Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[electrycmonk]

Congrats, any pictures? Went back a page or so and saw the ad pictures you posted. Nice pick up, how much was shipping if I am not being too nosy? Does it have Y blades?

1) no newer/different pictures yet.
2) shipping? (Snickers) your not being to nosy, I woke up at 4:45AM grabbed my pre-loaded bag & cooler, fired up the 7.3L and scooted over to Altus, Ok solo. Got there a we bit after 8AM, a brisk 28-30°F loading and strapping down in the bed & off I headed for home. Arrived home about 12:30-ish. Off loaded and set it on some flat stone blocks (~10" off the ground to make the missing blade replacement easier)..... THAT positioning was really frustrating. Get it situated in the stones and 2x4's and started losing the FEal and .... Zooom! The rear tube would roll off in a nano-second.
3) yup, it's got the "airplane" Y-blades. Missing 5-6 IIRC in different spots.

 

[electrycmonk]

Re: Ditch/Bank flail mower?

I'll be using this on my farm to mow ditches and pond banks primarily.

Iowa Farm Equipment Ventura ditch/bank flail mowers

Does anyone have experience with these Flails, specifically the ditch/bank models? The one I looked at was about $1K more expensive than a Peruzzo and had an external PTO drive versus the internal drive of the Peruzzo. The Peruzzo was better finished (paint quality was outstanding) but, the Ventura was finished well too just more like a farm implement. The external drive allows more off-center reach which is nice but, the Peruzzo offers enough for me to be comfortable with using it too.

So, how do the Ventura fails rate and are they worth $1,000 more than a similar spec'ed Persuzzo with the internal drive and a bit less offset?

TIA,
Sid

Dude. There is a guy down in WACO selling off his Peruzzos at like 50% discount as he is retiring From selling them. I saw them on Craigslist.
He's a neat guy, iirc he said he was in his 70's too. I have his cell number and PM it to you if you want. His ad has expired. I could upload a edited screenshot of the voicemail I still have from Lynn. Just know that Google's transcription is still not great so the grammar is off kilter.

 

[Lnk]

1) no newer/different pictures yet.
2) shipping? (Snickers) your not being to nosy, I woke up at 4:45AM grabbed my pre-loaded bag & cooler, fired up the 7.3L and scooted over to Altus, Ok solo. Got there a we bit after 8AM, a brisk 28-30°F loading and strapping down in the bed & off I headed for home. Arrived home about 12:30-ish. Off loaded and set it on some flat stone blocks (~10" off the ground to make the missing blade replacement easier)..... THAT positioning was really frustrating. Get it situated in the stones and 2x4's and started losing the FEal and .... Zooom! The rear tube would roll off in a nano-second.
3) yup, it's got the "airplane" Y-blades. Missing 5-6 IIRC in different spots.

Sounds great, post picks when you can. Great shipping cost too.:thumbsup:

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

1) no newer/different pictures yet.
2) shipping? (Snickers) your not being to nosy, I woke up at 4:45AM grabbed my pre-loaded bag & cooler, fired up the 7.3L and scooted over to Altus, Ok solo. Got there a we bit after 8AM, a brisk 28-30ｰF loading and strapping down in the bed & off I headed for home. Arrived home about 12:30-ish. Off loaded and set it on some flat stone blocks (~10" off the ground to make the missing blade replacement easier)..... THAT positioning was really frustrating. Get it situated in the stones and 2x4's and started losing the FEal and .... Zooom! The rear tube would roll off in a nano-second.
3) yup, it's got the "airplane" Y-blades. Missing 5-6 IIRC in different spots.

Airplane wings and Y blades are different. Airplane wings are a folded one piece blade that is flat across the bottom (factory option on Ford mowers), Y blades are a pair of blades that when mounted together look like an upside-down "Y" hanging from the mower (factory option on Mott/Alamo mowers).

If you look at the picture below the airplane wings are on the left and the Y blades are on the right:


Both will fit the Ford mower, but don't try to mix-and-match them. All one or the other.

 

[electrycmonk]

Airplane wings and Y blades are different. (Snipped for brevity)

Both will fit the Ford mower, but don't try to mix-and-match them. All one or the other.

I can't believe I did that obvious a typo/mix-up on nomenclature..... Sheeesh. Sorry man. I'll get the hang of this learning curve.... /Facepalm

 

[Sid Post]

Re: Ditch/Bank flail mower?

Dude. There is a guy down in WACO selling off his Peruzzos at like 50% discount as he is retiring From selling them. I saw them on Craigslist.
He's a neat guy, iirc he said he was in his 70's too. I have his cell number and PM it to you if you want. His ad has expired. I could upload a edited screenshot of the voicemail I still have from Lynn. Just know that Google's transcription is still not great so the grammar is off kilter.

