What is a mounting bracket exactly? What mounting bracket is right for you?
Following on from our last post about what makes a flail mower the right one for you, {click here if you missed it} we’ve been asked to explain all about mounting brackets. So here goes …
Standard vs Quick hitch
When we talk about mounting brackets to be supplied with flail mowers we need to look at whether the flail is going to be fitted at the end of the boom of the digger or whether the flail is going to be used with a quick hitch. What we call the standard mounting bracket is the mounting bracket that fits at the end of the digger. In order to supply that we don’t require any drawings or dimensions from customers as we have a database to refer to which provides us with the specs.
In contrast, with quick hitches the process is different as there are many different producers of quick hitch and each of them produces a different one. Therefore in order to be sure that the mounting bracket we produce will fit the quick hitch of our customer we need to take some dimensions first.
These are the 3 measurements required:
- the diameter of the pins (A/C)
- the distance between the centres of the pins (B)
- the width to put between the ears of the bracket (D)
What is a mounting bracket exactly?
It’s a bottom plate with two ears welded on. The boom of the digger, either directly or fitted with a quick hitch, connects between the two ears. The mounting bracket is usually bolted onto our flails, which means one flail could be bought with 2 mounting brackets enabling it to be used with 2 different machines. A customer can then can swap them around depending on which machine he needs to use the mulcher with.
Pins
The other important factor when we talk about mounting brackets for quick hitches is that they can be supplied with pins. They can be welded on, like on a digging bucket where the pins are not removable. Or we can supply the mounting bracket fitted with bushes and with removable pins. Most of our customers choose to go for the bracket with welded pins mostly because it’s more practical. The structure is more rigid, more solid and there’s no risk of loosing the pins. Occasionally however we have people who require the bracket with removable pins.
Floatation hitch
Now when it comes to mounting brackets we are often asked about floatation hitches, where the mounting bracket is fitted on top of this special hitch. The floatation hitch is a system designed to allow the flail mower to move according to the undulation of the ground. It’s particularly recommended and requested when you need to carry out precise and tidy jobs – on golf courses or anywhere there is ground that isn’t perfectly flat for instance, and you need to really cut the grass down to the ground, following the shape of the terrain.
The floatation hitch goes between the flail mower and the bracket and it’s important to note that the floatation hitch can be locked into a fixed position as well as a floatation position. In the floating position, as the arm of the digger moves on the ground, the flail moves up and down following the shape of the terrain. However, in the locked position you don’t have that flexibility. It becomes a rigid system as if you didn’t have the flotation hitch installed. Having both options means more than one job can be done with the same flail mower. In this way, when you are grass clearing you might use the floatation hitch and when hedge cutting you might not, without having to dismount and remount depending the job. One flail mower has the option of being used in both ways.
Angle adapter
When it comes to hedge cutting sometimes customers find themselves of not being able to stretch the boom fully when they’re cutting hedges. The reason there is they might have a very restricted passage. Now if you cannot stretch your boom fully obviously you cannot put the flail in a vertical position. You will struggle to cut the hedges adequately and hold the flail mower head perpendicular to the ground. One solution that we have is to supply customers with an angle adapter.
With the angle adapter, the mounting bracket doesn’t fit flat on flail mower, sitting instead at an angle. This means that you have more ’tilting angle’ from the very beginning so that, even if the boom of the digger isn’t fully stretched, the flail can be lifted up perpendicular to the ground and therefore the hedge can also be cut at its lower part. Again, this is a system that is optional and that can be fitted but can also be easily removed. In this way, if you don’t need it on all the time you can unbolt the angle adapter and just put the bracket bolted on top of the flail as usual.
NB: The information shared here obviously applies not only to flail mowers and mulchers but to other attachments like post drivers, log grabs, tree shears …
We really hope this has been helpful 🙂 but if you need any clarifiactions or more info we’re happy to answer any questions.
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or give us a call on 01524 242414 / 07580134445
