Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[spo307]

I have two customers fields that I mow every year with my Caroni flail that are very rocky (seems I'm the only fool who'll do it!). I carry spare clevises, bolts/nuts and blades just in case. I have broken clevises in the past on these fields and have had to search for missing blades afterwards. I wouldn't dare use a rotary in these conditions. The other great thing about a flail is they tend to find things that you never knew were there! But they also do a nice job.
Notice the "little" rock peeking out of the grass to the left of my tractor?

Been there done that, always hear it when its too late

 

[spo307]

good place for flail mower parts, this is were I get mine from
MONTAGE ENTERPRISES - MOTT FLAIL MOWER PARTS & BLADES, ALAMO FLAIL MOWER PARTS & BLADES

 

[dcyrilc]

A question here for you guys with the flail mowers. Which direction does the mower head spin for normal mowing? I have one I'm working on and I'm trying to figure out what is forward and what is reverse direction.

 

[KennyV]

You can tell how it was set up by looking at the knives.
If you are changing all the knife sets out and lost track of the direction the manufacturer originally had set it up... you can generally tell by the idler pulley on the drive, the idler normally is set on the non powered side of the driven pulley.

There are some that push the cuttings forward, some that push it out the back into the rear roller... just depends on the model you are working with...

My experience is that pushing clippings forward gives a nicer finish cut but you do have to slow down more as the cut gets longer... rear discharge gets rid of cuttings faster so you can generally move faster in taller grass...
However I would still set up the way the idler pulley is placed. KennyV.
PS... I am amazed at the interest in flail mowers, going on 96 thousand views. I remember when I got my first flail, a mott finish mower for my IH Cub F model, most people had never ever seen that type mower. They are great mowing machines.

 

[dcyrilc]

You can tell how it was set up by looking at the knives.
If you are changing all the knife sets out and lost track of the direction the manufacturer originally had set it up... you can generally tell by the idler pulley on the drive, the idler normally is set on the non powered side of the driven pulley.

There are some that push the cuttings forward, some that push it out the back into the rear roller... just depends on the model you are working with...

My experience is that pushing clippings forward gives a nicer finish cut but you do have to slow down more as the cut gets longer... rear discharge gets rid of cuttings faster so you can generally move faster in taller grass...
However I would still set up the way the idler pulley is placed. KennyV.
PS... I am amazed at the interest in flail mowers, going on 96 thousand views. I remember when I got my first flail, a mott finish mower for my IH Cub F model, most people had never ever seen that type mower. They are great mowing machines.

No idler pully. It's a boom flail with a direct hydraulic motor drive. I'm currently trying to repair the motor control valve which has three detents on the bottom of the spool. I'm guessing forward/off/reverse, but currently I have only gotten on/off working with the rotation throwing clippings/cuttings forward. I guess direction of rotation isn't going to tell me if I should be able to access the third detent. Thanks for the answer.

My thread is here if anyone is interested: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/164881-need-some-help-cable-controls.html

 

[KennyV]

Well you have a few pictures of what you are doing in that link... are you about set up on your remote cable controls? When setting them up you MAY have some fine adjustment ability at the lever end of the cable ... The coarse set up is as you are doing...

What do the knives look like on the mower?

That type generally is spun to throw stuff behind the tractor, you can do massive destruction to tree rows with that and it throws stuff every where... Like stated in the other thread, do post pictures when you have it flailing away. Post some to both threads...
KennyV

 

[dcyrilc]

Well you have a few pictures of what you are doing in that link... are you about set up on your remote cable controls? When setting them up you MAY have some fine adjustment ability at the lever end of the cable ... The coarse set up is as you are doing...

What do the knives look like on the mower?

That type generally is spun to throw stuff behind the tractor, you can do massive destruction to tree rows with that and it throws stuff every where... Like stated in the other thread, do post pictures when you have it flailing away. Post some to both threads...
KennyV

The knives are worn and rusted. Two pieces which hang to form a "Y" shape. No shackles though. I'll try to remember to get some pix in the next couple of days. I'll also try to take a close look at them to see where most of the wear seams to be. That might give me a clue as to which direction it has run in the past. The owners manual only shows on/off for operation, but the three detents on the bottom of the spool lead me to think that it might be able to run either direction which would be nice.

 

[KennyV]

it might be able to run either direction which would be nice.

Being able to reverse, to unwind wire and fence that will ball up quickly is nice... I was able to do that with my old MF65 and an 8 foot Ford flail, placing the pto lever in ground drive you could roll the pto backwards... Very handy at times. KennyV

 

[KennyV]

Two pieces which hang to form a "Y" shape. No shackles though. I'll try to remember to get some pix in the next couple of days.

That description sounds like the Mott finish knives on my Mott hammer flail. You will be able to see the direction they were ran and if it is the type knife I am thinking about, you can remove them and reverse them giving a new side to cut with... that type knife is not intended to cut wood... there is a much heavier hammer attachment to trim trees.
How wide is the cut on that mower? KennyV

 

[GinNB]

A little tip for those mowing tall stuff in bad ground- drop your bucket (edge curled up so it doesn't catch something) and run it just above the ground in front of you. That way you'll hear or feel the bang before a rock, truck rim, or whatever does a number on your mower. You still might end up getting bent over the steering wheel if you hit a stump with the bucket, but it beats wrecking the mower or the underside of the tractor.