Maintenance of Rotary Cutters Vs Flail Mowers

[bdhsfz6]

I realize there are volumes of information posted on the site regarding rotary cutters versus flail mowers but my searches found little specific to maintenance issues. The consensus of opinion as to which works best seems pretty evenly split and of course depends on personal preference, specific type of use and land conditions involved.

8 of the 25 acres I maintain are rough uneven fields with a lot of surface rock. Over the years, I beat to death an old 72" rotary cutter that was so rusted, I never knew the brand. It was abandoned in a field when I bought the property. A year or so ago, I replaced it with a Brushog SQ172. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Maschio Girafetta 180SE offset flail mower to use on the banks and ditches along a mile and a quarter of private road. The salesman I spoke with suggested I sell the Brushog, since it's practically new, to offset the cost of the new flail. He says the 180SE, equipped with hardened hammer flails, will do everything the Brushog did and more.

Since I have no experience with flails, I'm a bit hesitant to part with the rotary. The flail, with it's 26 hammer blades, belts and many other moving parts seems it would require more maintenance than the rotary. All I ever did with the old one was tip it on it's side against the barn with the FEL and grind a new edge on the 2 blades. The whole process took maybe a half hour every 2 years or so.

Should I keep the rotary to use on the rough stuff and reserve the flail for the banks and ditches? I sure could use the $$ I might get for the Brushog (used only twice) but I don't want to take on a maintenance headache by beating up the flail.

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I've owned both. I got the flail because of the constant chatter on TBN about flails. Way too much maintenance on the flail. Based on your description of your property, I suggest not getting rid of the rotary. You will like the quality of the cut of the flail, but for me the extra maintenance isn't worth it.

 

[TerryR]

Jerry,

What extra maintenance do you see? I'm asking because I just bought a flail ditch and bank mower and wonder if I can get rid of my ancient rotary cutter.

 

[Code54]

I find there is a place for both, but the flail is more work/maintenance. They are good cutters and do a fine job but if you want to bust through the woods taking down small trees and working rough areas I find my rotary is able to do the task with nothing more sharping the blade about once a year. On the flail I would have 26 blades to sharpen and really cant correctly do that with an angle grinder.

 

[Fallon]

I had to replace the rotor bearings on my ancient Ford 817 flail last year. Wasn't fun, but not the end of the world. I replaced knives & shackles every so often. More grease points as well. So ya, technically a lot more maintenance points than a rotary, but not bad.

I just replaced the old 917 with a new Peruzzo as I'm sold on flails. No use for it here in Colorado since I got it in December though.

I wouldn't sell the rotary unless you really needed the cash. 1 more year won't affect the value of a used rotary. It would give you time to evaluate it's usefulness as a backup in the meantime.

 

[TerryR]

I replaced knives & shackles every so often. More grease points as well. So ya, technically a lot more maintenance points than a rotary, but not bad.

Grease points aren't an issue to me. I wonder how long before knives and shackles need replacing. I mow about 4 acres twice a year.

I just replaced the old 917 with a new Peruzzo as I'm sold on flails. No use for it here in Colorado since I got it in December though.

I just bought a Peruzzo in December as well. Won't have a chance to use it until May or June.

I wouldn't sell the rotary unless you really needed the cash. 1 more year won't affect the value of a used rotary. It would give you time to evaluate it's usefulness as a backup in the meantime.

You sure it won't loose value? It's 21 years old already.
I use it just to cut the same field - no new wild areas. My interest in selling it isn't the money but to get it out of the equipment shed to make room for the new flail.

 

[2458n]

2 rotary bush hogs. 5ft and 14 ft. 4 flails that I do not use. Ford 917 that needs bearing on belted left side. Used to use in town for leaves. Rotary cutters set outside stacked on top of each other. Covered with tarp. 4 gear hubs 3 with oil one with corn grease. Check oil and grease and off you go. 128 acres to cut. Flails bought cheap at state, city sales.

