Orec tracked flail vs Grillo wheeled flail vs ride on

[2manyrocks]

I have some hillside areas I'd like to mow. Currently own both a Gravely walkbehind with 30" rough cut mower and a Bachtold rough cut. Already own a Kubota L2501 and MX5200. Don't want to use either Kubota on the hillside.

I tend not to use the Gravely because of the weight.

The Bachtold starts easily and does a good job of cutting material off at the base, but doesn't grind it up because it has an open deck that isn't enclosed on the sides. It's exhausting to push the handbars to lift it up over material, drop it down, and then pull it back by hand to cut up the material. It has a single forward speed and no power reverse. So what tends to happen is cut briars pile up at my feet and then I have to pull it back to chop them up. I use it as a last resort and never look forward to using it. Plus it has thrown a few rocks at my shins even though the rubber flap is in place that is supposed to stop that from happening.

I've been wondering if a flail mower would do an easier job of chopping up 6' tall briars and honeysuckle. The nearest BCS/Grillo dealer says he has a Grillo 110 with less than 100 hours that he could sell me with a 28" Bittante flail mower for about $5400. The list price of a new one with the flail would be around $6,300.

Then I noticed Orec America has a 25" flail driven by tracks. The nearest dealer didn't give me an exact quote other than to say it would be about $6,000 plus $300 shipping. The dealer has one to rent for $180/day so I could at least test one before buying. Both the Grillo and Orec have Honda engines, but the Orec is 8.4 hp vs 13hp on the Grillo.

I tend to think the tracks would do a better job of being able to push the flail into/over brush, but there is a substantial difference in HP between the Orec and the Grillo. The Orec advertises .6 mph in lowest gear vs .8 mph for the Grillo. I could see the slower speed as being better for allowing the flail time to chop up brush.

I don't care about other implements. This would be for brush cutting only.

Another option is there is a Steiner 410 with a 5' finish mower with 550 hours on the tractor and a new Honda engine listed for $8500. It does not have the two speed gear range of later Steiners and a finish mower would not be the best option for cutting brush. However, it would be nice to ride instead of walk if the Steiner could do the job. I don't think I have the option of testing it on my property before buying. The dealer does not have a brush cutter in stock to fit this model.

Final option would be a Power Trac PT 425 with a 48" brush cutter. The price is $17,750 plus shipping. I hate to spend this much just to mow a hillside.

Mulling this over. Would appreciate any thoughts to help think this through.

 

[ArlyA]

Orec makes good machines. I tested one a few years ago. Can't comment on hill sides but it did look low.

 

[2manyrocks]

This is an example of the tangled brush pile I want to cut. There's a 48" step post sticking 42" out of the ground for perspective.

This is my Bachtold and this is my Gravely. If I were to try to cut this pile with either machine, I expect the cutting deck would push itself into the pile at cutting deck level until the brush pushed against the engine area stopping forward progress. Then I'd expect the pile to be severed from the ground, but still suspended above it in a tangled mess.

I could reverse out of the pile with the Gravely F/R lever, but would have to drag the Bachtold backwards. If there were even a way of adding a power reverse to the Bachtold, it would be a significant improvement in being able to work the pile down to shreds.

But is it even realistic to hope that even a tracked flail mower would be able to knock this pile down and then shred it?

For that matter, although I might have hopes of being able to lift the brush cutter on the PT425 enough to drop it down on this pile, I'm not so sure lifting the cutter very high on a slope is a good idea.

 

[ArlyA]

Here is one of the machines we tested.

 

[2manyrocks]

That Orec Cyclone is the one I am interested in. I think they paint them green today. What was your experience?

 

[ArlyA]

That Orec Cyclone is the one I am interested in. I think they paint them green today. What was your experience?

I'd buy one if we needed it for our trails. They make machines for real work and there roots is in the small ag fields in Japan.. At the demo we attended was a Orec company owner from japan.

 

[ArlyA]

The Asian looking fellow in this photo family is Orec. Any other machine manufacture owners attend demo days?

