FEL On Or Off

[winesalot]

Getting ready for the inaugural run on my new to me but fairly old Rears SPF Flail mower. Had to replace all of the hangers, D-rings, and several of the cutting blades. Question is do I mow with the FEL on or removed? I won't be on super steep hillsides but there are hills involved. I have the beet juice in the rear tires if that makes a difference.

 

[sheepfarmer]

I leave mine on with FEL. I have some hills in my back pasture and it hardly notices them.

The flail doesn't stick out back as far as some, but to do corners neatly you have to pick up flail and back into corner parallel to one fence row and then put it down and mow forward. You'd probably still have to do that even without the loader.

 

[Daren Todd]

We never removed the fel when mowing. But then some of the areas we put the tractor in were questionable. We used the fel for a hazard finder. Kept the fel just off the ground. Helped locate forgotten large rocks covered in grass, as well as downed trees and limbs that were hard to see.

With the fel on, we also had the added benefit of using it to remove said obstacles when Bush hogging the logging trails.

 

[Vacula]

With a 3 point mower, I would leave it on. If you mow residential with a MMM, take the FEL off. Besides maneuvering, it will save your front tire tread and is easier on the front components over time.

 

[chim]

When I was using a bush hog, the FEL was always on, as Daren said. When using a rear finish mower, it is never on. No point having the extra weight and length on the front of the tractor. It would likely cause the front tires to damage the grass when mowing after a rain. Since on/off is so easy, mine isn't on the tractor between the last snow in the Spring and the first snow of Winter unless I'm using it.

 

[mikester]

Leave it on. When you find a groundhog mound dig deep and nail the bugger for predicting 6 more weeks of winter.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No offense to anyone and their determinations, but I think when most on here say hills and grades, they are what we would still consider fairly flat, For our terrain I would suggest you remove it.

You also want to be able to turn and maneuver between vine rows and it's really easy to have the FEL get in the way real quick.

If the flail is too heavy then you might need to put some front weight on it.

 

[Bulldog]

I always removed mine for mowing. Since putting the QA on I now just remove the bucket.

 

[TripleR]

Getting a bit too feeble to bother taking mine off, but when I was in better shape, I bush hogged on familiar ground with the FEL off, much smoother ride and more maneuverability.

 

[Creature Meadow]

For me if I know the ground and cut it each year i remove it, much better ride and it does not get it the way.

If not familiar then I place bucket close to ground and use it to find "stuff" I can't see, just like others have said.

When I go to our deer lease which requires 10 hours of hogging I can just remove the loader it is QA hog then in less than 10 minutes hook it back up to continue working. The plots and paths have no obstacles so it is safe to just keep eyes open wide and cruise along.

The situation will dedicate what is best with hundreds of various possible conditions that could warrant it being on or off.