What's So Great About a Flail Mower?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2017
- When I started this channel I would never have guessed my "most asked" question. I get more people wanting to know why I've never discussed flail mowers than any other topic. The reason I've never talked about them is I've had no experience with them. They're not popular in my area, they're generally not sold here, and I don't even know anyone who owns one for me to video around.
A couple of months back I had a message on Facebook again asking about flail mowers and I decided that it was time to act. I picked up the phone and called Rhino Ag, because I knew they were somewhat familiar with my channel and, having sold their products in the past, knew they offered a flail mower. They offered to ship to my area a flail mower, a finish mower and a brush hog, or rotary cutter, to evaluate side-by-side in the field. In the past few weeks I've been videoing around their stuff while it's here, covering different topics, today we get down to business about flail mowers.
Josh Trolinger is Rhino Ag's Large Accounts Sales Manager, and he's had quite a bit of experience with flail mowers. He told me they're no used in the midwest that much, except on golf courses, because of our rough ground and uneven terrain. They are widely used on the coasts, and in areas where a manicured look is needed and safety from thrown objects is of critical importance.
Flails also do a nice job of cutting...we'll compare them, finish mowers and rotary cutters in the next video, and this one didn't work the tractor as much as I thought it would. I was a little impressed with the capabilities of a flail. They're quite a bit more money than the alternatives, but this one is built like a tank and will easily outlast a finish mower (or maybe two or three) for the person who wants a nice "groomed" cut for their estate.
Thanks to Rhino Ag for providing the products for me to do this video. I especially like putting these together when I get to learn something new in the process and everything I learned in this video was new because when I started I knew nothing about flail mowers.
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Campground we went to many years ago used a Ford flail behind an L285 Kubota to mow the fields used by the weekend campers. In the right hands, it left a cut that you couldn't tell from a regular lawnmower.
The permanent campers usually mowed around their own trailers with a household push or riding mower.
Thanks for posting that I am looking to replace my Woods finish mower and will look at it.
I own all three mowers that Mike is discussing. I cut about 20 acres of pasture several times/year. Grass is usually 6 to 12 inches tall when cut, sometimes taller
. The flail leaves the clippings in a uniform layer and significant smaller than either my finish mower or brush hog. I recently mowed the pasture with the finish mower to see the differences. The finish mower required a slower speed and much of the grass was in clumps. The finish mower required about 1/3 more fuel. Where the ground was not level, the finish mower with its four wheels was able to more consistently cut at the set height. The Rhino mower I note has wheels on the back, most flails have a roller. The roller as it rolls over the cut grass bends the grass a bit to give it the "stripes" like a ball field. I paid about $2k for each of the mowers, all are medium duty.
When I a cut field I was not familiar with I got a set of old bed springs wrapped up in the drum. Took about 30 minutes with a bolt cutter, screwdriver and diagonal pliers to remove. A brush hog might not have wrapped up the wire, but a flail always will pick up and wrap up wire, garden hoses and other similar items. A good discussion of flail mowers nearly 500 pages) can be found in the Tractor by Net forums in a thread called "Let's Talk Flail Mowers", link www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/118882-lets-talk-flail-mowers.html?highlight=flail. The discussion includes several brands of flails, including the brand I own, Caroni.
The flail mower is definitely in between the capabilities of the finish mower and brush hog. The brush hog can cut larger brush and the finish mower can achieve a finer cut, however I can nearly duplicate the finish mower's cut with the flail and cut brush up to about 1.5 inches. It's a great all around mower and my preferred choice for the type of mowing I do. The greatest advantage for me is the smaller, well distributed clippings that breakdown quickly.
Thanks for sharing. The fuel consumption on the finish mower is interesting and something I wouldn't have guessed.
I believe it's due to the ability of the flail mower to discharge larger quantities of grass than the finish mower. I my case I am mowing 6 to 12 inch high grass and weeds and the finish mower struggles to discharge the cut grass resulting in slower tractor speed, higher fuel consumption and clumps of grass on the fields. If you are mowing a manicured lawn, cutting 2 to 3 inches off, there may be no difference.
