Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[KenBike]

Have a Kubota L6060 cab tractor and pull a 12 bat wing bush hog that use to mow 15 AC of horse pasture. Have another 15 AC of fields that is poor soil and sloped that use a 66" zero turn to mow 3 times per season. Works ok but rough ride and get covered in dust and cuttings. Plan is to get a fail on the tractor with the cab for the ride and not being totally dusted.
Wanted to run 84" 2100 lb fail but was looking for anyone with experience in using one behind my tractor and how it preforms with fail of this size.

 

[350c]

That bubbling oil is only a small nuisance when every thing else is considered. And it can be dealt with very easily. Just let the gear housing find it own level and then clean it off. Since your only going to change the oil at service intervals it won't be a big deal.

As far is "would I do it again?", If I knew then what I know now, I could have saved a lot of money and bought the Caroni flail mower the first time. I am buying a set of replacemnet knives this summer just to have on hand for that point in the future when they need to be cahnged but that is quit a ways off.

You will like the way the fields look compared to the windrowing of a Bush Hog type mower.

How does the quality of cut compare to a finish mower? I have a 72" finish mower but I need to cut some rougher stuff as well--not good for the finish mower.

 

[John0829]

I have 2 flail one of which is a fine cut Alamo and also a Woods finish mower, the Woods makes a better looking finished cut than the Alamo even with new knives every time. As long as you are not looking to have a lawn or golf course look then a flail will work for you but realize the flail will not be as smooth/level looking of a cut if used on uneven ground. I hate seeing the unevenness of the flail cut as it goes over the uneven highs and lows of the ground, something you will not see with a finish mower on 4 caster wheels.

I regularly cut pasture for my neighbor using my course cut flail, the ones in front of his house, because the flail does give a nicer looking cut than a bush hog just not quite a finish mower cut.

 

[Torvy]

@KenBike It depends on some details. If its a shifting flail or ditch mower, it will probably move you around a bit. My tractor with ROPS weighs about what yours does with a cab. Empty tires. My ditch mower is only 68" and weighs just under 1000lbs. It will make itself felt. Pulling a straight flail will be eaiser, but 2100 is 3/4 of your 3pt lift. Be careful.

@350c Flails aren't finish mowers. If you are a lawn person, it may be disappointing. Also, be aware that you can basically have 2 types of blades, hammers and knives. Hammers are better for brush, knives are better for grass and mulching. Hammers work great for me, but we don't mess with a lawn. We live very rural.

 

[Fallon]

Have a Kubota L6060 cab tractor and pull a 12 bat wing bush hog that use to mow 15 AC of horse pasture. Have another 15 AC of fields that is poor soil and sloped that use a 66" zero turn to mow 3 times per season. Works ok but rough ride and get covered in dust and cuttings. Plan is to get a fail on the tractor with the cab for the ride and not being totally dusted.
Wanted to run 84" 2100 lb fail but was looking for anyone with experience in using one behind my tractor and how it preforms with fail of this size.

You have more HP than my L4060, but the same frame. My 7.5' Peruzzo Super bull is 1,500lbs & the max I should be lifting. It's probably a hair big to be honest, but I like it.

 

[KenBike]

Fallon do you mow with a loader with the bucket attached on the tractor?
Will set the fail up with knives.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon do you mow with a loader with the bucket attached on the tractor?
Will set the fail up with knives.

I never take the loader off. I can't be bothered to take the 5-10 minutes to do it. I've taken other Kubota & JD loaders off but haven't bothered with mine in the 1,000 hours I've put on it. I usually take the bucket or forks off though.

 

[TractorNoob85]

Over the weekend I decided to take the flails off my mower and give them a good sharpening. I then became OCD about the balancing and decided to weigh (measured in grams) every flail and toss the weights into a spreadsheet and calculate the most balanced combination I could come up with. For reference, the mower drum has 4 rows of 8 hammers/row, 32 in total. Rows 1+3 are opposing. Rows 2+4 are opposing. The hammers are staggered on the drum for overlap. I focused on getting the opposing sides balanced and keep the difference across all 4 rows minimal. I could definitely get better results if I ground down the 645 and 639 flails as they are the heavy outliers but all in all this was the best outcome I could come up with. Do you guys do anything crazy like this, or do you just grind em down and toss em back on?

 

[Torvy]

I don't mess with them until they stop cutting well or throw off the balance.

That level of precision isn't necessary. The first time you come across a big stick or a small rock, your spreadsheet would have to be reworked.

I'm a big spreadsheet guy, but that's tilting at windmills.

 

[scootr]

I can appreciate your efforts balancing the blades etc.
I hit them with a flap disc grinder without removing them annually.
Simply raise the mower to waist height hanging from chain using the forklift. It's a 10 minute job.