Flail Mower vs. Rotary Cutter: Which is Right for You?

[@KUBBI7488]

i think flair mower cuts cleaner and take less room in a storage ! i bought one new 2 years ago and no regrets !

[@s.m.g.m2015]

I prefer my flail shredder does a great job. The other machine you where using in the UK we would call it a topper, just tops off the heads of the grass. Nice video 👍

[@chrisking6740]

What was the PTO horsepower, rotary cutter size, and flail mower cutting width?

[@danlynch6517]

Awesome video with some great shots on the comparison of the two implements. There were many variables as you mentioned out in that field on the performance of both. However, in my opinion height of cut is one variable that was overlooked and not mentioned. Clearly the height of cut on the flail was set much lower to the ground than the rotary cutter.

[@danielmarkleblanc1800]

Wow! The flail mower seems to do a better job in regards to what I would be doing here on my property. I find there are more advantages at least in my perspective with the flail mower.

[@noltspowerequipment]

We've found the flail mower typically does a better job. Higher $$

[@danielmarkleblanc1800]

@@noltspowerequipment I certainly agree with you. The Flail mower is more expensive but it typically does more for your buck than a bush cutter and a finish mower. It cuts lawn nicely and it also does an amazing job on brush and overgrown areas. Its even a pretty darn good mulcher. It also handles quite well behind my tractor and its compact style certainly stores better than other larger units . Well worth the money.

[@slt396]

I own and use both. I owned the flail first and then bought the rotary. My experience is grass over 8in high or rough ground you have to go slow or the flail binds up, so I use the rotary. Also rotary will cut down bigger saplings than the flail and is more robust than the flail. For long grass like in this video my experience is the opposite to the video. The rotary is less taxing and faster than the flail. My rotary has an open back to let the cut grass out, unlike the one shown, which is fully enclosed - maybe that makes a differece. The flail with hammers (not blades ) will mulch branches up to 1in thick . The rotary will mulch thicker branches but leave bigger pieces. The flail will cut lower and finer and leave a better looking cut than the rotary. The stock don't seem to worry about the appearance though. If I had to choose one, I would keep the rotary because it gets the job done quicker and is much more robust.

[@noltspowerequipment]

Great feedback! Thanks!

[@riccardo3212]

There are a lot of differences between flails. Try to see gl1 flail mower, there is no rotary that can cut like them

[@jasonhuhare]

The flail mower is better but more expensive, so we can just purchase the mower according to our amount of money.

[@huxleyhornm7405]

Bottom line- get what you pay for. The flair mower just cuts better. Will the brush hog knock it down? Yep, but flair does a much better job.

[@MrDoyle07]

What is the flail mower manufacturer of the one you were using? (I am watching in a noisy environment and can't hear it so my volume is turned down) And do they have hammer as well as the split cutters?

[@noltspowerequipment]

It is a Titan flail mower. Since we made this video, they have changed their name to IronCraft though. This particular mower just has the hammers.

[@chrisrichardson8908]

Whenever I buy a tractor.I hope I can get that mower as a package deal . Very nice , what state are y’all from .I’m in Arkansas

[@noltspowerequipment]

Hey Chris! We are in PA!

[@mikepici5553]

Where in pa,im in pa as well

[@roadrunner3563]

You don't want mulching if you're cutting for hay, which most farmers would want at least the option to do. That's a big problem with flail mowers. Brush hogs aren't ideal either but you can get reasonable hay cut with one.

[@lightning7582]

Pretty sure he was literally running that flail in the dirt.

[@l337pwnage]

Well, I thinks that's a salesman, and salesmen do salesmen things, lol.

[@blueblood5297]

Learn to set up your rotary mower your top arm needs adjusting your mower is on a angle if you're going to do a comparison at least set it up properly. And you can go 3x faster with a rotary mower the slower you go the more they clog up.

[@abeldominguez3163]

Seems like you were rolling a lot slower with flail mower than the brush hog, how slow must u go for flail mower to get good cut on tall grass??

[@noltspowerequipment]

If we were, it was definitely incidental. Typically speaking we would say the flail mower actually allows for faster driving speed than rotary cutter.

[@butchertyd4896]

Flail is good until you find a stone then it’s expensive

[@noltspowerequipment]

We’ve broken our fair share of teeth in this field that’s for sure!

[@danielmarkleblanc1800]

@@noltspowerequipment Happens on a rotary cutter too. happened to me many times. Looking at a Flail mower this upcoming spring. More compact and nicer finish with pretty nice looking mulch.

[@n5ifi]

I don't see any brush. You look up the word brush and you will find the word scrub vegetation. Then look up scrub vegetation and you will find what real brush actually is. That ain't brush. In fact, you actually bypassed the real brush and didn't cut it. That rotary cutter/brush hog is completely out of adjustment. How could I tell? The key was you were dragging all kinds of crap in the front corner of the hog but what iced it was at about 12:26 to 40 and beyond watch the brush hog tail wheel. Notice how its wobbly and going all over the place. That's a dead give away that there isn't enough weight on the tail wheel of the brush hog. The upper link is too tight for sure but the brush hog rear height may be out of adjustment too once you get the front up. If you tell me all that is adjusted exactly right and is a characteristic of that brush hog, I wouldn't own it. It absolutely shouldn't do that in a little bit of wet grass but you did the video in the wet to promote the flail mower over the brush hog anyway. Of course it would have been better for the mower if the grass was dryer but it still should not do what it did. I personally do not want the rear of my brush hog to be 4-5 inches higher than the front. That's wrong. You'll get a much better cut down around 2 inches higher. I'm 65 and I've been sitting in front a brush hog and sickle mower since before I could legally drive a car on the highway. Been there done that. I love watching salesmen try to be tricky dicky.

[@noltspowerequipment]

Thanks for the great feedback! We appreciate your honesty!

[@OTTO_Man]

I found this video looking at flail mowers and quickly realized I'm glad I bought a tym and not kioti. Damn is that thing noisy! My open rops tym is quieter that a cab kioti