Mowing Advice - Cutter vs. Flail vs. Finish

[MossyDell]

I use a Woodmaxx FM62 flail with Y blades for cutting my meadows down once each year in late Summer or Fall. I'm happy with the cut quality and find it much easier to use than the RC I used to have. Somewhat gradual turns I leave it down but while making a sharp turn or backing up I lift it up a bit then drop it back down which isn't a big deal. One nice thing is how much smaller a flail is compared to a RFM or RC, I store mine (along with bucket and rear blade) on the edge of my carport between the posts.

Milo, it looks like you have a custom/different mast on that cutter and a Land Pride 15 Quick Hitch. Can you explain how you got yours with that setup from Woodmaxx or others? The Woodmax web site says their flails are QH compatible, and they sell their own hitch, but a rep told me their mowers don't work with Land Pride hitches.

 

[leonz]

The JD25A, 290 or 390 would be more than adequate for your needs.

The issue is how much close mowing you normally do or want to do and this is where a boom mounted flail shredder the like Maschio BARBI, BRAVA, BISON or GIRAFA or the GIRAFONA which are the 2 larger hydraulic swing shifting flail orchard and vineyard shredders.

Here is a small video for you to look at;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQERDcP28Uo

 

[Fallon]

Milo, it looks like you have a custom/different mast on that cutter and a Land Pride 15 Quick Hitch. Can you explain how you got yours with that setup from Woodmaxx or others? The Woodmax web site says their flails are QH compatible, and they sell their own hitch, but a rep told me their mowers don't work with Land Pride hitches.

Quick Hitch - Category 1 looks exactly like every other CAT1 QH out there, Land Pride included. Something sounds fishy if they claim it's QH standard compatible but not compatible with a specific QH that meets the standards.

I've had to modify a handful of non-standard, usually cheap or old implements to fit a standard QH over the years.

 

[Milo]

Milo, it looks like you have a custom/different mast on that cutter and a Land Pride 15 Quick Hitch. Can you explain how you got yours with that setup from Woodmaxx or others? The Woodmax web site says their flails are QH compatible, and they sell their own hitch, but a rep told me their mowers don't work with Land Pride hitches.

What is the "mast"? Mine is stock just as it came from Woodmaxx. It fits fine on the LP QH15.

 

[DaveMueller]

The problem with turning with a flail mower is they use a single roller the whole width. On turns, the outside end tries to go faster than the inside end. Try making a circle with a kitchen rolling pin, you'll understand. It can be done, but some are hard on the turf.

 

[Fallon]

The problem with turning with a flail mower is they use a single roller the whole width. On turns, the outside end tries to go faster than the inside end. Try making a circle with a kitchen rolling pin, you'll understand. It can be done, but some are hard on the turf.

In my experience my front tires tear up turf more than my roller on either of my flail. Even my former 3k lbs L3200 left tire marks on tight turns. But no real flail roller marks. In really soft ground the edge of the roller would dug a bit, but I was already leaving ruts of some sort with the tires driving straight.

 

[dieselscout80]

The ends of my Ford 917 roller are nicely radiused/rounded and it didn’t dig in on turns.

The roller on my Alamo SHD96 is more squared off and I will have to see how it does in the yard.

 

[jthibodeau89]

I just saw a 390 pop up today on craigslist. They're asking 3500 and they are still working on it. It's really hard for me to drop that on something so used. I do really like the HP requirements are lower for a ~90" mower, so I know I could scoot along. How often was a belt changed needed or flails replaced?

I paid 3500 for a 1yr old JD390 that had less than 50hrs on it. It was stored in a shed and srill had glossy paint. I was the first to come look after the post went up and went home with it. The property maintenance hand said the owner didnt like the appearance it gave and replaced it with a 12' finish mower. Also had a special front deck mower for the steep hills around the house. It was an estate on a hill on about 500 acres. It appeared that they were finish mowing 20-30 acres around the main house.

Anyhow. I love the 390 for our pastures. We reclaimed them from weedy briar patches in 2 years. They look gorgeous this spring. Just need to find a way to remove the Johnson grass to let the bermuda fill in.

I have yet to replace the belt, and have only had to replace about 5 flails that were lost when hitting rocks.