Rotary or Flail mower..

[A.O.]

Need a mower, had a few Rotary cutters over the years but I'm thinking a flail mower maybe as its short stature would make it more maneuverable in my pine woods.
I have NO experience with a flail, like I said I like it being shorter. I'll be cutting some pretty brushy stuff and some small trees up to maybe 1 1/2-2", will a flail cut stuff that big?
What if I hit something ugly like a big rock or stump or something?
Oh.. Tractor is a L3540.. 37 horse ish, and 4x4..

 

[Dave_eng]

I have had both.
First a Mott flail which was considered one of the best. Changing broken off knives and hardware was almost a full time job otherwise it would vibrate like crazy. No good for anything but finished lawns.
Now have a Land Pride rotary with 3 blades. It is not a bush hog so don't try clearing land with it or it gets expensive. The gear box broke into pieces when I tried cutting rough land.
If you use it as intended it is a low maintenance implement. Start cutting long grass and you will smoke the belt connecting the three blades and create a flat spot on the belt which makes it vibrate. Belt is long and expensive.
Dave m7040

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Need a mower, had a few Rotary cutters over the years but I'm thinking a flail mower maybe as its short stature would make it more maneuverable in my pine woods.
I have NO experience with a flail, like I said I like it being shorter. I'll be cutting some pretty brushy stuff and some small trees up to maybe 1 1/2-2", will a flail cut stuff that big?
What if I hit something ugly like a big rock or stump or something?
Oh.. Tractor is a L3540.. 37 horse ish, and 4x4..

Flail mowers work great on brush and small trees, chews them right up.
Rocks and stumps aren't really an issue either.
For clearing rough ground I think they are far superior to a brush mower.

 

[Bulldog]

My experience with a flail mower is limited to a small boom mower with a flail head. The main thing I use it for is trimming my fence rows. Mostly small limbs, bushes and light brush. I have cut limbs off as big as 2 or 3 inches before without any issue. Mine has 2 blades hanging side by side like a "Y" which to me is much weaker design than the hammer type blades but my head has reverse so the rotor can spin both directions. After 3 years use I haven't replaced any blades yet.

 

[LCWELL]

I haven't hooked up my 6' bushhog since I got a 6' flail last spring. The flail is a joy to use especially around trees and on rough ground imho.

My tractor is similar to yours (L3830HST). My flail http://www.agrisupply.com/caroni-flail-mower/p/30837/ would be considered a "medium" duty I beleive. 1 1/2' is about the max I'll cut. There are heavy duty units with hammer blades that will cut as big as a rotary.

Where at in SC are you? If this was July I'd tell you to come by and test drive one for an hour or 12.

 

[A.O.]

I haven't hooked up my 6' bushhog since I got a 6' flail last spring. The flail is a joy to use especially around trees and on rough ground imho.

My tractor is similar to yours (L3830HST). My flail http://www.agrisupply.com/caroni-flail-mower/p/30837/ would be considered a "medium" duty I beleive. 1 1/2' is about the max I'll cut. There are heavy duty units with hammer blades that will cut as big as a rotary.

Where at in SC are you? If this was July I'd tell you to come by and test drive one for an hour or 12.

I'm over by Kershaw, NE of Columbia about an hour. New here, just moved from colorado in December.

So thats the exact unit I'm kind of looking at, after some research. Lots of money to come up with after just buying this tractor last week! Looks like about 2 grand plus shipping from agrisupply.. any cheaper place to get one?

Now when you are mowing with it and want to take down some 1-1 1/2" saplings that are 5-6 foot tall, how do you go about doing that? Just drive over them slowly? Or do you need to do something special?

We bought some acreage with the normal pine woods here, and its pretty overgrown. I'm looking to clean some trails up that now have little pines, other saplings and all the viney overgrowth.. pretty uneven trails too.

Scott

 

[A.O.]

I haven't hooked up my 6' bushhog since I got a 6' flail last spring. The flail is a joy to use especially around trees and on rough ground imho.

