Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

Hilbilly · May 12, 2016

Xfaxman said:
Yep, it will work: Rockhound Brush Hound 72" Brush Flail Mower Attachment for Skid Steer Loader | Skid Steer Solutions

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If you are going to fabricate the setup, Put the SSQA plate on the back of the 3 point flail, so the "Bobcat" is pushing it forward and a wheel out front. Couple the motor directly to the gear box, no PTO shaft.

Like my brush hog on my "Bobcat":

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I REALLY LIKE your setup for the brush hog and would love to use your design if I get a flail mower. Much better using the skid steer in tight places around trees and on side hills. I have a question though. When you shut down flow to the brush hog is there any problem with the hydraulics being suddenly stopped?

Xfaxman · May 12, 2016

No, the system has a bypass valve to allow the motor to stop turning. It stops very quick for safety.

Halftrack · May 12, 2016

If you are looking for a flail skid steer mount, check out Loftness and their Utube video under "Loftness Flail".

Hilbilly · May 12, 2016

For the last few weeks I've been checking Kijiji and Craigslist for used / new flails. No luck with used ones on this side of the Country. I called a couple of suppliers and got prices for new ones but the local dealers and the supplier are out of the Agri Ease and Caroni flails. Late last night I found a used Caroni TM1900 went into the big City this morning to check it out. It is now sitting in the back of the PU and will soon be attached to the tractor for a quick trial run. Pics will follow and thanks for the input.

Fallon · May 12, 2016

The problem with a flail running backwards is the roller. It will push stuff over so it wont get cut. Not to mention the rotor spinning backwards. A rotary cutter only has the 1 small wheel in front when ran backwards & that doesn't cause much of s problem.

For a flail, you'd need to have the 3pt attached to something hanging a ways out front to pull the flail infront of the machine rather than push it. A lot more of an engineering challenge than a somple SSQA to 3pt + hydraulic motor required for a rotary cutter. The commercial skid steere flails are designed pretty differently than tractor ones.

hawkeye08 · May 12, 2016

It would seem to me that someone with some fabrication skills could run a flail mower forward on the front of a skid steer. Fabricate the skid steer mount off the back, remove the PTO gearbox and replace with hydraulic motor... add a wheel out front to set the depth of cut...

IslandTractor · May 12, 2016

hawkeye08 said:
It would seem to me that someone with some fabrication skills could run a flail mower forward on the front of a skid steer. Fabricate the skid steer mount off the back, remove the PTO gearbox and replace with hydraulic motor... add a wheel out front to set the depth of cut...

That would be my approach too. The Caroni flail is somehow capable of being run in front of a tractor. Never seen it done in the US but the Caroni website used to have some photos or video of such a set up.

Hilbilly · May 12, 2016

Well here are the pics of the new flail. It is in very good condition for a used mower and the cutters haven't been reversed yet.

First impressions: 1) It does not cut small brush as well as the brush hog and I must travel a lot slower. 2) it does not throw rocks and that is what I was really after. 3) the offset is a great feature and will come in very handy for mowing the grass along the sides of the driveway.

I may have to figure out how to run this on the skid steer too because there are some areas I want to mow with it that I cannot do safely with the tractor. That will be a long ways off though as I have many other projects to complete first.

Xfaxman · May 12, 2016

:thumbsup:

Gooder-un.

Parkanzky · May 16, 2016

I'm sure this has been covered here before, but I did a search and can't find it and I don't want to read 290 pages of posts.

What size belts do the Value Leader EFG155 flails have? I can get a new set of stock belts from Betsco for ~$50 shipped but they don't list dimensions and I was thinking it would be worth upgrading based on how much abuse my mower takes. I'm separated from my tractor and mower for awhile and I'd like to put an order in before I'd be able to pull a belt and measure.

Does anybody have a source and part number for kevlar replacements?

I was working on clearing a friend's very overgrown pasture and managed to spin the belts a couple times in 8' tall brush. The belts still look OK, but it reminded me that I should have spares before I use up all their smoke.