What is the difference between these three types of mower? And which one should you use for your property? Zach walks us through the pros and cons of each and what you should consider when purchasing one.
You left out the biggest pluses of a flail mower. They don't windrow, can offset and tilt hydraulically depending on the model, and if they pick something up it gets thrown down instead of out like a bullet the way a rotary cutter does, making them safer. About the only real pluses of a rotary cutter are they have fewer moving parts to maintain, are cheaper, have longer reach and cut in reverse. The end result is better with a flail.
Question-. I have 15 acres that I keep up with my Ex mark 72”. 10 of the 15 acres is pasture- but it’s a nice pasture and I like to keep it short. It’s what you see driving up to my home, so I like it tidy. I live in the Deep South so grass grows CRAZY in the summer and it’s hard to keep up with just the Ex mark. I’m considering adding a tractor with a finish mower. My concern is how long is too long for the pasture to ever be to use a finish mower? I recently had to hire someone to come bushog the pasture just because it had gotten too tall, but it looked like CRAP when they were done!
A rear discharge finish mower will never really leave quite as good a look as a side discharge, but it isn't a huge difference especially if looking from a distance. I would say you can let it get a little longer than normally would with your exmark since it will handle the long grass better. Maybe 12-16 inches tall would still be fine with a rear finish mower and still look a ton better than what a bush-hog would leave!
What is the maximum cut height on the flail mower? And is the horsepower to width ratio similar to that of a bush hog (1 foot of width to 5 horsepower)?Thanks!
Technically the max cutting height will be as high as your 3 point hitch will pick up the flail mower! But if you want to run it on the ground with the rollers, the LandPride will go up to 6" tall which is about standard. I don't know the EXACT ratio, but minimum in my opinion would be 3 PTO horsepower per foot of mower and ideally 4 PTO horsepower.
Have that same finish mower and it leaves an amazing cut. As good or better than any lawn tractor or zero turn. It doesn’t windrow either, and follows the contour of the ground leaving a super even cut. Actually sold my simplicity ZT when I got mine last year, zero regrets.
I have been wondering about this. I've been considering a rear finish mower, myself. I have the mmm for my 2601, and it has 2 flaws. It is cumbersome to hook up, and most importantly, it just leaves an awful result. All kinds of power, but because of the low pto driven blade speed, it just doesn't disperse the clippings well enough - only out over the second row. I think a finish mower would be suitable for the acreage I have and would certainly be better for dispersing.
Will the flail mower deal with poa tussock? I moved our horse stud to a new property a few years ago and have used the brush hog ('slasher' as we call it in Australia) to keep the poa tussock down. But even the slasher can not cut the poa as low as I'd like because it leaves so much debris that you have to raise the height just to get a throught it. Having slashed the poa to a reasonable height and with no new growth as winter is here, the poa looks less intimidating and I'm thinking I could really deliver the coup de grace (sorry about the French pun) on it, and thought, maybe, a flail mower could finish it off better than the slasher (aka brush hog) could? Your thoughts?
Yes you sure can! Just make sure that you don't make them very sharp or they will dull and chip too easy. It should not be as sharp as a finish mower, usually about a 45 degree angle on the edge is good. And don't worry too much about getting them balanced.
