Ordered a flail mower.
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mcmxi
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I get a 6ft - 8ft wide swath of weeds each year along the outer edge of the driveway and it's a royal pain to deal with them due to the angle of the hillside which is at least 45 degrees in some places. If the mower can handle that chore it's definitely worth the cost.
mcmxi
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Maybe this model?
If so, it does seem very similar in size and capability to the Del Morino. Ferri refers to these models as suitable for "all the farmer expectations". It does seem like cutting 120 miles of road edges on a regular basis would require an industrial grade machine and therefore a bigger tractor.
Offset in-line slope mowers ZMTE Series - FERRI
ZMTE Offset in-line slope mowers series are world known for its safety, reliability and high quality. They perfectly suit at all the farmer expectations.
ferrisrl.it
This is all good information though.
mcmxi
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One difference that stands out right away is the location of the gear box. On the Ferri it's outside the transmission cover whereas on the Del Morino it's inside the transmission cover. Not saying that one is better than the other, just different.
Yep that's it.Maybe this model?
View attachment 77104
If so, it does seem very similar in size and capability to the Del Morino. Ferri refers to these models as suitable for "all the farmer expectations". It does seem like cutting 120 miles of road edges on a regular basis would require an industrial grade machine and therefore a bigger tractor.
Offset in-line slope mowers ZMTE Series - FERRI
ZMTE Offset in-line slope mowers series are world known for its safety, reliability and high quality. They perfectly suit at all the farmer expectations.
This is all good information though.
It actually looks like the red one has areas beefed up that we had issues with, and with the gear box being mounted up top I doubt it will crack like the ferri did. I also see they have braces running around the housing. We had a bunch of issues with it cracking at the bends. Particularly where it was bent to accept the roller cover plate. Actually looks like ferri redesigned the roller area as well.
mcmxi
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The ribs or gussets around the box of the Del Morino are a nice feature and the gear boxes out of Italy have a very good reputation. Ferri states that mounting the gear box outside the transmission cover increases the offset while keeping the pto shaft at a less aggressive angle. That makes sense, but I'll take less offset if it improves reliability.
This is one of those "keep for the rest of my life" implements so I want it to last.
mcmxi
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A word of caution for anyone interested in an offset flail mower or mulcher as the Italians seem to call them. Don't be fooled by YouTube channels such as TTWT. YouTube "influencers" aren't looking out for their viewers. They're either getting products, discounts or money from manufacturers and they have no issue with you spending thousands of dollars on products that aren't what they seem, don't perform as expected or don't hold up to serious use.
On the surface, the Mashcio Weekend Warrior demonstrated on TTWT and sold by AgFolks.com (TTWT offers a coupon) might seem like a good deal at a mere $5,299 for the largest model, but dig deeper and you'll see that it's not the Italian made GIRAFFA S model at all and certainly not the GIRRAFA M which is comparable to the Del Morino Centurion Super. All Del Morino models imported to the US are the same models made and sold in Italy, the UK etc., and the same models shown on their Italian website. The same isn't true for the Weekend Warrior which isn't shown on Maschio's international website and isn't available in Italy, the UK etc.
Maschio has manufacturing facilities in China and India whereas Del Morino only has facilities in Italy. It's not much of a leap to guess where the Weekend Warrior line is made. I bet dollars to donuts that the margins on the Weekend Warrior models are a lot better than the margins on the Del Morino models.
Just a thought for anyone thinking of investing a considerable amount of money in an offset flail mulcher/mower.
On the surface, the Mashcio Weekend Warrior demonstrated on TTWT and sold by AgFolks.com (TTWT offers a coupon) might seem like a good deal at a mere $5,299 for the largest model, but dig deeper and you'll see that it's not the Italian made GIRAFFA S model at all and certainly not the GIRRAFA M which is comparable to the Del Morino Centurion Super. All Del Morino models imported to the US are the same models made and sold in Italy, the UK etc., and the same models shown on their Italian website. The same isn't true for the Weekend Warrior which isn't shown on Maschio's international website and isn't available in Italy, the UK etc.
Maschio has manufacturing facilities in China and India whereas Del Morino only has facilities in Italy. It's not much of a leap to guess where the Weekend Warrior line is made. I bet dollars to donuts that the margins on the Weekend Warrior models are a lot better than the margins on the Del Morino models.
