Flail Mower Identification

gbart14 · Oct 2, 2017

I have revisited the flail drive system and compared with one on the other thread. They are identical in the way the idler pulley is mounted and the spring end mount. The one with the broken spring is the one on the other thread and the one with the working spring is mine. I do not see any other way it can mount. The spring pulls upward toward 11 o'clock in the photos. Comments??

The photo of the guard is from mine. It has right hand drive.

It is for sure a Mott. 48"

leonz · Oct 2, 2017

You have 2 springs there it should only have one long one.

DoubleDeere · Oct 3, 2017

Looking at your photo you posted, that definitely is an inside idler pulley. Belts look to be set up correctly other than as Leonz stated probably one tension spring instead of the 2.

gbart14 · Oct 3, 2017

Thanks, Leonz and DoubleDeere, also found the zirk was missing from the idler pulley shaft and it was frozen up. So, double spring / frozen shaft, good thing I did not throw a belt. Cleaned it up and installed the zirk and greased the heck out of it and it works fine. Looks like the belt is too narrow. It sits well down in the pulley. Anyone know what the right belt is for it?

I am thinking the previous owner tried to install the new spring and it was too short so he doubled up. It does work but not with much tension. Will have to see if I can stretch that spring. Thanks

DoubleDeere · Oct 3, 2017

Yep I missed that one, looks narrow. If you haven't already you might want to take a look over in the let's talk flail mowers thread. Steave gives a link in post 4850 for belts and they have a section how to size them I believe B43K - B-Section Kevlar (K-Plus) V Belts. I also have an attachment and link to PDF's that you may find useful in posts 4837 and 4841. They are about v-belts and idlers (belt tensioners).

gbart14 · Oct 3, 2017

Excellent, thanks.

gbart14 · Oct 13, 2017

Getting ready to buy new flail blades. My mower is Mott 48" fine cut with 4 rows of 15 stations on a 2"dia shaft. They are for sure the 101933 part number. I have a partial box of them from Tisco. I can get the Tisco blades from Amazon for about $26 including shipping for a box of 50. The problem is that the 10 new blades left in the box that came with the mower have pretty lousy quality rough edges on some but not all. Is this what I should expect? Or, is there a better flail blade product on the market? I have tried to search for advice on the best blades but have not found anything.

Second question - is there any problem reversing the blade to take advantage of the other sharp side? Thanks

shaeff · Oct 14, 2017

Have you looked on flailmaster.com for blades and parts? And nope, your blades are reversible. Perfectly fine to switch to the sharp side.

gbart14 · Oct 14, 2017

Yes, looked at flailmaster but there is no information as to why or even if theirs is better than the lower priced units from Tisco. Does flailmaster sell Tisco or their own brand or?? Their is no mention of quality, toughness, sharpness, etc. So, how do we know? Without info I will buy the lower cost. Does anyone have a better answer? I do not mind paying more if I know I am getting either a better product or better service. In this case, the product question is in focus. Thanks

leonz · Oct 14, 2017

Flail master makes 90%+ of their own knives and they are heat treated and you can buy them with or without a hardened/heat treated knife. the heat treated knives last longer as long as you take care of them properly using a wet well grinder when they are dulled after a long period of use.