Looking forward to seeing more of the Rhino. Keep up the good work.
Myself I recently picked up an old Mott "hammerknife" flail mower that runs like a champ. Only set me back $500. Not as many people around here use them, but those that do swear by them. So far I love it.
Great information as always. Thanks for posting & stay safe.
Thanks for making this one. I am looking at a flail mower right now and this is timely.,
We use a flail in the vineyard. Great to use as a first cut late winter or very early spring after the final prune has been on the ground a week or more when it's dry. The flail chops it up so that when we run the zero turn up and down the lanes we don't ruin the blades. There's still a few twigs left but not enough to rake.
Yes the flail shines for that use but we use a hog or mower the rest of the time.
Best thing about my flail mower is: it does the same job whether the grass is 5" or 5' tall.
Rotary cutter and the 3 point finish mower just sit now.
We recently purchased a flail mower and love it. We were going to get a rotary cutter but the cut isn't good. It was a little more money but well worth it.
I ran a fecon mower at my last job and it was a beast. Used it to mulch up full trees
Love my flail. Bought one after seeing this video. They are great for tall grass that is too high for a finish mower. I tried a brush hog before before buying my flail and it left my yard looking terrible. Haven't looked back after getting a flail mower.Perfect for those who want a relatively clean cut but don't have the time to keep it mowed with a finish mower. As said previously in the comments it is somewhere in between a brush hog and a finish mower.
Yea y im watching this i have 2 hogs and they do a horable job ive got rough terain and i realy want to start taking some of my land back that is geting taken over and rotery just dosent do brush like it says and it dose not cut grass eather
One of the reasons i bought a flail mower was that it is more compact and only about 18" off of the 3 point hitch. A rotary mower will extend 4 to 5 feet back of the 3 point hitch. This is not a problem on a wide open area but if you are around fences, buildings, orchard plants or other obstacles a flail mower is easier to maneuver.
I'm looking at getting one for the same reason. good to hear your view!
I used a flail years ago on a private estate I was able to set the different cutting heights great mower
Thanks, great information.
Thank you Mike for the video, I have one order with duck feet and Hydraulics.
It's a Pet peeve of mine when people done overlap their passes and leave uncut strips.
That mower isn't wide enough for that tractor as well.
You met my brother I see.
That operator is trying to show off the cutting width and he messed up by half a tractor tire width.
You don't have to overlap half a mower width, just 6 to 12 inches depending on how good you are at driving the tractor straight.
I have both a Landpride RCR-1860 rotary cutter and a Woodmax 62H flail mower. Both have advantages and weaknesses. For large open fields I found the rotary cutter to work best. For areas where you want a more finished cut the flail is better. The flail requires more adjustment to achieve the desired cut. The flail doesn’t cut as well when going in reverse. The rear support roller on the flail cutter is very venerable to damage if going in reverse and you you should hit a stump or rock. Also since there is no tail wheel the flail tends to dig in as you make sharp turns. I’ve had my flail for one full cutting season and don’t believe it was worth the additional cost, adjustment and required maintenance over my rotary cutter. If I had to do it over I would purchase a large zero turn to cut areas where I want more of a lawn appearance.
Awesome! Thanks for the video :)
Ran a flail mower on a Ford 5000 for 10 yrs to finish mow Bermuda grass along right of ways , slopes and grass medians , Also had a 10 ft rotary for pasture clipping Bermuda behind rotational grazed cows in irrigated pastures. Flail mowers give a clean finish down to .50 inch and dont scalp , rotary does more acres per hour . You can flail with a lower hp tractor.
Great video!
Funny you should post this as I am beginning to save money for purchasing a flail mower for my John Deere 1025r. I am currently looking at a Befco brand as they are far more affordable.
Mike, I bought a 6' LandPride Flail mower last year. AND ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I mowed young scotch broom plants with the flail and it left a beautiful mulched look afterwards. (That video is on this profile). LandPride uses a full width roller instead of 2 wheels like Rhino.
