Adding a flail mower to my mini excavator

Adding a flail mower to my Kubota U55-4. I purchased an agrotk EXFLM115 flail mower to test out on my mini excavator. I couldn’t find any real specs on this mower to see if it was compatible with my excavator so I bought it anyway. I ordered the vevor brand quick attach ears that were too small for my quick coupler. We had to modify them to work. I also done a little repair work to the rubber tracks as well. I done some brush cutting with the mower along with some light mulching. I had to replace a seal in the motor(probably my fault). I also discover how much hydraulic oil actually drains back through the case drain.
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Kubota U 55
Wood-mizer LT28
Stihl gta 26
Tools
Repair
Homestead
Sawmill
Brush cutting
Mowing
Outdoor
Grinder
Cutoff wheel
Oops
My bad
Leaky equipment
Hillbilly ingenuity

[@jdub229r]

Hear good things about the RUT rotary cutters. Made close to me in Denton NC. There are a bunch of implement & fab shops in that community. A 36” runs around $3500 with shipping. I’d bet there a grand more now than 6 months ago (FJB)! Thanks for putting this content together! 🙏👍🏼

[@MountainMindset]

I looked at the RUT mowers. I even called them. Super nice on the phone too! I couldn’t find any in stock anywhere and there was like a 6 week lead time according to one dealer I talked to. I found this mower cheap and figured I’d test it out because I couldn’t find any videos of it anywhere. Crazy right now for sure! Lol!!! Thanks for watching!

[@paulgraves3886]

Just found this on the internet . Hydraulic motors have a volumetric efficiency of 90-98%. That means 2 - 10% of the flow entering the motor leaks internally into the case. This is intentional and vital for internal lubrication and clearance between mating pieces. If not allowed to escape, that leakage can build pressure inside the pump case, causing seal leaks or worse, cracks in the cast iron case. The main purpose of a case drain is to allow the internal leakage to escape, but there are other benefits too. Case drains also remove heat and contamination from the motor. If contamination is not removed, motor performance and longevity will suffer.

[@MountainMindset]

Good to know! Makes sense! Thanks! 👍🏻

[@darrenpatrick6578]

Your blowing the wiffle

[@MountainMindset]

What is the wiffle?

[@darrenpatrick6578]

So I put on and the mower runs great

[@MountainMindset]

Awesome! Hope it serves you well! 👍🏻

[@darrenpatrick6578]

Run a case drain mandatory

[@MountainMindset]

I ended up putting one on this machine.

[@akenilsson4554]

It may be constructed to run only one way other wise the seling will pop ut again.

[@MountainMindset]

I believe it is. Probably what I done to it!

[@darrenpatrick6578]

It’s a joke I have a Minnie Ex u 35-4 and just got a flail mower and they said that I needed it to run the mower. Some put on and mower runs great. Cheers

[@MountainMindset]

Awesome! Congratulations! Keep us posted on how it works out for you!

[@s.hinote2984]

For sure keep us posted cause I’m looking into one for my u35!

[@johncollins8304]

Seems like a lot of faf for those saplings. I wonder if they do a saw attachment, then put them through a mulcher. Thanks for vid.

[@MountainMindset]

Yep. A saw attachment would be nice! Handy for sure with a mulcher! 👍🏻

[@tylerschavemaker573]

How is the head working for you now? I have the same mode on a kx57-5. Mower was a real piece of junk when i first bought it, but now after modifying it a little it seems to perform well. I have more issues i need to iron out with jt.

[@MountainMindset]

It’s still hanging in there. I keep a close check on the flails making sure they are tight and keep it greased really well. This seems to be all it needs at the moment. Lol. I hope yours keeps performing well too. That’s an awesome machine you have it on as well! Thanks for watching!

[@brandyolmstead7258]

How is that seal holding up? I found your video because I bought one of these and had the same problem, hydraulic oil spewing out 😢 after running about 30 min and I had a drain line hooked up ☹️. Will be picking up and installing a new seal today.

