Is a Winton Flail, Topper or Finishing Mower Most Suitable?
Winton’s range of mowers come with heavy duty gearing and flails/blades, as well as upgraded bearings for smooth operation.
The popularity of these machines is easy to understand when pairing this with their hard-to-rival value for money.
There are 7 styles of Winton mower, each with a variety of working width to suit tractors sized from 12 to
60 horsepower.
The below easy-to-follow flow chart is a brief overview of choosing the best mower for your task. Follow the
flow chart and keep scrolling to see more details of the recommended machine.
Winton WFL Flail Mowers & WHF Hydraulic Offset Flail Mowers
The WFL and WHF flail mowers are hugely versatile, and excel on well-maintained grassland and dense scrub. The sculpted hammer blades will leave a neat finish on fine turf if cut regularly, and can cut their way through weeds and brambles with ease.
All WFL and WHF mowers come with a rear roller as standard. Surprising to some is that the roller’s primary purpose isn’t to leave stripes on grass - this is just a bonus.
The main benefit of the roller is that it lifts the mower when travelling over uneven and bumpy terrain, preventing the blades from scalping the ground. The roller will also help crush the cut stems of some types of vegetation such as bracken, causing them to ‘bleed’ and reducing the regrowth rate.
Differences between WFL & WHF Flail Mowers
Wondering whether you should choose the WHF Hydraulic Offset Flail Mower over the WFL Flail
Mower?
An offset flail mower is ideal when you need to cut close to an edge, such as a fence or wall.
It’s also useful for cutting under bushes and tree canopies.
There’s a few details worth considering -
Your tractor must have it's own hydraulics to operate the offset of the WHF. If your tractor doesn’t have
hydraulic lines, the WFL is the mower to choose.
Despite having a static cutting position and no ability to move horizontally, the WFL mowers do have a fixed offset.
This offset offers more cutting width on the right hand side of the tractor than the left, as shown on the
table below.
Despite an offset cutting width on the WFL mowers, the overall position of the mower is roughly central to
the PTO - this is because the drive belts and pulleys are mounted on the outer left hand side of the
mower.
The WFL comes in 4 different cutting widths - 1.05m, 1.25m, 1.45m and 1.75m.
You can see the maximum left and maximum right cutting offsets of the WHF hydraulic offset flail mowers on
the table below.
The WHF comes in 3 different cutting widths - 1.45m, 1.75m and 2.0m.
The horsepower requirement for a WHF is the same as the equivalent width WFL mower. The WHF mowers weigh roughly 40kg more than the equivalent width WFL mower, which is a factor worth considering if your tractor is on the lighter side / has a low lift capacity.
WVF Verge Flail Mowers
Winton’s WVF verge flail mowers are the go-to machine for tackling sloped terrain. The cutting head can tilt at infinitely varying increments, from horizontal to a full 90 degrees upwards for vertical cutting against low hedges, vineyards etc. It can also tilt downwards up to 50 degrees, allowing you to maintain ditches easily.
The sculpted hammer flails of the WVF can work their way through weeds, brambles and dense vegetation. With the help of the rear roller, the WVF can also leave a neat finish on regularly maintained grass.
Not only can you tilt the cutting head, but you can offset the mower far to the side. This cutting offset
can be as much as 190cm / 210cm from the tractor’s centerline for the WVF130 / WVF150 respectively. Having such a large offset allows you to easily maintain under trees and cut close to edges.
The WVF comes in 2 different cutting widths - 1.3m and 1.5m.
WAM Hedge Flail Cutters
The WAM range of hedge flail cutters are suited to tackle a variety of hedge types, from new
growth and leaves, to evergreens and woodier hedges such as hawthorn. The Y-shaped flails will shred the offcuts into small pieces helping them to disperse into the hedge, meaning less to clear
up compared to using a sickle blade cutter.
These mowers are not just for taking the sides and tops off hedges - they can also be used on verges and embankments, as well as ditches and other hard-to-reach areas.
With a bit of care, and help from the roller mounted near the flails, you can maintain grass and weeds in
the same fashion as a standard rear-mounted flail mower. This is particularly useful if you have sloped
terrain or obstacles to avoid.
Your tractor doesn’t require any hydraulic lines to work the WAM, as your PTO shaft will power an integral pump that supplies the WAM with it’s own independent hydraulics. Lever controls for these hydraulics can then be fitted on the side of your tractor (wherever you find most comfortable), allowing you to control the cutting head height, angle and reach.
The main difference between the WAM60, WAM80 and WAM100 is the width of the cutting head and the cutting
reach. The recommended tractor horsepower range is primarily to ensure that your tractor doesn’t tip over
from the weight of the cutting head positioned at its maximum reach. Safety is the most crucial factor when
using a WAM, and you will need to have ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) or a cab fitted.
The WAM comes in 3 different cutting widths - 0.6m, 0.8m and 1.0m.
