Flail Vs Finish Mower for Mulching Leaves?

[K5lwq]

Well we have a clear winner! Kioti with a BTH 600 finish mower. Old Iorn beat the new stuff for this day! :laughing:

And just so the shredder does not feel left out.

Before.

After.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just to play Devils Advocate. Doesn't the finish mower appear to do a better job because it moves the material to the side and leaves a clean strip.

The pictures require a little more explanation as to what we are looking at.

In essence, doesn't mulching or shreading something result in similar volume of material? Just smaller bits. Maybe smaller bits lying on he ground as opposed to leaves lying on the top of the grass.

 

[RalphVa]

A bush hog sends stuff to the side, too, but doesn't do much mulching of leaves. Blades are too flat. No lift.

 

[K5lwq]

Just to play Devils Advocate. Doesn't the finish mower appear to do a better job because it moves the material to the side and leaves a clean strip.

The pictures require a little more explanation as to what we are looking at.

I would say no. The flail just did not chop very fine at all. Everything was mowed with one pass with the finish mower.

I did try different heights with flail and multiple passes in another area and it still does not compare. Finish mower with gator blades is the way to go.

 

[K5lwq]

A bush hog sends stuff to the side, too, but doesn't do much mulching of leaves. Blades are too flat. No lift.

Yes indeed. I just ran that small pass with the bush hog because it was already hooked up.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The fine cut may do a slightly better job. Maybe worthwhile backing over a pile of leaves to reduce them. Driving over a lawn, probably not the most effective approach.

I don't currently have an appropriate size tractor to run my remaining fine cut 917. I kind of miss it for certain things. Gets me thinking. I wonder if anyone ever converted one to hydraulic drive.

 

[K5lwq]

The fine cut may do a slightly better job. Maybe worthwhile backing over a pile of leaves to reduce them. Driving over a lawn, probably not the most effective approach.

I don't currently have an appropriate size tractor to run my remaining fine cut 917. I kind of miss it for certain things. Gets me thinking. I wonder if anyone ever converted one to hydraulic drive.

You already have the mower why not? Would be a fun project even if it took a while to complete. :thumbsup:

As far as driving over the lawn, I don't have a lawn. I have got a yard that I mow to keep snakes away. I am not out to impress anyone with the way my place looks. If neighbors don't want to see it, they can look the other way. :laughing:

 

[John0829]

You already have the mower why not? Would be a fun project even if it took a while to complete. :thumbsup:

As far as driving over the lawn, I don't have a lawn. I have got a yard that I mow to keep snakes away. I am not out to impress anyone with the way my place looks. If neighbors don't want to see it, they can look the other way. :laughing:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Yeah, that

 

[K5lwq]

Please convince us with photos if you can. I have used my New Holland 918H 5' flail to mince leaves every fall. It has an advantage over other flails in the adjustable tailgate which can be closed completely to limit discharge. I have added a belt curtain to close off the cracks even further, so the only escape is under the roller. I believe the NH 918H's and maybe Land Prides have adjustable tailgates. Readers may add to the list. If someone is interested, I can submit some photos.

Would love to see your photos! Please post. :thumbsup:

 

[LouNY]

Interesting comparison, one issue that I have is that I get so many leaves that the finish mower actually pushes much of the time like a blade,
I have had a pile 2-3 feet deep in front of the deck many times.
This year after most of the leaves had fallen I used my front mount mower and made large L shaped mowing and pushing passes,
one direction only, make a pass and dead head back to make another pass.
Mulching some and winrowing some with the deck pushing quite a bit over to the edge of the woods.