Which Mower or Cutter Is Best?
EVER WONDERED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USING A TOPPER, FINISHING & FLAIL MOWER?
Throughout the year we often get enquiries about our range of mowers and cutters. The different blade systems, applications and grass types. We have been out and about cutting our paddocks, lawns and fields to give an overview of the different mowers, comparing the benefits of our range of topper mowers, finishing mowers and flail mowers to help our customers choose the best cutter for the job.
Topper Mowers
Blades – Topper mowers have two blades which are attached to a blade carrier, this rotates to allow the blades to top the grass (see below).
Cutting Applications – Perfect for paddocks or areas of rough pasture, the topper tops the grass and slices through materials such as brambles avoiding tangles. If ground isn’t too stony the topper can often give a closer cut than a flail mower.
Grass Cut – The cuttings are longer than a flail or finishing mower and the grass is usually thrown against the the skids of the machine leaving rows of cuttings rather than scattering.
Finishing Mowers
Blades – Finishing mowers use a three blade design, the centre of each blade is fixed to the mower as seen below.Each blade rotates on the blade spindle/hub assembly.
Cutting Applications – Perfect for use on lawns and sports pitches, can also be used in well-maintained paddocks or pasture which has recently been topped.
Grass Cut – Height adjustable using the wheel spacers, finishing mowers give a very fine and close to the ground cut (as shown in the image at the top of the page).
Flail Mowers
Blades – Our flail mowers use hammer blades (named for their hammer like shape) these are heavier duty than standard Y-blades. The hammer blades sit on a horizontal rotor (see image below) which rotates and spins the hammers creating the flail motion.
Cutting Applications – Flail mowers cut from light grass through to gorse etc. up to small saplings dependent on the machine type. Ideal for use on any rougher areas of grass.
Grass Cut – Cuttings from the flail mower are mulched up into smaller pieces and spread across paddocks or fields.
We tried all three out on our paddocks and you can see the results in the pictures below. (Left to Right: Finishing mower, Flail Mower, Topper Mower). Note that the finishing mower is normally for short grass but still can go over the longer paddock grass.