I need a good Flail mower. Thoughts???

[notforhire]

Yep, that IBEX is "identical" to my Del Morino Centurion Super. I don't know the nature of the relationship but it seems that IBEX gets them from Del Morino. Tractor Tools Direct has a decent price and appears to be lower than Good Works Tractor Co., where I bought mine.

@notforhire , were you having problems running the flail on your L47? If that's the case I'm surprised to hear that.

I highly recommend Del Morino or IBEX, and if you take the take to look at the design compared to many other models you'll notice that the Italians have it figured out with gusseting in the right places and quality components. The stuff looks to be engineered rather than thrown together.

I did run it behind my L47. The only problem I had was I hooked a small stump and bent a stabilizer.
The cutter was fully extended at the time. It was my fault. I can't turn my head much and didn't see the stump.
I was able to fix the stabilizer and there was no damage to the flail.

There is a lot of weight and leverage hanging out there if the cutter is elevated and fully extended. I would have been more comfortable using it behind my old JD 5055 with a cat2 hitch.
If I buy another it will be a wider IBEX unit without the offset.

 

[rookpond]

Last summer I noticed a "chirp" with the cutter running and reached out to Good Works Tractor Co. I told them I might not have pumped enough grease into the cutting drum bearings and asked them to quote replacement bearings. They sent out a complete set of bearings at no charge which is above and beyond what I expected. Other than the chirp, I've had no maintenance issues so far, and the quality is evident wherever you look.

@mcmxi Came across this reply as it looks like I have a bearing out on the cutter shaft on my Del Morino (a smaller funny top). How was pulling the shaft, did you need to remove the belts / pulleys / etc? The schematic doesn't show much on how it attaches on the far side, so figured I'd ask while the bearings are being shipped. Any info appreciated, and thanks.

 

[mikester]

Have any of you used these in the vertical position to cut brush along fence lines?

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

....I hooked a small stump and bent a stabilizer. The cutter was fully extended at the time. It was my fault. I can't turn my head much and didn't see the stump....

I have a similar head turning issue and am adding dual cameras and 10" display. Mirrors would kind of work, but the view from cutting height would be tops. Doesn't seem too difficult to impliment....

 

[notforhire]

Have any of you used these in the vertical position to cut brush along fence lines?

I did and it worked ok. Not too much flying debris. I was cutting wild rose bushes/black berries/ pine branches.
The down side.
As previously mentioned I have trouble actually seeing what I'm doing. I can't turn my head very far.

The cutter is pretty heavy and I think the offset load was a straining my cat 1 3ph.

You have a much heavier machine and a cat 2 hitch, so you may not feel the offset weight as much.

 

[mcmxi]

@mcmxi Came across this reply as it looks like I have a bearing out on the cutter shaft on my Del Morino (a smaller funny top). How was pulling the shaft, did you need to remove the belts / pulleys / etc? The schematic doesn't show much on how it attaches on the far side, so figured I'd ask while the bearings are being shipped. Any info appreciated, and thanks.

My apologies for any confusion, but it was the bearing on the output shaft of the gear box that I needed to replace, which was an easy fix. See bearing # 41000058 in the schematic below (outlined in red at top of page).

 

[mcmxi]

Have any of you used these in the vertical position to cut brush along fence lines?

I haven't, but I think it'd work well in that application. You might need to invest in some guards to protect the glass though.

 

[mikester]

I'd like to get something for maintaining around fence lines. Mostly fast growing new growth control of stuff like dogwood. How well do the hammer blades handle dead wood on the ground like hidden fallen branches? I'd like it to handle up to 2" but if I can do up to 4" that would be better...

Would a 72" cut width be too much for my little machine with a class1/2 3PH? I'm probably around 6,500lbs with the cab. I have three remotes so I'd like to go hydraulic everything.

 

[mcmxi]

I'd like to get something for maintaining around fence lines. Mostly fast growing new growth control of stuff like dogwood. How well do the hammer blades handle dead wood on the ground like hidden fallen branches? I'd like it to handle up to 2" but if I can do up to 4" that would be better...

Would a 72" cut width be too much for my little machine with a class1/2 3PH? I'm probably around 6,500lbs with the cab. I have three remotes so I'd like to go hydraulic everything.

In my experience, those hammer blades do a great job of mulching just about anything. Ground speed is a factor of course, and if you go too fast you're likely to eject a solid chunk of something rather than chip it up.

I don't know if your tractor could/would handle a 72" flail like my Del Morino Centurion Super 158, particularly when the head is fully extended. Fully extended with the cutting head vertical puts less of a strain/load on the tractor than fully extended with the head horizontal. The terrain would play a part, along with speed too.

 

[rookpond]

My apologies for any confusion, but it was the bearing on the output shaft of the gear box that I needed to replace, which was an easy fix. See bearing # 41000058 in the schematic below (outlined in red at top of page).

View attachment 131570

Gotcha - thanks for the reply.
The bearing on the cutter shaft is what I'll need to replace, the URC090D in the image above. If anyone's curious will report back how that replacement goes.
Also I'm getting those bearings from Good Works, but looks like with the Ibex partnership / whatever that relationship is that parts including belts and blades/hammers are easier to come by on tractortoolsdirect.com with the same part numbers... ordered some stuff from there too as backup and will see how that goes. Prices generally better too.

 

[mcmxi]

Gotcha - thanks for the reply.
The bearing on the cutter shaft is what I'll need to replace, the URC090D in the image above. If anyone's curious will report back how that replacement goes.
Also I'm getting those bearings from Good Works, but looks like with the Ibex partnership / whatever that relationship is that parts including belts and blades/hammers are easier to come by on tractortoolsdirect.com with the same part numbers... ordered some stuff from there too as backup and will see how that goes. Prices generally better too.

I would definitely be interested in hearing how that bearing swap went. I wasn't sure what was causing the noise from my flail late last year but figured it was a bearing, so reached out to GWTC to get a price on replacement bearings and they sent me a complete set at no cost. I wasn't expecting that.