Please help me find a flail mower.

[MAD777]

I am retiring and moving to the country on 4 Acres of sloped, forested land. About an acre will be yard.

I will have a front end loader, root grapple and box blade. After much research on this forum, I've decided I need a flail mower with the Y blades to maintain the yard and also the understory left behind in the forest, after the grapple and/or box blade work.

I understand the compromise of not having a golf course lawn and also the compromise of not being able to clear a forest of larger saplings. In fact, those compromises are what led me to the conclusion that a Y bladed flail mower would be my one implement solution to maintaining both yard and forest.

The tractor I am buying is a Kioti
CK2610 HST, which has a track width a liy under 60 inches and 24.5hp, 21.5hp at the PTO. (very similar to Kubota L2501)
I'm looking for the least expensive flail mower, as I am unemployed (retired), that will get the job done.

Here is the catch. Since I'll be working in tight quarters in the forest, I want a flail mower to be centered behind the tractor and still span nearly 60 inches to match the tractors tread. It is a mystery to me why seemingly all flail mowers are offset, which would work for yard maintenance but becomes a potential snag in a forest.

I considered a smaller 48-in wide unit. That would solve the offset snag problem, however I would be giving up 20% or so of my mowing width, thereby increasing my work time by that amount.

 

[kebo]

I am sure that Leonz will be by here any moment and give you the very best advice you can get on flails. He's VERY knowledgeable about them. If you care, there is also a thread on here about flail mowers, but it's probably over 50 pages long by now. LOTS of good reading about them, though, if you have the time.

 

[tommott77]

Have you checked the Woodmaxx flail with a hydraulical adjustable offset? The 62" model should stay pretty close to your tire width and I'm sure it could be centered appropriately with the adjustable offset.

62" Flail Mower | Mower Attachment | 62" PTO Flail Mower | FM-62H-WoodMaxx?

I'm not that familiar with your Kioti, but based off your HP figures I'm assuming you're pretty close to the size/weight of my 3E series John Deere, which I'm strongly considering getting the very same mower for. Right now I'm running a 41" flail on my 3025 that's about 60" wide too and absolutely hate not being able to get and cut closer to obstacles with how far I'm cutting within my wheel width. If you don't have aft hydraulic controls you can get some longer lines and run the hydraulics off your loader control.

 

[MAD777]

Tom, that mower solves the problem, but I was trying to get away without the extra expense of hydraulics. However, I must say that is a lot of versatility for the money.

 

[tommott77]

For $100 or so worth of extended lines you can run the mower hydraulics to the curl function of the loader joystick on your tractor, if so equipped. You'd loose curl the function of the loader if you mow with the loader on, but you'd then have true left is left and right is right control of the mower. I don't mow with the loader on and this is the route I'm planning on going....

Woodmaxx Flail Mower First Impressions - YouTube

I'm sure you could also set the mower to dead center of the tractor and then find a way to mechanically tie it to keep it in that position as well.

 

[RoyJackson]

Tom, that mower solves the problem, but I was trying to get away without the extra expense of hydraulics. However, I must say that is a lot of versatility for the money.

IIRC, Woodmaxx offers flail mowers with and without the hydraulic offset. Probably best you look at the Woodmaxx website yourself.

Agri-Supply offers the Caroni brand mower:
Search Results | Agri Supply(R)
The two narrower flails (59" and 47") appear to be centered behind the tractor. I know the 73" mower has two positions, but both are offset to the right.



I have mine set at the maximum offset since that best fits my needs.
If I move the 3PH frame (on the mower) to the other position, it's pretty closely centered on the tractor.

 

[leonz]

About your needs,

Wait until you get settled and dont let anyone talk you into buying a mule until your ready to as you will need a mule for snwo removal.
A four foot flail mower will be better suited power wise and maneuverability wise for your proposed purchase as you can move the three point hitch linkage to the right and reposition the mounting frame on the flail mower to achieve what you want

Are you building a house or buying an old farm house? Sadly your going to find out that your proposed mule will not do a lot of what "they" are telling you it will do by the way.

Its not all that hard to reposition a flail mower with the adjustable offset that is bolted in place, just time consuming as long as you have the right metric tools.

A backhoe and a landscape rake will be better suited to your needs rather than a grapple and box blade.


I have to leave but I will be back sometime today.

 

[MAD777]

I am building a house and definitely have more research to do. I was hoping to find a flail mower that could be centered and it sounds like many can be adjusted.

More than any other implement, I need to look at these in person. I previously looked at AgriSupply, a woodman, etc. But this, more than any other implement, needs more than internet web pages to make choices. These responses has helped me know what questions to ask and what to look for in adjustability.

I have time because my house won't be ready until winter when the ground will be covered in snow until the spring. My first need will be a snow blower.

 

[leonz]

I am building a house and definitely have more research to do. I was hoping to find a flail mower that could be centered and it sounds like many can be adjusted.

More than any other implement, I need to look at these in person. I previously looked at AgriSupply, a woodman, etc. But this, more than any other implement, needs more than internet web pages to make choices. These responses has helped me know what questions to ask and what to look for in adjustability.

I have time because my house won't be ready until winter when the ground will be covered in snow until the spring. My first need will be a snow blower.

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if you intend on having a front loader a rear mounted snow blower will be your best investment. you will need rear chains and loaded(liquid ballast-preferably windshield washer fluid which I have in my mules rear tires and snow chains as four wheel drive tractors and trucks will really get stuck and if that happens the front loader will help to push you out.

 

[RoyJackson]

Its not all that hard to reposition a flail mower with the adjustable offset that is bolted in place, just time consuming as long as you have the right metric tools.

...you will need rear chains and loaded(liquid ballast-preferably

Took me about 15-20 minutes (working by myself and I wasn't working fast) to assemble the frame to the mower. You'll need a 19mm socket and a 19mm wrench. Do ensure you use the included lock washers as the nuts are free running and they may loosen (without the lock washers) from the vibration of the mower.
As far as the size of the mower...the 59" unit requires 20-40 PTO HP.

Although I'm a solid proponent of ballast in the tires, if you add a backhoe to the tractor, check the manufacturer's recommendations. Some (Kubota is one, IIRC) suggest not filling the tires if a back hoe is installed...but you may want the rear tires set to the widest position.

 

[powerscol]

I am building a house and definitely have more research to do. I was hoping to find a flail mower that could be centered and it sounds like many can be adjusted.

More than any other implement, I need to look at these in person. I previously looked at AgriSupply, a woodman, etc. But this, more than any other implement, needs more than internet web pages to make choices. These responses has helped me know what questions to ask and what to look for in adjustability.

I have time because my house won't be ready until winter when the ground will be covered in snow until the spring. My first need will be a snow blower.

MAD777 - I agree with leonz on waiting on the tractorl. You will probably need at least 30HP at the PTO and I would suggest getting rear remotes with the purchase. Also have the dealer fill the tires. When I bought mine I passed on the rear remotes - big mistake. It costs more after to add them on and I could have gotten them almost for free

As to finding a flail mower give Iowa Farm Equipment a call. They have a large selection Iowa Farm Equipment -- Mowers: 3-Point, Pull-Type, Skid Steer, Rotary, Flail & Zero Turn. I bought a Maschio Giraffetta 160 SE and I am running it with 26.5 PTO HP at altitude. It maxes me out, but works great

 

[MAD777]

I hadn't run across Iowa Farm Equipment yet. I'll contact them too.

 

[MAD777]

I just checkled out Iowa Farm Equipment website. Wow! They have a mega selection of everything.