Mowing Is anyone running a flail mower on a 1526?

[jaredyates]

I've been reading about flail mowers, in part because I'd like to be able to mow the creek bank with an offset mower. Has anyone been running one on a 1526? I'm wondering how big of a flail mower it can safely handle.

 

[DieselMonk]

I am running an orsi offset flailmower on mine to cut the sides of the pond and roads

 

[jaredyates]

Thanks, I have a few more questions if you have time. Do you have a model number of the Orsi so that I can look up specs, or know how big it is? Does it run at a fixed offset or hydraulic? How far off the side of the tractor does it reach when you are mowing?

I was thinking about a 5-foot Woodmaxx model with hydraulics but am concerned about it being too much weight off center for the tractor. A fixed offset is probably not going to work since I'll need to drive it through narrow places to get to the creek.

One fellow who seems to know a lot suggested a sickle mower instead, but comparing new prices, the sickle is twice as expensive. Reading accounts from folks who use old sickles, it sounds like they aren't so good at cutting weeds and such.

 

[Aaron L]

A 5' offset flail mower will be fine on a 1526.

 

[DieselMonk]

My 1526 is a HST with FEL and loaded rear tires. The flail mower is made by Orsi, model: Young 165. The flail mower swings out hydraulically on an arm. Once the mower is fully out, as long as things are level, no problem. You may want to put something heavy into the FEL to keep the front tires planted.

 

[Aaron L]

Loading the rear tires will help too.

 

[jaredyates]

I called up the Woodmaxx people to see if they had any input about using the FM62H on the 1526. The fellow pointed out that it is just under the recommended PTO HP rating, which we already knew. I also asked for help understanding their published shift dimensions, since my main concern is being able to cut off to the side. He said that in their chart, the little vertical line is the centerline of the tractor, and the numbers are the outer body of the mower. If we figure a tractor width of 60 inches, then that puts their mower 6" left of the tractor when shifted full left, and 13 inches right of the tractor when shifted fully right. When considering that the cutting width is less than the overall width, those numbers can be reduced by another 3-4 inches. So even a hydraulically shifted 62" mower is not going to be much use for offset mowing on the 1526.

This points me back towards the sickle mower, though that Orsi looks compelling. It looks like it needs a few hydraulic functions, how many remote valves did you add? Were you able to find a dealer in North America or did you have to import it direct from Italy? If you've already talked about this in another thread, please let me know.

 

[belman]

Just bought this unit for my 34hp tractor ! Tractor Tools Direct | T62 Hydraulic Offset Flail Mower

 

[jaredyates]

Just bought this unit for my 34hp tractor ! Tractor Tools Direct | T62 Hydraulic Offset Flail Mower

That one looks very similar to the Orsi. Reading the specs for the two it seems that the del morino is a hundred pounds lighter and a tiny bit smaller, though their recommendation for minimum tractor size is a little bigger than Orsi's, and a little bigger than the 1526. Are you running yours off of rear remotes or the FEL connections?

 

[belman]

That one looks very similar to the Orsi. Reading the specs for the two it seems that the del morino is a hundred pounds lighter and a tiny bit smaller, though their recommendation for minimum tractor size is a little bigger than Orsi's, and a little bigger than the 1526. Are you running yours off of rear remotes or the FEL connections?

I did'nt want to spend the money for rear remotes that's why I went with the Del Morino unit. The hydraulic lines are designed longer so as to properly reach the FEL connection. I have removed my FEL while using the flail and both my front and rear tires have been loaded. The Del Morino unit appears to well built and weighs over 800lbs! Since I recently purchase this unit I've had little time mowing so far due to heavy rains. However with what I've managed to cut so far, it definitely is meeting my expectations. I like you have a pond as well as a long row of pine trees spaced out which I use to have to weed eat along with the pond edges! The one problem I encountered was the quick connects on the Del Morino unit were not the proper size to connect to my FEL. Other than that issue I'm quite pleased with this model.

 

[jaredyates]

My main concern is if it is too big. What model tractor is yours, so that I can look up the specs?

