Titan Flail Mower

[swreeder]

Greetings,

I took the plunge and purchased a Titan attachments flail mower this past week. In doing research for this particular flail, I found very little information on the web regarding it. I figured I would document as much as I can to help anyone else that may be looking at one of these.

To give you some info on my intentions and use for the flail. I live in Texas hill country on about 50 acres. My driveway is about 3/4 mile long caliche road with anywhere from 1 foot to 4 foot wide grass/weeds that grow along the side. I also have about 2 acres of combined open areas that grow in natural grass. I was mowing these areas with the use of a rotary cutter and string trimmer in the past. The terrain here is very rocky, at most I have 1-3" of topsoil over limestone. Goal was to make mowing the road areas easier and more efficient.

I purchased the bank mower version of the flail to help with the roadside mowing and hard to reach areas where I cannot get with the rotary cutter.


Shipment arrived to my house in less than a week from Titan. Shipping crate was not in the best shape, but the contents were all intact. Two minor issues upon arrival. 1. Paint rubbed off from parts rubbing together in shipping. 2. Burr inside bushing damaged threads on pin during assembly. Both are fixed and Titan has been working with me along the way.

 

[swreeder]

Unboxing the unit and assembly takes some time. It's very heavy and robust. There is no cheapness anywhere that I can detect with the product.

 

[swreeder]

Having someone to help with the assembly is a plus. The swing arm and 3 point assemblies are heavy and awkward to move around.

 

[swreeder]

Assembly, greasing zirks and putting oil in gearbox is probably a good solid 1-2 hour job if you do not run into issues. Mine was closer to four due to a slight defect that caused me to damage some threads on a large bolt.

 

[swreeder]

A quick test around the yard yielded good results. Initial impressions are to take it slow, there are lots of things to be watching and monitoring at the same time. I am also going to need to find a way to slow down the rear remotes, moving the hydraulics with engine RPMS at right level to run the implement are way to fast and jerky. I need to find a source for orifice disks or flow limiters online to order.

 

[workinonit]

What size is that cutter?

 

[TerryR]

I have the same issue with my Peruzzo ditch and bank mower with the movements being too fast and jerky, even though it came with orifices to limit flow. After exploring options, I ended up doing nothing and kind of getting used to it.

I like the chain front guards. My Peruzzo has a stiff rubber belt guard, which knocks down tough stemmy weeds so they aren't cut, then pop up in a short time. The only way I've found to solve that is to remove it, which isn't a great solution. I was just thinking today that a chain guard should work better.

 

[ptsg]

Get some adjustable flow control valves and should fix that issue. To achieve a wide range of movement on these flail mowers, they had to place the cylinders in a way that favors the range of movement while losing leverage, so it makes it very touchy.

@K5lwq also has a similar unit and if I remember correctly, that was what he did to control the speed.

Something like this:

 

[workinonit]

My tractor has a hydraulic flow control. But I also have economy PTO that I never disengage which allows me to run much lower rpm thus making hydraulics not as tricky.

 

[K5lwq]

Get some adjustable flow control valves and should fix that issue. To achieve a wide range of movement on these flail mowers, they had to place the cylinders in a way that favors the range of movement while losing leverage, so it makes it very touchy.

@K5lwq also has a similar unit and if I remember correctly, that was what he did to control the speed.

Something like this:

Yes, I have one of these on my Kioti remote valve. For the flail, I used a flow reducing fitting with a small orifice like this.

 

[swreeder]

Got to spend a little more time on it tonight testing it out. Getting a little better at feathering the remote valves, it might just be more operator error vs need flow limiters.

It did a great job cutting along the fence line, Impressive how close you can get it by working the remotes carefully and going slow.

 

[swreeder]

What size is that cutter?

65" cutting width

 

[K5lwq]

Very nice! I like mine a lot. Do you have the cylinder for vertical rotation on a valve with float? I find float is necessary to get a even cut.

 

[swreeder]

Very nice! I like mine a lot. Do you have the cylinder for vertical rotation on a valve with float? I find float is necessary to get a even cut.

Tell me more! I have three remote valves. The two that I am using have detents, the one that I am not using does not. Not sure if I have a "float" valve. I'm new to the world of rear remotes.

 

[K5lwq]

Float allows the head to follow the contour of the ground without having to adjust the valve. If you have ever used the float function on your loader it is the same idea.

 

[swreeder]

Float allows the head to follow the contour of the ground without having to adjust the valve. If you have ever used the float function on your loader it is the same idea.

Got it, I don't think my remote valves support it, or if they do its not in the manual and I can't seem to work them in any way that would indicate they are in float.

 

[K5lwq]

Mine did not either. I added a solenoid valve to tie the ports together and created a way for the head to float.

It will only raise to the height I energize the solenoid but I always have it rotated up before I flip the switch. Then it moves up and down no problem.

