TSO
Elite Member
That's interesting... My Massey has a lever to allow the tractors output shaft to go "neutral" so you can spin it freely when hooking up a PTO shaft from an implement. Really useful, and something i probably take for granted.
New Tractor and Flail Mower
- Thread starter vlcakc
- Start date
- Views: 16822
leonz
Super Member
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I want to welcome you as the newest member of the flail mower nations from Ponca City, Oklahoma
Once you start mowing you will want to leave the brush ejection door open so you can mow really high brush without the mower breaking belts and you will not have to worry about adjusting the height either.
I am certainly glad that Land Pride kept that in their flail mowers as it will be easier for you to remove and sharpen the scoop knives and also remove barbed wire, extension cord snakes and garden hose snakes when needed- the garden hose snakes are really vicious in the summer.
You can purchase a slow speed wet well grinder from micromark and the gauge setting tool from woodcraft and other wood working tool distributor.
Welcome to the Flail Mower Nations.
leonz: Thanks for the kind words! You provided some great answers to some of my questions over on the "Flail Mower" thread and I appreciated it!
I do need to clarify a couple of points though:
As mentioned in my OP I used a NH 918H flail mower for 16 years, so I can't honestly lay claim to being the "Newest member of the flail mower nations"! How about "Newest re-flailed member"?
Also, the "Access Door" on the LP flail is just for maintenance and not a "Brush ejection door". The LP manual specifically warns against operation with the door open. The entire width of the mower above the rear roller is permanently open for a height of several inches, so I doubt leaving the door open would have much effect anyway.
My old NH 918H also had an access door which I always ran closed. Never thought about running with it open even in the heavy stuff and never had a problem. It does really help with blade maintenance, etc. though.
Thanks, Vic
I do need to clarify a couple of points though:
As mentioned in my OP I used a NH 918H flail mower for 16 years, so I can't honestly lay claim to being the "Newest member of the flail mower nations"! How about "Newest re-flailed member"?
Also, the "Access Door" on the LP flail is just for maintenance and not a "Brush ejection door". The LP manual specifically warns against operation with the door open. The entire width of the mower above the rear roller is permanently open for a height of several inches, so I doubt leaving the door open would have much effect anyway.
My old NH 918H also had an access door which I always ran closed. Never thought about running with it open even in the heavy stuff and never had a problem. It does really help with blade maintenance, etc. though.
Thanks, Vic
leonz
Super Member
Hello Vic,
Sorry for the clerical error/mistake, I do not keep any records of membership because of the black helicopter crowd and the men in black.
If you do get into the heavy stuff you will have 50+foot long rooster tails of mowed brush coming out which will make brush clearing easier if needed.
Happy mowing with the new implement, err mower, err beast of burden, err toy.
:thumbsup::drink:
Sorry for the clerical error/mistake, I do not keep any records of membership because of the black helicopter crowd and the men in black.
If you do get into the heavy stuff you will have 50+foot long rooster tails of mowed brush coming out which will make brush clearing easier if needed.
Happy mowing with the new implement, err mower, err beast of burden, err toy.
:thumbsup::drink:
leonz
Super Member
Hello Vic,
Sorry for the clerical error/mistake, I do not keep any records of membership because of the black helicopter crowd and the men in black.
Did you decide to remove the recutting bars to avoid losing them in the event of a long mowing day?
I mentioned to docs farm and others that you could use a piece of bar stock with drilled ends to hold cotter keys to avoid losing an individual recutting/shredding bar.
If you do get into the heavy stuff you will have 50+foot long rooster tails of mowed brush coming out which will make brush clearing easier if needed.
Happy mowing with the new implement, err mower, err beast of burden, err toy.
:thumbsup::drink:
Sorry for the clerical error/mistake, I do not keep any records of membership because of the black helicopter crowd and the men in black.
Did you decide to remove the recutting bars to avoid losing them in the event of a long mowing day?
I mentioned to docs farm and others that you could use a piece of bar stock with drilled ends to hold cotter keys to avoid losing an individual recutting/shredding bar.
If you do get into the heavy stuff you will have 50+foot long rooster tails of mowed brush coming out which will make brush clearing easier if needed.
Happy mowing with the new implement, err mower, err beast of burden, err toy.
