|
Kind as of an insomoniac aside... Our Town Highway Department bought a flail mower on an articulating arm about 21 years ago, replacing the old sickle bar mower. Blows through the weeds, grass, small brush, etc and can conform to the roadsides much easier than a sickle. Last year, they replaced the 20 year old rig. Same the size mower...but much, much, much bigger tractor. My gut says they went from a 35 HP Utility tractor to a 95 HP small Agricultural tractor...it was dramatic. Talking to guy on the Town crew who runs it, they simply couldn't believe the performance difference -- With the old tractor they where regularly replacing broken flails -- because the old tractor just didn't have the ooomph to run the implement right...it just had the minimum HP spec'd. You'd think running slower would be easier on the flails...but it's not for their application. The new tractor has the proper HP...seldom do flails break. Between not taking time daily to replace them and being able to go through stuff at a faster speed and not having to backup sometimes to make 2 or 3 passes...they did in 2 weeks what normally took all summer. Which kind of gave the Highway Foreman the good kind of problem -- he suddenly had a guy freed up and nothing planned for him to do. They can whack the roadsides twice a year instead of once for less manpower, less maintenance, and I wouldn't be one bit surprised if it's less fuel despite the bigger tractor because they can get the job done so much faster.
| 
