Caroni flail blade replacement

   / Caroni flail blade replacement #1  

JethroB

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Really Deep Southeast
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Kubota L5460 HSTC Cab, MF 135 Diesel
I have posted in the epic flail thread but thought I’d start a new one. (Thanks for those responses.)

I inherited a seemingly solid 12 year old Caroni TM1900 flail mower, 73” cut with the Y blades. 28 stations with 56 blades attached by a clevis, bolt, and nylock nut. Strong evidence suggests it was misused and never setup properly for the conditions it was used in. Rear roller and side skids were at their highest settings to get a short cut so the blades spent a lot of time in the dirt and smoking belts.

Some blades & hardware have been replaced over time with the originals (?) having been reversed. I want to replace them all and cry once. Agri Supply is the US distributor but their parts are super expensive. So I recently contacted Flail Master and ordered a sample set of their Caroni compatible blades, a clevis, bolt & nut. I’m headed out now to test the fit and if all goes well I’ll order a full set from Flail Master. My project for the day.

Agri Supply blade $8, clevis $17
Flail Master blade $2, clevis $11
Overall about $600 vs $1300

An old & newer existing blade. Little ‘meat’ holding many on.
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement #2  
Jethro, thanks for that; I bought my TM1900 from AgriSupply several years ago, works OK other than having to cobble up a toplink "de-extender" to get it to work on the QH. Probably getting close to needing the same stuff yours does.

My method of keeping the knives (mostly) out of the dirt is to leave the rear roller where it is, then adjust cut depth with hydraulic toplink - I do this STATIC the first time after hooking up, by resting the roller on the ground and adjusting toplink cylinder so knives stay above ground level by about 2-1/2" (PTO NOT engaged, duh)- Then I note how much rod is sticking out of the cylinder, and mow. 3PH in FLOAT, resting on the roller. This ALSO keeps the skid shoes NOT in play.

If I hear more than an occasional "brrrt" from the blades I'll extend the toplink a tiny bit. So far, that method works well for me. I'm on my third set of belts, last time I found Kevlar ones. Only 1 season on those, so far so good... Steve
 
   / Caroni flail blade replacement
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Bukit, not having any experience with a flail and apparently there is no manual available so I’ve gone with sort of a consensus from the monster thread. I try to keep the top plate level using the top link and adjust cutting height with the roller. Skids as a safety net. Then let it float on the 3ph. I understand that level helps with creating a suction to pull the tall grass back up from the tire tracks, which I struggle with. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to raise or lower the rear roller. Remove two bolts and pry on the roller with a 2x4 a bit, reinsert bolts. No hydraulic top link for me, yet. ;)

The FM blades aren’t identical to a Caroni but everything fits. Blade holes are the same size & shape. All other dimensions differ a bit. Both weigh 4.4 oz. Clevis is good and I was told made in Canada. Bolts & nuts are from China. 80x10x1.5 mm, grade 8.8. FM suggested replacing them all to maintain balance. Understandable and good for sales too.

I have yet to meet anyone around here with a flail, few have ever heard of one. I describe it as a very fast spinning tiller that mows. The big boys do use similar crop shredders for cotton stalks after picking. Best wishes getting those nuts off. They laugh at my little cordless impact. Soak’em. I’m looking for a looong handled bolt cutter now.
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement #4  
Once you get around to doing hydraulic top AND tilt, you'll wonder how you ever did without - and yeah, I tried all the "standard" ways of setting up my flail - not horrible, but the older/lazier I get the more addicted I become to hydraulics :sneaky:

Getting old hardware off won't be a problem for me - if battery impacts up to 350 foot pounds, and air impacts up to 1500 foot pounds won't get it, there's always side grinders with thin cutoff disks and plasma or acetylene (y)

I don't do much metric stuff so not sure how an 8.8 bolt compares to SAE #'s, but I would be careful using any bolts that're Grade 8 or equivalent - the extra hardness ALSO comes with extra BRITTLENESS, where a grade 5 isn't as hard but IS "tougher".

Edit - nevermind, 8.8 is apparently equivalent to a Grade 5

My shop crane has two chain hoists on the 12' long beam, when this task gets to the top of the list I'll most likely back the flail under the crane and lift it by the shoes; should give me a LOT less painful working position at any height I want.

Plus, that way if it's necessary I can tie two OTHER points DOWN to the crane frame so it doesn't flop around... Steve
 
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Good to know about the grade of bolt they supplied. I was wondering if a grade 8 equivalent wouldn’t be better. Appears not and I’ll stick with the FM 8.8 metric. My shop is pretty wimpy compared to yours. I’ll probably try to flip mine over on its back and might take the grinder to the bolts. I have a plug to fit the gearbox filler hole to hopefully prevent a mess.
 
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement
  • Thread Starter
#6  
An update. I managed to flip the flail over on it’s back using an old 3pt boom pole I dug out of the weeds. (FEL is back ordered). Very careful not to maim myself. :unsure: I am supporting the top 3 pt tower with cribbing to keep any weight off the gear box. I temporarily plugged it’s fill hole so no drips yet. Working like a charm using an angle grinder cutoff wheel. I definitely would not want to try to reuse the bolts & nuts IF I could have gotten them all off with the impact. Nuts & bolts coming from Fastenal for $2/pair so a no brainer there. Hopefully all parts come in tomorrow.
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement #7  
Good job being careful with what you have; IIRC, when I picked mine up with the crane scale it weighed just under 800 pounds.

I've been retired from a heavy industrial instrumentation job since 2012, but STILL wear steel toed/steel shank/kevlar/uppers boots every day (they're actually comfortable enough for me to be on my feet over 12 hours on concrete)

The "toys" I play with now don't weigh more than a few tons, but that's enough considering the frailty of human bodies...

Last year my caution really paid off when a 20' length of 3x8 rectangular tube slid off a pile and landed on my foot (360 lbs) - couldn't move my foot, but only felt a little pressure. Luckily had a pry bar I could reach without moving my foot, lifted the tube off my foot and went on with what I was doing (y)

Once you're done with the knives your boom pole should let you lift by the top tower and get the flail upright again, hopefully your loader will show up soon - neither of my tractors have loaders, if it wasn't for the Case 580 I'd be screwed... Steve
 
   / Caroni flail blade replacement
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Done with this project. Whew. Got them dirty today.
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   / Caroni flail blade replacement #9  
Can't tell by the pic, did they sell you Nylock nuts or something else? Bet you're not sorry to see that done :cool: ... steve
 
   / Caroni flail blade replacement
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Bolts and nylocks were ordered from Fastenal because Flail Master was out of them.
I ordered M10-80mm bolts because that is what Agri Supply sells as a Caroni replacement. Ideally 75mm length would work better and is what originally came from the factory. I had to hacksaw a couple of bolts by 1/4 inch for the outermost stations.

I spent more time mentally trying to figure how to flip it over by myself without damage to it or me than the actual work. Lift it slowly by the two lower hitch pins and it will want to roll over backwards nicely. I then supported the top link tower to keep any weight off the gearbox and to prevent it from rolling too far.
 
 
 
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