Flail Mower Vs Brush Hog - Is It Worth the Extra Money?

[@RockhillfarmYT]

I am using a maschio Brava 160 Use code: Rockhill5 to get 5% off your order at www.agfolks.com If you are interested in a maschio mower or any of the other implements I have demonstrated, Check out more of our tractor videos here: kzbin.info/aero/PLmYnhJtNUq7c2n8UTJASTf9qJQXQ_ngFP Check out the Rockhill farm Facebook group here: facebook.com/groups/1270496403596230/ Rockhill Farm is a daily equipment and rural living vlog. We mainly focus on tractors and working outdoors. I really appreciate you taking time to watch this video. If you enjoy this type of content Check out some of the following links to support our channel. If you are interested in a rock Hill Farms T-shirt check out our merch store rockhill-farm.creator-spring.com/listing/rockhill-farm-logo Please subscribe to our channel here: kzbin.info Follow on Facebook at facebook.com/Rock-Hill-Farm-102050688356056/ You can now support the channel by buying us a coffee at the following link: www.buymeacoffee.com/rockhillfarm

[@zfilmmaker]

I forget if I responded to this or not so I’m just going to add my experienced two cents. I can’t speak for small single spindle rotary mowers because I don’t have one. I own a multi-spindle batwing which is supposed to be the most badass heavy duty mower on the planet, it’s a Schulte XH1500 with 5” blades. I also own a Maschio Bufalo 300 which is a 12’ flail mower rated for 200HP+ PTO tractors. Flail mowers absolutely are a better investment. I have some rocks and have bent blades on my batwing several times. The blades cost $180 each + $60 shipping. I hit rocks all the time with my flail and never replace the hammers. I run both mowers with a Fendt 724 which is a 250HP engine/195HP PTO. When I mow thick grass or brush, even though the batwing isn’t suppose to windrow by the way I had Schulte adjust the blades, it does. The flail doesn’t. The flail processes grass multiple times for a cleaner finish plus faster breakdown. Plus the flail grinds brush and woody material depending on the class flail you’re running. If you cut woody material with a rotary, you are leaving pointy stalks or stumps that when harden can cause tire flats. The flail shreds so that doesn’t happen. I have stalled my tractor and plugged the flail in super thick grass vs that’s never happened with the batwing. My flail has 30 hammers and replacements run $22. I’ve owned it since 2017 and replaced all hammers once in 2020. So the hammers last a long time and are self sharpening. For maintenance, flail mowers are easy to work on and anyone can easily drain gearbox oil. On my batwing, I have to lift it up, support it, remove the blades, then 200+ lbs stump jumper pans which is fairly daunting even though I built a tool to use with a floor jack… then drain the oil. It’s time consuming and somewhat dangerous. So if I had to pick, I would choose flail.

[@rfb7117]

Brock....that was an excellent comparison of a flail mower and a brush cutter. I purchased a flail mower over twenty years ago, sold my bush hog and never looked back. I have knives on my flail mower and over the years have hit a few large rocks and have had to replace some knives. Many of my knives have gouges along the surface from hitting rocks, but still cut to my satisfaction...although I'm careful to stay clear of rocks and large sticks. I primarily cut trails in the woods and fields and did not like the poor cut of the bush hog and the windrowing. They may have a place in heavy brush, but I have found my flail mower to cut anything I needed to cut. If you are cutting trails or want a "decent" looking job, even though more costly I feel the flail mower is the answer. I have no experience with hammers or an offset flail mower, but feel the hydraulic offset would be a good choice if affordable. Thanks, Bob

[@rfb7117]

I also use mine to cut corn stalks in the winter or spring after the deer have eaten the corn in my food plots...does a great job.

[@kendrury3713]

Hey Brock, one more positive for the brush mower is the ability to cut further back under various things. Thanks for your videos!

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Good Point

[@wendaworkman8065]

Just bought a tractor. Was trying to figure out what to get first for a cutting machine. This anwere my questions well. Thanks so much!

[@dustinw95]

Great video and comparison! I love my flail mower with my 2038R. I run an FM-78 with hammers and it handles it flawlessly. Leaves an amazing finish also! Keep up the great work!

[@johngersna3263]

Good afternoon Brock. I'm running late again today. I had a cardiologist appointment today and everything seems to be ok. Just so you know, all of your videos are helpful, useful, and entertaining. God bless. 👍👍🙂

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Glad to hear your ticker is still working

[@johngersna3263]

Thank you, ​not half as glad as I am. 😁😁👍

[@TKCL]

Nice, I'm working on this same video, both have positives and negatives.