Rhino offers theirs either way, with the wheels or with the roller. I think the roller would do a prettier job of striping, but the wheels did fine.
What blades did you get with your flail Drew? I'm about to buy the same thing.
@@jessicaadams262 yea, what blades
Highway crews use them all the time in the midwest, especially since they let the grass on the side of the road get taller before they mow it.
Also less danger of flying debris potentially hitting a passing vehicle.
hi mike hi have just got a grey ferguson loader tractor that me and my dad are restoring and the hydraulics are leaking also i am looking for some hay making attachments for it can you give me some advice thanks
My JD 25A is AWESOME!!!!! It has it’s limits on TALL grass. Tall grass/brush, I reserve for the bush hog.
I love my old flail mower, great video
I would like to see a rough cut flair work against some of the other options, such as a Brown rotary (uses blades and can even cut down small diameter trees and bushes). Never heard of using a flail cutter for golf courses and real fine cuts until I watched this video.
Ji Fi-01 it depends on what type of brown rotary you're talking about. I live about 15 miles from Brown Mfg. and they make rotary cutters that will take down 8 in. hardwoods productively.
I hope that guy is not implying that flail mowers are used on golf courses. That would be highly barberic and would cause an extreme amount of damage to turf. We use reel mowers, which for those who don’t know, are better for the grass because they create a clean cut with a scissor action. instead of swinging a piece of metal, hoping it’s sharp enough to cut the grass but usually it just tears it.
I think he was referring to the short cut height golf courses have from their reel mowers.
Great information Mike.
I'm compairing apples to oranges here but years ago I cut road right of way with a New Holland equipped with an Alamo side long arm attachment. Started out with a flail axe head but after a few years we switched to a brush hog style head & I never missed the flail axe. The video is accurate on the pros & cons but one thing I'd like to add is if you ever accidentally mow over any type of wire, fabric, cable etc it can quickly turn into a nightmare with this style implement. The bearings at the end of the cutting shaft will have to be cleared of debri which may require disassembly & if you wrap up a long enough piece of cable and can't cut the machine off quickly enough the debri can wedge itself between the shaft and the inside of the implement. If you're on your own property this isn't likely to be an issue but in unfamiliar territory it happens. Thanks for the video.
Great input, thanks for sharing! The finish mower that we were demoing got into some round bale twine that was hidden in the field, so that's a real concern.
I ran over a full coil of 22gage hi-tensile wire, end bearings, drive shaft,pto all knacked. boss not impressed 2 weeks after everything fixed i ran over 8mil cable same damage."hey boss! as long as you continue to allow that idiot (co worker) to race around bouncing gear off the trailer, the damage ain't going to stop, i have mulched hammers, wire cutters, wrenches, fencing strainers, cordless drill steel of all sizesand the worst was a butane canister he hid under the prunings and was dumb enough to watch, I bitch slapped him for that. other wise the flail mower works very good. don't forget, most machinery has been designed and advertised on flat surfaces. so if you are on slopes forget about caster wheels. Long grass knee height will slow it down so i tilt it back with the top link so it sits on the roller and she flies through it. the secret is not to let the grass grow too long, knee height is too hard on gear and its false economy and i can get a manicured look in the orchardand in a third of the time, cutting it shorter. We replace the flails every year $600nz, I grease little and often while its warm. smoko, lunch, smoko and finish
We should use best blades which company's..tell me
Good Stuff!
Anything can mow grass.Would have liked to see mowing saplings etc. and the difference between a variety of different hammers. Compare different manufacturers??
Thinking that a flail mower replaces a finish mower seems weird to me. In my (admittedly somewhat limited) experience of using one in school, they're used to top overgrown pastures and last year's old dead grass, and to clear away other stuff that livestock won't eat. You can use it to cut fallow ground before cultivating it, and use it for odd jobs like mowing riparian buffers and patches of weeds and failed crops. They don't leave a lawn type finish though, they don't even cut grass to an even length, and what a golf course could possibly use one for is beyond me. This one has guide wheels, so it would cut at a more even height than the one I've used for sure. But there's gotta be better options for mowing your lawn.