 

[belman]

My model it the 1533 HST: http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/23858 MAH5415 1500 Ser Bro 011017_1.pdf

 

[DavesTractor]

I know the main concern is weight and stability if I am reading this correctly. But as far as HP, on our dyno we routinely see the 1526 with 2-3 more PTO HP than advertised. Keep in mind that this was the 3016 model (28HP) before Tier IV norms caused them to rate it at a lower RPM to get the HP down. We have guys running 6' flails with 1526 with no issues on flat ground that is routinely mowed. Might be a bit slow on the first mowing in spring, but otherwise good.

 

[jaredyates]

I know the main concern is weight and stability if I am reading this correctly. But as far as HP, on our dyno we routinely see the 1526 with 2-3 more PTO HP than advertised. Keep in mind that this was the 3016 model (28HP) before Tier IV norms caused them to rate it at a lower RPM to get the HP down. We have guys running 6' flails with 1526 with no issues on flat ground that is routinely mowed. Might be a bit slow on the first mowing in spring, but otherwise good.

Very helpful, thanks! Do you have any input about the weight issue?

 

[DieselMonk]

I've got that Orsi from my NewHolland / Mahindra dealer. I've mowed of 6' Alders with it last year. It's pretty soon time to put that flail mower back on the tractor.

 

[belman]

Interesting video of the Octopus multiple flail mowers:Claas Xerion 33 VC Octopus | Ditch Bank Mower | Loonbedrijf Hack - YouTube

 

[jaredyates]

I sent an email to the Italians, who sent me to VMC here in the USA. The fellow at VMC said he feels better about the size of the Energy 155 vs the Young 165. It seems that both function in a similar way.

Here are some of the notable differences in specs with the Energy vs the Young:
Weight: 562/1047 pounds
Cutting Width: 155/162 cm
Recommended tractor weight: 1763/3300 pounds

The maximum distance that they stick off of the right side of the tractor is essentially the same.
The 1526 falls into the recommended specs for the Young, but just barely. The Energy seems like it is much closer to the center of the envelope.

 

[jaredyates]

I figure I should follow up in case someone finds the thread in search results.

I ended up with the Peruzzo Fox Cross 1600:
Iowa Farm Equipment -- Peruzzo Fox Cross Ditch Bank Flail Mowers




The price was unfortunately very high, and I'm hoping that it will last long enough to make it worthwhile. But it fits the tractor fine.

The difference between the two companies (VMC and IFE) was alarming. Getting anything out of VMC was like pulling teeth. I called IFE once and talked to Scott, who had all of the answers I needed. I called back a few weeks later with more questions, and we picked up right where we left off, since he had taken notes about what kind of tractor I was going to use, etc. Very impressed with the organization. The mower was in stock and shipped promptly. The skid was huge, as you can see it on my trailer that is just under 7 feet wide.




I did my own rear remote, using the Prince SV series stacking valves. There is room to put the valves behind the seat, though I did scoot over the orange safety triangle. The local tractor shop made up the hydraulic hoses to my specs. There are three hoses that run to the back of the tractor: an inlet, an outlet, and a PB. The WR Long third function valve is in series with the Prince valves. The loader valve PB goes to the Prince inlet. The prince outlet goes to the third function inlet. The third function outlet goes to the loader return, and the prince outlet joins it there with a tee fitting.


The valve body is mounted to the back of the horizontal cross piece with a scrap of 1/4" thick aluminum angle that I had sitting around. I made a small steel bracket to support the front. One challenging factor is that the horizontal cross piece does not have a rectangular cross section. If it did, I would have used the thick aluminum angle on both sides, but that was not possible without bending the angle.



There are two odd things that I cannot figure out about the mower. First, one of the hydraulic lines was inexplicably shorter than the other four. As delivered, one of the four lines wouldn't reach the rear remotes. My solution was to loosen the bolt on the block that secures the lines to the mower, and remove that shorter line from that block. You can see in the photo below that there are only three lines in the left-most block.


The other strange thing was that there was a 100 pound box of scrap on the skid, including worn out gears and bearings. Fortunately I was not paying directly for the shipping. If I had, I might have complained. But I can't figure out why on earth they would ship me a box of scrap.


I'm quite pleased with the mower's ability to cut. In this picture I was running it a little to low, but have since adjusted to a higher cutting height and it works even better.