:thumbsup::drink:
Mowed about 4 acres more of the dormant Blue Stem hay meadow. Results were mostly positive. Was able to mow at 6-8 mph. Mowing speed was determined by roughness of the terrain and not mower or tractor limitations. Cut was smooth and even with good mulching. There seemed to be more clumping of the mown grass with the new cutting height adjustment than previously. Also more clumping than I remember with the NH 918H mower. The clumps are not uniformly spread along the cutting width, but always at the ends. Anyone else noticed this? Cause? Thanks, Vic
leonz
Super Member
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You need to slow down, overlap the cut a bit and open the trash door if you are not going to use the recutting bars.
when you use the cast hammer knives they are not going to recut the brush for you unless you put the recutting bars in and mow slower.
You need to drop down to 4 MPH to get a better cut to eliminate the clumping without the recutting bars in or with the trash door open.
Quite often the skids will catch the mowed brush from the last lap and hang on until it drops off.
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My last post seems to have been bit confusing. My excuse: It was pretty late last night and I had had an adult beverage before supper! :laughing: Thanks for the reply leonz. I do have some clarifications. .
I ordered the mower with the "Y" blade option with an extra set of cast hammer knives. The hammer knives are still back ordered, I don't have them yet. All mowing so far has been with the "Y" knives. I have not tackled any brush yet. All mowing has been on last years Blue Stem vegetation. The cuts are clean and smooth on the dried Blue Stem grass. The "Y' knives are giving a nice clean cut on the dried grass with very good mulching action. No complaints there. The only uncut grass is when I fail to overlap the previous cut enough. My problem, not the mower's. The "clumps" I poorly described are not uncut areas or un-mulched grass. They are simply small mounds of well mulched grass that accumulate along the ends of the mower and are strung out across the field as I mow. It looks as if this isn't going to be a problem after all. After a couple of days the Oklahoma wind has pretty well spread the clumps out and they have pretty much disappeared. I think you were right on about the skids catching the mown grass and it hanging on until it drops off. When I do get into the brushy areas even with the hammer knives the mowing speed will no doubt have to be reduced. On turf grass I believe I could mow even faster if the terrain were smoother.
From the LP website:
"Three different blade options make quick work of grass, grapevine shoots, saplings, and tree prunings. Cutting height is variable from 0" to 6". Cutting capacity is 1" with Duckfoot Knives, 1.5" with Heavy-duty Y Knives, or 2" with Hammer Knives. The rear access door and quick-change D-ring system simplifies blade changes. Optional Brush Rakes hold prunings and other woody materials in the cutting chamber longer for better shredding and decomposition."
Land Pride still steadfastly denies this mower has a "trash door"! It certainly wasn't designed to run with the door open. There is no mechanism to hold the door open when in operation. If the access door is opened and raised all the way up by hand, then released, it instantly slams closed under it's own weight. The only way to keep it open for inspection or maintenance is to prop it up with a stick or the like.
From the LP Operator's Manual:
"DANGER
Never operate Flail Mower without rear rotor access door secured in the closed position. The power take-off must be disengaged, tractor engine turned off, and switch key removed before opening the door. Always secure door shut before starting tractor."
The discharge opening in the rear of the mower housing is about the same area as the door opening, so I believe having both open at the same time would have little effect. On a mower like my old NH 918H that didn't have a rear discharge opening, I can see that opening the access door would make a difference.
Thanks, Vic
I ordered the mower with the "Y" blade option with an extra set of cast hammer knives. The hammer knives are still back ordered, I don't have them yet. All mowing so far has been with the "Y" knives. I have not tackled any brush yet. All mowing has been on last years Blue Stem vegetation. The cuts are clean and smooth on the dried Blue Stem grass. The "Y' knives are giving a nice clean cut on the dried grass with very good mulching action. No complaints there. The only uncut grass is when I fail to overlap the previous cut enough. My problem, not the mower's. The "clumps" I poorly described are not uncut areas or un-mulched grass. They are simply small mounds of well mulched grass that accumulate along the ends of the mower and are strung out across the field as I mow. It looks as if this isn't going to be a problem after all. After a couple of days the Oklahoma wind has pretty well spread the clumps out and they have pretty much disappeared. I think you were right on about the skids catching the mown grass and it hanging on until it drops off. When I do get into the brushy areas even with the hammer knives the mowing speed will no doubt have to be reduced. On turf grass I believe I could mow even faster if the terrain were smoother.
From the LP website:
"Three different blade options make quick work of grass, grapevine shoots, saplings, and tree prunings. Cutting height is variable from 0" to 6". Cutting capacity is 1" with Duckfoot Knives, 1.5" with Heavy-duty Y Knives, or 2" with Hammer Knives. The rear access door and quick-change D-ring system simplifies blade changes. Optional Brush Rakes hold prunings and other woody materials in the cutting chamber longer for better shredding and decomposition."
Land Pride still steadfastly denies this mower has a "trash door"!
