Toppers - educate me please !

[L P]

Genuine question : What actually is the 'Public Good ' for all this ?

Well... they don't get wet trousers when trespassing

 

[Bury the Trash]

Well... they don't get wet trousers when trespassing

or walking their dogs

 

[lloyd]

Genuine question : What actually is the 'Public Good ' for all this ?

 

[ollie989898]

Genuine question : What actually is the 'Public Good ' for all this ?

Sales of diesel-

Sales of toppers-

Sound of big engines running flat out and being very angry-

Smell of fresh cut grass-

Sight of neatly topped fields-

It's all win win win to me.

 

[Old apprentice]

Genuine question : What actually is the 'Public Good ' for all this ?

There is not one.

 

[Mdt]

We have both batwing and flail, both have their uses. We use the flail for narrow margins etc and the batwing for wider margins and parkland. If go for a batwing be wary of the yellow and blue brand, parts take ages to arrive if needed and overall finding it expensive to run. Would be keen to demo other batwings out there.

 

[snarling bee]

Not read the whole thread, but contractor who has cut 'my' solar park used to buy the cheapest Chinese flail that he could, if the lasted 12 months he was happy as they were so cheap. Not sure they would handle 240 hp though, not many toppers/flails will.

Me? We have a front mounted Teagle designed for 200HP and mulching orchard prunings (cope with 25mm dia wood). We have not broken it yet.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

to add some context - tractor would be 240hp and has a front linkage but not front pto

are they all pto powered or do sone run of hydraulic motors ? we have no pto driven machines on farm and would rather keep it that was if possible?

Muthing has a 200 that is hydraulic.

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But that would look funny on your tractor. Maybe purchase 2 or 3 and clamp them together? Or ask Muthing to engineer one to your specs. I am sure they would do it. They have a very good engineering team. I can provide a contact person for you if you need it.

 

[Grass And Grain]

Had some AB1 (clover and big, tall, tough flower things). Will have been more than 3ft + tall. Was killing the flail. Would hoover it up in lumps even with slowish forward speed.

Ended up with flail quite high up off ground to just cut half the height off it. It still caused issues. Abandoned and went for the grass mower.

Learnt not to let it get too strong before flailing. Stewardship prescription might not allow that though.

A few weeks growth of clover, not a problem to the flail. Similar growth stage to when someone might cut it for silage.

Similar experience with grass. Very tall and thick grass killed my flail.

Won't include grass seed in AB15 mix for this reason. Too hard to deal with, particularly if fed nitrogen by the clovers.

 

[yellowfrog]

If it is only for margins and you aren't doing day after day/hundreds of acres I would say a 3m flail machine, probably a muthing with the ability to run it on the front or back. They are all PTO driven, you won't get enough grunt from hydraulic power alone without a whole raft of grief, cooling and efficiency losses, etc. Before you buy the thing speak with the manufacturer or their technical guys and tell them what tractor(s) you intend to put it on. Your 240hp Fendt may well be able to run it in economy PTO if the correct gearbox is specified.

With the right flails a Muthing (or Kuhn) will cut it as low as you want and shred every bit. They are also quite resistant to grief from foreign bodies- the Muthing in particular is built like a tank and I know Kuhn machines aren't far behind.

If you need more output and are doing bigger areas routinely year after year then it is worth considering a front and back combination or a batwing but the cost starts to escalate as does the power requirement.

we have had a multhing for 7 years and its built like proverbial brick outhouse .mulches 3ft high to nothing cant praise it enough

 

[sheepdogtrail]

If it is only for margins and you aren't doing day after day/hundreds of acres I would say a 3m flail machine, probably a muthing with the ability to run it on the front or back. They are all PTO driven, you won't get enough grunt from hydraulic power alone without a whole raft of grief, cooling and efficiency losses, etc. Before you buy the thing speak with the manufacturer or their technical guys and tell them what tractor(s) you intend to put it on. Your 240hp Fendt may well be able to run it in economy PTO if the correct gearbox is specified.

With the right flails a Muthing (or Kuhn) will cut it as low as you want and shred every bit. They are also quite resistant to grief from foreign bodies- the Muthing in particular is built like a tank and I know Kuhn machines aren't far behind.

