is it possisble to reverse the direction of my PFD 88 flail mower ?

[8404]

It should be forward rotation with the drive on the left. Maybe the cutter shaft is turning too slow and that's why they discontinued that model? I still think for grass the Y blades will do a superior job to the scoop blades. I know on a Mott/Alamo it is imperative you don't operate under 540 PTO RPM or the knives will stretch. What does your manual say?

That part of the problem when this mower came in there was nothing no manuel for dirrection on serviceing, nothing

I still have the Y blades there not even worn out but even then it cut poorly. and with the roller on you couldnt mow in reverse.



you can see in this picture my Tiger side arm mower it uses reverse direction rotation, it has enough vacume to make the grass standup to get cut and then discharges out the back like all mowers do. But the PFD 88 with the Y cutters make no wind or vacume at all so most the grass that is not standing up wont get cut at all. THis is why im looking for a way to reverse the rotation so it will mow like the Tiger mower going forwards not just when going backwards..

I guess this is going to be a project that wont end well for me, i might just be to picky on cut quality. My 6' rotory mower shouldnt mow better than this flail mower it cost almost twice as much money.

 

[8404]

Thats not an easy thing to do, I only just this past week sat down on the ground and changed the 44 stations. It almost killed my back i was bent over for 2 hours removing and replaceing blades.

 

[8404]

I realy appreciate everone for taking the time to give me ideas to fix this problem. i might not find my reverse gear box but i acually enjoy mowing grass and playing with all the mowing equipment, sometimes i just buy stuff that doesnt meat my expectations, it not like you can test drive these things over the internet web sites right.

 

[J_J]

I can easily see, with you cutting backwards, that it would provide the correct cut.

Can you switch the whole drive assembly to the other side of the flail. Are there bolt holes on the other end of the flail.

I believe some flails have this option.

But anyway, the blades should cut from the bottom up. This will also provide air flow to raise the grass.

Looking at the PTO, it turns clockwise, so, can you turn the drive shaft to verify the direction of rotation. Look at the blades as you or someone us turning and see if the cutting action makes any sense.

If the back side of the blade is hitting the grass first, then the blds are installed backward.

If the blades are installed correctly, and the rotation is correct, then the leading edge of the blade should cut from the bottom up as you move fwd.

 

[williamemack]

I have been led to believe that for the most even cut in tall grass, you want the flails rotating in the same direction as the tractor wheels. In this way the knives "pick up" the grass your tractor tires have pressed down, so that the grass is cut off. If it were the other way around, the rolled over grass would slowly pop up later leaving rows of uncut grass.

 

[XSKIER]

I have been led to believe that for the most even cut in tall grass, you want the flails rotating in the same direction as the tractor wheels. In this way the knives "pick up" the grass your tractor tires have pressed down, so that the grass is cut off. If it were the other way around, the rolled over grass would slowly pop up later leaving rows of uncut grass.

That is the way it worked best for me. No rotary cutter could pick up smashed down tall grass like this puppy could. Forward rotation with Y grass knives.

 

[Nooodles]

reverse the polarity on the starter of your tractor. Thank me later

 

[Arc weld]

The Y blades should work in either direction. Flails aren't designed to cut in reverse. In fact there was company in Quebec selling Mott's to fit on the front of their utility vehicle using a reverse 3pt. hitch. Elmer Mott was in my dads (Mott distributor for Alberta) office when he called the head office/factory to have them immediately stop selling mowers to this place in Quebec. Not only did the roller pushing the grass down before cutting, make the mowers performance look bad, this company wasn't supposed to be selling Mott's out of their territory, especially when they were selling them just over cost as a package deal. My dad was surprised and impressed at the same time! Apparently Elmer Mott did not like someone making his mowers look bad. The 60" super heavy duty model was added to the line in large part to my dad suggesting a Mott to work on a lower HP tractor like an 8N in tall grass. We had an 8N at the time.

Judging by the size of the gear box, I'd say the rotor is turning too slowly. Look at the size difference on a Mott/Alamo. The gearbox is physically bigger because it needs a large gear to get the proper rotor speed. I think the blade tip speed on a Mott is 8800 ft./minute or something like that. A Mott makes a lot of wind at full speed. Too slow would be a good reason the model was discontinued. Most Mott's were forward rotation but they could be ordered with reverse rotation as well. Reverse rotation was usually with the fine cut rotor for use on places like golf courses or sod farms. A fine cut rotor in forward direction will still give a very good cut. Forward rotation is also safer because there is less chance to throw any objects towards the tractor. That would also explain why sod farms and golf courses could use reverse rotation, no hidden rocks or other objects to encounter.

 

[8404]

you got me wondering about the blade speed so i went and looked it up the blade tip speed for this PFL 88, and its listed at 9450 feet per min. and its close to the advertized speed of the Land Pride flails to at 9805fpm. and all the Land Pride flail are reverse rotation.

 

[Piston]

Did you say you bought this brand new in 2011 at everything attachments?

From everything I've read on here, they have great customer service and are always helpful when a problem arrises. You may wanna try calling them and notifying them that there has been a problem with their product from day one, and your not happy with it. I imagine they'd do something to help you figure it out, maybe even sell you a new model at cost or something?

You could then sell yours to recoup some of your loss?