My tractor is similar to yours (L3830HST). My flail http://www.agrisupply.com/caroni-flail-mower/p/30837/ would be considered a "medium" duty I beleive. 1 1/2' is about the max I'll cut. There are heavy duty units with hammer blades that will cut as big as a rotary.

Where at in SC are you? If this was July I'd tell you to come by and test drive one for an hour or 12.

Do you have a picture of your flail behind your tractor? it looks like it would be way off center... and is that adjustable at all?

 

[sheepfarmer]

Lcwell, do you use your flail with a hydraulic top link or regular? Is it easy to hook up? I am considering the brush hog versus flail to keep my pastures under control. My neighbor came over last summer and mowed some of mine for me with his flail mower, and it did a great job.

 

[Steve NC]

I'm over by Kershaw, NE of Columbia about an hour. New here, just moved from colorado in December.

So thats the exact unit I'm kind of looking at, after some research. Lots of money to come up with after just buying this tractor last week! Looks like about 2 grand plus shipping from agrisupply.. any cheaper place to get one?


Scott

Agri Supply has a store in Florence SC, that should be a little over a hour drive from Kershaw if you are able to go get the mower and save on shipping. If the store there is anything like the main store in Garner NC, it will be well worth the trip. It's like a toy store for big kids.

 

[A.O.]

Agri Supply has a store in Florence SC, that should be a little over a hour drive from Kershaw if you are able to go get the mower and save on shipping. If the store there is anything like the main store in Garner NC, it will be well worth the trip. It's like a toy store for big kids.

I talked to Agrisupply yesterday, if I order it to be shipped here its $179 shipping and it would be here in a week, If I have it sent to Florence (went there yesterday for kicks and to pick up a rock rake) tax would be about $153 and 2 weeks to get there.. and then I'd have to go pick it up.. probably cheaper just to get it shipped here.

Saw a guy on craigslist with a used john deere flail yesterday, gonna give him a call today.

 

[LCWELL]

Answers to questions in no particular order.

The 6’ Caroni is adjustable between a little offset and a lot of offset. I bought mine well used. When cutting thicker stuff I do it the same as I do with a rotary. I’ll back over the big stuff first. Mostly to protect the tractor. I don’t want to knock any of the hydraulics of the bottom of the tractor. Another option with the flail is to drive the “offset” over the big stuff, never touching it with the tractor at all. I shot a little lame video of the offset method to try to give you some idea. If I was going to do this a lot I'd move the brackets to the max offset. I’m sure there’s better vids all over youtube and such.




http://vid539.photobucket.com/albums/ff352/FLINCHIST/MOV01549_zpszcx0pmrn.mp4


My top link is mechanical. The flail is no harder to attach than a box blade. The Caroni has a couple options for hitching up. The hitch arms can swing vertically or be pinned solid. If your ground is nice and smooth you can lock the arms, put the top link pin in the slot, set the 3pt arms at a specific height and let the mower pivot on the lower 3pt arms. My ground is far from smooth and level. I put the top link pin in the hole, let the mower hitch arms swing, drop my 3pt all the way and let the mower ride the terrain, moving horizontally independently of the tractor. A couple pics will likely explain it better than I can.




As much as I like my flail, if I had to cut a LARGE amount of heavy brush/saplings/small trees, and could only have one cutter, I’m not sure that I’d choose the flail over a rotary. The flails advantages, it seems to me, are safety, easier on the tractor, easier handling (keeping the offset in mind) and the finer cutting (more like mulching than a rotary).

Ultimate solution: One of each. Slightly less ultimate solution: get a heavy rotary to knock down the big stuff the first time and then sell it and get a flail to maintain the ground regularly.

 

[A.O.]

THANKS!! Outstanding pics and video... I have lots of brush like you cut in the video and was wondering how a flail would do on it.

So with the mower set to the far left, it wont quite cut a full tire tracks will it?

Are you happy with how the Caroni is holding up? I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one.

I first opened this page and thought, hey, that looks just like my woods!

