Flail Mower flail or rotary rough cut?

[Rusty]

YouTube - QA-60 High Flow Brush Cutter #3

This is the only video I can find of a rotary slasher/hog cutting saplings with an average of 3" .

I'm sorry, but I am confused on what a 3" sapling is. Are you all talking the same thing? Is a 3" sapling - 3" high, 3" in circumference, or 3" in diameter? From reading this thread, I get the impression everyone is not talking about the same size sapling. From this video, I would say Iron Horse is talking 3" diameter.

 

[dcyrilc]

In my opinion those were small trees in the video, bigger than 3 inch saplings...and that machine is not a bush hog it is a power saw, all it is doing is cutting and pushing down a mess. Clean up is going to be a bear. I have gone behind pulp wood harvesters on some of my property and the mess left behind is a nightmare. My bush hog will roll over and pulverized three inch saplings with no problem. There is an old saying about good bush hogs.....If you can drive over it with your tractor the bush hog should be able to chop it up. That is my experience.

On our farm, he have blackberry patches 8-12 ft tall and 25 ft long. I can't picture driving in forward. I'm new to tractors, but always envisioned somehow raising the brush hog to a 45 degree angle and backing into the bramble, then lowering the hog to flat and repeating. The more I read on TBN and the more I learn about 3PH oreration, I beginning to realize the the brush hog would raise relatively flat. Now I'm scratching my head!

 

[brin]

On our farm, he have blackberry patches 8-12 ft tall and 25 ft long. I can't picture driving in forward. I'm new to tractors, but always envisioned somehow raising the brush hog to a 45 degree angle and backing into the bramble, then lowering the hog to flat and repeating. The more I read on TBN and the more I learn about 3PH oreration, I beginning to realize the the brush hog would raise relatively flat. Now I'm scratching my head!

We have blackberry patches as well along with the wild privet and what I do is lower the bucket on the FEL about 6 inches off the ground and as I drive right into them the FEL bends them over and then I run over them with the bush hog. I do not back into them because I would be backing over the sharp stumps ( like spikes ) sticking out of the ground and flatten my tires. My bush hog really chops it all up on 540 RPM.

 

[IslandTractor]

On our farm, he have blackberry patches 8-12 ft tall and 25 ft long. I can't picture driving in forward. I'm new to tractors, but always envisioned somehow raising the brush hog to a 45 degree angle and backing into the bramble, then lowering the hog to flat and repeating. The more I read on TBN and the more I learn about 3PH oreration, I beginning to realize the the brush hog would raise relatively flat. Now I'm scratching my head!

You can still raise the bush hog a bit and back in to the bushes. Works fine. Even better is to back in with it raised a bit (assuming very dense material) and then after backing over the patch just lower the hog to normal level or lower and drive forwards. That will cut and mulch pretty well.

I do the same thing with my flail but don't bother raising it much. Just back in and it cuts roughly then drop the mower and drive out again. Perfectly mulched area.

 

[Tom_H]

On blackberries, I have backed in with the brush hog raised, and then lowered it. I do this in places where trees prevent me from driving through. For places where I can get between trees and keep going, I put the toothbar on the FEL, drive through the bramble with the teeth pointed forward and a foot or two above the ground, and just rip the vines out. Then I go back through and brush hog.

 

[Eagleview]

I'm sorry, but I am confused on what a 3" sapling is. Are you all talking the same thing? Is a 3" sapling - 3" high, 3" in circumference, or 3" in diameter? From reading this thread, I get the impression everyone is not talking about the same size sapling. From this video, I would say Iron Horse is talking 3" diameter.

Yes , 3" in diameter is what I mean and the bark layer is not usually counted .

Most saplings that are 3" in diameter are going to be that tall , if they are not , they are a bush not a sapling . I'm still trying to imagine a rough cut mowing these things down . Are some people referring to the circumference when stating 3" ?

Here's a link to a 300hp tractor with a forestry mulcher and a creeper gear mowing 2" -3" diameter material . It's obviously not doing it easy .
YouTube - bomen klepelen op talud

 

[pdowling1]

I used to run an old Farmall H with a 5ft BushHog. It would cut ANYTHING the tractor could push over. That would be 3 to 3-1/2" dia. black locust, oak trees, etc. Similar sized softwoods didn't even make much noise. Truly amazing what it could handle. That machine is still running today too.
Note that some of the trees in those videos are well over that size, look like more like 6" to me.

 

[Eagleview]

I did say with the exception of the 4" stuff he was mowing , obviously the 6" material needed no mention .

 

[whistlepig]

So I did the apples to apples comparison. My medium duty Land Pride RCR1860 (60") verses a medium duty Land Pride 60" flail. My Land Pride rotary cost $1,400 new. From what I have read the Land Pride flail is priced at $3,200. Both the flail and the rotary are rated to cut 1" material. I have cut 2" diameter (including the bark) saplings now and then with my rotary cutter. I know people that have flails and love them. I do like their cut. But for the $1,800 difference I must be missing something here. Are the flails that much easier to mow with? Why would one pay $3,200 for something that one could buy of equal quality for $1,400 that does the same thing.

 

[dirt clod]

Another thing to mention is the load depends on what your cutting. A 2-3" pine cuts real easy. I wouldn't even try a 3" oak as they are much harder to cut. Strangely enough I have some sort of brush that grows well here that has several small trunks from one root stock, these dont break they are very limber and seem to be the hardest thing to cut for there small diameter.