So, I just put 6-7 hours into the medium duty Nova Tractor flail mower this weekend. This was the MD175 model (Formerly EFGC175 I think). It has 28 1.75 lb hammers and a 68" cut width. I think my 48 horse tractor (42 at the PTO) would have pulled the next largest one up but I preferred to lose a small amount of cut width (8 inches) to push less mass and therefore have some power in reserve in the rough stuff. This is not the HD model (MFZ) which comes with fewer 3 lb hammers with teeth. I decided that more, lighter weight hammers would do a cleaner cut in grass and still handle saplings between 1 and 2 inches. I mean, 3 lb hammers is like going to war or something and I just wanted to strike a balance with cut quality.
This mower does not have a hydro shift, which would have been nice. But only the HD model had it. If I wanted it with the lighter hammers I needed to pony up for the ditch mower and that was considerably more coin. The mower mounts offset with an overhang over the right rear wheel. There are two mounting positions for the three point bracket. I chose the more conservative offset since I expect to drive this in tighter spaces, but it gives you some wiggle room when getting up against fences.
Assembly was relatively straight forward. Just be patient. The manual is not a master piece but all the critical information is there. I added a hydraulic top link for minor adjustments to attack angle but set it once and never messed with it again. The mower runs on the back roller with skids on the size that will engage if the terrain changes suddenly.
I ended up mowing three horse enclosures. Probably 10-12 acres altogether. These had not been mowed in probably 20 months. Still just grass but heavily layered with dead growth and very thick/clumpy. I set the mower to the highest setting which is around 3 inches and went to work. Cut speed was very good and no bogging. The cut was very clean and the droppings went down right where the grass was cut. No clumping like what you would have seen with a bush hog and no throwing debris. Pulverized a few fallen limbs along the way. Ran over a few protruding rocks and it generally just bounced over. No apparent damage to the hammers. Given the height of the grass it did leave a blanket of blades across the turf (basically the dead stuff) but I suspect next mowing at a reasonable interval will leave everything looking much more clean. There were some patches of newer grass that was less overgrown and the finish on that was extremely good. Very pleased with the results, particularly at this price point. Very good value but time will tell the true value.
This was grass. I will give an update on some brush work I intend to tackle, but I expect it will do even better there.
BTW Nova Tractor was very responsive to my questions and inquiries while doing the research on what mower to buy and they picked up the phone every time. Jack, the owner, is also responsive by email. So that was a plus for me as some other import models appear to lack responsive customer service based on other reviews. I will be honest and say this was not necessarily my first choice among imported models, but they were not in stock, and it appears I have managed to find good value here. So I am happy with that.
CONS: I wish this has a hinged door on the back for easier access to the hammers when maintenance and inspection are necessary. Also, no easy way to drain the gearbox as far as I can tell. Will have to pump it out when the time comes.
Bottom line: Great first impressions. Performed better than expected and as intended relative to a bush hog. Also, love how compact it is. Since it does not hang way off the back it should be more manageable in the tight spaces I intend to go.
Cheers. Happy to answer questions. Ill post a longer term review and the end of the summer.
Matt
This mower does not have a hydro shift, which would have been nice. But only the HD model had it. If I wanted it with the lighter hammers I needed to pony up for the ditch mower and that was considerably more coin. The mower mounts offset with an overhang over the right rear wheel. There are two mounting positions for the three point bracket. I chose the more conservative offset since I expect to drive this in tighter spaces, but it gives you some wiggle room when getting up against fences.
Assembly was relatively straight forward. Just be patient. The manual is not a master piece but all the critical information is there. I added a hydraulic top link for minor adjustments to attack angle but set it once and never messed with it again. The mower runs on the back roller with skids on the size that will engage if the terrain changes suddenly.
I ended up mowing three horse enclosures. Probably 10-12 acres altogether. These had not been mowed in probably 20 months. Still just grass but heavily layered with dead growth and very thick/clumpy. I set the mower to the highest setting which is around 3 inches and went to work. Cut speed was very good and no bogging. The cut was very clean and the droppings went down right where the grass was cut. No clumping like what you would have seen with a bush hog and no throwing debris. Pulverized a few fallen limbs along the way. Ran over a few protruding rocks and it generally just bounced over. No apparent damage to the hammers. Given the height of the grass it did leave a blanket of blades across the turf (basically the dead stuff) but I suspect next mowing at a reasonable interval will leave everything looking much more clean. There were some patches of newer grass that was less overgrown and the finish on that was extremely good. Very pleased with the results, particularly at this price point. Very good value but time will tell the true value.
This was grass. I will give an update on some brush work I intend to tackle, but I expect it will do even better there.
BTW Nova Tractor was very responsive to my questions and inquiries while doing the research on what mower to buy and they picked up the phone every time. Jack, the owner, is also responsive by email. So that was a plus for me as some other import models appear to lack responsive customer service based on other reviews. I will be honest and say this was not necessarily my first choice among imported models, but they were not in stock, and it appears I have managed to find good value here. So I am happy with that.
CONS: I wish this has a hinged door on the back for easier access to the hammers when maintenance and inspection are necessary. Also, no easy way to drain the gearbox as far as I can tell. Will have to pump it out when the time comes.
Bottom line: Great first impressions. Performed better than expected and as intended relative to a bush hog. Also, love how compact it is. Since it does not hang way off the back it should be more manageable in the tight spaces I intend to go.
Cheers. Happy to answer questions. Ill post a longer term review and the end of the summer.
Matt
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