Mowing Pasture - Is an 88" flail mower or 72" brush hog faster?

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I'm afraid this will start a war, but I'll ask anyway.

I've got a Rhino 172 brush hog that I use with my Kioti DK50SE. It does a good job and I'm happy with it. But I'd like to speed up the process of mowing my 12 acres of pasture.

I ran across a gently used heavy duty 88" flail mower for sale. But I'm wondering whether the 16" wider flail mower would be any faster to mow 12 acres of pasture than a 72" brush hog. Sometimes the pasture gets overgrown when we get a few weeks of rainy weather. It stays boggy for a while after it rains.

 

[AVIVIII]

I've only used a bush hog until very recently when I got a flail mower. It does GREAT it tall, stocky grass and everything it leaves behind lays flat and is chopped fine. My brush cutter gets bogged down easier than the flail mower, so I feel that between the added width and a higher speed, you should be ahead of the game. Add in the safety factor of the flail mower and it just makes sense!

 

[majorwager]

Flail mowers provide a superior cut result but the thirst for hp is more than noticeable. Wider may be slower. Why is it for sale? What size tractor has it been matched to?

I had a 6 ft flail behind a 50 hp tractor, drained the engine power, hated that mower, dealer took it back, sold a rotary as a substitute, never happier.

These days most field mowing is performed w/ a 9 ft - 2 inch befco finish mower, 6 swinging blades, it is a beast and the cut result is exceptional. My field headlands have NO rocks or other obstacles. 8 acres of horse paddocks are mowed as well, w/ the befco.

EDIT: it appears poster above is leaving a tall residual grass length, perhaps 8 inches, seems mowing criteria does vary significantly.

 

[AVIVIII]

Flail mowers provide a superior cut result but the thirst for hp is more than noticeable. Wider may be slower. Why is it for sale? What size tractor has it been matched to?

I had a 6 ft flail behind a 50 hp tractor, drained the engine power, hated that mower, dealer took it back, sold a rotary as a substitute, never happier.

These days most field mowing is performed w/ a 9 ft - 2 inch befco finish mower, 6 swinging blades, it is a beast and the cut result is exceptional. My field headlands have NO rocks or other obstacles. 8 acres of horse paddocks are mowed as well, w/ the befco.

EDIT: it appears poster above is leaving a tall residual grass length, perhaps 8 inches, seems mowing criteria does vary significantly.

The cut in that pic is a strong 6". That is a 96" flail running off of the hydraulic PTO. The Power-Trac has a 65hp Deutz, and the hydraulic PTO sees about 40hp. I would figure that if I can push that around on the slopes then 50hp on flat ground and 10" narrower shouldn't be a real problem.

How tall is the field when you start? My rotary cutter can't clear the long length material fast enough and bogs it down, the flail mower just eats it all. If I was starting out at 8" and mowing to a finish cut, the rotary might be faster. But taking a 2+' field down, I'll keep using the flail.

 

[prof fate]

I've run seveal different size/brand brush hogs (rotary mowers) and to me diff brand/size/grade makes a difference in the results/comfort of mowing.

Speed...from my research a flail can cut better but you gotta go slow...and I can't' do slow. I run my 72' bush hog brand on my kioti CK35 at 4-4.5 mph. It cuts a bit better at 2.5-3, but not a lot. The only time I HAVE to slow down is high weeds and up hill.

Flails eat HP from my research and they have a lot more blades so IM" thinking maintenance is gonna be a lot more.

I'd like to try one - but every road crew mower i"ve seen is a rotary mower...must be a reason

 

[majorwager]

Actually the modern thinking in roadside mowing consists of hydraulic side mounted flail and rear pto flail in combination. That said, my local DPW is driving this combo w/ a new deere M series, 110 hp. Flails perform well if properly supported w/ ample hp.

Blade maintenance is an issue, more cost intensive. If the OP buys a flail and is unhappy, which member will reach into his own pocket and refund the purchase price?. Waiting for a guarantee letter of credit to be posted? An escrow bank account also acceptable.

