Flail mowers?

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Anyone using a flail mower instead of a bushhog?? Found some pretty good deals and from the videos Ive watched, they seem to do real well in brush/early successional type stuff. Plus they appear to chop clippings really fine as well. I know since I watched some YouTube videos, I'm pretty a professional now, but just looking real people experiences. Hahahaha
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
A guy I hunt with has one and it does pretty good on grass and weeds, he said it does not like thick grass or saplings.
 

para4514

Eight Pointer
Contributor
I ran one today for a couple of hours in pretty heavy veg, including saplings up to 3 inches at stump. It is mounted on a JD 2555, 65 PTO horsepower forestry rated tires. The mower is a beast. Has hammers instead of typical flail blades. It was designed to grind tree clippings in orchard situations. Does not leave grass looking pretty, but will clear heavy vegetation for early succession management. No science behind it, but it seems like it shatters sweetgum stems so much they don't sprout back as quickly, then again, could the wishful thinking. And it vaporizes fire ant mounds.

http://www.rearsmfg.com/product-omf.html
 

Newsome Road

Ten Pointer
I have used one in the past. Mows some pretty lanes in tall grass, but didn't really do as well in thick lespedeza. Had to run over that twice to get it looking nice. They don't like vines, and changing teeth is an all day job. I think they have a place, but they are not as tough as a bush hog. If you keep your paths mowed fairly regularly you'll love it. If not, you're probably better off with the bush hog. BTW, ours was LOUD! No running that thing without ear plugs. Not sure if they are all like that though.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
There are flail mowers and then there are flail mowers. The average ones are more for a finish type cut. You hit anything much larger than your thumb and it will break the blade right were it makes that 45* bend. Now they make some real heavy duty ones. But they are expensive, my recommendation is do not get one that has a gear box and is belt drive to the drum. Go with hydrostatic driven. I have had quite a bit of experience with them.
 
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