[@MountainMindset]

So far so good! The seal has been great! I’ve used the mower a lot and the only problem I’ve had reoccurring is the mounts the flails bolt to keep cracking and breaking off. I had Gavin go back and re-weld them all. So far so good there too! Hopefully you got it installed no problem! 👍🏻

[@easternncadventures1239]

I was waiting for you to post this to see this mower. I just bought a rut 42 brush hog for my hyundai r55. But I considered this flail as well. It looked to me like the drum was running backwards when your had the jug on there for the case drain. It seemed like it was pushing the trees towards the roller. Curious how large a tree this thing will mow down. 2 inch of 4-6. Anything it the manual about cut capacity?

[@MountainMindset]

The Rut cutters look like they are very well made! Does it do well on your machine? I’m still considering one. I went back and looked at the video and I believe you’re right. I’m not around the machine right now but I’ll check as soon as I am. When I first hooked it up I did check and it was spinning the correct way. After I replaced the seal in the motor I hooked the hoses up correctly I thought but I. Did mess around with the settings on the computer with the flow and pressure so maybe I have it reversed on there. 🤔 Thanks for pointing that out for sure! Apparently I mowed some 2-3” stuff in reverse so hopefully it will do a little better in forward! 😂😂😂 The mower didn’t come with a manual nor could I find anything online about it. I couldn’t find any specs on it at all. Thanks for watching!

[@easternncadventures1239]

@@MountainMindset Yeah I used it sat. You can't cut stuff shorter than 3 inches so it leaves little stubs sticking up. I did some 3 inch stuff with it. It sure will sling some stuff though. I hit a piece of concrete buried in the woods and it threw it about 50 feet. It was about half the size of a bowling ball. Headed to mow underbrush on some lots next week. Was thinking about getting one of these Chinese flails hoping it would mulch the material a little better than the bush hog and maybe a little less chance of slinging something at the cab.

[@MountainMindset]

@@easternncadventures1239 I didn’t think about them leaving anything sticking up like that. The flail seems to cut pretty flush(even in reverse🙄) and don’t sling too much material like a rotary mower. Did the concrete damage anything on the mower? I’ll check the flail mower out and get it spinning the right direction and get some more videos of it cutting next week. Hopefully it will work for you too. I am working on another video of more repairs to the mower though. I believe we have everything sorted out so far but I don’t have very much time cutting with it at all so I can’t speak on the reliability of the mower just yet.

[@easternncadventures1239]

@@MountainMindset No damage to the blades I didn't even see a mark on the blades just took the paint off.

[@MountainMindset]

@@easternncadventures1239 Good to know! Those look like tough mowers!

[@leesanders7866]

Any idea what the part # was on that replacement seal?

[@MountainMindset]

National oil seal part# 471224. I got it at orileys auto parts.

[@leesanders7866]

Thank you I appreciate it!

[@MountainMindset]

@@leesanders7866 anytime!

[@HonorableBeniah-A]

How does this mower do with grass?

[@MountainMindset]

I’ve not cut a lot of actual grass with it yet but what little I did cut, it did really well. It was only small patches of taller grass but actually cut it instead of just pushing it all down. Hope this helps.

[@HonorableBeniah-A]

@@MountainMindset thanks for the reply, and it does help.

[@MountainMindset]

@@HonorableBeniah-A anytime!

[@rhythmstic]

Just ordered my Italian mulcher in UK, only 24 ins (600 mm) but costs as much as this beast. UK is expensive. Doesn't need a case drain as it has some kind of extra valve. As I understand it , without the valve the drain is required for sudden surges when cutters suddenly jam. To drive it properly the auxilliary line flow rate needs to meet the specification of the mulcher.

[@MountainMindset]

Congratulations on the new mulcher headed your way! You’re gonna love it! I wish this one had something like that on it when I bought it so I didn’t have to install a case drain but at least I have it installed now! Lol. Yes it’s very important for the flow rate of the machine and cutter head to be compatible. Good luck with your new cutter and thanks for watching!