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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Flailing away!

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Indydirtfarmer

05-25-2004 09:48:29




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About an hour ago, I was out running an errend, and saw a State of Kentucky mowing crew, cutting grass at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. (Site of the National Farm Machinery Show) They were using a Mott flail mower, behind a Deere tractor. (Had to mention the Deere tractor!) I'm getting interested in buying a flail mower. I've heard the good points, as well as a few bad ones. What I would like to know is, Who besides Mott makes 'em? Who's is the best? How much would I expect to pay for one? I'm thinking 6' or 7'. I do quite a bit of bush hogging, and some of it is for a real estate agent. They would like more of a "finished look" than what a bush hog can give. Thanks in advance for any advice. John

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Bill(Wis)

05-29-2004 13:59:44




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
Why don't you try the John Deere website? They describe their various flail mowers. There are smooth cut options if that's what you want. Also, JD and NH have green choppers. One of them, don't remember which, can be set to drop cuttings out the back instead of blowing. JD website has a "build and price" feature to get you through sticker shock early on.



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Gene Davis (Ga.)

05-27-2004 12:44:58




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
I have been using a flail mower to cut most of my my yard and 2 acre lot with for more than 20 years. I first had a Mott CLB60 3 pt hitch model mounted on a 154 Cub LoBoy. Great mower on a pitiful excuse for a tractor. Couldn't get rid of the tractor except by selling it with the mower,so I let it go and hunted another setup. i bought a used 650 John Deere diesel(Yanmar built)compact that was about the same hp as the Cub. It came with a JD216 finish mower and it was a very poor cut compared to the smoothness of the Mott. So I searched till I found another 60" mott and then sold the JD finish mower and the buyer and I both were happy. I then set out to modify the flail mower to make a good thing better. I built a set of caster swiveling gauge wheels for the front and used 1" set collars on the stem to raise or lower the height by moving spacers from top to bottom of the pivot stem usually stays set at 2 1/2 " height, the back side of the mower rides on the rear roller. I then built a pivoting link connector that moved the pin the top link hole of the hitch on the mower 8" toward the tractor. These modifications allow the mower to float completely and follow the contour of the ground and give a very smooth cut and not gouge. By extending the hitch pin holder on the mower frames 8" I lengthened the distance between the mower and the wheels so it can move up and down with the terrain easier. Actully the mower is free to float up and down as needed. My wife keeps her flowers & trees with a 6'spacing and it works well. I used 1/8" vinyl flexible belting to make a full width flap that hung down about 6 inches in front of the mower housing and another piece to make a full with flap for the rear that is long enough to touch the ground and is actually a couple of inches longer and that way spreads the grass clippings as the fall out the back and also stops any thing that might be thrown out the rear. The secret to making a Mott flail mower cut smoothly is to be sure that the drum is spinning at 2,200-2,400 rpms turning towards into the direction of travel, when you hear the drum and kinves whistling it is ready to cut clean. Also you need to sharpen the cutters occasionally. I try to remember to sharpen mine once yearly. I have the heavy duty blades on mine. Mott got bought by Alamo Industries and when I tried to correspond with them they told me they mostly sold to Municipalities and Goverment sales. There is a company in Tennessee called Flailmaster that sellls parts for a lot of different makes of flail mowers, and their prices seem to be in line. I did a comparison test on power required to cut with a flail type compared to a rotary mower and I found It took about 1/4 less power to do a neater job in the same grass with a flail type mower. I could actully move up from 3rd to 4th gear. I had a sliding glass door shattered from a rock thrown from the rotary mower on my lawn mower and it was not from the discharge side either! Kiss that $200.00 good bye! The worst enemy a flail mower is stuff that will wrap around the drum. If I am cutting dense grass or unknown areas, I raise the mower up pretty high and back into the weeds or brush,cutting the top part of the weeds and brush up tp 1-1/2" saplings and then come back the next time to cut lower where I can see what I am cutting. Here is an interesting thought for you! I have an aluminun housing flail type PUSH MOWER powered by a Clinton engine if anybody wants to get serious! In closing i will say in the pro and con dept, flail mowers are something you either love or hate! I love mine,I am going to get almost 18 years out of my blades, but at $300.00 per set I should hope so.

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DuaneWKKC

05-26-2004 04:31:15




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
I bought a used 88" Alamo 4 years ago, Spent about 200$ on new knives and clevis's (Knife holders) + about $50 on new bearings for the roller. Run it behind a 1650 oliver, mow about 24 acres 3 times a year. The ground is in Grovecity Oh and is owned by my Church. The knives had to be ordered because of all of the construction carp that gets dumped on open ground. I have hit hidden chunks of concrete, rocks ect. and have yet to really damage the unit. Also have cut several 5 acre lots with it. Does a real nice job. Only draw back I see is it does NOT like to mow really heavy tall stuff (ragweed ect..). Likes to wrap this stuff and the 1650 wont go slow enough. It does need new slip clutches but they manage to hold till slipped hard once or twice then they need a new layer of rust!

