Flail Mower Flail Mower...Confusion

   / Flail Mower...Confusion #11  
..... well I must be nuts or something! I do high weed mowing and own a rotary and a flail. I bought the Caroni flail (Agri Supply) and have done the following with it; (are you stting down?) cut 1 1/4 acre of 4-5' tall grey thistle weed to the ground; 2 1/2 acres of "hood high" mixed grass in a rocky field; 1/3 acre of 12-18" "mint" weed; About a 1/4 acre of "head high" grass and weeds and the list goes on...

The things I've run over/hit; unseen short stumps; old water well head; wrapped of about 6' chain link fence; plastic fenceing; "chicken" wire; pieces of old pasture fence; 1/2" electrical conduit; old electric cable; several hidden garden hoses; hundreds of rocks from small to large. The worst damage done to the mower.......I bent a few of the "Y" blades, took them off, hammered them back into shape put 'em back on!

I prefer to use the flail on my customers feilds that I know are very rocky for the fact that the flail tolerates rocks etc. alot more then my rotary, can use it in very dry grass on hot days and the finished look is lot nicer.

The Caroni I bought came with 72 "Y" blades (36 pairs) and is a good price. Could buy two of these for the price of just one of the "others". Replacement blades are only $2.29 ea.

"Hammer" blades are more expensive and really don't like rocks although they will shred larger brush and prunings.

And there you have a short story of what this fool does with his flail /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Here's a pic of a typical job I use the flail on.
 

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   / Flail Mower...Confusion #12  
Here's one more..............
 

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   / Flail Mower...Confusion
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Hey Dirt thanks for the pictures. That's way thicker than anything I would be attempting to cut. Lucky I was sitting down......you've tested your flail mower with just about everything. I pretty much know where all the obsticles are on my place as I've either moved them or encountered them with my rotary mower......and then moved them. From the above posts it seems to me like the type of blades and the manufacturer do make a difference.

Thanks again. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion
  • Thread Starter
#14  
I'm finally going to make the purchase.

Is a Overrunning Clutch option necessary?

Would a set of guage wheels be a good idea to add?


Thanks
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion #15  
I have an old Befco H25 (58") flail. What I like most is the short tail. I mow around a lot of trees and near fences. With my rotary cutter I was always hitting things but the Flail has to stick out less than half of what my rotary cutter did.

It's nice to get the clippings laid out flat too no wind rows.

I'm still tuning mine since it is second hand but so far I am pretty happy with it. I think I figured out why the previous owner got rid of it - he had the blades mounted backwards!

You can see lots of different types of blades in the Flailmaster catalog:

Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster -

I'm just mounting my finish blades today so I'll try to report back on how well they cut. Changing blades on a flail is a pain.

Gauge wheels might be nice. I'd like to see a picture of them since mine doesn't have them. What brand offers gauge wheels?
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion
  • Thread Starter
#16  
Befco offers gauge wheels as an option for the H70 and H80 series mowers.

Blade choices include the 2pc reversable Y or the fine cut 1pc standard blade. After reading the posts above I am planning on getting the 2 piece Y blade as I think they would be best for the mowing I plan to do.
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion #17  
Too bad Befco doesn't show the gauge wheels. If anyone has a Flail with gauge wheels please post a picture.

I will say that Befco service people were good to deal with. Even though my mower is old and I bought it second hand they still sent me out some copies of the manuals and were helpful in getting some new parts to my dealer.
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion #18  
There are 2 main types of flail mowers and each has a particular application. Light duty models have Y shaped knives and perform fine turf cutting. These are often used in areas where lots of people are standing around: parks, schools, etc. Heavy duty models use big T shaped hammers which break brush. These are often used alongside highways.

Both types are used in lieu of a rotary blade because flails are less likely to launch projectiles (rocks, etc.) at pedestrians or cars. Flails are more expensive and more complex than rotary blades. When you have no potential collateral damage to worry about, rotary mowers are cheaper for lawns, and brush cutters (aka rough cutter, brush hog, rotary cutter) are cheaper for cutting rough stuff. (A brush hog can potentially knock a 5 lb rock several hundred feet.)

There are also medium duty models that leave a cut finer than a HD, but not as fine as LD. The MD also will cut material tougher than LD, but not as rough as HD.
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion #19  
There are huge differences in flail mowers besides just the cutters. As in all implements, the quality of the product, thickness of metal, size of gear box, type of drive belt, fit and finish, all of these things contribute to the quality of the product.

I bought 2 used flail mowers last year. 1 light duty one with L shaped knives that makes a 90" cut for lawns. I have not reworked it yet, so I can't say how it works, but the body is made of 1/8 sheet metal with the frame work of 1/2" metal and a 2 1/2" drive belt. The best that I can come up with is that it weighs under 1000lbs. My heavy duty flail mower has the Y shaped knives, makes a 102" cut. this mower was like new except for the faded paint on top. still had black paint on the knives. The body on this one is 5/16" thick with the frame work being made from 3/4" and 1" material. It has a 4" drive belt. From looking at others of similar build & size, it weighs in at about 2600lbs. It cuts 2" material no problem. This is not a cheep mower to buy new, if I remember correctly about $8000.

So, just like most implements and attachments, there are big differences, it just makes a difference on what you have to power it with and what you are going to be doing with it.

Good luck:)
 
   / Flail Mower...Confusion
  • Thread Starter
#20  
Thanks for the input.

I plan on getting the Befco H70 (72" with Y blades) as it is the middle model, being a bit beefier than the H40 series and not as tough as the H70 commercial. The comercial unit comes with the Y blades as standard equipment while the H40 and H70 have fine cut blades as standard equipment. I'm assuming the Y blades are better for coarser material so they are the blades I'll go with. I have been cutting my place with a rotary cutter for years and there is no thick woody material. I would like to use the flail mower to cut our blueberry field though.
 
 

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