 

[joecoin]

I have a Grillo 107D with a 21" DelMorino brush mower. I've got hundreds of hours on it. Climbs hills, cuts brush, has steering brakes. I love it. If it can push it over, it can cut it.

One thing it doesn't do is mow in reverse, the pto disengages in reverse.

I've never run a flail mower.

 

[2manyrocks]

"If it can push it over, it can cut it." That's the question I have.

My experience so far is the walk behinds I've tried so far can't really push over these kinds of briar thickets like I posted in #3 or climb over them. They can run into them and nibble at them by going back and forth repeatedly. The tires on mine will spin before they can climb up very far onto this kind of thicket.

I'm interested whether a flail would cut differently than a rotary brush cutter on a walk behind, e.,g whether the flail can actually eat away at the thicket and /or whether the track drive will enable it to ride up over the thicket and grind it up.

A 6' rotary cutter behind a tractor has the advantage of all the tractor being able to ride over the thicket and the weight of the cutter compacting the material to the point where the blades can grind it up. So far, I am not finding that to be the case with either of my walk behinds I suspect because they don't have the mass relative to the size of the briar thicket.

 

[MossRoad]

I have some hillside areas I'd like to mow. Currently own both a Gravely walkbehind with 30" rough cut mower and a Bachtold rough cut. Already own a Kubota L2501 and MX5200. Don't want to use either Kubota on the hillside.

I tend not to use the Gravely because of the weight.

The Bachtold starts easily and does a good job of cutting material off at the base, but doesn't grind it up because it has an open deck that isn't enclosed on the sides. It's exhausting to push the handbars to lift it up over material, drop it down, and then pull it back by hand to cut up the material. It has a single forward speed and no power reverse. So what tends to happen is cut briars pile up at my feet and then I have to pull it back to chop them up. I use it as a last resort and never look forward to using it. Plus it has thrown a few rocks at my shins even though the rubber flap is in place that is supposed to stop that from happening.

I've been wondering if a flail mower would do an easier job of chopping up 6' tall briars and honeysuckle. The nearest BCS/Grillo dealer says he has a Grillo 110 with less than 100 hours that he could sell me with a 28" Bittante flail mower for about $5400. The list price of a new one with the flail would be around $6,300.

Then I noticed Orec America has a 25" flail driven by tracks. The nearest dealer didn't give me an exact quote other than to say it would be about $6,000 plus $300 shipping. The dealer has one to rent for $180/day so I could at least test one before buying. Both the Grillo and Orec have Honda engines, but the Orec is 8.4 hp vs 13hp on the Grillo.

I tend to think the tracks would do a better job of being able to push the flail into/over brush, but there is a substantial difference in HP between the Orec and the Grillo. The Orec advertises .6 mph in lowest gear vs .8 mph for the Grillo. I could see the slower speed as being better for allowing the flail time to chop up brush.

I don't care about other implements. This would be for brush cutting only.

Another option is there is a Steiner 410 with a 5' finish mower with 550 hours on the tractor and a new Honda engine listed for $8500. It does not have the two speed gear range of later Steiners and a finish mower would not be the best option for cutting brush. However, it would be nice to ride instead of walk if the Steiner could do the job. I don't think I have the option of testing it on my property before buying. The dealer does not have a brush cutter in stock to fit this model.

Final option would be a Power Trac PT 425 with a 48" brush cutter. The price is $17,750 plus shipping. I hate to spend this much just to mow a hillside.

Mulling this over. Would appreciate any thoughts to help think this through.

As a PowerTrac PT425 owner with a brush cutter, I'll tell you that I have mowed an acre of 13' tall thistles without a blink. However, it is not a great hill climber once you get the hydraulics hot, and, the motor has a limitation of sustained slope operation due to the oiling/lubrication system. My 2001 model year is 25 degrees for the Koehler Command CH25. Not sure what engine is currently being used. How steep is your slope and how large of an area is it?

At $18,000ish just for one task, there's probably a lot more practical and less pricey options, in my honest opinion.

Good luck in your search for the correct tool.