Thanks! Sent you an email a little while ago.

 

[RutnBuck]

658 is a lot of pages to read! Looking for a new ditch bank mower. I had a Farmer's Helper AGL-145 that I jacked up maneuvering in the woods (bent the crap out of the entire thing) and am now in the market for a replacement. To many things I don't like about the FH to buy it again. I was looking at the Titan but after seeing extensive feedback in this forum, I'm now shying away from it and was looking at the NOVA but can't seem to find a solid opinion on them. I hesitate to ask the question what the best frugally-priced ditch bank mower is as I imagine opinions will vary widely and i'm sure the most common response will be they all have their pros & cons. That being said, I am now looking at the Venture, Peruzzo and Mashio mowers but doing research I also came across another manufacturer . . . SOVEMA. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with them?

 

[Sid Post]

While I didn't see the Mashio in person, it did appear to have a solid build for the money, however in that price range, it seemed a bit 'penny wise pound foolish' to save a little bit and skip the Peruzzo which is a really nicely built and finished mower at a relatively modest increase in price. The Venture I looked at appeared to be another solidly built option but, its external gearbox drive and better 'reach' were offset by paint and overall finish that lacked the 'sparkle' and cosmetic qualities of the Peruzzo.

Both Peruzzo and Venture had mechanical releases to protect them if you snagged a rock or tree stump to prevent or minimize damage from bending and breakage. Rotar diameters and in my case, hammers, were also very good.

 

[JonBoyHunter]

Wanted to get some thoughts on Flail vs Rotary cutter for my situation. I recently bought a 3033R (24 PTO hp near as I can tell). I also just bought 30 acres. 6 of this is currently open field. The remaining 24 is part marsh/wetlands, part hardwoods. I will be using the mower to mow about 4 of the 6 tilled acres (plan to plant alfalfa, clover, or other cover crop) a few times a summer. I will also be cutting some trails through the woods and up to the ponds in the back. Walking the woods, there's alot of 1-2" brush that I will cut trails through, but once cut it should be light cutting to maintain them. Soil is very gravely, lots of cobbles up to 6" that will have to be cleaned up eventually - but I'll probably find some the hard way.

I currently have a 20 year old 5' Howse brush hog - it's been beat to death and back on my last property. I've rebuilt it twice over the years (blades, gear box, mower body reinforcement/replacement). I could do it again, but i'm leaning toward finding one in better condition. With either cutter, I'd lean toward staying with the 5' width. Wider would be nice when mowing the field, but I think 5' is a nice compromise for trails. Open to suggestions though.

Budget - did I mention I just bought the tractor (bought used, but added a new 385a backhoe and 72D MMM), land, and will be building a house? Trying to keep this around $1500, which is going to push me towards used or light duty in either. I've looked at Titan flails, not sure I like what I hear on reliability. Are there other recommendations on a budget?

Other thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Fallon]

Wanted to get some thoughts on Flail vs Rotary cutter for my situation. I recently bought a 3033R (24 PTO hp near as I can tell). I also just bought 30 acres. 6 of this is currently open field. The remaining 24 is part marsh/wetlands, part hardwoods. I will be using the mower to mow about 4 of the 6 tilled acres (plan to plant alfalfa, clover, or other cover crop) a few times a summer. I will also be cutting some trails through the woods and up to the ponds in the back. Walking the woods, there's alot of 1-2" brush that I will cut trails through, but once cut it should be light cutting to maintain them. Soil is very gravely, lots of cobbles up to 6" that will have to be cleaned up eventually - but I'll probably find some the hard way.

I currently have a 20 year old 5' Howse brush hog - it's been beat to death and back on my last property. I've rebuilt it twice over the years (blades, gear box, mower body reinforcement/replacement). I could do it again, but i'm leaning toward finding one in better condition. With either cutter, I'd lean toward staying with the 5' width. Wider would be nice when mowing the field, but I think 5' is a nice compromise for trails. Open to suggestions though.

Budget - did I mention I just bought the tractor (bought used, but added a new 385a backhoe and 72D MMM), land, and will be building a house? Trying to keep this around $1500, which is going to push me towards used or light duty in either. I've looked at Titan flails, not sure I like what I hear on reliability. Are there other recommendations on a budget?

Other thoughts? Thanks!

Keep the old rotary alive enough to do your first pass. Let it eat the heavy stuff & rocks. You arent likely to cry to hard when the beater dies. Then look at a nicer mower to maintain things.

Not a fan of some of the light cheap Titan impliments like mowers. I'm happy with their pallet forks, but there arent really parts you need for repair on those.