It certainly wasn't designed to run with the door open. There is no mechanism to hold the door open when in operation. If the access door is opened and raised all the way up by hand, then released, it instantly slams closed under it's own weight. The only way to keep it open for inspection or maintenance is to prop it up with a stick or the like. From the LP Operator's Manual:
"DANGER
Never operate Flail Mower without rear rotor access door secured in the closed position. The power take-off must be disengaged, tractor engine turned off, and switch key removed before opening the door. Always secure door shut before starting tractor."
The discharge opening in the rear of the mower housing is about the same area as the door opening, so I believe having both open at the same time would have little effect. On a mower like my old NH 918H that didn't have a rear discharge opening, I can see that opening the access door would make a difference.
Thanks, Vic
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leonz
Super Member
Hello Vic,
It still bugs me that they stopped importing the Maschio Flail Mowers. The adult beverages are OK,
The sinking office chairs, Men In Black and the Black Helicopters are a nuisance.
They should have kept the entire design with the trash door that is held open by the bolts in the side weldment
and the V belt guard cover GRRRRRRRR.
Vic, with the rear trash door open the mowed brush is ejected from under the flail mower shroud horizontally
and then falls to the ground a long distance away.
There is no reason you cannot open it with the job of mowing heavy brush load or shredding crop residue as long as there are no pedestrians or 4 legged rug rats running around when mowing heavy tall brush.
I would invest in the recutting bars though as they will help you with shredding when using the hammer knives and the scoop knives.
I mentioned to docsfarm and another member that own the true imported maschio units that they can prevent losing the individual cutting bars
by replacing the spring clip pins with cotter pins or a piece of bar stock with two holes drilled in it to hold cotter pins and keep the recutting bars in place when mowing.
It still bugs me that they stopped importing the Maschio Flail Mowers. The adult beverages are OK,
The sinking office chairs, Men In Black and the Black Helicopters are a nuisance.
They should have kept the entire design with the trash door that is held open by the bolts in the side weldment
and the V belt guard cover GRRRRRRRR.
Vic, with the rear trash door open the mowed brush is ejected from under the flail mower shroud horizontally
and then falls to the ground a long distance away.
There is no reason you cannot open it with the job of mowing heavy brush load or shredding crop residue as long as there are no pedestrians or 4 legged rug rats running around when mowing heavy tall brush.
I would invest in the recutting bars though as they will help you with shredding when using the hammer knives and the scoop knives.
I mentioned to docsfarm and another member that own the true imported maschio units that they can prevent losing the individual cutting bars
by replacing the spring clip pins with cotter pins or a piece of bar stock with two holes drilled in it to hold cotter pins and keep the recutting bars in place when mowing.
leonz
Super Member
I have no idea why they would call them that GGGRRRR.
If they are the "recutting" bars that stick up through the rear of the mower shroud yes
they are the same thing.
Just keep in mind that you can not use them with the side slicer knives as they will not work
to shred more brush as the scoop knife and hammer cutting edges meet the recutting bars
edge to allow them to recut the brush/grass before the brush leaves the mower shroud and
passes over the rear roller.
I do not want you ruining a full set of side slicers by mistake.
If they are the "recutting" bars that stick up through the rear of the mower shroud yes
they are the same thing.
Just keep in mind that you can not use them with the side slicer knives as they will not work
to shred more brush as the scoop knife and hammer cutting edges meet the recutting bars
edge to allow them to recut the brush/grass before the brush leaves the mower shroud and
passes over the rear roller.
I do not want you ruining a full set of side slicers by mistake.
Finished the easy mowing (hay meadow) and still needed to make some adjustments before I tackled one of the brushy pasture areas. I was still getting some dragging of the front skids on slightly uneven ground. The skids are not adjustable, so I lengthened the top link an inch or so to bring the mower more vertical. Did a short test run on turf grass to scalp last years dormant grass. Mowed well with no skid dragging or clumping. Then did a short test run on the pasture area. The mowed area was mostly field grass and weeds with a few black locust saplings mixed in. Cut was very good in general. The locust trees were mostly less than an inch in diameter. Locust cuttings were mulched up into chips six inches in length or less. Mower didn't load the tractor PTO of bog at all. I'm now ready to tackle the large pasture! The larger tractor does use more fuel than the old NH TC45-D. Next project will be to set up better fueling system than hoisting five gallon jugs by hand! Vic
lt190b
Gold Member
Vic, if you have the mid pto on your tractor, place it in the mid pto only and that will allow the rear pto to freewheel for easy shaft hook up. Don't forget to re engage the rear pto. This works on Boomer 54d also.