 

[leonz]

Hello and good morning swreeder,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the "Flail Mower Nations" from Wimberly Texas.
Are your rear tires loaded with liquid ballast??

A couple of things you need to look at and adjust are (1) your three point hitches lower links MUST be level to reduce any stress on the lower lift arm links and (2) you need to invest in 2 two way needle valves and long hydraulic fittings to control the speed of the oil flow to the boom swing cylinder and the mower lift/lower cylinder.

If you have three draft control valves in the cabin you need to make sure they are all fully lowered to make sure the three point hitch is level from side to side to let it float.

I am glad to see the hose protection sleeves on those hoses.

As the hoses have banjo hydraulic fittings on the cylinders the best way to do this is install the 2 way needle valves on the quick attach fitting hoses ends as you would have to replace the entire hose if they were attached to the cylinder end of each hose.

I would strongly suggest that you go to a hydraulic repair shop to buy the 2 way needle valves and the steel hose fittings for the 2 flail mower hoses you will attach them to as they will know exactly what you need as long as you bring pictures of the hose ends and the numbers on the hose fittings that are attached to the quick connect fittings.

You will need a pair of extension fittings to let you connect the quick connect fittings to the manifold on the tractor and they can order them for you.

By installing the short and long steel hose extension fittings you will have no trouble installing and removing the quick couplers in the manifolds as they will not interfere with each other as one mounting assembly will be longer than the other and it will prevent filling the swear jar and skinned knuckles.

You need to also take pictures of the information printed on the hoses or write the information down so you can give it to the hydraulic repair shop to order the correct fittings for you.
If there is no printing on the hoses you can take both of the quick connect fittings with you to the hydraulic repair shop to order the right fittings.


By slowing the oil flow of the double acting cylinder to one port on each cylinder that will control the boom swing speed and elevation to vertical speed you need reduce the stress on the mower frame and reduce the chance to cause a tip over event.


LeonZ

 

[swreeder]

Hello and good morning swreeder,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the "Flail Mower Nations" from Wimberly Texas.
Are your rear tires loaded with liquid ballast??

A couple of things you need to look at and adjust are (1) your three point hitches lower links MUST be level to reduce any stress on the lower lift arm links and (2) you need to invest in 2 two way needle valves and long hydraulic fittings to control the speed of the oil flow to the boom swing cylinder and the mower lift/lower cylinder.

If you have three draft control valves in the cabin you need to make sure they are all fully lowered to make sure the three point hitch is level from side to side to let it float.

I am glad to see the hose protection sleeves on those hoses.

As the hoses have banjo hydraulic fittings on the cylinders the best way to do this is install the 2 way needle valves on the quick attach fitting hoses ends as you would have to replace the entire hose if they were attached to the cylinder end of each hose.

I would strongly suggest that you go to a hydraulic repair shop to buy the 2 way needle valves and the steel hose fittings for the 2 flail mower hoses you will attach them to as they will know exactly what you need as long as you bring pictures of the hose ends and the numbers on the hose fittings that are attached to the quick connect fittings.

You will need a pair of extension fittings to let you connect the quick connect fittings to the manifold on the tractor and they can order them for you.

By installing the short and long steel hose extension fittings you will have no trouble installing and removing the quick couplers in the manifolds as they will not interfere with each other as one mounting assembly will be longer than the other and it will prevent filling the swear jar and skinned knuckles.

You need to also take pictures of the information printed on the hoses or write the information down so you can give it to the hydraulic repair shop to order the correct fittings for you.
If there is no printing on the hoses you can take both of the quick connect fittings with you to the hydraulic repair shop to order the right fittings.


By slowing the oil flow of the double acting cylinder to one port on each cylinder that will control the boom swing speed and elevation to vertical speed you need reduce the stress on the mower frame and reduce the chance to cause a tip over event.


LeonZ

My rear tires are loaded with ballast, so I have that covered. My dealer recommended 1/2 swivel adapters with an orifice to restrict flow. The were only 5 bucks each so order 4 to try out. If they don't work out I will visit a hydraulic shop for alternatives. I'll pay a little more attention to leveling the lifter arms next time I hook up.

 

[swreeder]

A few updates to share.
1. Hitting rocks can be detrimental to the hammers . I found a rock in a field that I missed, the flail picked it up. Broke two hammers and dented the mower. Fortunately hammers are cheap and I bought 15 spare ones.
2. Installing swivel orifice adapters with a .031 hole were perfect to slow down the rear remotes to a very nice speed.
3. I feel like I need two more arms. I'm constantly adjusting 3pt height, mower pitch and offset. I got fairly good at it, but I will say mowing at a consistent height is almost impossible with rough, rocky terrain. I'm happy with the results, its just not a set it and mow type of solution.
4. Its a workout on the neck.

In all I'm still learning but mowed a 1 acre field and about 1/2 mile of the side of the driveway in a decent amount of time. Way better than attempting to do it with a string trimmer and brush hog.