12' Flex Wing Cutters, what have you had success with?

[rockinbbar]

I sounds like the three mowers are in a rigid plane on mowers with only center wheels? So whatever angle the center section is at, the wings will be at the same angle? If so, that's exactly what I don't want. My terrain is uneven enough that I get a lot of scalping and gouging with a rigid 6' mower. A rigid 12' mower would only be worse.

I'm hoping for a mower where each of the three sections more or less align with the slope of the terrain below them. So if I'm along a area where the ground slops off on one side, the wing on that side will be angles gown to more closely follow that part of the mower's path. I think that means that the wings need to swing freely (within some limits), which I think means that the lift cylinder either needs to have a hydraulic float, or be connected with some linkage that allows wing movement, king of like the way a 3ph mower can move up and down with respect to the top link.

I do mow up/down the slope, but you still need to turn at the top and bottom, and there are still areas where you have to get sideways.

Re the whole "is it worth it" question, that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. It's not a huge acreage to mow, but it's very time consuming, and takes me 4-5 days to cut right now. But I'm at a point in my life where if I can spend some $$ and make my life easier and/or more enjoyable, I'm open to it. Some of what I mow is small and particularly fussy like log landings, and probably 10 miles of trails. I would continue to mow them with the 6' mower.

As for a bigger tractor, I'll start another thread on that since it's about more than just mowing.

A batwing conforms to terrain on each cutting deck.

One wing can be cutting high, the center low, and the opposite wing even lower. The batwing will meet the terrain very well, as long as the changes are halfway gradual. Sharp rises, or holes don't cut as well.

This is cutting the low spot between terraces. I cut the tops of the terrace berms first, then cut the low.

A pulled cutter conforms better to the terrain than a 3 point hitch cutter.

 

[hayden]

A batwing conforms to terrain on each cutting deck.

One wing can be cutting high, the center low, and the opposite wing even lower. The batwing will meet the terrain very well, as long as the changes are halfway gradual. Sharp rises, or holes don't cut as well.

This is cutting the low spot between terraces. I cut the tops of the terrace berms first, then cut the low.

A pulled cutter conforms better to the terrain than a 3 point hitch cutter.

This makes sense to me when teh wings have wheels. But on models where the wings don't have wheels, then it seems the wings must follow the center section, right?

That said, I would get one with wing wheels, so the question is a bit moot.

One thing I'm still unclear on is the extent to which floating wings require an aux hydraulic circuit with float? Without hydraulic float, wouldn't the lift cylinders be locked? I'm not understanding how the cylinders float on mowers with a single aux control with no float position?

What mower are we looking at in your picture? Is that the 3PH top link cylinder I'm seeing? Does that control the mower height or get used some other way with your mower?

 

[rockinbbar]

This makes sense to me when teh wings have wheels. But on models where the wings don't have wheels, then it seems the wings must follow the center section, right?

That said, I would get one with wing wheels, so the question is a bit moot.

One thing I'm still unclear on is the extent to which floating wings require an aux hydraulic circuit with float? Without hydraulic float, wouldn't the lift cylinders be locked? I'm not understanding how the cylinders float on mowers with a single aux control with no float position?

What mower are we looking at in your picture? Is that the 3PH top link cylinder I'm seeing? Does that control the mower height or get used some other way with your mower?

On the batwings when moving over uneven ground, the wings still move up and down with the terrain.

The only difference is, when positioned in float, there's less resistance to the wing movement because "float" allows the hydraulic fluid to move more freely through the cylinder without as much resistance.

I mostly don't use float because I want some resistance to help the wings get over rough terrain. It's not advantageous to the way I cut, and over time (years) the seals can wear on the cylinder rod and leaks occur because the fluid seeps past these worn spots between the seals and rods.

You control the deck cutting height with that cylinder in the rear/center. I have spacers put on that cylinder rod to hold a specific cut height.

You can see the center deck cylinder better in this photo.

That toplink you see in the other photo is just my hydraulic toplink on that tractor, and the only thing I use it for is I have my hydraulic hoses to the shredder secured to it with a bungee cord so they stay away from the driveline that is connected to the PTO.

 

[hayden]

I see now that the wing lift cylinders connect to a slotted bracket, so that's what allows for movement when the cylinder is otherwise hydraulically locked.

 

[rockinbbar]

I see now that the wing lift cylinders connect to a slotted bracket, so that's what allows for movement when the cylinder is otherwise hydraulically locked.

It's not really locked with the hydraulic cylinders as the constant flow of hydraulic pressure is not present after you lower the wings. The hydraulic cylinders are "one way" cylinders, and all they do is raise the wings. There's no pressure to lower them. Only the weight of the wing itself lowers it, as hydraulic pressure is removed.

Those wing cylinders only have pressure one way (as pictured by only one hose).

Hydraulics, flow, flow rates, pressures and that sort of stuff kinda has a learning curve.

 

[hayden]

It's not really locked with the hydraulic cylinders as the constant flow of hydraulic pressure is not present after you lower the wings. The hydraulic cylinders are "one way" cylinders, and all they do is raise the wings. There's no pressure to lower them. Only the weight of the wing itself lowers it, as hydraulic pressure is removed.

Those wing cylinders only have pressure one way (as pictured by only one hose).

Hydraulics, flow, flow rates, pressures and that sort of stuff kinda has a learning curve.

OK, but as an example, with the remote valve centered, that hydraulic line is dead headed, and as such the only way the wing will drop is if the rod is forced out against the dead headed hydraulics. It will only drop to the extend there is bleed by in the cylinder and/or the valve. Float exists to address this exact situation where you want a rod to be able to freely extend and retract.