[@MannistoCay]

Thank for the comparison, I think that the flail would fit our needs better here at the Cay. Take care Brock.🍻🌴👍

[@oilyragsgarage7200]

Explained that very well, thanks for the great video👍. Using a Brush Hog, did a small job for a client yesterday (although we call them "Slashers" here in Australia). It's amazing what you can do achieve with one.

[@damonhill4909]

I mow at least every 2 weeks between our 100ft x 6ft x 6in high raised bed growing areas on our certified organic farm. I do this with our John Deere 3025E and RC3060 mower. I only clear the sides of these beds by about 2-4 inches. I just go very slow to not destroy the bed support posts that are placed every 5ft. So, it is possible to use a large mower like the RC3060 to mow right up to an obstacle if you're very careful. Great info! Thanks!

[@darrellhebert7826]

Another thing is a flail mower doesn't throw anything, much safer for cutting near a road where cars are passing or a public area where there are people, houses or vehicles. Also, a flail (at least my old Mott88 SHD) uses a belt to drive the rotor, no need for slip clutch or shear pin like a rotary. I use mine to help clear a lot of overgrown areas and pulverize everything to the dirt, folks can't believe a mower can do that and that is using extreme duty Y-blades.

[@OurOklahomaLife]

Good video. I think most people initially buy a rotary cutter purely based on price. I would love a flail mower but when I bought my tractor 2 years ago I had sticker shock at paying $40k for a tractor. I knew I needed a cutter and was trying to get out of the dealership without spending any more money than I had to so, I went with the rotary cutter. The rotary cutter works just fine for what I need so, now I can't justify buying a flail mower.

[@lonewolfFirearms]

Great video, I love my flail mower.. Bill Hensley..

[@wildbill23c]

I don't have any thick brush to mow, or trees to try and mow so a flail mower would be great, except they cost about 4x what a rotary cutter costs...but when you mow in confined areas, a flail mower is a much better solution. I mow about a 3/4 acre pasture for a lady that is just grass and weeds with my mid mount mower on my tractor, but a flail mower would be a much better solution than tearing up my finish mower on that rough ground hitting gopher holes and such. Sure I'd like to have a rotary cutter and flail mower, but when I have to pick between the 2, for my application a flail mower would be the best...more compact, and a better finish cut.

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Sounds right to me

[@Cowboy_Steve]

Howdy Brock! Nice comparison highlighting the pros and cons of each. Thanks for sharing 🤠

[@jjacres129]

So close to 75,000 doing great man

[@decline1129]

Great topic. Been going back and forth on this myself

[@ktloz2246]

The reason ur flail mower is more expensive is because it can be offset. Another thing i find import on a flail mower is it cuts down to the ground, whereby taking the weeds with it. The brush hog, leaves the weed standing up about an 2 inches or more. U know what those standing shoots, once dried out can do if u step on them with weak soul shoes? Goes right thru ur shoe.

[@andrewanderson1436]

That brushhog clip is a throw back lol look how good the cutter looked

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Yeah, that was almost 2 years ago but it’s the same property that I mowed the flail mower with. That cutters is all beat up now.

[@andrewanderson1436]

@@RockhillfarmYT yep and you used a ford tractor their also.

[@dwightdarrow5362]

Titan does not stock needed parts for their ditch flail mower. I need a driven pulley. I was told to call back in six weeks to see if they had one.

[@MisterAdam-jj5jv]

Great video..I’m sold on the flail

[@InTexasMatt]

I like our brush hog, but in long grass you get clumps of cut grass. A flail would be awesome in the pasture. The brush hog is great on the edges of the property. We get pines that come up and grow like crazy and the brush hog has no problem tearing through 1-2" saplings. If appearance is important, I run over the grass clumps in pasture with my Gravely zero turn.

[@eur2030]

I am wondering how low can you cut with these machines. I have a problem with low creeper weeds especially caltrops or puncture weed.

[@keepingdistance4404]

It would seem that running the flail mower to the side rather than straight on would incur a power loss. The reason would be the angle of the u-joint on the pto. Could your tractor's hydraulics run a larger mower or more offset? Or would hydraulic be less advantageous?

[@tomhaire4758]

Great info Brock, keep on tractoring

[@Fresh-uc9vb]

Was helpful, entertaining and useful, so I subscribed.

[@danburch9989]

Flail mower blads run about $2-$3 ea. Bush hog style run about $50 ea. If you hit something hard, unlike the bush hog style, it's not likely that you would have to replace all of the flail mower blades. I was surprised to learn as yo said that the flail mower needs more HP. I would have thought the bush hog style would need more torque because of tghe distance from the blade to the spindle.