If you need more output and are doing bigger areas routinely year after year then it is worth considering a front and back combination or a batwing but the cost starts to escalate as does the power requirement.

I run my Muthing MU-M 280 Vario on the front most of the time in 1000 RPM economy mode. I just mulched a 3 acre stand of 6 foot tall of pure chicory with it. It went through it like butter on 120 HP tractor @ engine speed of 1250 RPM and ground speed of 4 mph. I did have to stop every 15 minutes or so to blow the seeds out of the air intake screens on the tractor in a 97 F Temp. There is probably 300 lbs of pure chicory seed now on the ground. That is fine with me.

 

[ollie989898]

I run my Muthing MU-M 280 Vario on the front most of the time in 1000 RPM economy mode. I just mulched a 3 acre stand of 6 foot tall of pure chicory with it. It went through it like butter on 120 HP tractor @ engine speed of 1250 RPM and ground speed of 4 mph. I did have to stop every 15 minutes or so to blow the seeds out of the air intake screens on the tractor in a 97 F Temp. There is probably 300 lbs of pure chicory seed now on the ground. That is fine with me.

Holy fudge.

 

[TelesnaAg]

As we increasingly become more “park keeper” thanks to SFI and CSS and have more cover crops and margins than in the past we have options that need management involving cutting

Having never owned a topper or mower bigger than a garden ride on I find myself confused by what i should buy

front mount or rear ? or both maybe ?

flail or rotary cut ?

depreciation (i’m allergic to it !) so what brands hold value best ?

reliability ? what’s strongest ? farming urban fringe with people throwing stuff over hedges its inevitable we will end up mowing a bike or shopping trolley on occasion !

width ? all our margins are 6 or 12 plus we have a lot of awkward field corners in scheme now so i’m thinking a 3m machine ? yet many are 2.87 etc ? why is that ?

obviously i want to spend as little as possible here ? are they best bought new / usually only sold in when about knackered ?

all advice / education on this appreciated!

Get a claas 3pl disco 360, put topping skids plates on, away you go.

When the madness of not growing food steps in and there is a national shortage.

You will have something decent to sell or use...

Tough n cheap.

Ant...

 

[TelesnaAg]

if you want to come and fence / water both sides of several miles of 6m margin ( mostly roadsides) and bring sheep you can have the grazing for free !!!

Thats an excellent idea, methane out put from the environmental ley...

BRILLIANT!!!

the poms are set for world domination again mark my words.

Ant...

 

[sheepdogtrail]

@Clive By the agreement do you have to mow it?

Just wondering if a roller/crimper would be ok or some type of prismatic roller.

 

[WD2022]

I am lookinf to purchase a new rear offset flair. Doing the research and would like a Maschio or Spearmeant . Both do a 2.3m and a 2.5m keen on the 2.5m but both manufacturers websites say minimum 140hp for the 2.5m. I have Case Vestrum 130, do you think it would handle the 2.5m?

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I am lookinf to purchase a new rear offset flair. Doing the research and would like a Maschio or Spearmeant . Both do a 2.3m and a 2.5m keen on the 2.5m but both manufacturers websites say minimum 140hp for the 2.5m. I have Case Vestrum 130, do you think it would handle the 2.5m?

Will you have a target crop(s) that you will be using it on or is for general purpose and will get lots of use? Do you have a front linkage? If so do you have a weight for the front?

 

[IOW91]

I've got a 2.8 metre Teagle dual here. Excellent machine. Just need a tractor with front linkage now. Runs fine on 115 HP.

 

[WD2022]

Will you have a target crop(s) that you will be using it on or is for general purpose and will get lots of use? Do you have a front linkage? If so do you have a weight for the front?

No front linkage, weights, yes, dykes, side a few hedges, general use, nothing to thick but ……… maybe I should take manufacturers advice for sake of 25cm!

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I've got a 2.8 metre Teagle dual here. Excellent machine. Just need a tractor with front linkage now. Runs fine on 115 HP.
View attachment 1128100View attachment 1128101

Yep. That works. Looks like it got some ground hugging going on. That reed canary grass can be though. At least yours is green. Mine is straw.