 

[AVIVIII]

Some flails have "hammers" and some have "knives." Mine are the knife-style, which is a nice way of saying small bent piece of metal. The big benefit for me is the low rotating mass. When I hit a rock or a stump with the flail, its a non-event. It fouls the blade quick, but spins right back out. Nothing flies out, all the material just gets ground up, and if I throw a blade, its just a tiny piece of steel. This is important for me because I'm always near the house/barn/kids/road/animals.

 

[dieselscout80]

I'm afraid this will start a war, but I'll ask anyway.

I've got a Rhino 172 brush hog that I use with my Kioti DK50SE. It does a good job and I'm happy with it. But I'd like to speed up the process of mowing my 12 acres of pasture.

I ran across a gently used heavy duty 88" flail mower for sale. But I'm wondering whether the 16" wider flail mower would be any faster to mow 12 acres of pasture than a 72" brush hog. Sometimes the pasture gets overgrown when we get a few weeks of rainy weather. It stays boggy for a while after it rains.

I have a 74" Ford 917 flail with the duck foot type blades and a IH 424 diesel that is tested at 36.97 hp, so when it was new it was similar to your Kioti's HP.

I use it to maintain pastures cutting them down so I leave 7"-8" standing.

While I can run 3.5 mph most times in the thick stuff that is over 36" tall I can be down in 1st gear at 1.5 mph.

I would love to try a 88" flail, but I know it would be slow going at times.

I do not have a rotary cutter / bushhog to compare with.

Your hydrostatic allows you to go slower and you are not limited by gear splits.

 

[def38]

My $0.02...if you have adequate PTO power the flail is just as fast. I just finished mowing my 5 acres with my Titan 60" flail on the back of my M-F 231S (45 hp Perkins with about 37 PTO hp). I was cutting 5 foot high clover, brush, weeds that is riddled with sticks, rocks and Buick hubcaps. Also, I mowed around fruit trees and other obstacles and on some steep hillsides. I cut everything at about 2 inches and left well chopped green mulch behind the mower with one pass. A flail with duck feet cutters (mine are forged steel not stamped, requiring more power to spin) will suck fuel when negotiating the thick stuff but you'll leave a better trail of cuttings with the flail. Maintenance will be higher with the flail. I'll likely change out all the Chinese ball bearings over the winter. The OE Chinese bearings are not trustworthy and are already noisy. I'm also going to sharpen the flails soon to improve cut and reduce power requirements. Keeping either a rotary or a flail mower sharp improves performance measurably. I like the short, close coupled length of the flail...easier to maneuver in tight quarters and I can park it in my garage and get all my other stuff in there as well. Once all the Buick hubcaps are all gone, I may resort to a rotary but for now, my choice is the flail.

 

[Guidshir]

My $0.02...if you have adequate PTO power the flail is just as fast. I just finished mowing my 5 acres with my Titan 60" flail on the back of my M-F 231S (45 hp Perkins with about 37 PTO hp). I was cutting 5 foot high clover, brush, weeds that is riddled with sticks, rocks and Buick hubcaps. Also, I mowed around fruit trees and other obstacles and on some steep hillsides. I cut everything at about 2 inches and left well chopped green mulch behind the mower with one pass. A flail with duck feet cutters (mine are forged steel not stamped, requiring more power to spin) will suck fuel when negotiating the thick stuff but you'll leave a better trail of cuttings with the flail. Maintenance will be higher with the flail. I'll likely change out all the Chinese ball bearings over the winter. The OE Chinese bearings are not trustworthy and are already noisy. I'm also going to sharpen the flails soon to improve cut and reduce power requirements. Keeping either a rotary or a flail mower sharp improves performance measurably. I like the short, close coupled length of the flail...easier to maneuver in tight quarters and I can park it in my garage and get all my other stuff in there as well. Once all the Buick hubcaps are all gone, I may resort to a rotary but for now, my choice is the flail.

Hear hear!