 

[sheepfarmer]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this lcwell, big help!

 

[barts]

If there might be any wire (plant frames, fence, etc) in the brush, the flail mower is more difficult to detangle... but it definitely does a neater job.

- Bart

 

[Russell King]

LCWELLS - thanks for the information - I wish I had a flail instead of the brush hog now that my property is a bit better groomed and is mostly grass now.

Captain Safety noticed you are missing a PTO shaft shield - I bought one of these (Bare) and am happy with the design (and the price was really reasonable compared to the local stores).

http://www.farmparts4less.com/bare-co-universal-540-pto-shield/

 

[A.O.]

OMG... we have a Captain Safety here?? Ahhhhhhh!!!!

 

[Who is John Galt]

I haven't hooked up my 6' bushhog since I got a 6' flail last spring. The flail is a joy to use especially around trees and on rough ground imho.

My tractor is similar to yours (L3830HST). My flail http://www.agrisupply.com/caroni-flail-mower/p/30837/ would be considered a "medium" duty I beleive. 1 1/2' is about the max I'll cut. There are heavy duty units with hammer blades that will cut as big as a rotary.

Where at in SC are you? If this was July I'd tell you to come by and test drive one for an hour or 12.

I have the same mower on an L3800 HST . . reclaimed 5+ acres of farmland that has not been managed in 20 or so years last summer. More complex than a rotary mower, and higher maintenance. BUT chews everything up . . . up to an inch or a bit larger, ~almost~ a finish mower, requires much less PTO HP than a similarly sized rotary cutter . . much quieter, much lighter, does not launch small items into low Earth orbit . . . Be prepared to spend a bit on some new shackles and blades because if you are brush hogging with it, those will require maintenance.

Best Implement I Ever Purchased . . Caroni 73" flail mower.

 

[LCWELL]

THANKS!! Outstanding pics and video... I have lots of brush like you cut in the video and was wondering how a flail would do on it.

So with the mower set to the far left, it wont quite cut a full tire tracks will it?

Are you happy with how the Caroni is holding up? I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one.

I first opened this page and thought, hey, that looks just like my woods!

Correct, with the mower set all the way left it won't quite cover the left tire track. Mowing with offset takes some getting use to but it has advantages too,like when mowing fenceline.

As mentioned I got mine used. It looked well used on the outside but it appears the blades hadn't been flipped. I've changed the oil, sharpened the blades twice, and abused it thoroughly. Before I bought it I looked at the parts in stock at ASC and the prices-reassuring. Seems pretty well built to me. I think to top it would take something labeled Mott, Alamo, Ford, New Holland or such $$$$$$

One Saturday when weather, funds, chores and hobbies permit, a few of us from up here are going to take a road trip to ASC. I need a new pto shaft and really want to see the place.

Also, you mention shipping cost vs SC sales tax in considering whether to buy in store or mail order. Amazon sent me an annual statement on what I purchased last year. I assume the implication is that I am supposed pay SC sales tax on those purchases when I file my taxes. I'll see what my tax man says, but the paranoid in regards to all things bigbrotherish in me imagines an out of state retailer sending SC revenuers a statement also, that they may be on the lookout for the additional revenue due. When I buy stuff from my local farm equipment dealer he doesn't charge any tax on stuff for farm use. Just something to think about.

Hmmm, I hope big brother doesn't see this thread. The government doesn't do stuff like monitor the net looking for tax dodging and other dubious shannanigans, do they?

 

[LCWELL]

If there might be any wire (plant frames, fence, etc) in the brush, the flail mower is more difficult to detangle... but it definitely does a neater job.

- Bart

Wire, no worries about a little wire when your used to dealing with Kudzu.

But it's no cakewalk getting it out of a rotary either.I think I've even used a torch.

 

[D2Cat]

LCWELL, I just saw on the news where the IRS got a cut in their budget, and their is big concern of tax fraud with Turbo Tax filers and they need more to chase them down/out. So, they probably have too many other fish to fry!