NH 918H Flail Mower , good or bad mower?

[chas036]

I will be going an auction where there is a NH 918H 8ft flail mower. I have no experience with flail mowers so I would like to know what to check for?

From my investigation, it looks like the most expensive thing to go wrong is the bearings. How can I check those at an auction ? Are there any inherent things that go bad on these models that I should look for?.

From looking at the photo , it looks like someone has modified the 3 point attaching position.

I really don't need this big a mower, but I am thinking because it is so big at 8 feet, it will keep the hobby farmers from bidding and maybe I could get it at a low price.

I have a JD 720 diesel rated at 58 hp pto , and an Oliver 1800 gas rated at 60 hp at the pto, do these tractors have enough HP to run an 8 ft fail mower in tall hay ?

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[John0829]

I have that mower in a 6' that has been a good mower. I had to replace the roller on mine because the PO had somehow bent it enough you could see the mower going up and down like waves on water. Otherwise I have replaced the knives on it right after I bought it. I have shifted it to the side since the main use is for mowing the road sides and of late I have been using it to mow some fields for a neighbor.

My 50 hp tractor does not even know there is anything back there unless it is super heavy. I would jump on an 8' in a heart beat.

 

[chas036]

Is there a way to check the bearing to see if they are good?

 

[leonz]

No, not really.

 

[vlcakc]

Great mowers. Bought one new about 20 years ago and used it for 9 years or so and sold it. Wish many times I hadn't sold it! Other than replacing the blades once no mechanical problems.

 

[oosik]

The only thing I can think of - be sure your 3-point is capable of lifting this eight foot mower.

 

[jonsstihl]

You have plenty of PTO hp. I ran a 6 foot MOTT with 22 PTO HP and it wasn't too bad. field was rough so I had to go slow anyways. make sure you can lift it though. Bearings are cheap compared to cutter shafts and rollers if they are bent. only way to really test would be to run it on a tractor and see if there are any vibrations. if you can grab the roller shaft and cutter shaft and make sure there is no excessive movement at the bearings