The finishing touch

WORDS: STEVEN HAYNES, TRACTOR SALES MANAGER

Attachments are vital to getting the most from your tractor and mowing is likely to be a top job which makes selecting a mowing attachment an important decision.

There are generally three main types of mowers which can be selected to run with your tractor, they are the finishing mower, flail mower and rotary topper. Each has their own pros and cons and the following will hopefully help as a guide to enable you to choose the right mower for the application.

Factors to consider when selecting a mowing attachment:

1. What are you cutting?
2. How often are you cutting?
3. What level of finish do you require?
4. How big is the area that needs to be cut?

Finishing mower

These are perfect for those who require a good finish or regularly mown grass areas or lawn. They are not suitable for areas of heavy growth or for cutting any material other than grass. The design is simple with most featuring three or more rotary blades connected via a spindle assembly and drive belt.

The blades will quickly chop the grass and discharge the cut material either out the side of the deck or behind the tractor. This is an easy machine to mount to the tractor using the three-point linkage and PTO and being generally lighter in construction are easily pulled behind the tractor.

Mowing decks are typically available from 1.2m to 1.8m and will generally have adjustable cutting heights from 1-4 inches.

Making changes to the cutting height can be done without tools by simply increasing or decreasing the number of spacers on the castor wheels. The decks are simple to maintain with regular checks being focused on greasing castor wheels and spindles, adjusting the belts and keeping blades sharp.

Flail mower

Quite the versatile number, flail mowers are a pro in dealing with tall, long grass and therefore preferred for use in overgrown areas or for those mowed irregularly. They can extended their capability to mowing heavier items like saplings and brambles as well as grass and because of this they can be used in quite a lot of applications, as well as, with the right blades, provide a neat finish on grass lawns with the rear roller providing a very appealing stripped effect.

The flail design uses a horizontal rotor with cutting blades mounted across the full width of the machine. The blades spin around the shaft and discharge any clippings through the rear of the deck. When used in environments where the grass is cut regularly the machines will hold the cut material within the deck for a period breaking the clippings down to provide a mulch effect.

Cutting heights are adjustable from 1-8 inches and can be done so by adjusting the rear roller.

Rotary topper

The rotary topper is simple in design but very robust. Normally they will be fitted with a single swinging tipped blade directly to the gear box making them very cheap to produce compared to a flail mower.

Not suitable for mowing lawns, these mowers are really designed for work in heavy conditions such as tall grass and weeds and do this with ease at cutting heights of 2 inches and above. The blade slashes the grass and pushes it quickly out of the back of the deck and you can cover large areas quickly so the after-cut appearance is not as good as the other two methods of cutting grass, but when productivity is key this is the one to go for.

To talk to someone about Farmtrac tractors or becoming a Farmtrac dealer, call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkagriculture.co.uk or click here.

For further information
get in touch