Nothing beats a sickle bar mower!
It looked like it was just laying a lot the grass over and not cutting it? I don't see this being used on a golf course, either.
Normally flail mowers are used only for chopping limbs after pruning, or for cleaning corn stocks, forestry, etc, not for grass, especially if it grows tall. You can see on the video the job done by this particular mower was now really good. We in Ukraine use rotary mowers for grass. If you have problem with financing you can use flail for both grass and pruning, but it's not really the best solution. Stones are not a problem if you use good quality machines. To offer you right machine for right operation is up to your dealer.
Im looking into it need to cut tone of small growth sapalings
Something not talked about is the maneuverability you have a much shorter tail swing that make it much easier to use in tight quarters
Excellent point. They also put a lot of weight on the back wheels of the tractor which is a good thing on hills.
@@TractorMike when the mower is lowered to the ground very little weight is actually on the tractor.
@@waynes.2983 Actually, there's NO weight on tractor with a flail. It rides along on its own roller or tires. 3-point hitch lift arms are in "float" mode and only pull the mower forward. The top link pushes aft on the top of the flail mower to adjust cut height. Flails can give a nice clean cut with "finish" knives. And they don't leave windrows of grass clippings like a rotary mower does (which require spreading if they're heavy, to avoid "mulching" the sod...) A wise man once said "Get a flail mower and you'll never look back." I sold my "finish mower" and "bush hog."
Most Counties in Southern Ontario run an off-set flail for ditches. Phragmites is a big problem in ditches. Hit rocks, culverts, etc. Keep on rolling! Mid-West = Ontario.
We have had a mott flail d9 for 50+ years. Great mower. If anyone has a d95 (5') or even just a d95 deck and drum please hmu. Thx
Thanks
I love mowers!
I figured you were talking hay with flail mower, Dad had one of the first, New Holland cut/conditioner , he never really liked it and went back to his sickle bar mower. But you're talking lawn mowers here which I haven't seen a flail mower do before.
I can't see a flail working well on hay. I would think you would lose all the leaves.
Kirk, you are right, but I think he's talking about another machine that's described as a "flail" cutter. Mower conditioners use either rollers or a flail system to "condition" hay. A flail system on a mower conditioner is a spinning drum with fingers on it that catches the crop right after it has been cut and breaks the stem as it's going out the back of the machine. The flails in those machines are not cutting the crop, but are trying to increase drying time by breaking the stems. You are correct that cutting hay with a flail mower would be a disaster, but he was talking about the flail conditioner. Most Deere conditioners use flails, most New Hollands use rollers to crimp the crop, but they're all trying to do the same thing. I'll do a video one of these days to explain all of that, it's kind of interesting what's going on when hay is being mowed.
Tractor Mike you mean to DECREASE drying time, not to INCREASE drying time.
I would love to see a video on that. the only Deere MowCo's I've seen use rollers. @@TractorMike
Surly this guy misspoke- I worked at Tigers Stadium, and 2 golf courses and during that time I have never seen a flail mower in use. Did he say flail mower on a fairway? We used Reel Mowers. Jacobsons and Toros.
Most of them I've seen are the multi-unit articulated hydraulic driven reel mowers....Palm Springs CA.
I'm thinking the same thing. He had to "misspeak". I want to give hime the benefit of the doubt on this. I've worked on mowers from many courses and not one of them has ever been a flail mower. They are always ganged reel mowers. I have seen flail mowers throw "hammers" before and I don't think anyone wants to have that happen on a fairway.
I don’t think he said that golf courses use flails. He was referring to the short cut golf courses have from their reel mowers.
For mulching under the trees..
I think he misspoke about golf courses. They use reel type mowers that trim grass like the barber trims hair. Only work on already well kept lawns.
One important factor with a flail, it doesn't have stump or rock protection like some Rotary mowers. A lot of people have rock outcropping and continually hit them. A flail mower could be damaged severely if you hit a rock.
