M tractor and flail mower

[CharlesG]

I have a good running M and was curious about whether it could handle a 4 flail mower with hammer teeth. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim.ME]

(quoted from post at 19:55:49 09/15/23) I have a good running M and was curious about whether it could handle a 4 flail mower with hammer teeth. Thanks in advance.

Please provide more information. What brand and model flail? What is the manufacturer's minimum horsepower requirement? Weight of the unit? Do you already have a 3 point hitch? I generally associate hammers with rough, heavy cutting and brush, what are you planning to mow?

 

[CharlesG]

Please provide more information. What brand and model flail? Dont know yet. What is the manufacturer's minimum
horsepower requirement? Dont know yet. Weight of the unit? Dont know yet. Do you already have a 3 point hitch? Yes. I
generally associate hammers with rough, heavy cutting and brush, what are you planning to mow? Maybe 1.5 at the
biggest.See? My tractor has the cast iron front wheels( I think they look great) and the parts catalog doesnt show wheel
weights for them. A PO worked on the front axle and I dont see a way to bolt weight up there. The 4 bushhog I have
makes the front fairly light and I feel a flail wouldnt be as bad.

 

[Jim.ME]

(quoted from post at 09:09:29 09/16/23) Please provide more information. What brand and model flail? Dont know yet. What is the manufacturer's minimum
horsepower requirement? Dont know yet. Weight of the unit? Dont know yet. Do you already have a 3 point hitch? Yes. I
generally associate hammers with rough, heavy cutting and brush, what are you planning to mow? Maybe 1.5 at the
biggest.See? My tractor has the cast iron front wheels( I think they look great) and the parts catalog doesnt show wheel
weights for them. A PO worked on the front axle and I dont see a way to bolt weight up there. The 4 bushhog I have
makes the front fairly light and I feel a flail wouldnt be as bad.

Have you researched any of the hammer flails yet? Hammer flails should be heavily built and may weigh more than your 4 ft ''bushhog''. Power requirement for a hammer flail to perform properly may be more than your M has (20 hp?) They need a lot of power to take down 1.5'' brush. Rotary cutters can be better at knocking brush down than a flail. The hammer flails have been used at times to mulch downed brush, such as orchard pruning brush, as they can do a better job mulching than a rotary.

Right now, I my thought is you don't have enough tractor to properly operate a quality 4-foot hammer flail.

 

[Brendon-KS]

A good-running M can put out an honest 18+ hp at the PTO - I've had mine on a dyno to verify this. Compared to many vintage tractors the M has a slow 1st gear if the mowing conditions are tough. I'd think that an M could handle a 4-ft flail mower without issues. My M has the hydraulic capacity to lift a 450 lb 4-ft, single-spindle rotary mower easily but the front does get a little light. A flail mower's center of gravity is a lot closer to the hitch than a rotary mower so as long as it weighed not more than around 500 lbs you should be fine.

 

[CharlesG]

Thats what I was thinking.

 

[M-MAN]

They did make front weights for them. I thought they were in the parts catalog but I know for sure they are in the Accessories Catalog.

Loading the front tires will help. I used antifreeze and water.

 

[M-MAN]

This is the one for the early M with cast hubcaps.
Untitled URL Link

 

[CharlesG]

I didnt know that there was an accessory catalog. Point me in the right direction please.

 

[M-MAN]

AC-1013 is the John Deere Attachment catalog for Dubuque's.

 

[Mike M]

I had a Ford 5 1/2' and in tall stuff it worked that M hard. After the first pass I could take a smaller cut. A 4' should work good if you are in tall stuff.

 

[Hotflashjr]

I run a 4' Caroni hammer flail on a 45hp 4x4 diesel kubota and it works that tractor hard. I would never think to try and run that on my JD 40, big brother of the M. The HP would not be there when you get into chopping up heavier brush or real think grass/weeds.

 

[Brendon-KS]

Here's a video I just stumbled across showing a 61 flail mower being run by a sub-compact tractor with no more PTO power than your M has.
Flail mowing with small tractor