Flail mower help

[Lee1051]

I have been looking for a 60" flail mower for my 30 HP PTO Kubota L3902. There are many of these machines visible on the internet but few of those brands are handled by dealers in my area. Online there is one that is very inexpensive but also appears in many ads and Youtube videos under the banner of many different brands ..and yet all are under the smae designation "EFCG 1555"?! It is made in China. So my choice seems to be a Gearmore, JD or Virismo. I am trending towards the Virismo becaused it seems to be engineered for tractors with 30HP and so are a bit lighter then many of the others. Also, it is not only made in the USA but thier business is located near me in central Cali. Reviews of any of these particular machines is scarce to non existent. Any thoughts from folks with experience with these machines?

Years ago I bought a couple of used 6` flail cutters for a couple of hundred each. Ordered new knives and misc parts online, along with a minimal amount of paint and have a couple of decent cutters for under $600 each. I've had them so long now that they are both ready to be freshened up again. One is a John Deere and the other is a Befco.

 

[workinonit]

My Maschio doesn't have a slip clutch or any shear pins. Flail mowers absolutely depend on the belts to slip to prevent a catastrophic failure.

 

[leonz]

Yes, this is how the flail mower/flail crop shredder/ boom mounted orchard and vineyard shredder are protected.
The V belt drive system is an indirect drive which is the best defense for a flail mower.

 

[rhuffie]

My Maschio doesn't have a slip clutch or any shear pins. Flail mowers absolutely depend on the belts to slip to prevent a catastrophic failure.

Thanks for your help!

 

[workinonit]

I'm not sure if all flails have this feature but for tractors with a PTO brake the "freewheel" feature is almost mandatory. If you don't have it you definitely need an over run clutch.

 

[scootr]

I have a Bestco flail mower # FH-EFGC195 77" for 35 hp tractors. They have smaller models available. This has been a cost effective buy under $3k delivered. There is a flail mower learning curve. I smoked a set of belts (it uses 3 belts $85). And I trashed a set of cutting hammers mowing rocks. I can reclaim the hammers later but it was a paying job so I just put the money into a second set. 32 pieces I believe.
With flail mowers you have a choice of knives or hammer style cutters. Hammers reduce brush to kindling and knives give a better finished cut on weeds and grasses but fail on the big stuff. A well kept set of hammers can give a decent field cut and still take down saplings and mulch downed branches.

​

 

[rhuffie]

Hello and good evening rhuffie,

The VRISIMO flail mowers have been made for a long time and the new owners
of the company have maintained the high quality building them.

There are plenty of videos of the Vrisimo mowers working in many mowing conditions
and in orchards as well.

You have to narrow down what you will be mowing and then decide which units suits you best.

When you go through and look at the flail mowers you may even want to have 4 caster wheels added
to the unit you wish to buy based solely on your mowing needs and how rough the ground is.


LeonZ

My ground is quite rough. When I was looking at some of the larger ag mowers i see many do indeed have casters attached to the backside of the mower case. Perhaps welding brackets with holes to allow attaching and removing the casters with a nut and bolt would be a good idea for dealing with the uneven nature of my land by allowing the mower to float over the landscape held up with only the front rollers and casters. Is this what you were referring to in your post?

 

[rhuffie]

I have a Bestco flail mower # FH-EFGC195 77" for 35 hp tractors. They have smaller models available. This has been a cost effective buy under $3k delivered. There is a flail mower learning curve. I smoked a set of belts (it uses 3 belts $85). And I trashed a set of cutting hammers mowing rocks. I can reclaim the hammers later but it was a paying job so I just put the money into a second set. 32 pieces I believe.
With flail mowers you have a choice of knives or hammer style cutters. Hammers reduce brush to kindling and knives give a better finished cut on weeds and grasses but fail on the big stuff. A well kept set of hammers can give a decent field cut and still take down saplings and mulch downed branches.

​

Yes that is the chinese made tractor that is offered for sale under many brand names on many different internet websites.
Farmer's Helper is an example of this "EFCG1..." Mower.
Some dealers also carry these.

 

[scootr]

My ground is quite rough. When I was looking at some of the larger ag mowers i see many do indeed have casters attached to the backside of the mower case. Perhaps welding brackets with holes to allow attaching and removing the casters with a nut and bolt would be a good idea for dealing with the uneven nature of my land by allowing the mower to float over the landscape held up with only the front rollers and casters. Is this what you were referring to in your post?

In order for caster wheels to be effective the mount to the machine needs to be a hinge or float

 

[leonz]

My ground is quite rough. When I was looking at some of the larger ag mowers i see many do indeed have casters attached to the backside of the mower case. Perhaps welding brackets with holes to allow attaching and removing the casters with a nut and bolt would be a good idea for dealing with the uneven nature of my land by allowing the mower to float over the landscape held up with only the front rollers and casters. Is this what you were referring to in your post?

Please listen.

The large flail crop shredders do not make use of a rear roller as they are supported by the very thick flail mower shroud and the rear tubular weldment that prevents the flail mower shroud from twisting and wracking by also using the rear tubular weldment that prevents the mower from being damaged.

The very large flail crop shredders are used in ridge tillage to shred the crop waste on the ridges and the wheels ride in the bottom of the row between the ridges.

If you order a small VRISIMO flail mower with caster wheels you will be sold a machine with either 2 or 4 casters which make the attachment a stable mowing platform.
The rear roller of the flail mower regulates the mower height as long as the top link is set correctly making the mower level as long as you lock the hydraulic lift at the desired
height.

You need to decide how much money you with to spend and what cutting width you want before you decide on a flail mower brand and whether it has side slicer, scoop/spoon knives or cast hammer knives and go from there as the cast hammer and scoop knives will not recut the brush on the second pass as they do not have adequate lift/pressure gradient to create the suction need to lift and recut the clippings/brush.