Thinking about getting one for 7 ac pasture. Pretty flat but biggest question. I have pecan trees and wondered if the mower will cut them up for me. Got too many trees to clean each year so a lot of them rot out so I am hoping the mower will "clean" it up for me. Thought about a flail mower but wow twice the money and heard twice the upkeep too. Thanks

A finishing mower is for cutting regularly maintained grassy areas it has belt drive spindles that are not durable in rough areas much like a lawnmower . Rotary mowers are built heavier and can withstand some light brush and small trees depending on how heavy a built mower it is and they have gearbox drives with much heavier blades .

If you can stretch the budget a little, a flail is the only way to go for what you're doing. Yes they're expensive. Maintenance isn't that big of a deal, but replacing the knives can get expensive. They last longer than rotary blades do though. I have used a flail for just this kind of stuff and if I had been using a rotary finish mower, it would have been destroyed quickly. The flail just ate up and asked for more.

We call what you need a brush hog. We have a 5 footer that my dad has had since 1968 that we hook to the '58 Model 600. We also have a 6 footer that we hook to our new Kubota. Use it every 6-8 weeks and that 7 acres will be lookin' GOOD. We have never replaced a single thing on either.

Thanks for info, got a bush hog now that leaves grass windrows (even if I cut every week) and doesn't pickup and slice and dice the old pecans. I thought a finishing mower would cut a little lower. Going to borrow a friends flail mower this weekend and play with it. Just hate the $5000 price tag compared to $2300 finishing mower. Checked craigslist I think every hangs onto them.

I'm a little shocked at $5k for a brush hog. No the Hog won't pick up pecans. But the pecans will very much shorten the life of finish blades. I can groom grass decently with the Hog, but I have a finish for that so I usually don't. You can adjust height with the rear wheel, and by the front three point. The front should always ride lower than the rear.

When I think flail mower, I think brush hog. And this is what that is around here"
https://www.google.com/shoppin...kEAQYBSABEgKDKvD_BwE

A flail mower and a brush hog are like comparing a dragster to a door car. They are not the same machine.

quote:

Originally posted by T172JR:
A flail mower and a brush hog are like comparing a dragster to a door car. They are not the same machine.

Are you referring to these?
https://www.palletforks.com/ef...XEAQYAiABEgKzNPD_BwE

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
When I think flail mower, I think brush hog. And this is what that is around here"
https://www.google.com/shoppin...kEAQYBSABEgKDKvD_BwE

Yes, that's a brush hog. Usually has a rotating blade or two like a lawnmower

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

quote:

Originally posted by T172JR:
A flail mower and a brush hog are like comparing a dragster to a door car. They are not the same machine.

Are you referring to these?
https://www.palletforks.com/ef...XEAQYAiABEgKzNPD_BwE

That's a flail mower. It has many flails or blades that spin like a crankshaft. You see a lot of road sides being done with this style and sometimes they are on a long arm controlled by the operator,

I had never seen a mower like that, I'm intrigued. Although, a brush hog works for what we do. Ours is open, pasture land.

Well I borrowed my neighbors (actually he delivered it told me to keep it as long as I want-just sits for past 4 years, he has a huge one that probably my tractor couldn't even turn it LOL) Little 4' that chews up the small sticks and pecans/ played with it on a small section before heading out of town for work this week. Doesn't really cut wet/dew grass but I am sure the knives are dull. It is off set so I had a problem cutting and missing grass stripes but got use to it and figured it out. Wife is going to play this week in main pasture. Still wonder about the finishing mower on pecans? Maybe I can find and borrow one, LOL