Flail Mower Titan Flail mower
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My experience Sunday was almost exactly like troverman's.
I cut for about an hour and then noticed that one of the 3-pt pins had come out and was lost. The lock pin had been pried loose by a branch or something. No surprise really considering the height of vegetation I was mowing.
So I put in a new pin and used a bolt with a lock nut.
The grease zerks that are sticking out of the lowest part of the rear drum/wheel are ground off. It's just a poor design to have them that low.
At some point a few hours later I discovered the rod holding the front hanging chains had lost a hitch pin on one side. All of those chains and the separator collars were gone. The only reason it didn't go all the way out was that there was a bunch of grass caught around the rod and that prevents any additional movement. I didn't have another suitable pin in my tool bag so I put a small metal hook bungie and it held for the last hour. I will call Titan tomorrow and see if they will warranty the loss.
My 35hp tractor did fine on everything but the steep hills with the heavy brush. It did cut pretty well but there are a lot of brambles that would need a second cut. The only other "damage" I could see was that there are some holes in the top of the flail deck that had plastic fillers in them. I don't know why they are there but all of the plastic hole fillers are gone. My tractor has PTO gearing for 540 and 1000 RPM and I ran it on 1000 because the 540 seemed to lack the appropriate "oomph" to really knock the stuff down.
I cut for about an hour and then noticed that one of the 3-pt pins had come out and was lost. The lock pin had been pried loose by a branch or something. No surprise really considering the height of vegetation I was mowing.
So I put in a new pin and used a bolt with a lock nut.
The grease zerks that are sticking out of the lowest part of the rear drum/wheel are ground off. It's just a poor design to have them that low.
At some point a few hours later I discovered the rod holding the front hanging chains had lost a hitch pin on one side. All of those chains and the separator collars were gone. The only reason it didn't go all the way out was that there was a bunch of grass caught around the rod and that prevents any additional movement. I didn't have another suitable pin in my tool bag so I put a small metal hook bungie and it held for the last hour. I will call Titan tomorrow and see if they will warranty the loss.
My 35hp tractor did fine on everything but the steep hills with the heavy brush. It did cut pretty well but there are a lot of brambles that would need a second cut. The only other "damage" I could see was that there are some holes in the top of the flail deck that had plastic fillers in them. I don't know why they are there but all of the plastic hole fillers are gone. My tractor has PTO gearing for 540 and 1000 RPM and I ran it on 1000 because the 540 seemed to lack the appropriate "oomph" to really knock the stuff down.
Aquamoose
Platinum Member
The input from you guys would make me make modifications to the mower. The primary use would be to mow down thick ground cover & infant pine/fir saplings. Curious about the jerk fittings on the bearings, both inboard and outboards, are they all facing down? Would anyone be willing to show photos of the bearing locations where the jerk fittings are? Do you use a regular 3 point connection or would the top link need to be “floating”?
At present, the second option was to go for a Woodmaxx flail mower but my budget is limited so I may pull the trigger with the Titan and make the necessary modifications before putting it to work.
Thanks for the observations!
At present, the second option was to go for a Woodmaxx flail mower but my budget is limited so I may pull the trigger with the Titan and make the necessary modifications before putting it to work.
Thanks for the observations!
I used a regular 3-pt connection with the top link being how I set the angle. The manual says to have the rear about 15 degrees lower than the front.
Here is what I would change had I known.
The bottom facing grease zerks on the rear roller need to be relocated facing any direction but down. In my case I will just buy a bag of them and use a new set each time I finish mowing.
The chain holding rod at the front needs something better than a hitch pin and because it's not going to be removed ever (or very rarely) I would probably use a bolt with a lock nut.
The 3pt pin came with a linch pin (pin with circle like this: Shop Hillman 1-3/4-in Linch Pin at Lowes.com) I would use something else. Not sure if any kind of quick disconnect pin would stay on while mowing through branches that can grab a loop.
Here is what I would change had I known.
The bottom facing grease zerks on the rear roller need to be relocated facing any direction but down. In my case I will just buy a bag of them and use a new set each time I finish mowing.
The chain holding rod at the front needs something better than a hitch pin and because it's not going to be removed ever (or very rarely) I would probably use a bolt with a lock nut.
The 3pt pin came with a linch pin (pin with circle like this: Shop Hillman 1-3/4-in Linch Pin at Lowes.com) I would use something else. Not sure if any kind of quick disconnect pin would stay on while mowing through branches that can grab a loop.
Are both mowers equipped with the same type blades?
What size is he rear roller? Why do you think it is too small?
Did they give you a test routine for the video? Bearing play, running without belts, running without cutters, etc..?
Except for loosing parts, you are happy with the purchase?
Did you have to swap the pulleys for the 1000 rpm PTO?
Did you make a second pass in the field where the truck is parked? How did it look then?
I did not have to swap pulleys.