The Bonford brush cutter [English Mfd ] side arm flail mowers have a little cylinder balance valve in the arm that senses things like stumps , pulls the head back on contact , and resets the arm . Ive rebuilt a few . One I rebuilt for a guy , He wanted to try it right away in tall grass , went up the hill on my acrage , and found the only set of Cat track rails, hiding in the grass . We had to rebuild it again .
Hey thanks for the input, I am considering a flail mower over rotary cutter but we've got a lot of uneven rocky terrain around the farm
please show the Flail Mower in tall grass please and thank you
We'll be in to the waist high Johnson grass next week...
That looks like a nice mower, but I would not want one where I live due to the material I mow.
Mike what sickle bar mowers? Any videos?
That's coming. Good option for pond banks and ditches. It's here and waiting for me to hook up. Stay tuned!
Hey tractor Mike I have a question I am looking for a small compact cab tractor nothing over 40 horsepower but I know all these new tractors won't last more than 6,000 hours and aren't built like big farm tractors what do you think about small skid steers I believe they're meant the last way longer then small compact tractors what do you think? I would mostly be bush hogging, planting gardens and a lot of loader work
That's funny, you're the second person this week to ask about skid loaders versus tractors. I probably need to do a video about that. I'm a big fan of skid steers for loader work. Of course, everything is right out in front of you where you can see it. If you're doing work in your yard though, the skid loader can tear up the turf, the tractor won't. To be honest, I've never brush hogged with a skid loader, but I don't think I'd like it. it seems to me that it would be slow and would tax the hydraulics of the machine. You'd need a bulletproof cab door to keep you safe which means you'll probably need a sealed cab with heat and a/c depending on where you are. It would be nice having the cutter out in front where you're not looking over your shoulder all the time, and you'd be lower so you could get under trees, it's just hard for me to imagine brush hogging a 20 acre field with a skid loader, but maybe it wouldn't be that bad. For loader work, there's no comparison, a skid loader is the best by a wide margin.
thanks i was pretty sure a skid steer would rip up the turf so thats why i was leaning towards a tractor to minimize turf damage because where i live erosion is a big problem
I use skid steers for almost everything, bush hogging, loading, post holes, trenching , sweeping and tree trimming. The tractor only is used for pulling wagons, mowing large areas, and some box blade work. A small tractor is a delicate piece of equipment compared to a skid steer and even antique tractors like mine are easily damaged in overgrown terrain. I believe every farmer should have both. Bush hogging 20 acres with a skid steer is doable but not recommended. Go out with the skid steer first and hit the difficult areas then finish with a tractor. The amount of lawn damage you do with a skid steer depends on the tires you use and how you turn. Using smooth wide rounded sidewall tires all but eliminates turf damage.
I am new to this arena. With a Kubota LX3310, can I use a flail mower instead of a MMW (I will still have the mid PTO connection) to mow and maintain a normal lawn? The technical lawn is big but there is also rougher area out in the back. That is why I am asking. In short, will the flail mower replace my mid-mount mower?
I doubt that it will cut as clean as your mid-mount mower, but it will be a better cut than a bush hog would give.
@@TractorMike Thank you so much for your answer. I love your videos.
@@TractorMike With "finish" knives installed the "cut" will be indistinguishable from a (so-called) "finish mower." And since the rear roller is so close to the flail drum, scalping is very rare.
Nice job
I was totally lost with his explanation of course cut fine cut!!!!! He made it way to complicated for me. I guess I’ll stick to my rotary mower.
What about side discharge on the flail mower?...
Impossible. Get a rake....
I want to buy a Heavy Duty Flail Mower for my 4120 John Deere 43 hp. Hopefully with at least a 78" cut. Which make would you recommend? I want GOOD Quality.
I get asked advice on flail mowers all the time and I'm sorry but I'm no expert. In 11 years in a dealership, we sold one, to a municipality. They've never caught on here because we're too cheap to pay extra for them. 99.9% of the sales here are brush hogs, so I can't give you any good wisdom.
Did that guy just pull out a pink cellphone ? lol
😅😅😅😅👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣
How about one on the front of the tractor??
That's a really good plan for light scrub.
