gear box to be mounted on the outer side of the mower...BUT, I will be mindful of this and not to full extension. A piston with a shorter extension would resolve the issue...as would a mild PTO extension forward of the first u-joint on the driveshaft. I also modified the flow hydraulic fluid rate with flow restriction...of 0.045 on the extension/contraction and 0.031 on the tilt...as mine is the ditch bank version.

The thing however cuts VERY NICELY...way better than a rotary cutter...and it cuts bigger material as well.

I run a AGL165 on my Kubota L3240, don't seem to have the same problems you are describing, they did have to send me a replacement side shift cylinder (mine leaked from new), other then that it's been pretty good. I did lose half the swinging shield in the front after a cotter pin came out and I didn't catch it.

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[Lee Robinson]

I run a AGL165 on my Kubota L3240, don't seem to have the same problems you are describing, they did have to send me a replacement side shift cylinder (mine leaked from new), other then that it's been pretty good. I did lose half the swinging shield in the front after a cotter pin came out and I didn't catch it.

Sent from my SM-G715U1 using TractorByNet mobile app

Neither issue? If so, maybe the differences are...


As far as the hydraulic tilt needing restriction...my tractor, Kioti CK2610, has nearly 2.5 GPM more flow then the Kubota L3240 causing the cyclinder to change more rapidly on my unit, and perhaps the AGL-165 also has a larger cylinder (I don't know) making the issue more relatively rapid on a smaller unit. Then again, if they have the same cylinders, perhaps my extension/contraction cylinder should be shorter? I don't know. I will video it when the weather gets better. Cold and wet here now.

 

[TMGT]

Neither issue? If so, maybe the differences are...


As far as the hydraulic tilt needing restriction...my tractor, Kioti CK2610, has nearly 2.5 GPM more flow then the Kubota L3240 causing the cyclinder to change more rapidly on my unit, and perhaps the AGL-165 also has a larger cylinder (I don't know) making the issue more relatively rapid on a smaller unit. Then again, if they have the same cylinders, perhaps my extension/contraction cylinder should be shorter? I don't know. I will video it when the weather gets better. Cold and wet here now.

The L3240 actually has a higher flow rate to the remotes, Kioti only list the total flow of the tandem pumps. I did find that the Kioti loaders for your model are rated at 7.1gpm, which would seem about right considering the power steering usually needs about 4+gpm so I would guess your implement flow is just over 7gpm.

Maybe the geometry of the levers or valving makes it difficult to feather?

I thought when I was looking at buying them they all used the same size cylinders, but of course their suppliers do change sometimes so there can be differences even among the same models.

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[Lee Robinson]

I knew the Kioto was 11.something total, but didn't have flow to the remotes. Thanks for that info. I thought the L3240 was only 8.something total...so I assumed it would be less flow to the remotes than the Kioti to the remotes

 

[Lee Robinson]

I thought when I was looking at buying them they all used the same size cylinders, but of course their suppliers do change sometimes so there can be differences even among the same models.

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I don't know. Regardless...I have everything good to go except the extension/contraction can be over-extended if I am not mindful. I wonder if a cylinder can have the same contracted length, but have a slightly reduced extension length. That would be the easiest solution to the over-extension problem that allows the shaft to contact the mounting frame if I or my son am inattentive when using the extension feature.

 

[TMGT]

It can be done but not easily, I did make one on a cylinder for my BH thumb as I was working with what I had for a cylinder and it was a little long on the stroke.

It was an internal stop.
Might be better off seeing if there is a way to make an external stop.

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[TMGT]

I knew the Kioto was 11.something total, but didn't have flow to the remotes. Thanks for that info. I thought the L3240 was only 8.something total...so I assumed it would be less flow to the remotes than the Kioti to the remotes

L3240 is 8.3 at the implement and 13.2 total so 4.9 to the steering, the full hydraulic steering systems take a lot of flow. I'd say that 4.6gpm for the steering would be about right for your Kioti.
Really wish all manufacturers would publish the actual usable flow rate rather then total, even Kubota hasn't been posting it in the brochures for some models now.

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[Lee Robinson]

It does work very well though.