Tractor Sizing bush hogging acreage
- Thread starter rookiejack
- Start date
- Views: 31797
montelatici
Platinum Member
Are we comparing rotary cutters to flail mowers or finish mowers to flail mowers. Now I am really confused as to the recommendations being given to the fellow that wants to rough cut 200 acres. Sheesh.
leonz
Super Member
There is no comparison:
The flailmower can be equiped with a finish mower rotor which can have up to 4 rows of knives for a better grass finish and less stress to fine sod or the ability to knock brush down to ground level and to control any invasives and eventually kill them using a dethatching kinfe blade.
The larger number count of grass slicer knives along a given width of cut cuts finer and does not tear the grass blade growing from good grass sod shocking the grass blade and opening the grass blade to disease from mold or from heat shock after the verticutting as less of the grass blade is taken in the mowing process as it is cleanly sliced reducing the chance of turf damage form heat stress, insects, or sod born diseases.
The individual grass slicer knive becomes an air foil and creates huge suction forces pulling the grass or brush up to slice it in small slices as the flailmower rotor passes over it and the knives following behind it also accomplish the same work until the grass is sliced to the desired hieght for the end user.
The flailmower sweeper collector operates under the same principal where the grass is sliced and at the same lifted into the collection hopper to be disposed of or composted by the end user.
The sweeper collector removes the sliced grass and fallen leaves to reduce and eliminate dead spots in the turf from the build up of mowed grass and leaves left on turf and by removing the leaves and grass allows the grass roots to grow deeper and as a result healthier.
The invasive weeds whichare growing in heavy brush always grow faster as they become taller and and if they are knocked down with a flailmower the remaining wild grass stubble will choke out the invasive weeds and kill them as they no longer have the advantage of sunlight
The addition of deep mined Gysum or chemically rendered Gypsum aids in dissolving clay in the soil and helps in allowing lime and compost or fertilizer to percolate into the soil rather than wash away and become wasted and polluting the surface waters in the case of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
The flailmower used for brush cutting or golf course quality sod or shredding sugar cane stubble, corn stubble, peanuts vine shredding, cotton stubble shredding, tomato vine shredding or sugar beet topping prior to digging/harvesting sugar beets uses the "Verticut Method" of slicing Grasses, Brush or Crop Stubble and in Road Shoulder Mowing and lawn mowing with walk behind flailmowers from Great Dane, Walker, Simon Tullet, Makita among others or rider mowers that are front mounted such as Caroni, Trimax, or the Palladino front mounted flailmowers or rear mounted depending upon the manufacturer of the Prime mover. The Trimax brand of flailmower is used on Kubota, John Deere, Jacobsen, Standin and many other brands of front mounted mowers
worldwide.
The motorised towed flailmower provides nearly one hundred percent of the energy and torque created in the internal combustion process to the V belt power and or slip clutch delivery method for the flailmower rotors on these towed flailmowers
Each and every flail mower knife is attached to the rotor and travels vertically when slicing grass, brush, or crop stubble for the end user and slicing a small portion of the material leaving little residue.
When the entire compliment of knives used to slice grass or brush the cutting edges of all the grass slicer knives are used at all times during the mowing/shredding operation where only one knife edge is used to cut or actually slice the brush, crop stubble, or grass turf; the grass knives behind the first pair of grass slicer knives are following the prior knive edge's overlapping and recuttting any grass blade that is left to slice within the guaged height of the rear roller used to stabilise the mower along the entire cutting width and reduce any chance of scalping the ground. in fine turf care.
The Verticut method also allows the flail mower to perform double duty where it can dethatch the lawn or turf of the end user and remove the thatch to be collected using a lawn sweeper or the flailmower sweeper collector in my case.
The dethatching blades also aid in overseeding grass seed that is broadcast by using a spinner spreader and aids in allowing man made fertilizer, Gypsum, lawn lime pellets, hydrated lime, or compost, and water from rainfall or irrigation of sod to enter the soil rather than running off and being lost to evaporation
:thumbsup:
Last edited:
ihookem
Gold Member
If I had 200 ac. to mow I'd plant trees.
MarkV
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2000
- Messages
- 5,636
- Location
- Cedartown, Ga and N. Ga mountains
- Tractor
- 1998 Kubota B21, 2005 Kubota L39
Leonz, you seem to have much experience with flail mowers and all the different things that make them superior. Is the flail mower in the photo you posted yours and what size is it? If not, what size do you use? How much property do you mow with it? What type of vegetation do you mow?
MarkV
MarkV
leonz
Super Member
Hello Mark,
The photo I uploaded is a picture of a job that is one of Iron horses flailmowers from Australia and I think its his New Holland tractor and his Cabe hammer knive equiped flail mower.
We have a lot of photos on the web page here of before and after ground pictures when a flail mower is used.
We have a had a 7 foot JD finish rotor flailmower with 3 rows of grass slicer knives using a finish mower rotor, a motorised 36 inch Mathews Company Lawn Genie with 4 rows of grass slicer knives which was equiped with a finish motor rotor . We currently have a 30 plus year old motorised 48 inch Lawn Genie flail mower with 4 rows of grass slicer knives using a finish mower rotor assembly with staggered grass slicer knives.
When we mow, we mow everything-grass turf, heavy brush and scrub / weeds with the same 48 inch flailmower which is a flail mower and collector in one. The flailmower is also used to dethatch the lawn to remove invasives and aid in overseeding and adding lime and gypsum as well.
