7 or 8 ft Cutter?

[LD1]

I have given up debating the topic.

Flails cost more, are more maintenance intensive, and require more power to pull.

In the OP of this threads case, he is looking for a 6'-8' cutter and has 70 PTO HP, so no, HP isnt really a concern in his case as 70HP will handle an 8' of either.

But mowing CRP ground and little to no pasture type....yea.....rotary cutter all the way.

I run a mowing business. And as a business its all about efficiency. Or in other words, how fast can I get the job done.

So far I have about 350 acres done to date since getting my current setup last year. Most of which is no more than a years growth. So mostly pasture type weeds (goldenrod, ragweed, queen anns lace, etc) and grasses. Setup is 42 PTO HP and 8' twin spindle mower. And had to do nothing more than shoot some grease in the PTO joints and sharpen blades.

I challenge anyone to point me to a flail mower that can mow as efficiently (fast) as I can with this setup....that isnt gonna cost me an arm and a leg to maintain. I am all ears. Its about making the most amount of money in the least amount of time to increase my margins. And if flails were the answer, thats what I would be using.

Yes, flails have their place. Road side mowers for safety. Pastures that get mowed 4 times a year and you want a quality clean cut and nicely dispersed clippings. Time is no object. Etc Etc.

 

[Fallon]

I have given up debating the topic.

Flails cost more, are more maintenance intensive, and require more power to pull.

In the OP of this threads case, he is looking for a 6'-8' cutter and has 70 PTO HP, so no, HP isnt really a concern in his case as 70HP will handle an 8' of either.

But mowing CRP ground and little to no pasture type....yea.....rotary cutter all the way.

I run a mowing business. And as a business its all about efficiency. Or in other words, how fast can I get the job done.

So far I have about 350 acres done to date since getting my current setup last year. Most of which is no more than a years growth. So mostly pasture type weeds (goldenrod, ragweed, queen anns lace, etc) and grasses. Setup is 42 PTO HP and 8' twin spindle mower. And had to do nothing more than shoot some grease in the PTO joints and sharpen blades.

I challenge anyone to point me to a flail mower that can mow as efficiently (fast) as I can with this setup....that isnt gonna cost me an arm and a leg to maintain. I am all ears. Its about making the most amount of money in the least amount of time to increase my margins. And if flails were the answer, thats what I would be using.

Yes, flails have their place. Road side mowers for safety. Pastures that get mowed 4 times a year and you want a quality clean cut and nicely dispersed clippings. Time is no object. Etc Etc.

I don't have a lot of comparison, but my flail ran as fast as my rotary. I got a 5' rotary new with my 32hp L3200. When I upgraded to the beat to **** 7' flail my travel speed definitely went down, but my hours per acre didn't.

Simply looking at the drivetrain the rotary only has 1 gearbox where the flail has the same gearbox plus belts & around 4 bearings. More maintenance points & friction points to eat HP, but not that much HP.

 

[LD1]

What eats HP on a flail is it's mulching effect. Cutting the same material over and over rather than once.

Most people don't have a food comparison for power vs speed on a flail, because most arent in the commercial mowing business. And most think that you need 30hp for a 5' cutter, and to run about 3 mph ground speed too.

I'm not most.

Put a 8' flail and 8' twin rotary behind the same 40-45 PTO HP tractor in the same field and see which one can mow at a faster rate.

 

[Fallon]

What eats HP on a flail is it's mulching effect. Cutting the same material over and over rather than once.

Most people don't have a food comparison for power vs speed on a flail, because most arent in the commercial mowing business. And most think that you need 30hp for a 5' cutter, and to run about 3 mph ground speed too.

I'm not most.

Put a 8' flail and 8' twin rotary behind the same 40-45 PTO HP tractor in the same field and see which one can mow at a faster rate.

Ah, mulching was the bit I wasn't putting in my HP equations. To me that's seen a lot as "cut quality" & a big benefit. I get lots of positive feedback on cut quality & lack of clumps from clients. Lots of 5 acre lots & they are looking at the field/pasture a lot, so nice even heavily mulched clippings that dissapear quick give me an advantage over clumps of grass from rotaries that hang around a while.

 

[LD1]

Ah, mulching was the bit I wasn't putting in my HP equations. To me that's seen a lot as "cut quality" & a big benefit. I get lots of positive feedback on cut quality & lack of clumps from clients. Lots of 5 acre lots & they are looking at the field/pasture a lot, so nice even heavily mulched clippings that dissapear quick give me an advantage over clumps of grass from rotaries that hang around a while.

Yes, cut quality is better under most circumstances with a flail.

But thats a tough sell for most of my clients.

Most of my clients are either
1. wanting to clear an overgrown lot to build on (so surveyors can get in there and see what they are doing)
2. Maintaining their deer hunting area so it dont get too overwhelming
3. Horse pastures where the growing that the horses is so sparse that there are no clumps anyway.

Would be hard to sell most of those customers on paying the increased price I'd have to charge, and their only benefit being a better looking cut and fewer clumps.

Most of my customers even make comments like "not too worried how it looks. Just want to get it knocked down so we can walk through there"