To Flail or not to Flail

EastTexFrank

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
I just finished mowing the 5 -6 acre yard at the property owned by the local library. Man it was hot. During the summer I usually use the L4740 with the cab and a/c. Unfortunately the only mower worth using on the back of it is the 6' bush hog and I will admit that it can be a "bit" rough on what passes for a yard. There is some good St. Augustine immediately around the house but the majority of it is bahia/junk grass/weeds. This last time I used the B2400 with the 5' rear finishing mower and sweated like a pig.

I usually only cut it every 2 weeks and over the last couple of weeks we've had about 7" of rain. That bahia was about 2' tall and the little B2400 and RFM was sore pressed to cut it in places and I must admit that it looked like crap when I had finished. In the end I had to cut it 2 or 3 times to get it to look halfway reasonable. That finishing mower just doesn't cut tall bahia worth a darn especially when you've laid it over with 2 sets of tires before the mower even gets to it. The bush hog on the L4740 cuts it better/faster but it's still not pretty ... hey, it's a bush hog!!!

So here is the deal. While I was running around, sweat dripping off my nose, I got the idea that what I really needed was a 6 foot flail mower on the back of the B4740. That would allow me to cut in air conditioned comfort and still get a decent cut. If need be I could also use it on the B2400. The problem is that I know nothing about flail mowers, I've never had or used one.

So, what do you guys think. Would a flail mower cut the junk grass and the good stuff and make it look decent? Would it cut stuff like bahia in one pass so I don't have to waste hours cutting and recutting the same stuff? Will it handle rolling and uneven ground without tearing the yard up? For what it's worth, I have R4's on both tractors and they don't tear the yard up to any great extent. OK, maybe just a little.

Advice please before I approach the CFO with my hand out.
 
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