011 - Tractor Attachment - Betstco EFGC125 Hydraulic Offset Flail

[@orion3267]

Nice. I told you I was going to get one. I ordered it Friday the 29th of April. It should be here next week. I’m in Virginia so, coast to coast shipping. For those that don’t know, I called Betstco direct and asked a few questions. Wound up ordering it on the phone and it was cheaper than I thought because in Oregon they don’t charge state tax and delivery is free. I did upgrade the hammer blades from cast steel to forged steel for an additional $250. Plus they give you 6 free replacement hammer blades. Original cost of unit was $2300 plus the $250 upgrade. Can’t wait. Thank you again my Farmical Genius.

[@outbuildinginfo]

That is cool. The drive to the warehouse is only about 10 miles for me so shipping wasn't a concern. I'm pleased to hear they were good to work with from afar. Nice folks and I am really pleased with the flail. Hope it works well for you!

[@wisoutdoorsman1862]

Great video Nice property

[@outbuildinginfo]

Thanks for watching and commenting. The property is really fun to work on and as we get to know it better, we feel pretty luck to be there. Still lot's to do and we hope to chronicle the cabin rebuild as we get to it but plenty of clearing and deferred maintenance first.

[@ThrivingEarthFarm]

Remember, on a flail mower your belt is your drive line protection. If your busting belts, it means your pushing the implement and tractor to its limit. When I first got a flail mower I thought that it was something to use on heavier brush, but actually most flail mowers are light duty implements whose purpose is to give you a finer mow than a bush hog, but not nearly as heavy duty as a bush hog. It’s a good practice to use a bush hog for brush, and then if you want a finer result, follow up with the flail mower. Flail mowers best application is finely chopping up cover crops and crop residues to prepare for the next planting, as well as orchard management. Just my two cents. I have been running a skid steer with forestry mulcher, tractor with bush hog, tractor with flail mower, and zero turn mower for past 8 years both on our property and in professional land management applications. Every tool has a purpose! Love the side shift flail mowers for in row maintenance in orchards.

[@outbuildinginfo]

Thriving.. Thanks for the comment and for watching. I completely agree on the belts. My first burned up ones shown in this video were due to the tensioner becoming loose. The replacements I put on in this video have worked for the following year and haven't yet started showing signs of wear. In that year, I have learned that if I do even a poor job with a metal blade and hand-tool to knock down our vegetation (primarily Salmon Berry, Scotch Broom, and Blackberry Vines), the Heavy Duty version of the flail I have does great at reducing that chopped material to mulch. While the flail is rated up to 3" wood bits, I try to pull out anything greater than 2" and chip that up separately. Once and area is tamed, it is super easy to manage with the flail working more as a mower. Fun stuff and amazing what you can get done with appropriate tools.

[@SabineRiverValley]

That’s a nice little mower. Just something I noticed, it looks like your hydraulic top link is a little too short. You mentioned that your 3pt arms are longer on the Yanmar, I think you need a longer top link too. When you got it connected to the mower in the video there wasn’t much more travel room left for it to move outward. You might have done this, but when you buy a hydraulic top link you go to your factory top link and measure it at its shortest adjustment and then at its longest usable adjustment, then you find a hydraulic top link that is closest to those measurements. My flail mowers never really run on the skid plates, just the rear roller, because my hydraulic top link can travel far enough back to lift the mower to the height I want it at without ever messing with the skid plates.

[@outbuildinginfo]

Thanks for the in-depth comment and for watching. You are right about the length and I did my best to sort of split the difference between the original top-link and the hydro version. My video on the hydro version goes through my thoughts there and measurement before ordering. The flail I show in this video works great but seems to really need more top link than most of my other implements. For me, the overall height adjustment is best done with the roller and then I feather a bit when mowing with the top link.

[@SabineRiverValley]

@@outbuildinginfo That’s exactly the combination I use to adjust my height, the rear roller and the top link. The skid plates have a tendency to leave drag marks if they touch the ground, so I keep them raised pretty high.

[@Jo-tw8kr]

Sorry if I missed this. Does this hydraulic offset version require a second set of rear remotes.

[@outbuildinginfo]

Thanks for your question and for watching. The hydraulic offset flail requires one rear remote. I am also using a hydraulic top-link which takes up my second remote but that isn't critical. A standard top-link works well but is slightly less flexible. What may also be confusing is that each remote has 2 connections (in and out) for the hydraulic circuit. Hope this helps.

[@johnmott887]

How do you adjust the belt tension?

[@outbuildinginfo]

You can briefly see this around the 18 minute mark of this video. There is a horizontal shaft that goes from the gearbox to the upper belt pulley. On the pulley side of that shaft are two large bolts that hold the shaft to the chassis. These have elongated holes so you loosen those and then there is a third little "jack" bolt below the horizontal shaft that you can use to push the horizontal shaft up which tightens the belt. Once set, you tighten up the two bolts with the oblong holes. Hope this helps.

[@frankwrogg2515]

That one looks quick hitch compatible , the 155 i just got, is not.

[@outbuildinginfo]

Thanks for your comment. I don't have a quick hitch so I am not certain whether this one is or not. When I purchased it, it came with both the fixed 3-point mount as well as the hydraulic offset one. I think the issue with quick hitches and some implements is that it can collide with the PTO shaft when the attachment is articulated. I suspect this may be compatible with the hydraulic offset but haven't tried. I suppose one could try it and check for clearances and then fall back to the fixed mount if that wasn't clearing. For me, the tractor is pretty small and it has long lower 3-point arms so I am reluctant to add more leverage with a quick hitch and I also don't switch implements frequently. So many ways to set the stuff up and I suppose it really comes to preference and situation for each of us.

[@fapangel7771]

Quick hitch is long dead, my friend. Accept the inevitable. 3 point won.