Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Eagleview]

Have you tried swapping the brackets , left to right ? I think the bent ends would sit better swapped around .

 

[MarkV]

Slightly off topic, but I am a newbie trying to learn... is there a flail mower I can run with my case 1840 standard flow machine without over heating it? I have been searching the net and finding that most flails are built for 100plus hp high flow machines. Any help or guidance would be great!
Thanks in advance,
Beau Nelson

Beau welcome to the forum. The mowers being discussed here are PTO driven rather than hydraulically driven. You might want to ask in the construction section the site. There are guys there using skid steers and may know of a mower for you.

MarkV

 

[Aguanga]

Mike,
Thanks for the reply. By the way I really enjoyed your attachment builds and joined TBN to follow the rollover box build, because I was considering building one at the time - very nice job. It looks like I'll probably assemble the flail as shown in my pic #1 as you suggested for the offset. Thanks again!

Iron Horse,
I did try swapping the brackets left to right and it didn't help the issue I am having with the prebent angles. The distributor said that it didn't matter as well. I ended up going with them as they are because if I switch them around it places the top link pin farther back on the attachment from the lower link pins.

Thanks again for all of the help guys!

 

[swampvol]

Thanks again Davitk! I have 3 pics showing the three possible ways to assemble the upper triangular brackets to hold the top link... The first one is how I originally assembled, but it didn't seem right because of how much it was offset from the input shaft on the gear box (the same way Davitk assembled). So I started communications with Keith at Betst who has been helpful so far, but wanted more pictures. He recommended the setup in the second picture, but this places the height of the top link pin above the bottom link pins well beyond the standard Cat 1 spacing and the angles on the prebent brackets don't line up (pics 3 & 4). The third setup (5th pic) shows the way it should be setup to give a dimension closest to the standard Cat 1 spacing vertically between the lower pins and the top link pin, but again the prebent brackets aren't close to lining up (pics 6 & 7). I'll wait to see what Keith at Betst says...

Mine's set just like picture 1.

 

[tutorbell]

Here's my new to me flail. It's a Ford 917H and I got it on Craigslist for $550. Can you say tail wagging the dog?

I'm gonna modify the lower attachment points on the mower by lowering them. With my shorter-than-an-R4 bar/turf tires I can only raise this thing 1" off the ground. Cuts great though, has the coarse cut blades and only 27 pairs of them so it won't be expensive when I have to replace all of them. It's a 62" cut, by the way.

Not sure what it weighs, but the loader had a heck of a time lifting it out of the back of the truck. If I were to guess, I would probably say in the range of 650 pounds.

 

[IslandTractor]

Here's my new to me flail. It's a Ford 917H and I got it on Craigslist for $550. Can you say tail wagging the dog?

, I would probably say in the range of 650 pounds.

That is a lot of mower for that tractor. Looks like it does a good job though.

 

[J_J]

Slightly off topic, but I am a newbie trying to learn... is there a flail mower I can run with my case 1840 standard flow machine without over heating it? I have been searching the net and finding that most flails are built for 100plus hp high flow machines. Any help or guidance would be great!
Thanks in advance,
Beau Nelson

I believe you should be able to run the Power-Trac flail with your machine. It is powered by a 15 GPM hyd motor. I have made an adapter to hook it up to a Case 1445C. 72 in cut.

 

[VAMountains]

On a related topic brought up earlier in this thread....the tendency of the Caroni flail gearbox to puke oil from the gearbox due to the gears throwing it directly up on the vent cap....I have finally found the correct fitting to put an extension piece on the gearbox. Size is 16mm x1.5 mm threads to match the dipstick. Source was British Metrics. Address is on one of the photos below. Works perfectly. With the dipstick in the extension the very bottom of the dipstick shows oil if you had it filled to the top fill line without the extension. No oil spillage at all once the extender is put in. Cost was about $10 plus shipping as I recall.

I couldn't find it on the website so I sent them your photo. They responded with this link: Item # 300908 on British Metrics, Inc.. No price is listed, but I requested a quote which they gave at $9.66. I ordered it, of course. Thanks for sharing the info.

 

[VAMountains]

Search other threads.
I think the $19xx.xx price is an all included ("free" ?) shipping to anywhere in the contiguous.... mumble, mumble, etc. price.
As I recall, other TBN'ers have been able to get the in store price of $159x.xx plus ACTUAL shipping, which can be a lot less if you aren't at the farthest reaches of the aforementioned contiguou.... etc.
Also, if you have pallet forks (and confidence) you can forgo the lift gate charge as long as you KNOW when the delivery guy will be there and you can be home (sick day ?).
I think this requires that you tell them it is a biz address and/or has a loading dock or you have unloading capability - e.g. pallet forks.

FWIW, etc.

I ordered a 73" TM1900 from AgriSupply today for $1897.95 delivered (Virginia). Of course, I called back 15 minutes later and added the hydrolic shift -- that cost me another $805 plus some additional shipping. I'll be pulling it with a 3430HSTC. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[Eagleview]

Here's my new to me flail. It's a Ford 917H and I got it on Craigslist for $550. Can you say tail wagging the dog?

It may be easier to buy a quick hitch with the lower mounts to adapt it . I would suggest you also fill in the ROPS with some mesh to catch missiles from the front of the mower .

 

[Nuru]

Here's my new to me flail. It's a Ford 917H and I got it on Craigslist for $550. Can you say tail wagging the dog?

