flail mowers??

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

Any experience with them? Getting ready to buy one and need to decide between Y blades and the hammer blades.
Purpose will be to go over the pastures after the horses finish to smooth out the mole hills, spread manure and take out minimal brush (volunteer fruit trees, briars, and some big weeds) nothing more than 1/2" . Is one type better suited than the other for certain jobs or is it just one lasts longer than the other?

Thanks,

Dave

Mike M · Jan 28, 2011

I'm not sure if by hammer blades you mean the ones like JD uses ? They still hang from a chain but have a heavier wide face. If so these are what the ones mowing along the road like as they hold up better when hitting objects. The Y type may make a finer cut for lawns ? But I put the JD type on our Ford and had no problems it did a nice job on pastures and small trees/brush.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

(quoted from post at 11:44:17 01/28/11) I'm not sure if by hammer blades you mean the ones like JD uses ? They still hang from a chain but have a heavier wide face. If so these are what the ones mowing along the road like as they hold up better when hitting objects. The Y type may make a finer cut for lawns ? But I put the JD type on our Ford and had no problems it did a nice job on pastures and small trees/brush.

Here are the choices.

Thanks

old · Jan 28, 2011

I have one with the Y type blades and it works real nice. Can not say how the other type would be. Is the one your thinking about 3 point or a pull type. The one I have is a pull type so very limited to what you can do and get in and around

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

3pt hitch

The ones with the Y blades are about 150 bucks less than the others and there is about 5 bucks difference in the blades. I couldn't use a pull type, too many obstacles. They sellone with a motor that you can pull with a riding mower or quad, but just wouldn't do me any good.

Dave

robertmn · Jan 28, 2011

Dave; Hello. I just got one last yr. Never used one, always had a
brush hog. This one is made in Itay! Hammer knifes on this one.
It is soooo smooth, and cuts so good, I won't be using our
brush hog, only as a back up. And, I'm using a 40 JD to run it!! I
thought I would need to use one of our bigger tractors, but I've
just left it on this tractor, I have cut weeds as high as the
hood.....low gear, but I use 2nd gear most of the time. Would Y
blades be better? Don't know....the hammers on this are heavy
duty, never had to replace one....yet!! Guys down south can
answer better, cause they can use their's a lot more than us in
cold coutry!! (snowing now, with 5 more inchs by eveing) Good
luck and let us know what you drag home Bobmn

Mike M · Jan 28, 2011

It looks like the red one Y blades has alot lighter weight rotor and flail holders. Looks really easy to tear it up if you whack something ! I don't like the way either of those are built our Ford mower had them hanging on a chain farther away from the rotor which should of let it swing away from objects without harm better I'd think.

old · Jan 28, 2011

I got just what you need small one about 36 inches wide a meter to you LOL. Self propelled and come with a parts machine. you walk behind it or can add a cart with seat. It is or was made by a company named Motts

johndeere720GA · Jan 28, 2011

It looks to me that the flat (hammer) blades would yield a smoother finish cut than the "Y" blades would. If you would ever use it to maintain a yard. For a pasture it probably wouldn"t matter.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

This is interesting. Mott invented the flail mower. He was an engineer at IH but they weren't interested in his new mower design so he formed Mott Corporation(now part of Alamo). He tested the self cleaning properties of his new mower in pig manure. Mott had the patents on the free swinging Y blades but referred to his new machines as Mott Hammer Knife Safety Flail Mowers. Other makers began to make flail mowers but had different blade designs because of Mott patents. There are similar machines to Mott's now because patents have expired. The super heavy duty Mott mowers have the blades mounted on a ring so they are free swinging in all directions if hitting a hidden object. The Y blades use the least HP to run as well but you have to keep the RPM's up or the bend in blades will actually change. It's one of those strange but true phenomenons. Mott's are generally more expensive than other flails but are built much heavier using better components. I think the walk behind models were called B 40's or B 36's or something like that. They were discontinued in the late 60's or early 70's but were very good mowers though. There are many Mott flails still in commercial use that are 30 and 40 years old. The models currently available from Alamo are still the same as the original design. The Interstator models have a different hydraulic set up though. Dave

Tim(nj) · Jan 28, 2011

When I worked at the research farm, I used both, and found that the hammers do better with woody material, digest dirt and stones from groundhog mounds without a lot of damage, and can be used to actually mulch the cut material into soil surface if you can set the machine low enough. The one I ran was primarily used to mulch prunings and living mulch in the orchard plots. The Y-type can be made sharper, therefore will cut grass better (the hammers tend to beat the grass off instead of slicing it). The Y machine was used to mow the sod plots and shred residue on some of the vegetable research plots in the fall.

old · Jan 28, 2011

I just went out and looked at it to see if I could find the model numbers etc but can't find them. It does in fact say Mott hammer knife mower on it. It has 4 drive tires and 2 idler sort on the front of it. It has a Wisconsin BKN engine on it. Right before O got this thing the P.O. had just put on all new knifes so this one is pretty much ready to go. It would take a 4 good men to pick this thing up as heavy built as it is

S2710 · Jan 28, 2011

Dave when the township was buying a new mower the saleman said the the hammers are better for mowing along roads. He said that the hammers will take the beating of dirt and brush but the Y blade will bend and break with the dirt and rocks and brush. HTH Bob

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

You may be able to get straight dethatching blades to go on instead of the Y blades. Dave

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

Mott's are built very heavy duty. Just compare the deck thickness of Mott to a Ford 917 flail. The Ford is thin sheet metal. The Mott is 10 gauge. A 74 inch super heavy duty Mott weighs 930 lbs. Dave

old · Jan 28, 2011

The one I have is only about 36 inch wide maybe 40 tops. If I where to guess how heavy it is I would say around 350lbs give or take a little bit

LeoinMI · Jan 28, 2011

I"d go with the hammer blades. I mowed with a Mott Flail mower with hammer blades for years at the airport I worked at. I mowed the infield (areas between the taxiways) with it for years. Hardly ever replaced a blade.

charles todd · Jan 28, 2011

I have a Mott (now Alamo) 88" flail. It has the twin swinging blades in a Y arrangement like the red one in the picture. It is heavy (over 1000 lbs) and a Farmall 504 (46 PTO hp) will handle it better than a 6' rotary mower. It does an awesome job on light brush and grass/weeds. I have even used it in the yard when I was between lawn mowers.

CT

Anonymous-0 · Jan 29, 2011

Yes, Mott flails will use less HP than the same size rotary and are much safer. The Mott/Alamo have the HD blades on rings but also offer fine cut versions. They've even been used on sod farms. A flail can mow anywhere a rotary can except a golf course green because they are only cut around 1/4" high. Dave

Anonymous-0 · Jan 29, 2011

Your post is confusing. Although Mott referred to their blades as hammer knifes, they are pairs of Y blades, not the hammer type blades like in the picture. Dave

Big M · Jan 29, 2011

I have an old flail mower that went on a Hydra-Mac 6C or 8C skid loader and it is for sale.
Digital pictures available upon request.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 29, 2011

(quoted from post at 13:33:43 01/28/11) It looks like the red one Y blades has alot lighter weight rotor and flail holders. Looks really easy to tear it up if you whack something ! I don't like the way either of those are built our Ford mower had them hanging on a chain farther away from the rotor which should of let it swing away from objects without harm better I'd think.

Same mower. Made in Italy. Can get hammers or Y's. Think I'll go with the Y's because I'll be doing the same ground and nothing outside. Folks on forums here with the same requirements recommend the Y's because they are easier on the tractor and my tractor is pushing the minimum HP limit for a decent size mower.

Dave

flail mowers??

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