Disappointed in my Flail Mower. What's Wrong?

[beppington]

I see you got it figured out, but I'll still add:

For best results, the knives must be set to come very close to the ground. I like to lower the flail onto the ground, then lift it just a smidge with the 3PH lever, then turn it on.

Also, that looks like a lot of grass to try to cut to manicured in 1 pass. When there's a large amount of material inside the mower, I think that can fold the knives back & hold them there so they're not able to cut. You probably had enough vegetation to require 2 passes to get a good looking "lawn" result.

Also, with the stripes I see: Did you check to make sure there are no missing knives? If they're all these, it's prob that 2 or 3 knives were being held back & therefore unable to cut.

Also, I don't think a flail has much in the way of upward vacuum like a finish mower, so large amounts of vegetation can sorta bog down the whole process, including pushing down grass that otherwise might stay standing & be cut.

 

[beppington]

You guys were right, it was set too high. Thanks for the advice.

Set high on the left, set 1 notch above lowest on the right...

Don't I still see stripes of un-cut grass?

If so, make sure all blades are there, that there are no huge clumps of stuff jammed under the mower, that there's no fence wire wrapped around 1 or more of your knives, that the knives are all still sharp, & that none of them have gotten bent so the cutting edge isn't hitting the grass.

 

[bluefeet]

Nice discussion, I have this flail mower also New Holland 918L and originally I didn't know how it operated therefore, it sat for quite a long time preferring the rotary mower. Pulled it out the other day and gave it another whirl on my neighbors field who normally keeps it well groomed. This mower is designed for fine cutting i.e. ballfields, golf courses and such never intended for plowing through tall grass or thickets. The cut is excellent but best performance is to keep after it so the grass doesn't get to tall.
Yes, this mower is gooood where you can give it a High N tight haircut.

 

[britbike2001]

I've been running a John Deere 25A and it cuts 5'+ deep over growth into fine little bits turning a massively overgrown field, with saplings, roses and blackberry into a nice smooth field. I don't have the ability to really slow down my tractor to an appropriate ground speed but it still does a great job. I've got the "spoon" cutters on mine. Perhaps that's the difference?

 

[DocDryden]

I've been running a John Deere 25A and it cuts 5'+ deep over growth into fine little bits turning a massively overgrown field, with saplings, roses and blackberry into a nice smooth field. I don't have the ability to really slow down my tractor to an appropriate ground speed but it still does a great job. I've got the "spoon" cutters on mine. Perhaps that's the difference?

What tractor are you using with the 25A?

 

[britbike2001]

It's a non-ag spec Mercede-Benz Unimog. I run everything off of it though.

 

[J_J]

Show us a picture of the blades.

 

[britbike2001]

Although not a picture of mine, this is what they look like. These are attached to the armature with a chain link, so have a great deal of movement.

 

[J_J]

What is your PTO speed?

 

[walter boatwright]

Although not a picture of mine, this is what they look like. These are attached to the armature with a chain link, so have a great deal of movement.

That is not a rough cut blade.It will not cut heavy grass clean as the "Y" blades. That is for cutting lawns ,there it will give a fine cut.