Just a thought for anyone thinking of investing a considerable amount of money in an offset flail mulcher/mower.
totally agree mcm! I was completely suckered by Jon "a ritter bit will do" into the artillian grapple. Hook-line-and-sinker... They are looking out for their interests first, and often time the product being hawked leaves a lot to be desired. There is a lot going on 'behind the scenes'... I'm a slow learner.
Those slopes on either side of your driveway are steep! how is going straight up and down them with the machine, perpendicular to the driveway? is that even possible?
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Sorry to hear about the Artillian. In full disclosure, I bought the Del Morino flail from GoodWorksTractors.com . The owner of the company has a YouTube channel and demonstrates the products that he sells.
I have no intention of cutting the bunch grass that covers the slopes above and below the driveway. It maintains itself and even if it didn't, it's way too steep! My only concern is a strip about 6 to 8 ft wide next to the driveway that runs the entire length of the driveway on the lower slope. It's the only area that gets any significant amount of weeds and I'm talking 5ft tall Canadian thistle, hound's tongue, butt wipe (not sure of proper name), and other weeds. When a paving company came in to fix the driveway a few years ago, they disturbed the ground enough to allow weeds to come up. If I can mow it regularly it might kill the weeds off.
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I hear you, just having some breathing room right next to the driveway is going to be real nice.
Pictures dont do slopes much justice but when I saw the angle against the tree i was like holy crap that steep!
Pictures dont do slopes much justice but when I saw the angle against the tree i was like holy crap that steep!
mcmxi
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It's hard to walk on let alone cut and that's one of the reasons cutting all the weeds by hand is such a chore.
Here's a photo I took in July of 2016 when the paving company was fixing the gravel driveway. You can see all of the weeds on the right, and that's not a flat area but rather a steep bank. It started to look a whole lot worse as the years passed with other weeds taking hold.
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Maybe this model?
View attachment 77104
If so, it does seem very similar in size and capability to the Del Morino. Ferri refers to these models as suitable for "all the farmer expectations". It does seem like cutting 120 miles of road edges on a regular basis would require an industrial grade machine and therefore a bigger tractor.
Offset in-line slope mowers ZMTE Series - FERRI
ZMTE Offset in-line slope mowers series are world known for its safety, reliability and high quality. They perfectly suit at all the farmer expectations.
This is all good information though.
You had better make sure your tractor has the weight to handle the articulating flail mower attached to the 3PH. After my intense calculating and dealer input, my M6060 with FEL and loaded rear tires, I still flipped my tractor on it's side while mower was all the way to the side and at vertical 90* angle. Absolutely God was watching over me, as not a scratch on tractor or me. I was trimming privy hedges and I stepped off the tractor as it landed in the ONLY open spot that was about 24" long. A few feet more was a downhill 100' decline to creek. I believe the right front tire had low air pressure as the R4 tire bead unseated from the rim as it flipped. Took two JD's, one 4x4 to upright my Kubota.
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mcmxi
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Wow! My tractor has a cab, wheel weights and beet juice in the tires so hopefully I won't get to experience what you went through. That must have been very traumatic. What model of mower is that?
It was Farmers Helper (China built) very well built and heavy (about 1400 pounds). Came from west coast. I sold it for more than I paid for it and purchased a Limb Ninja (with cylinder) for the FEL, much safer (400 pounds). Will reach as high as the FEL will go. With a cab tractor, you will be even more top heavy and apt to turning over. BE VERY CAREFUL!
My tractor weighted over 6000 pounds the way it was set up without the flail mower. AGAIN, BE VERY CAREFUL! Especially when mowing all the way extended and in high position.
mcmxi
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The Del Morino Centurion Super 158 is 820lb or thereabouts. Quite a bit lighter than the mower you were running. My MX supposedly has a factory weight of 4,268lb and I've added 600lb of wheel weights and the rear tires have beet juice so I should be a fair bit over 5,000lb. The wheel weights and beet juice move the CoG lower which is a good thing. I have no reason to run the mower in the vertical position but will have it hanging over the edge of the driveway. I'll go slow and be very careful becuase rolling down the hill all the way to the road isn't very appealing.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience, and I appreciate the words of caution.
Never had an issue with the ferri zmt16000 on the NH T4.75. Filled rear tires. I think it was a ttouch over 5k lbs