Last edited:
montelatici
Platinum Member
There is one word that comes to mind. "OBSESSION".
leonz
Super Member
NO actually obsession refers to a medical condition referring to ADHD in juveniles and adults within which it totally consumes the individuals time, energy and physical energy to continue one simple day to day task because his or her brain is not telling the individual the action performed like repeatedly locking ones doors or windows, or simply washing thier hands, and is a medically defined disabilty affecting the persons abilty to cope and it limits thier ability to have a "normal" life as the persons brain does not function as it should.
You should invest in a copy of the book-
"The Boy Who wouldn't stop washing"
A flailmower is a simply better way to mow with less work and effort.
The rotary cutter and belly mower are simply an out growth and low cost method of mowing versus using a traditional sickle bar which consumes more of the users time to accomplish the same task.
The flailmower is used in conjuction with a chopper blower and is was first used to harvest hay ensilage quickly and also corn residue to bale it for animal feed rather than letting it go to waste
Why work harder when you dont have to?
MtnViewRanch
Elite Member, Advertiser
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Messages
- 10,643
- Tractor
- Mahindra 7520, Mahindra 3215HST, Case 580 extendahoe, Case 310 dozer, Parsons trencher, Cat D6,
You said it. Something to keep in mind is that everyone does not have an unlimited budget and some people prefer to start out with NEW equipment. There is always some sort of a compromise and it usually starts with the budget. You have made yourself very clear, I don't see why you are still pushing this. :confused3: Everyone understands that your way may very well be the best way to achieve the end result desired. Everyone does not have the same desire that you have to accomplish the desired result asked about in the same manner. My question to you is, if the overall flail method is so superior, why do any of the other methods even exist? That's right you said it before, cost.
Just my :2cents:
leonz
Super Member
You said it. Something to keep in mind is that everyone does not have an unlimited budget and some people prefer to start out with NEW equipment. There is always some sort of a compromise and it usually starts with the budget. You have made yourself very clear, I don't see why you are still pushing this. :confused3: Everyone understands that your way may very well be the best way to achieve the end result desired. Everyone does not have the same desire that you have to accomplish the desired result asked about in the same manner. My question to you is, if the overall flail method is so superior, why do any of the other methods even exist? That's right you said it before, cost.
Just my :2cents:
"The rotary cutter or MMM cost less to make because they require little engineering to build and all forces generated are centrifugal and delivered at right angles to the power delivery method; where with a flail mower operates at a much higher rate speed in revolutions per minute in use which requires the proper balancing of the flail mower rotor, knife mounting weldments, the proper machining and centering of the side weldments
for the main rotor bearing pairs, the full width rear roller, the cross bracing box frame typically found on most flail mowers to maintain rigidity and strength with full length welds.
The proper construction of the flailmowers hood to permit the high volume of air flow created and used to its ultimate advantage to slice and lift the material over the rotor and back down to the ground.
The pressing and forming of the mower hood steel which acts as a suction path for the shredded grass or brush and holds the end weldments and rear roller in place.
The right angle gear box that mounts on the front of the mower at the cross plate that maintains the rigidity of the flailmower shroud and end weldments as they are one with the cross bracing tubes used on flailmowers.
The cross mounted shaft that delivers the one to one gear box speed to the belt drive V belt and pulleys used on flail mowers.
Versus the rotary cutter which uses plate steel that is simply cut with a computer operated plasma cutter cutting the top sheet, the center hole for the right angle gear box which is anchored in place with 4 bolts through the roof of the mower. the side and end plates are welded to the roof of the rotary cutter along with bracing where required to stiffen the rotary cutter.
The bent steel angle iron peices used to make the three point hitch parts for the rotary cutter.
The attachment of the rear flat free wheel using the same type of strap iron used for the three point hitch.
Plus the attachment of a rubber flap to control any debris that may or may not be ejected by the impact force of the cutter blade to the front of the rotary cutter. and the addition of safety chains to the rear discharge of the rotary cutter to prevent any objects that may be ejected by the rotary cutters blade to the rear of the machine.
None of which prevents the blade or blades from being ejected by the rotary cutter or MMmower.
This is the reason we still have a 30 plus year old flailmower with minor repairs, V belt and main bearing replacement, wheel and bearing replacement as the only issues with the original Briggs and Stratton I/C 16 horse power engine which required spark plugs, coil, rewind starter pawl replacement, blower hood replacement, recoil assembly replacment mowing 5-7 acres weekly plus perimiter brush mowing of 12 acres of former crop land, leaf pick up in season, sweeper collecting of grass clippings and shredding of leaves if encountered during mowing.
The added bonus of high fuel efficiency with the towed motorised flailmower which reduces the tractors fuel use to the job of towing the implement which
over 5-7 acres consumed 2-4 gallons IN TOTAL of gasoline during mowing when the rain did not interuppt us. The flaailmowre never plugged with wet clippings as they were never allowed to become attached to air directing baffles and the knowledge of being able to mow with no issues or worrries pertaining to pedestrians or animals nearby is among the best reasons and having a striped lawn with zero effort is a plus and it looks so nice.
(you might want to consider why Alamo forced Mott Mower Corporation into submission and bought them out and eliminated there company as competition as they "Mott Mower Corporation" were the number one seller in industrial heavy mowers in which Alamo Industrial eliminated their only serios competition in the mid 1980's which guaranteed Alamo a huge customer base of former Mott Mower owners that needed parts.
They also destroyed the motorised flailmower market in the United States by eliminating the MOTT motorised pedestian mower which was a very very well built 4 wheel push mower as they no longer wished to build them concentrating on the municipal / industrial side of the mowing business bidding on municipal procurement contracts to provide road side mowers for states and other municipal end users.
that is why you see many rotary mowers becuae they take much less effort to produce and people are injured by them every year.