 

[leonz]

I realize there are volumes of information posted on the site regarding rotary cutters versus flail mowers but my searches found little specific to maintenance issues. The consensus of opinion as to which works best seems pretty evenly split and of course depends on personal preference, specific type of use and land conditions involved.

8 of the 25 acres I maintain are rough uneven fields with a lot of surface rock. Over the years, I beat to death an old 72" rotary cutter that was so rusted, I never knew the brand. It was abandoned in a field when I bought the property. A year or so ago, I replaced it with a Brushog SQ172. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Maschio Girafetta 180SE offset flail mower to use on the banks and ditches along a mile and a quarter of private road. The salesman I spoke with suggested I sell the Brushog, since it's practically new, to offset the cost of the new flail. He says the 180SE, equipped with hardened hammer flails, will do everything the Brushog did and more.

Since I have no experience with flails, I'm a bit hesitant to part with the rotary. The flail, with it's 26 hammer blades, belts and many other moving parts seems it would require more maintenance than the rotary. All I ever did with the old one was tip it on it's side against the barn with the FEL and grind a new edge on the 2 blades. The whole process took maybe a half hour every 2 years or so.

Should I keep the rotary to use on the rough stuff and reserve the flail for the banks and ditches? I sure could use the $$ I might get for the Brushog (used only twice) but I don't want to take on a maintenance headache by beating up the flail.

Any comments would be appreciated.

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Hello bdhsfz6, TerryR,

All you need to maintain the knife edge on your hammer and side slicer knives is the wet well grinder from micromark and the angle setter from woodcraft(I think these are the folks) to adjust the bed angle to touch up your knives.
Double check with fellow member powerscol about the seller to be sure as many wood working places sell the same gauge.

I have my fathers towed Motorized Lawn Genie Pick up Flail Mower that runs well and is 38 years old and I changed the side slicer knives back in 1992 when I was laid off and had time to work on things for him.

I use the lawn genie for everything when ever I need to and it has always worked well.

I would sell the rotary as its only going to collect dust and rust once you see how well the girafetta mows.

Once you set the height of cut you will not have to do much other than grease the flail rotor bearings and universal joint bearings every 6 hours or so and the pins as needed.

If you have a lot of frost heaving and no time to rip out the offenders and stockpile the rock to make stone fences I guess you will have to make the decision as to whether to hold on to the rotary cutter.

once you have the Giratta mower set at vertical you can wash the inside of the flail mower shroud, the flail mower rotor and the cast hammer knifes with hot water and clear off the debris to make quick work of removing the cotter pins cotter keys and replace the cotter keys with new ones when you reinstall them.

Once you remove the knifes and polish the edges it does not take long to do. The knife edge temper is not damaged by heat by using the wet well grinder and the temper is maintained on the knife edge with the cool grinding method.

 

[TerryR]

once you have the Giratta mower set at vertical you can wash the inside of the flail mower shroud, the flail mower rotor and the cast hammer knifes with hot water and clear off the debris to make quick work of removing the cotter pins cotter keys and replace the cotter keys with new ones when you reinstall them.

Once you remove the knifes and polish the edges it does not take long to do. The knife edge temper is not damaged by heat by using the wet well grinder and the temper is maintained on the knife edge with the cool grinding method.

Really?? Sounds like a huge task to take off and sharpen 50 knives compared to just two blades on the rotary. Granted, access is easier, but taking off 50 cotter pins, finding replacements, sharpening 50 knives and re-attaching them is a task I have no interest in undertaking.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Really?? Sounds like a huge task to take off and sharpen 50 knives compared to just two blades on the rotary. Granted, access is easier, but taking off 50 cotter pins, finding replacements, sharpening 50 knives and re-attaching them is a task I have no interest in undertaking.

I dunno. Watch me replace my blades on my rotary cutter (among other things).

 

[Fallon]

The side sliders on my 917 held up fine with no maintenance or sharpening other than replacement when worn or mangled. I abused them too, lots of rock strikes from gravel. It was an old beater I paid $100 for so didn't care much. The thin material of the side slicers is still pretty thin even when dull, so still cut well.