Winton offers a set-up service for their WAM Flail Hedge Cutters. This service covers them adjusting the WAM
at their workshops prior to delivery, specifically to fit your tractor. A Winton technician will then deliver the machine to your premises and complete the first fitting for you.
Once it has been adjusted to fit once, it will be easy for you to connect and disconnect the WAM without
further adjustment.
This service isn’t required for Winton’s other mowers, as the other mowers are very simple to connect, and
they don’t require adjustment prior to fitting.
Winton WCF Sub-Compact Flail Mowers
The WCF range of mowers are designed for narrow and sub-compact tractors, with a recommended minimum
horsepower of 12hp.
The WCF is built to be lightweight and maneuverable, as many sub-compact
tractors lack the ability to mount front counter weights and have a reduced rear-lift capacity. The WCF105
weighs almost 40% (80kg) less than the WFL105 which has the same cutting width of 1.05m.
The WCF comes in 2 different cutting widths - 0.85m and 1.05m.
The WCF range is often found in orchards and vineyards, as the narrow widths can easily fit in between trees and vine rows.
Not only can the WCF’s hammer blades leave a nice finish on regularly maintained grass, but it can overgrown weeds and thicker cuttings.
In very dense brush, you may want to reduce your tractor's forward speed to allow the mower more time to cut
and process the vegetation.
Some small tractors have rear wheels similar in size to a ride-on mower, rather than a tractor. The smaller wheel size can reduce the ground clearance height of the rear linkage (sometimes referred to as a Cat 0 hitch), making the tractor unsuitable for many types of flail mower. The WCF range in contrast, can fit many of these lower hitches.
Winton WFM Finishing Mowers
WFM mowers feature a row of 3 blades that are designed for regularly maintained fine turf. They are well suited to sports fields, golf courses, garden lawns, campsites, and other significant areas of land.
Finishing mowers leave a neat, tidy finish, and utilise both internal baffles and rear discharge blades to help disperse the cut grass evenly.
The smooth operation of the 3 blades gives a superior fine finish than other types of mowers.
The mowers travel on swivel wheels, which has the added bonus of maneuverability in and out of storage. They
also feature height-adjustable skids, allowing you to use the mower on uneven ground.
It is not advised to use a finishing mower with scrub and brambles - a flail mower or a topper is much
better suited to this task.
The WFM is the style of mower with the broadest cutting width relative to it's recommended tractor
horsepower rating. This gives you the highest time efficiency for large areas, which is a crucial benefit for many sports clubs.
A popular addition for the WFM mowers are the mulching blades. These are a set of 3 additional smaller
blades that bolt onto the standard blades with a single bolt. The dual blades cut the grass into finer
pieces, helping with dispersion, and speeding up decomposition.
The WFM comes in 3 different cutting widths - 1.2m, 1.5m and 1.8m.
Winton WTM Topper Mowers
The WTM range of topper mowers are suitable for grassland and light scrub. They're ideal for those with paddocks who want the versatility to tackle weeds and grassed areas that have overgrown.
The WTM has a singular large blade that can cope with weeds and long grass with ease. The mower leaves a somewhat rough finish and often leaves the cut grass in rows that settle along the side of the mower.
It runs on two skids that help prevent scalping the peaks of rough and uneven ground.
The WTM comes in 3 different cutting widths - 1.1m, 1.4m and 1.6m.
Differences between WFM Finishing Mowers & WTM Topper Mowers
There’s many differences between the WFM and WTM mowers that may not appear evident at first.
The first consideration is the cutting height of the mowers. The WFM has a cutting height range between
2-8cm, whereas the WTM has a cutting height range of 5-25cm - for sports venues and fine turf areas, the WFM
becomes the clear choice due to the cutting height alone.
The hugely increased cutting height of the WTM comes into its own on dense vegetation and long grass.
For dense areas, you can raise the cutting height to the maximum of 25cm for the first pass, then easily
reduce it down for the second pass. It’s also helpful if your ground is very uneven, as you can ensure that
the blades are raised well out of harm's way.
Another difference is that the WFM finishing mower runs on wheels and skids, whereas the WTM topper mower
runs only on skids. The skids are necessary to prevent scalping the ground and damage to the blades, however
when turning tight corners, it is possible that the skids may pull at or cut into the ground. When adjusted
correctly, the wheels of the WFM will keep the skids off the ground to keep the grass in pristine condition.
A topper mower is typically the best choice for rougher smallholding / paddock work, and a finishing mower is the go-to choice for fine turf where aesthetics are the goal.
We offer free delivery on Winton machines delivered to mainland England and Wales. The mowers arrive assembled, oiled, greased and ready to use, and are delivered on a tail lift vehicle for ease of unloading. An exception to this is the WAM and the two larger WTM mowers, as they sometimes require lifting equipment to unload.
You can view all Winton Flail Mowers by
clicking here.
You can view all Winton
Finishing & Topping Mowers by clicking here.
If you have any questions or queries, please get in touch with us for advice.
Written by Zaros Machinery
Experts in Compact Machinery for the British Climate