Berta flail mower

[cmyoung2]

Please help me understand the setup pictured, what is the Zanon attachment and does its output shaft drive the Berta? :confused3:
Thanks! :drink:

The Zanon is my finish mower,hooked to the tractor. The Berta is just parked, unhooked, in front of the Zanon. The Berta has disc brake rotors bolted to the front for extra weight to keep it on the ground when mowing steep ground.

 

[WesKootenay]

The Zanon is my finish mower,hooked to the tractor. The Berta is just parked, unhooked, in front of the Zanon. The Berta has disc brake rotors bolted to the front for extra weight to keep it on the ground when mowing steep ground.

Now I see it - duh!
At first look I thought all three were somehow connected.
Thanks.

 

[cmyoung2]

That would be an awesome, power hungry machine.

 

[joecoin]

Take my money on that dual mower!

 

[Jens767]

Hi

I have had my Berta flail mower for some 1 1/2 year now, and I have used it for almost 50 hours.

Like other members, I have experienced that the flail mower tends to rise when mowing uphill. This is physics, and it is what we might expect with all front-PTO implements. For me it begins to be critical when approaching around 20 degrees of slope, and then I only mow downhill, and walk idle uphill. With a light implement like a sickle bar mower, I mow across the slope up until around 20-30 degrees, and then again only downhill. I haven’t been able to successfully mow across a slope with heavier mowers, like the Berta flail or my Zanon lawnmower. Gravity is simply stronger than this old man

One task where the flail mower has proven very efficient, is getting rid of up to 2 m (6 1/2’) tall eagle fern, which tend to invade some of our meadows:



I mow with the cutting hight set at its maximum of 5 cm (2’’), and then I mow in first gear taking half cuts. This way the Honda engine stays on top of things, and the cut material gets a second treatment.

As mentioned in some of my earlier posts in this thread, I also use my Berta as a sort of scarifier/de-thatcher, to remove moss and old/dead plant material. This foto is from a lawn, where the moss had taken control:



This one is from my meadow, where after the grass had been mowed and removed, I used the Berta to prepare the plot for seeding wild flowers for the insects:




Best regards

Jens

 

[travisbb]

Nice! I have around 90 hours on my flail mower and wouldn't be without it. I find that my hammers need some touchup work every fifty hours or so and that it helps immensely with cut speed. Dull hammers suck more power which means a narrower cut.

I haven’t been able to successfully mow across a slope with heavier mowers, like the Berta flail or my Zanon lawnmower. Gravity is simply stronger than this old man

I find I can mow side-hill pretty well on, I guess, a 30 degree slope. I find the key is to have the downhill to the right (because my clutch is on the left handle bar), then on the hill, I straighten my left arm out and "hang" off the bars to the right, pulling the back end downhill and the mower uphill. Of course I also have diff-locks on and use the steering brakes to help.

I don't get a perfectly straight line with ideal overlap, but I get it cut without doing endless circles of wasted mowing. I find this technique doesn't work near as well with the downhill to the left, possible because I can't reach the steering brakes.

The steepest sections are still downhill though, but I try to work it into a circular pattern to minimize covering ground repeatedly.

 

[Jens767]

Hi travisbb

Thank you very much for your hints about mowing on a slope! I will try them out when spring arrives, and I can begin mowing again

Luckily I have few places to mow which are in the 20-30 degree range, and you are right, it is of course a waste of time only to mow when driving downhill. But if you only mow with the downhill to your right, you have the same problem I guess, when you come to the end of your plot?

Like you, I often use the differential lock on slopes, and on level ground too. I am a bit confused though, as I get the impression that you use the steering brakes at the same time. - Am I right?

When the differential lock is engaged, the two separate axle parts powering either wheel becomes mechanically interlocked, essentially creating a solid axle. In that situation steering brakes loses their purpose I think, as braking one wheel only slows down the tractor, and doesn’t turn it uphill?

Over the 10 years that I have had my BCS 740, I have made the same experience as you, when it comes to the benefits of mowing in a circular pattern - especially on slopes. As most of us have 2-wheel tractors without live PTO, disengaging the clutch to select reverse, also disengages the power to the PTO. With high-inertia mowers like flails and other rotating types, this is normally not a big problem on level ground when shifting direction fast, as they keep spinning on their own until power is restored. On a slope on the other hand, things are different, as with a bit of bad luck, one might get stuck in neutral when changing direction, potentially creating a very dangerous situation!

Due to the very low gears that we have on our tractors, the inner friction normally prevents the tractor from moving when the clutch is disengaged - but only as long as the tractor is in gear! When we change direction - or select an other gear - we have to pass neutral, and then the wheels are free to roll, and gravity might take control! When working on slopes, I always try to find a spot where I can place the tractor perpendicular to the slope if I have to change direction or gear. In that case the tractor will stay put, and not start rolling down the slope, should I get stuck in neutral.


