Flail Mower Flail Mower ?s

ALBALD1 · Apr 30, 2006

I searched & read posts about flail mowers. Now I just want to make sure I understand them. It seems they cut sort of in the middle of finish & rough cuts, meaning they leave a prettier cut than rough cuts, but can cut tougher stuff than finish. Costwise, do they range similar to rotary cutters? Also, can they be offset so they stick out past the tires. I'd like something that I could cut over the edge of a bank & still have tractor safely away from the edge. Any info appreciated.

RHughes · May 1, 2006

As far as the cut goes, you're about right. Some flail mowers, like the Alamo, can be equipped with "finish" drums that have more, finer knives. These are supposed to leave a very smooth finish, although my mower with a plain "rough" drum cuts pretty smooth even with heavy duty knives.
Yes, some mowers are offset to one side or the other and some can be offset with hydraulics as needed; of course this adds to the expense.
In general I'd say fails do not compare at all price wise with rotary mowers. For example, a heavy duty, six foot Alamo may run upwards of $4000. Caroni, and probably a few others, make flails that are more comparable in price to a rotary mower but I'll bet you still pay more "per foot" of width. I can't speak to the durability of Caroni or others since I'm only familiar with Alamo/Mott mowers.

ALBALD1 · May 1, 2006

Thanks for the info. I found one & I forget the brand, but it was $2400. I was hoping that was the high end. From your info, I'm thinkng that might be the low end. They sound like nice tools, but i couldn't justify the expense for my purposes.

IslandTractor · May 1, 2006

A 60 inch Caroni flail costs about $1600 shipped. Check out Agrisupplyco.com

As I understand it the Caroni's work very well and are good machines but are not the heavy duty type you would use for road side maintenance. I think there is a TBN member who is very happy with using one for orchard maintenance.

RHughes · May 2, 2006

AgriSupply does carry Caroni and replacement parts. The best place I've found for parts in general is FlailMaster.com Their prices are good and delivery is free on orders over $50.

hilly · May 30, 2006

I got TM1900BSC from agri supply shipped to CA. It is very heavy duty. It works really well on my rough hilly property. I could cut the weed shorter than any other devices I ever own. I retired my bush hug after I got the flail mower. My bush hug won't cut my weed shorter then the minimum requirement the fire department specified for a good firebreak. It is also much safer than rotary mower. It is not as noisy once it set it low to the ground. Mowing on the hill, you don't need to adjust the height as often as rotary since it tuck in close to the tructor than rotary.

I'm very happy with service Jerry Bosewell provided. I can't recommend highly enough for his cutomer services. I don't think you could find better buy than TM1900BSC from Agri Supply.

I also second www.flailmaster.com. Best deal on blades. At first, I could not find Caroni's parts referrence on flailmaster's website. Mike Arnold was very helpful in identifying the replacement parts for me. TM-33713 blade is a good replacement part for TM1900BSC mower. Knowing that I could get them from flailmaster.com with as little as $1 per flail, I'm happy that I could go out there and really abuse my mower. Blade from Agri Supply is $2.29. It is not too expensive compare with OEM blade from other manufacturer either.

hilly · May 30, 2006

I got TM1900BSC from agri supply shipped to CA. It is very heavy duty. It works really well on my rough hilly property. I could cut the weed shorter than any other devices I ever own. I retired my bush hug after I got the flail mower. My bush hug won't cut my weed shorter then the minimum requirement the fire department specified for a good firebreak. It is also much safer than rotary mower. It is not as noisy once it set it low to the ground. Mowing on the hill, you don't need to adjust the height as often as rotary since it tuck in close to the tructor than rotary.

I'm very happy with service Jerry Bosewell provided. I can't recommend highly enough for his cutomer services. I don't think you could find better buy than TM1900BSC from Agri Supply.

I also second www.flailmaster.com. Best deal on blades. At first, I could not find Caroni's parts referrence on flailmaster's website. Mike Arnold was very helpful in identifying the replacement parts for me. TM-33713 blade is a good replacement part for TM1900BSC mower. Knowing that I could get them from flailmaster.com with as little as $1 per flail, I'm happy that I could go out there and really abuse my mower. Blade from Agri Supply is $2.29. It is not too expensive compare with OEM blade from other manufacturer either.

Roger2561 · Jun 2, 2006

Hi all,

Like the others, I too have a flail and I love the thing. I have a 10 acre field at home. I use the flail to mow it once a month and it looks like a lawn when I'm done. I have a Kuhn BNE 180 with the hydraulic offset option. I power it with a JD 4500. I bought it brand new from my local JD dealer for approx. $4500.00. Not only is this heavy (approx. 850 pounds) but it is built; it is rugged!! I also use it to make some extra spending money. The hydraulic offset allows me to get close to embankments without getting the tractor so close it may roll over or getting caught up in an electric fence. I think that would be a bad thing /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Roger

Roger2561 · Jun 2, 2006

Hi all,

Like the others, I too have a flail and I love the thing. I have a 10 acre field at home. I use the flail to mow it once a month and it looks like a lawn when I'm done. I have a Kuhn BNE 180 with the hydraulic offset option. I power it with a JD 4500. I bought it brand new from my local JD dealer for approx. $4500.00. Not only is this heavy (approx. 850 pounds) but it is built; it is rugged!! I also use it to make some extra spending money. The hydraulic offset allows me to get close to embankments without getting the tractor so close it may roll over or getting caught up in an electric fence. I think that would be a bad thing /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Roger

Tom_H · Jun 2, 2006

Mr. Hughes is correct. There are heavy duty (HD) and light duty (LD) flails. LD have Y shaped knives that leave a finished cut. HD have T shaped hammers which simply break off the stems of rough material.