BX1860 and Flail mower/what should I mow?

[Snowmansimon]

I found a used 48” Vemco Flail mower locally. Fresh coat of paint on it and missing the pto drive shaft. $750 CND. Seems to be a fair price.

Do you think the BX1860 will run this?

I own just under 4 acres. I am currently doing the landscaping and will eventually mow just under 1 acre with the MMM. My worries is part of the property use to be a horse pasture (about 1 acre then another 1 acre near the river which is considered wetland) and I don’t want the field to start growing over with alder bushes. My plan was to mow it 1-2 times a year to keep it under control. I had the 1 acre brush cut before I started the landscaping and the local fellow charged me hourly and was about $300. This flail mower would save money in the long run.

Is this common practice for field owners?

Blue area is MMM work. Area #1 is what I own and area #2 is what I would like to mow to tie into the new neighbours mowed lawn.

Red area is flail mower work. Area #1 is what I own and area #2 is what I would like to mow to keep the yard cleaned up but a lot of it belongs to the new neighbour. Old neighbour just moved out and was ok with tying our lawns into each other to keep it looking nice.
View of “red” area. Where the grass starts at the bottom of the picture is the split between blue and red area.

Black area 1 is the wetland area I would consider mowing to keep from growing over. I would also like to have a trail mowed around this to be able to walk the property.
View of “Black area”

What are anyone’s thoughts on this? Am I wasting my time trying to mow these areas? Should I be worried about them growing over?

 

[skeets]

I think if you want/need to mow them have at it. If its mowed that might keep some critters at bay, but I dont know if you have ticks up there. Still being along a creek keeping the alders at bay might keep Mr/Mrs Beaver someplace else and not flooding you out. That is unless your a trapper then it might be different. I will tell you this the MMM on the BX2360 has chopped up a lot of wild roses and bamboo and tree trash Im to lazy to pick upm so dont be afraid to use that MMM on heavier stuff. You might have to run through once with the deck all the way up to knock it down some then again to cut it closer but it will work. Of course with the flail you dont have to worry about doing it over a couple times.

 

[Snowmansimon]

I mowed a path through the field last fall with the MMM raised. Seemed to just push the taller stuff over and didn’t actually cut it. I was also terrified of hitting rocks or lumps with it.

 

[sheepfarmer]

I use a flail mower on a pasture to cut down wild rose bushes and keep the weeds that the sheep won't eat down, so I imagine you can control little trees and brush no problem. Then after that the harder part of your question is do you want to keep it mowed or not. That will depend really a lot on what is growing there now, and if you like it. Some folks try to get a thick planting of native grasses and wildflowers started, and those plants keep the other stuff out. Around here if you keep something mowed short, after a while it starts looking like lawn.

 

[TGN]

Did you end up using a flail mower in your BX1860? If so, how did it do with the lower PTO HP? I am also thinking of picking one up for my BX1860.

Thanks!

 

[Snowmansimon]

Did you end up using a flail mower in your BX1860? If so, how did it do with the lower PTO HP? I am also thinking of picking one up for my BX1860.

Thanks!

Yes!

I ended up picking the mower up for $600. Tore it down and replaced all the bearings and painted it and had some new decals made up. Mowed some thick thorn bushes no problem. Bogged down some in the tall grass with all the dead grass under it. I was cutting it as short as I could. I just had to take my time but the BX1860 had no issues. The blades on mine are in rough shape. I sharpened them quickly but they are still beat up. I now am going to mow at least once a year to keep from having 6" of dead grass on the ground.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Good color choice...

 

[armylifer]

Thanks for the update. I was also thinking about getting a flail mower. It looks like it does a great job.