I'm gonna modify the lower attachment points on the mower by lowering them. With my shorter-than-an-R4 bar/turf tires I can only raise this thing 1" off the ground. Cuts great though, has the coarse cut blades and only 27 pairs of them so it won't be expensive when I have to replace all of them. It's a 62" cut, by the way.

Not sure what it weighs, but the loader had a heck of a time lifting it out of the back of the truck. If I were to guess, I would probably say in the range of 650 pounds.

Looks pretty good and it was a good price.

 

[tutorbell]

It may be easier to buy a quick hitch with the lower mounts to adapt it . I would suggest you also fill in the ROPS with some mesh to catch missiles from the front of the mower .

Great idea on the quick hitch...I'll have to look into it. As far as the missiles, this mower is forward rotation (same direction as the tractor tires) so anything in the front gets thrown rearward. It is missing the rubber shielding on the back of it, so it would probably be a good idea to pick that up to keep missiles from coming out the back.

 

[IslandTractor]

I couldn't find it on the website so I sent them your photo. They responded with this link: Item # 300908 on British Metrics, Inc.. No price is listed, but I requested a quote which they gave at $9.66. I ordered it, of course. Thanks for sharing the info.

Sounds right. I am not certain on the height but the thread and width I recognize as correct.

Mine works pretty well. I still need to be careful not to add oil beyond the lower middle level of the acceptable range on the dipstick (without the extension installed) or there will be a little oil yorking even with the extension with heavy mowing. I initially thought I could just measure oil level using the dipstick with the extension installed but have found that it is best to periodically remove the extension and use the dipstick to check oil level. Otherwise I tend to add too much oil and it spews out again. The extension works but I think the real issue is the combination of too high an oil level specified on their normal dipstick and also the fact that the gears throw the oil right at the dipstick cap.

 

[Eagleview]

Great idea on the quick hitch...I'll have to look into it. As far as the missiles, this mower is forward rotation (same direction as the tractor tires) so anything in the front gets thrown rearward. It is missing the rubber shielding on the back of it, so it would probably be a good idea to pick that up to keep missiles from coming out the back.

Well , Ive learnt something new . I have never heard of a forward rotation flail mower . The pulleys are on the left side so they must have reversed the gears in the box . Why on Earth would they do that ?

 

[tutorbell]

Well , Ive learnt something new . I have never heard of a forward rotation flail mower . The pulleys are on the left side so they must have reversed the gears in the box . Why on Earth would they do that ?

Tis true...in fact, the current heavy duty flail from New Holland (model 918H) is field reversable for different tasks. This is what they say about it on their site:

Rotor direction can be reversed for mulching. Forward rotation of the rotor knives (same direction as the tractor tires) lifts the grass for even cutting. Reversing the rotors allows for thorough mulching of the clippings and throws them to the rear where they are evenly distributed.
​

Supposedly, forward rotation works better for grass and weeds as it tends to pull the grass rearward and upward after it has been laid down by the tractor tires.

 

[Eagleview]

I'll pay that .

 

[J_J]

About the direction of flail mowers. What is the normal rotation for a flail? As you look at the flail, if the blades are turning toward you from the top, is that considered forward rotation, then the cut material would be thrown to the back. So now, if the rotation of the blades are reversed, and the Y type blades are sharp on front and back. The shaft is now turning in reverse, with the tip of the blades turning toward the back of the flail. all material is thrown forward to be cut over and over, What percentage of the time is reversed rotation is used? Yes, I can see that it would keep cutting the material, but I also see the long grasses and vines wrapping around the shaft, but maybe not.. I have a hydraulic driven flail, and can reverse direction at any time. When I first got my mower, it had slicing blades on it, perhaps used to renovate lawns. So the question is, to someone that has used the flail in forward and reverse rotation, what is the advantage of each direction. How do you reverse rotation on a PTO type flail, other than driving the tractor in reverse. With the Power-Trac, I am pushing my 72 in flail mower.

A flail mower like this will coat about $4700.

Here is a picture.

 

[IslandTractor]

About the direction of flail mowers. What is the normal rotation for a flail?

The Caroni flail rotates "backwards" so that the knife hits the grass then moves towards the back of the tractor then up over the top and down again towards the grass. I can confirm this by posting a photo of a log that I ran over and was picked up by the flail and jammed (stalled the tractor). You can see that such a log could never have come over the top and that one of the flaps that prevents debris from being thrown back at the tractor is jammed with the log.

By the way, while it was a PITA to get the log out (crowbar to lever the drum in a counter rotating direction), there was no damage to the mower and I just kept going afterwards.

 

[J_J]

The Caroni flail rotates "backwards" so that the knife hits the grass then moves towards the back of the tractor then up over the top and down again towards the grass. I can confirm this by posting a photo of a log that I ran over and was picked up by the flail and jammed (stalled the tractor). You can see that such a log could never have come over the top and that one of the flaps that prevents debris from being thrown back at the tractor is jammed with the log.

By the way, while it was a PITA to get the log out (crowbar to lever the drum in a counter rotating direction), there was no damage to the mower and I just kept going afterwards.

IslandTractor,

What you described, says that is a forward cutting flail, in that the shaft is turning the same way as the wheels on the tractor, and grabbed the log and pulled it under. I call that forward, when the top of the grass is cut first.

Reverse to me is when the shaft is turning opposite the directions of the wheels. Have I got this backward?

 

[IslandTractor]

With the Power-Trac, I am pushing my 72 in flail mower.

That is the ideal set up as far as I'm concerned. Love those Power Tracs for mowing. I saw a photo of a big Deutz cab tractor with a front mounted flail that has me quite jealous too.