The diference is how hevy duty your mower is some can be 1500 some 100,000$ and kill hole forests
Did this guy seriously say that a flail mower is for golf course fairways!? 😂😜 Well he did also say that he was a salesman. I'd like to know of one single golf course that uses a flail mower on it's fairways. Do they make a smaller version for the greens? Lol🤣😜😅😂🤣
check out a company called Peruzzo USA they make flail mowers for golf course, fairway and greens.
I think the flail mower rottery blades are good for our. Engine and oil saving and it root up not cutof the weed root and total work at one go let us see first we cultivate then we. Rotawate then lewlling off so many times houmuch you want deep or ...
Flailmowers are used for mulching vineyards waste between rows in California wine country. I know because I've been running one for years. I hate it. It wears out knives way too fast. Can't sharpen them.
WHY can't you sharpen the knives? Easy with a small right-angle grinder....you don't even have to remove them to sharpen. Exercise extreme caution when under one though...they're heavy. Don't depend on tractor's lift alone! Go round up your jack stands (and pads if ground is soft...)
Flail mower has better performance than rotary mower and finish mower, there is very few rotary mower in Europe market, flail mower is the king in Europe.
Safety is the only reason to buy a flail mower. Flails maintainence will break your bank account.
Not if you don't abuse it...
Can hay be made with a flail mower like this
I've never heard of anyone trying to do that but I don't think so. The flail mower is designed to mulch up the material which will make it difficult to impossible to rake and bale.
@@TractorMike Thanks
I have been told that flail mowers used to come with chutes for cutting silage, but i never see those sold now. Any idea why?
I was also told that smaller tractors could operate them. Here is a video with one
th-cam.com/video/p62F3GRajWY/w-d-xo.html,
I love listening to those old John Deere engines run.
Old man
it cuts only grass or anything else
That one cuts brush and grass up to 2" diameter.
There is 1 other mower you forgot and that is the one used on fareways and greens of golf courses and that is a real mower.
I think you mean a reel mower.
Did you tell your wife you were going to capture her on the video?
U
Sooo it sounds like for the money a rotary cutter is a far better value considering the initial purchase price, maintenance costs, and versatility of the cutter.
The maintenance cost is a *little* more on a flail machine vs. a rotary? I think that's a little misleading, they're a lot more cost. A good rotary cutter is quite low maintenance and doesn't really have the consumable parts like a flail mower. Those little knives/ hammers are fairly expensive, you're looking at $150+ a set of knives for a machine and over an hour of time to replace them, which you're looking at replacing those knives any time you hit a rock, Tpost or get into some nasty stuff. Our two batwing rotary cutters haven't cost us that much in replacement parts in the past 10 years and we blew bearings after a seal got taken out in one of the gear boxes and sheared the bolt holding the stump jumper on. Grease and change the gear box oil every other year is about all the maintenance a rotary needs and maybe touch up the blades with a grinder.
Flail mower is the best if you have ditches and trenches
Flail mowers are *not* designed to grind up debris.
I don’t like flail mowers. Would much rather a finish mower.
It all depends on what you use it for. If you're doing a lawn type area, of course finish mowers are better. But if you're mowing heavy grass or light brushy areas, a finish mower won't be able to handle it.
they suck for grass !!!
Its not cutting clean at all. My 6ft Frontier rotary cutter puts that to shame.
"guys that are purchasing these" as I sit here with my vagina researching what type of mower is best for my 20 acres. SMH!
Chill. Nobody is trying to insinuate that women can't or don't buy and/or run flail mowers.
flail mowers are great until you start breaking teeth on rocks
Gennaro Ciatto EXACTLY! If you are the slightest bit uncertain about the ground that you are mowing, it is ALWAYS worth it to leave the flail mower behind and use a bush hog. Flail mowers can make good brush cutters if they are built for it and have heavier Y knives but more times than not, on neglected ground you will get more grief than you ever bargained for. (fence wire, concrete, stumps, e.t.c.)
I wouldn't buy one of these.! They are not practical for specific purposes so they are a waste of steel.!