My new Peruzzo is gonna be a different story. I have thick hammers on it, so I imagine dulling & sharpening on those will be an issue. Not to mention paying a LOT more for the new machine.

 

[leonz]

Hello Fallon,

Once you use a wet well grinder to maintain the edge of the cast hammers and side slicers you will be amazed at the cut quality.

 

[TerryR]

I dunno. Watch me replace my blades on my rotary cutter (among other things).

Wow! That's a whole lot harder than with my Bush Hog cutter. As long as you have a big socket (inch and a quarter or thereabouts) and do it every two or three years it's no big deal. Remove the nut and drive out the shoulder bolt (hint, a hand drill - small sledge hammer - makes a perfect punch and holds itself in the hole in the deck. The bolt and blade drop out and are easy to sharpen on a bench grinder. Reaching under to re-assemble is a bit awkward but it fits together tight enough to hold itself in place until you can get the nut on.

About 30 to 45 minutes for both I'm guessing. But a lot more trouble getting it out if you wait 10 years for the first time - don't ask how I know that.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Wow! That's a whole lot harder than with my Bush Hog cutter. As long as you have a big socket (inch and a quarter or thereabouts) and do it every two or three years it's no big deal. Remove the nut and drive out the shoulder bolt (hint, a hand drill - small sledge hammer - makes a perfect punch and holds itself in the hole in the deck. The bolt and blade drop out and are easy to sharpen on a bench grinder. Reaching under to re-assemble is a bit awkward but it fits together tight enough to hold itself in place until you can get the nut on.

About 30 to 45 minutes for both I'm guessing. But a lot more trouble getting it out if you wait 10 years for the first time - don't ask how I know that.

It would have been a lot simpler if the two shims had not mushroomed. Now that I've "fitted" my shims and anti-seezed the pins, I expect that a 2 pound mallet will knock the pins out next time around.

 

[ovrszd]

I said this on the Marathon Flail thread here on TBN and got pounced on by the dedicated Flail crowd.

I don't understand all the hype regarding Flail mowers.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I said this on the Marathon Flail thread here on TBN and got pounced on by the dedicated Flail crowd.

I don't understand all the hype regarding Flail mowers.

I saw your post and tend to agree. If I could clear banks and ditches with my Brushog, I wouldn't be buying a flail. It's mainly one with offset and vertical cutting capabilities that makes a flail useful to me.

 

[ovrszd]

I saw your post and tend to agree. If I could clear banks and ditches with my Brushog, I wouldn't be buying a flail. It's mainly one with offset and vertical cutting capabilities that makes a flail useful to me.

I own one because I got it very cheap. But then cheap cost isn't relevant to high operating expenses. I've spent over $500 on it in the past two years. I'm just trying to recoup my costs.

 

[countrybumpkin]

I use a sickle mower for ditch banks and such, even trim trees along the drive with it.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

IMHO THEY ARE BOTH MOWERS BUT FOR DIFFERENT TASKS YES THE ROTARY MOWER WILL CUT HEAVIER BRUSH BUT DOES NOT LEAVE AS NICE CUT THE FLAIL LEAVES A FINE CUT AS WELL AS MULCHING UP WHAT YOU MOW OVER BOTH HAVE THERE PLACE I HAVE BOTH AND USE THE ONE THAT I NEED AT THE TIME. AS FOR MAINTAINING THE ROTARY WILL REQUIRE LESS AS THE FLAIL HAS MORE MOVING PARTS THE COST IS BIG ISSUE YOU CAN BUY A GOOD ROTARY FOR A THIRD OF PRICE OF A FLAIL UNLESS YOU FIND USED WOULD DEFINITELY KEEP ROTARY MOWER TO USE WHEN I NEED IT.

 

[Texasmark]

I doubt anything can compare to a rotary mower of sufficient size for the tractor and job to be done. Fewest moving parts and built like a tank. With that said, it's amazing how nice of a job you can get done with one, especially on flat, level ground and turf to cut.