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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Flail mover vs brush hog

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chris sweetland

07-18-2005 15:13:44




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i am considering on of these for my to-20 which is the better choice? i plain on doing mowing for a few people around town both would be 5' mowers the flail moweri think will be the better choice as it can do rough cut and finisn mowing and is lighter on the tractors 3 pt and i think it takes less hp to run the flail mower im sure you guys will set me straight if im wrong




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Mike Van

07-19-2005 15:29:34




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
I've had both, I have about 8 acres I only mow once a year. Flail takes more h.p., does not work well in tall [3'] grasses, they tend to wrap around the drum. Flail parts, cutters, chains, belts are expensive. If you mow 2-3 times a year, flail is better, does nicer job. Now, I use an old Massey brush hog, is almost indestructible. It was old when I got it 5 years ago, older now, NO PARTS have worn out or broken. Has backed over giant multifloral rose the flail had to go around. It ain't pretty, but it sure does the job.

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mrunion

07-19-2005 13:07:07




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
The flails do cut nice. I have one (but we are selling it). I think it's a bit too big for my tractor (40Hp), as the tractor has to work a little hard to pull it, it seems like. It's a 71" 918H flail from Ford.

Thanx,
Matt



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Mike M

07-19-2005 05:16:39




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
I think your going to be limited by the HP of your tractor. A flail mower uses alot of HP in high grass ,but does a very good job even small trees (thumb size ?) and branches.Great if you hit stuff as it doesn't go flying.Your probabally stuck using a brush hog.



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MarkB_MI

07-19-2005 03:37:04




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
Flail mowers require a lot of power.

If you're only mowing grass and weeds, the flail mower will work well. Because it picks up the grass that been flattened by your tires, the flail mower will give a better finish than just about anything else.

If you're going to be mowing brush, then you need a brush hog.

I have both; I mostly use the flail mower, but when it's time to go into the heavy stuff I switch over the brush hog.

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Kevin in OK

07-18-2005 18:50:33




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
We have both types also. A 5ft Befco flail mower and a 5ft Howse brush hog that both do well behind the 8N. The flail does give a much nicer cut than the hog, however it doesn't do as well in very tall grass or branches. While the flail is capable of mowing very tall grass (5 ft tall grass is the tallest I've mowed), I don't recommend it. Due to the variety of conditions you may/will encounter from other people, I'd say the brush hog, due to all around usefulness. It will cut the tall/thick stuff, go over branches, small saplings, most anything. A downside is a poorer looking cut, however I assume that is not that big of a concern.

Your best bet, if you can afford it, is to go with both. That way when the grass is tall you can use the hog, and when its short you can use the flail to give a nicer cut.

But for one mower, I'd go with a brush hog.

Kevin

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Gene Davis (Ga.)

07-18-2005 18:18:47




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
I have been using a Mott flail type mower for about 20 years now. They are for producing a nicer finished type cut than most bush hog types are. They are much better than the bush hog type rotary mower for my likes. But that is only my opinion, everybody has their own opinion. I took the liberty of comparing the bush hog type to the flail mower and on my John Deere 650 compact diesel tractor. The bush hog type was given to throwing objects around the yard and required mowing in 2nd or 3rd gear. With the flail mower io could mow in 3rd or 4th gear. The flail type does not throw stuff, it drops it right behind the mowere where it has just passed and with a 1/8" thick rubber belting curtain on the rear, it just leaves everything in a row where it was cut.If you hit a beer bottle in the weeds, it simply becomes a pile of shredded bottle glass. The key to a good flail mower cut is to have the blade drum turning about 2,200-2,300 rpm. I put castering gauge wheels on the front of my Mott flail mower to keep down the scalping and to be able to set a constant height. It rides on the front caster wheels, and the rear is supported by the full width roller. I also lengthened the hitch point by 7" to give it a longer wheel base and then I made a floating coupling point for the top link at the mower. When I am cutting, I keep my top link adjusted so that it constantly flexes with the terrain. The mower is lowered to the ground and it is actually riding on the roller and front caster wheels and floats with the terrain. it will follow the ground nicely this way. It turns relatively easy unless it is a very sharp I don"t lift it up. The worst thing about a flail mower is the price of the blades. They are more expensive to buy. I have used my blades for over 10 years, occasionally reversing them and sharpening them. There is a place in Tn. called Flailmaster that sells a lot of different parts for flail mowers. Alamo has bought up the Mott Mower Co.and mostly sells to government and municipalities. In a summary statememt I would say that you either like or hate flail mowers.

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jimont

07-18-2005 17:43:54




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
I have both types. For really rough cutting, you can't beat a bush hog type. However , if you're looking at more of a grooming type, you can't beat a mott flail. They're used on golf courses for just that reason. Just remember to use an O.R.C.!



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Galen

07-18-2005 17:30:33




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
Get the hog.



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James2

07-18-2005 17:29:27




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 Re: Flail mover vs brush hog in reply to chris sweetland, 07-18-2005 15:13:44  
I believe you should reconsider the hp requirements. While I have never used a flail finish mower, it sure required more power to run a flail chopper as a shredder than a rotary mower, either in grass or corn stalks.



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