[@alexmalm6406]

Ok so the company I work for has a brush hog style mower. We take care of a couple large open spaces. Anyway I seen you drive it in reverse. Is that safe to do for the machine? My boss looses his shit every time he sees me doing it. Because of the PTO and running backwards then forwards. You get what I am talking about. Thx

[@FonzyBikes]

Awesome video. Thank you.

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Thank you

[@BENNHENDRICKS33]

Good comparison, id like to have both but that’s just how i am.

[@carltrano1325]

Great video.

[@alimamybangura1399]

Very useful Thanks so much

[@russorpcom]

Very good explanation of pros and cons of both mowers. Well done.

[@rodneybass7615]

Thanks very useful. What size flail mower would you recommend for a 1025r.

[@RockhillfarmYT]

I can’t say for sure on that. Probably best to look at the manufacturer recommendation.

[@duck-n-cover477]

Helpful, thanks

[@user-scooter1965]

Great comparison video Brock. I was just "what iffing" to myself, what if you took a flail mower and put alternating (to keep it in balance) rows of hammers and blades on it to create a hybrid type flail mower for more versatility???🤔

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Interesting idea

[@wildbill23c]

You can do so, not sure what results you'd have, but you can in fact interchange the flail knives and hammers. People usually just change all of them, but yep I'm kind of curious what you'd end up with if you mixed them.

[@CustomWeldingandFab]

Was the same question I had in my mind.

[@RockhillfarmYT]

@CustomWeldingandFab it’s a good question I’ve never heard anyone talk about. I like to test things like that but I would have to spend the money on the knives in order to test it.

[@marvindiamonjr.9631]

Good comparison. Again I say, you should be a salesman. 🙂

[@RockhillfarmYT]

I just left a tractor dealership and was thinking that I could do a lot better job selling that machine than the guy I was talking to

[@westtexas806]

I sell real cutters for commercial farming. 21 28 35 ft. We use both on large scale cotton operations. The flail mower does a better job mulching the stalks. But at an enormous maintenance cost. We sell balzer 28' technically 27.5 I think. But both upfront cost and on going cost are considerable. But they do a better job. A year later you won't see any stalk residue like with a normal rotary cutter. In years with lots of rain I've tried leasing them. With hit and miss results. Just due to maintenance cost. We will get 4 of them for lease and you always have to avg the cost of the 4 together in order to sell them at the end of the season because 2 will have a cost higher than a new one while 2 will be half price. Especially if you ever have drive or drum issues. May not be so bad with these backyard toy models. But with less to spread the cost 9ver may feel the same pain.

[@toddcaskey9984]

Morning

[@deeremeyer1749]

Hammers can be turned. In some cases 3 times. Flails also discharge evenly. But they do not tolerate any debris and don't always have slip clutches. The ability to offset a flail does not make it "better". Typically that is done because it's greater weight AND the fact that it is fully mounted with no tail wheel(s) to carry some of the load tend to cause the tractor to flatten the material and the cutter to "streak". Flails also do not create multiple "passes". The flails are arranged to overlap so successive cuts are delayed. NEITHER is a "mower". They are "cutters" and/or "shredders" and even when "sharp" they blades are dull. They "shear" rather than cut cleanly and that's the worst thing you can do to "yard grass". They are not interchangeable. Each has its own intended purposes and full-line manufacturers - pretty much John Deere only these days - offer both as well as various options beyond blade "style" on their CUTTERS. Knives and hammers are optional for the same reason and replacing cutting components is NOT "maintenance". Greasing, changing gearbox oil, adjusting belts etc is maintenance. In truly "green" material in "native" - i.e. not previously or recently "mowed" - condition during the growing season(s) - "wild" plants come in both "warm season" and "cool season" varieties AS WELL as "increasing" varieties that grow more the more they are "mowed" and "decreasing" varieties that grow less or go dormant or even die out if repeatedly "mowed" - the rotary cutter is the far better choice and much more versatile machine and most rotary blades get "sharper" with use as the blunt hard surfaced "cutting edge" wears away.

[@asylumsys]

4foot won’t even cover the tires

[@kdegraa]

That tractor could handle a wider flail mower.

[@jefffrancis6824]

👀

[@TKCL]

👀👀

[@tcmits3699]

Anybody who spends $4800 for a mower needs a new financial planner. Used mower either flail or brush hog with new bearings and blades is the way to go. Just my opinion 😮

[@kdegraa]

Don’t move to Australia. The only mowers selling less than $5 are either from China or are rusty and worn out.

[@Farmry]

Hi Brock, hope you are doing good. can we discuss some potential collaboration between us. i will either email or msg you in your listed social media channel. thanks