Best regards

Jens

 

[travisbb]

Luckily I have few places to mow which are in the 20-30 degree range, and you are right, it is of course a waste of time only to mow when driving downhill. But if you only mow with the downhill to your right, you have the same problem I guess, when you come to the end of your plot?

In my case, the steep side-hill has a pretty wide flat spot on the top. So for the most part I mow counter-clockwise: steep side-hill where I hang to the right, then not so steep straight up the hill, then pretty flat at the top of the hill, then quite steep straight down the hill, then start again.

Like you, I often use the differential lock on slopes, and on level ground too. I am a bit confused though, as I get the impression that you use the steering brakes at the same time. - Am I right?

When the differential lock is engaged, the two separate axle parts powering either wheel becomes mechanically interlocked, essentially creating a solid axle. In that situation steering brakes loses their purpose I think, as braking one wheel only slows down the tractor, and doesn’t turn it uphill?

It's my experience with my Grillo G110 that the differential isn't 100% locked, but does allow some slip. I use the steering brakes to take advantage of that slip to turn uphill a little bit. It's only good for fine tuning though.

Due to the very low gears that we have on our tractors, the inner friction normally prevents the tractor from moving when the clutch is disengaged - but only as long as the tractor is in gear! When we change direction - or select an other gear - we have to pass neutral, and then the wheels are free to roll, and gravity might take control! When working on slopes, I always try to find a spot where I can place the tractor perpendicular to the slope if I have to change direction or gear. In that case the tractor will stay put, and not start rolling down the slope, should I get stuck in neutral.

I nearly never get out of gear to turn around. Instead if I can't take an easy turn, I disengage the diff-lock, push down slightly on the handlebars, give a steering brake all it'll take, and run around in a semi-circle nearly as fast as I can. I admit this is not a technique for everybody.

Now my Grillo may have a different transmission setup, but I'm never worried about getting stuck in neutral while the wheels are moving. As far as I can tell, the driving gears always spin with the tires, so consistent, gentle pressure always pops into gear sooner than later. Now I wouldn't try this while driving up a steep hill where the tractor could roll back over me or stall when changing gears. I do rolling, clutched shifts fairly frequently on more level ground though.

 

[ppea]

My bertha setup,strong flail mower.before and after.

 

[Jens767]

Hi again travisbb

It sounds like you have found a very good pattern when you are mowing your plot, allowing you to mow in a circular manner, downhill at the steepest parts, uphill on the not so steep parts, and when mowing along the slope, hanging to the right. - Sounds perfect to me

As said, I will try to remember your hints, and also try out the steering brakes even when I use the differential lock. I am still puzzled though, but at the same time curious and eager to learn.

As you have probably seen already, steering brakes have been a frequent topic over the years in this forum. Some members use them a lot, others hardly use them at all. Personal taste differs, and perhaps they also make more sense to use with some implements, and less with others. I don’t use mine much, as I prefer to have a firm grip on both handles at all time, and steer with a light sideway pressure on the handlebars. Since I got the Berta flail mower though, I use the steering brakes a little more, as I often mow in 1st gear now, and feel more comfortable using the steering brake when driving slowly. I have often read posts praising the use of steering brakes when working across slopes, and this has always puzzled me a little. In order to prevent the tractor from turning downhill, one might brake the uphill wheel, but that is the wheel having the least traction, reducing the effect of braking accordingly. This is just one of the advantages of the 2-wheel tractor models with hydrostatic transmission, as they can run the downhill wheel slightly faster than the uphill one, thereby maintaining direction. - Perhaps I have missed something here?

Like you, I also try to turn without having to use the reverse gear, whenever possible. I have had a few scary moments where the reverse lever got stocked in neutral, either because the lever got tangled in low hanging branches or due to my own clumsiness, and on a slope, that can really get your attention! Turning like you describe is a very good alternative to reversing I have also found, especially if one makes the turns uphill.

I also only change gear when on more or less level ground, to avoid getting stuck in neutral. There might be a difference in the way the reverse mechanism on a BCS and a Grillo works, I don’t know. On my BCS, the reverse handle has to pass a detent halfway between forward and reverse. At this detent there is a neutral, preventing forward and reverse to be selected at the same time. If the change of direction is made swiftly, all is good as neutral is passed in a split second. If on the other hand the handle for some reason get stucked, the wheels are free to spin just like when neutral is selected with the gear lever. This might come as a very unpleasant and dangerous surprise!


Best regards

Jens