Betstco Flail Height Adjustments

[wirlybird]

So the first real outing with the EFGC 155 was a bit disappointing. Running at a cut height of 3 inches.
Pretty flat 2 acre lot with a variety of weeds, grasses and small saplings.
I didn't get good before and after shots. Should have but here is one shot that gives a general idea of the vegetation. Most of it was 6-8 inches but there were shorter and taller areas.

Some of the thick grassier areas it did ok but areas with saplings, 1/4 to 1 inch, it did bad. Most of the saplings and other hard stalk plants just laid over, then they just stood back up, and were barely touched.
Took 2-3 passes over them at a snail's pace to get them cut.

My rotary cutter would have done a far superior job on this area.

Low, thick grasses, low vines and brush it may do ok on but you have to go slow and I mean SLOW!
Any hard stalk plants and saplings forget it unless you make multiple passes. The flail just pushes them over and the blades just ride right over them scuffing the top surfaces.

I ran the original belts, properly adjusted, and they held up.
Oil did work its way out the oil fill/breather. I think their instructions for filling gear case oil my over fill it some. I'll keep an eye on the oil level and see if it eventually stops coming out the breather.

After some time the whole unit really set up a loud vibration. A quick check underneath shows some blades are pretty beaten up. I need to get a better look for broken blades which I suspect I will find.

One issue with this cutter is that the hammers could be poorly designed and of poor quality.
I am going to try and see what is out there for quality hammers that may fit and see what the cost is.

They bill this unit as a "heavy duty" fail. For what people will likely use it for I would say it is medium duty at best.
I normally would have used the rotary cutter here but wanted to see what the flail would do and this area had a variety of vegetation.
My feeling at this time is I am underwhelmed with its performance. We'll see how it progresses.

 

[kenmbz]

Something seems wrong here, most of what I cut is small saplings and stiltgrass and I get most of it in one pass.
I do go slow, and the hammers do not like rocks, chipped 2 so far.
I have run it through hundreds of yards of fresh cut trails and it leaves them really clean.
Maybe the front is too nose down or the 3pt is lifting on uneven ground?

My stiltgrass looks like your pic (until it lays down in the winter) and I was able to churn it into nothing in one slow pass. At the field edges I even lift the flail, back in, drop the flail and the sg is mulched fine.

I also use it sometimes on the larger lawns and it does a pretty good job, but I like the lawn tractor cut better (and it is faster).

 

[DGZRT]

So the first real outing with the EFGC 155 was a bit disappointing. Running at a cut height of 3 inches.
Pretty flat 2 acre lot with a variety of weeds, grasses and small saplings.
I didn't get good before and after shots. Should have but here is one shot that gives a general idea of the vegetation. Most of it was 6-8 inches but there were shorter and taller areas.

Some of the thick grassier areas it did ok but areas with saplings, 1/4 to 1 inch, it did bad. Most of the saplings and other hard stalk plants just laid over, then they just stood back up, and were barely touched.
Took 2-3 passes over them at a snail's pace to get them cut.

My rotary cutter would have done a far superior job on this area.

Low, thick grasses, low vines and brush it may do ok on but you have to go slow and I mean SLOW!
Any hard stalk plants and saplings forget it unless you make multiple passes. The flail just pushes them over and the blades just ride right over them scuffing the top surfaces.

I ran the original belts, properly adjusted, and they held up.
Oil did work its way out the oil fill/breather. I think their instructions for filling gear case oil my over fill it some. I'll keep an eye on the oil level and see if it eventually stops coming out the breather.

After some time the whole unit really set up a loud vibration. A quick check underneath shows some blades are pretty beaten up. I need to get a better look for broken blades which I suspect I will find.

One issue with this cutter is that the hammers could be poorly designed and of poor quality.
I am going to try and see what is out there for quality hammers that may fit and see what the cost is.

They bill this unit as a "heavy duty" fail. For what people will likely use it for I would say it is medium duty at best.
I normally would have used the rotary cutter here but wanted to see what the flail would do and this area had a variety of vegetation.
My feeling at this time is I am underwhelmed with its performance. We'll see how it progresses.

View attachment 732325

This is the info I'm after. Please keep updating your progress. I've sat and watched the County Maintenance crews with a Flail mower and it seemed to do a great job along the roads . With the prices sky rocketing I might just have to look for a Smaller brush hog .

 

[DGZRT]

Something seems wrong here, most of what I cut is small saplings and stiltgrass and I get most of it in one pass.
I do go slow, and the hammers do not like rocks, chipped 2 so far.
I have run it through hundreds of yards of fresh cut trails and it leaves them really clean.
Maybe the front is too nose down or the 3pt is lifting on uneven ground?

My stiltgrass looks like your pic (until it lays down in the winter) and I was able to churn it into nothing in one slow pass. At the field edges I even lift the flail, back in, drop the flail and the sg is mulched fine.

I also use it sometimes on the larger lawns and it does a pretty good job, but I like the lawn tractor cut better (and it is faster).

What brand of flail are you running ?

 

[kenmbz]

Betstco , the HD but 48"
EFGC125

 

[wirlybird]

Something seems wrong here, most of what I cut is small saplings and stiltgrass and I get most of it in one pass.
I do go slow, and the hammers do not like rocks, chipped 2 so far.
I have run it through hundreds of yards of fresh cut trails and it leaves them really clean.
Maybe the front is too nose down or the 3pt is lifting on uneven ground?

My stiltgrass looks like your pic (until it lays down in the winter) and I was able to churn it into nothing in one slow pass. At the field edges I even lift the flail, back in, drop the flail and the sg is mulched fine.

I also use it sometimes on the larger lawns and it does a pretty good job, but I like the lawn tractor cut better (and it is faster).

Which flail do you have? Never mind! I see it now!

Ground was relatively flat in most areas. In areas where there were saplings it would cut the grasses but just roll over the saplings and they'd pop back up!
The flail is set in a "nose" high attitude if you look from the side. Toplink pin just aft of the lower pins as they say. Measured distance from concrete to a hammer is ~3 inches.
Some areas it did good on but mostly it was the hard stuff, taller stuff and saplings that gave it trouble.

I can see this being better for trails and stuff like that.
Low laying vegetation etc.
It's going to take some time to see how it does as the grasses start to grow this spring!

 

[kenmbz]

The stiltgrass is 2-3' high. Saplings up to 1.5". All gone.
your setup looks and sounds fine though. Maybe have someone spot from the side (far away) to see if it's riding up?
I have a scut, so I have to keep applying down pressure to keep the flail on the roller.
I also have the skids down a bit to keep the front up, but higher than the roller.

 

[Rebeldad1]

sounds like maybe you need to run the mower at a higher speed?
mine does just fine but im running the cutters closer to the ground.