Flail Mower

FarmerZeb · May 14, 2013

school me on flail mowers.

will they do the same job as a brush hog?
durability?
maintenance?
hp req per foot?

thanks,

Paul

Jim in Ma. · May 15, 2013

In good condition they cut like a finish mower.
You must keep the RPS's up.
They don't cut as well if you lift them off the ground.
With dry or dead grass they are through a lot of dust and dirt up
I hope this helps.

Jim in Ma. · May 15, 2013

Sorry - I should have said RPM's

ben there · May 15, 2013

there's 2 different kinds of flail mowers...most common is finish mowers...the type that eats wood is more commonly found on skidsteers and larger tractors...they require alot of HP if pto driven or a big pump if hydraulic powered.

keh · May 15, 2013

My only experience was with a 6 foot 3ph finish type for mowing grass. They don't like soody sprouts of any size, so they definately don't replace a Bush Hog. A 35 hp tractor pulled it fine. Lawn needs to be smooth or they will scalp. Replacing the little swinging blades could get expensive. I sold it because of some wear and condition issues and because i got tired of having to hook it up to tractor when I wanted to mow lawn. I like a dedicated lawn mower.

KEH

Anonymous-0 · May 15, 2013

What exactly are planning to use a flail for?

A lot depends on the particular brand and model of flail mower. Mott invented the flail mower and are now owned by Alamo. These flails are designed for heavy grass and weeds. They are not designed for brush cutting. For grass cutting they use less HP than a similar size rotary mower. They are much safer in that they don't throw anything out the side or back like a rotary. The cuttings are thrown against the deck and then fall to the ground behind the roller. There is maintenance involved that includes greasing the bearings in the cutter shaft and rear roller. Changing the knives is more time consuming than changing blades on a rotary mower or bush hog. Compared to a single blade bush hog a flail will leave a much nicer cut and mulch the cuttings a lot more as well.

NEKS · May 15, 2013

Dad had a JD #35 frail mower. It had a blower spout so you could fill a wagon. Cut brome and alfalfa mix to put in the silo and also to mow the weed off of new planted clover. Looked like a golf course when done.

BushogPapa · May 16, 2013

My 6 1/2 ft Ford Flail is great for clipping pasture.
But..in tall grass, it can really let the Smoke out of my 720 D...!!!
It all depends on what you are cutting ..and NO, they do NOT work well in woody Brush..
For Brush and Saplings, you would need a heavy duty flail with "Hammer-Knives"

Ron..

Flail Mower

FarmerZeb

Member

Jim in Ma.

Well-known Member

Jim in Ma.

Well-known Member

ben there

Member

keh

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

NEKS

Well-known Member

BushogPapa

Well-known Member

Similar threads