The second pass did improve the cut because the parts that were missed were the large diameter 0.5"-1", 3'+ tall weeds that would lay down and get missed by the hammers, but there is too much land to make a second pass. The end result is what I need.
I found that on the heavy brush areas raising the mower to about 6" off the ground helped with bogging down and keeping even the bigger weeds consistent with the shorter. Another pass at a lower height would then shred what was left. Not ideal, but works well for the areas where short cut is better, like a road).
As far as happy with the purchase, I don't expect perfection out of a cheap implement. It it continues to work for a few years without any major mechanical issues then I will be happy with it because I look at these things in the light of how much I paid for the time I got out of it. Time will tell.
Update:
I did call and get them to send me a new set of chains and spacers for the side that was lost. I'll attach the rod in a way that won't come off. Their customer service was great.
I think I will try to detach the roller bearings and rotate them 90 degrees in order to save myself the hassle of continually replacing the zerks.
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An update on my mower. Yesterday I tried to make another pass to see if the shaking was any better. It was not. The entire rear roller assembly broke its bolts and fell off, taking out a couple of flail knives in the process. The top link uprights also had their cracks worsen. One side sheared off completely and the other side half sheared before I could just get it back to my truck with the PTO off.
Guidshir, I had the same experience with the front safety chain mesh...the rod backed out and I lost half my chains. The rod stopped before reaching the halfway point so the other side stayed. Although its a bad design, I really don't care about these chains anyway. Titan will warranty those...they offered to do so for me if I just took pics. Additionally, my plastic housing plugs also disappeared. I'm not sure what their purpose is, but its a minor thing. And my grease zerks were destroyed and I also install new ones.
As for my mower...I've spoken with Titan and I'm surprised that their customer service seems to be decent. They sent me an exploded parts view of the flail mower with each individual part numbered...they said tell us what parts you need to repair your mower and we'll send them. So they are willing to send me all the roller parts that failed, plus a new drum that may be bent and new drum bearings and a couple of flails. That satisfies me. When I reassemble everything, I will most certainly change the angle of the roller grease fittings by rotating the bearing flange 90 degrees so the zerks point straight out the back and are less likely to be damaged.
ddbackhoe, to answer your questions:
The Vrismo and Titan are using hammer style flails. The flails on the Vrismo are lighter weight, a little smaller, and more of a duckfoot. The hammers on the Titan are more square and are definitely heavier and more suitable for brush.
As for rollers, the Titan uses one that is about 4.5" in diameter. The Vrismo uses a 7" roller. Not only is the Vrismo roller heavier, but it rolls over terrain better and the bearings are smoother. It is mounted in a much heavier-duty manner, and has vastly better grease fittings.
You do not have to have a floating top link. Just a standard connection and I set mine to just about level with a slight rake to the front.
I don't have a lot of great pics, but here's one I have:
Guidshir, I had the same experience with the front safety chain mesh...the rod backed out and I lost half my chains. The rod stopped before reaching the halfway point so the other side stayed. Although its a bad design, I really don't care about these chains anyway. Titan will warranty those...they offered to do so for me if I just took pics. Additionally, my plastic housing plugs also disappeared. I'm not sure what their purpose is, but its a minor thing. And my grease zerks were destroyed and I also install new ones.
As for my mower...I've spoken with Titan and I'm surprised that their customer service seems to be decent. They sent me an exploded parts view of the flail mower with each individual part numbered...they said tell us what parts you need to repair your mower and we'll send them. So they are willing to send me all the roller parts that failed, plus a new drum that may be bent and new drum bearings and a couple of flails. That satisfies me. When I reassemble everything, I will most certainly change the angle of the roller grease fittings by rotating the bearing flange 90 degrees so the zerks point straight out the back and are less likely to be damaged.
ddbackhoe, to answer your questions:
The Vrismo and Titan are using hammer style flails. The flails on the Vrismo are lighter weight, a little smaller, and more of a duckfoot. The hammers on the Titan are more square and are definitely heavier and more suitable for brush.
As for rollers, the Titan uses one that is about 4.5" in diameter. The Vrismo uses a 7" roller. Not only is the Vrismo roller heavier, but it rolls over terrain better and the bearings are smoother. It is mounted in a much heavier-duty manner, and has vastly better grease fittings.
You do not have to have a floating top link. Just a standard connection and I set mine to just about level with a slight rake to the front.
I don't have a lot of great pics, but here's one I have:
Rotary cutter works pretty well; flail mower just leaves a much nicer cut. Somewhere between a finish mower like you do your front yard with and a brush hog. At this point I finished my major mowing job with the small Vrismo and Titan wants me to contact them next week to find out if they have the parts available to ship me. If they don't, they will send me a new unit.
I guess the moral of the story is to be cautious when buying a "cheap" flail mower from China...no different than anything else. But I will say so far I am quite pleased with the way Titan has treated me.
I guess the moral of the story is to be cautious when buying a "cheap" flail mower from China...no different than anything else. But I will say so far I am quite pleased with the way Titan has treated me.