Would I recomend one... YEP, excellent for mowing along fences because its up close to the tractor, and does a very nice job.

DuaneWKKC

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buickanddeere

05-26-2004 11:08:28




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 Re: Re: Flailing away! in reply to DuaneWKKC, 05-26-2004 04:31:15  
While I've never used a flail mower, the results from a real Bush Hog brand with new blades was pleasing. Did a suprising neat/clean/smooth job on weeds & grass around the outbuildings here. Did find a stone with the new blades in less than two minutes of thier 1st usage.



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MarkB

05-25-2004 19:27:16




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
Mott was bought by Alamo, they're probably the most popular brand. I've heard that Ford/New Holland and John Deere flail mowers are actually made by Bush Hog, I don't know if that's true. I have seen some other brands that were very heavy duty, but I don't recall the name.

Advantages:

Very nice cut; depending on the knife, they can cut smoother than a finish mower. The knifes tend to lift up grass that's been flattened by the tractor tire.

Chops up the trimmings; some mowers can be reversed so they mulch the trash.

Relatively safe, trash is discharged out the back (which is the main reason highway departments like them)

Disadvantages:

Expensive to buy, expensive to repair.

Require more power than an equivalent rotary mower. A 7 footer will need about 40-50 hp.

Can be damaged if you hit large rocks or stumps.

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Dick2

05-25-2004 15:31:26




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
I considered Alamo an inferior quality product; I bought Tiger rotary and flail mowers for AZDOT. Tiger is made in Sioux Falls, SD. Tiger products are the heaviest duty and best quality in the mower industry.



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Tom Lendt

05-26-2004 06:41:59




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 Re: Re: Flailing away! in reply to Dick2, 05-25-2004 15:31:26  
If memory serves me correctly, The Alamo Group owns Tiger, so in a roundabout way you got an Alamo;)



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RB/CT

05-25-2004 12:52:25




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
Yes, they use them for safety. They also give a good quality of cut over a brush hog, as the cutters small triangular edges cut many times. Check with Befco mowers, they make some that are reasonably priced, although probably twice as much as a brush hog, but your getting twice the quality of cut. Good luck.



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Mike M

05-25-2004 12:29:38




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
I have owned 2 Ford flail mowers a 5.5 foot and a 7.5 foot wide they are made very well. I have seen JD, Almo,mott names for sale on ebay could be they all come from the same factory.Prices new are real high but used seem to be reasonable $400-$1000 Right now I have my 5.5 behind a JD M it handles it ok until you get heavy new grasses it takes lots of power. Once cleaned up and maintained you can get by with less HP then you really need at first.The 7.5 ran good with 40 HP to 60HP I have also cut off small trees 1-1 1/2 inch ? Mostly just pull out trees first then mow. I have never hit any big solid objects yet so I don't know how bad you can tear one up. I do know all about that barbed wire got into some once heard it pulling down shut off pto just as the belt snapped it was wound up tight and at the end had to go drive to shed and use cutting torch to cut it out. It did not hurt the mower. I got into some plastic water ,gas line it wound up too but I just backed up got loose end under tires and it unwound it off rotor no damage.I like the finished look I get over what a brush hog does. Don't use brush hogs anymore ever since dad was mowing and hit a hidded metal T fence post It shot a piece up through a heavy metal deck and it JUST MISSED his head. Flail mowers don't seem to throw things as much.

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John *.?-!.* cub owner

05-25-2004 10:30:32




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 Re: Flailing away! in reply to Indydirtfarmer, 05-25-2004 09:48:29  
My only experience with them is the Mott that belly mounts on a Farmall Cub. It's greatest point is it's safety. They won't throw rocks, and sticks as a Bush hog or rotary mower will. As far as what they will cut and the quality, they fall about midway between a Bush Hog and a finish mower. The only real short coming I've seen with mine is that if i get into real tall striny grass such as Fescue, it is bad to wrap up on the mower, but with a bigger more powerful tractor that may not be a problem. If you cut areas that you are not familiar with, I would suggest keeping a pair of good heavy duty side cutter pliers handy. Getting barb wire out that it has grabbed and wrapped up can be a real pain.

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Fred OH

05-25-2004 12:19:37




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 Re: Re: Flailing away! in reply to John *.?-!.* cub owner, 05-25-2004 10:30:32  
John... the baling wire might be harder to get out from under the rotary type mower. I've had to load the rig and remove the whole blade assy. to get it out. Not any room to get those side cuts in there. Fred OH



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John *.?-!.* cub owner

05-25-2004 15:59:50




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 Re: Re: Re: Flailing away! in reply to Fred OH, 05-25-2004 12:19:37  
At least you can remove the blade. On a flail it winds around the shaft like winding a fishing reel, and gets under the knives, etc. all you can do is unwrap and cut.



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