What are sub-soilers and middle busters used for?

[Jstpssng]

It can be hard to get a bottom buster to bite in hard soil. You may have to fiddle with your top link to get the right angle. See if you can get a picture to us.

That's the best I can do. When I took it off and set it on the garage floor it set upright on it's own... the bolts and subframe are lower than the furrower.

I could be wrong, but it seems that the plow point should be lower than the rest of the implement?
In order to set the toplink any shorter I would need to adapt a lighter link to fit.

The ground I'm trying to work was just stumped with an escavator last fall... my backhoe loves it but it's a mighty slow process, working up 2 acres with it

If I'm just asking too much for it that's my fault; if it's poor design than
I'm not afraid to return it.

I look at JC's picture then at mine; I think I see the problemwith mine. (plus the "Made in China" sticker on the bottom.)

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

In order to set the toplink any shorter I would need to adapt a lighter link to fit.
.)

-------------------
If you have a category 1 3pt, I have seen that a shorter top link is available.

I can't help but wonder if you have a sub-soiler shank with a middle buster blade on it. They should be different angles.

I have seen advertisements where they are selling both types of cutter, sub-soil and middle buster cutting blades to use interchangeably on the same shank. But I wasn't able to tell if the angle was different from either of the other two dedicated tools.

Maybe a shim under the top bolt to change the angle ?

Good luck

 

[Don87]

That's the best I can do. When I took it off and set it on the garage floor it set upright on it's own... the bolts and subframe are lower than the furrower.

I could be wrong, but it seems that the plow point should be lower than the rest of the implement?
In order to set the toplink any shorter I would need to adapt a lighter link to fit.

The ground I'm trying to work was just stumped with an escavator last fall... my backhoe loves it but it's a mighty slow process, working up 2 acres with it

If I'm just asking too much for it that's my fault; if it's poor design than
I'm not afraid to return it.

I look at JC's picture then at mine; I think I see the problemwith mine. (plus the "Made in China" sticker on the bottom.)

Major wrong angle on the 'middlebuster' photo you posted. It will never do what you need, with the way it is designed.

As you can see by this one: CountyLine Middle Buster - 2128228 | Tractor Supply Company

You are correct about the angle being much different than what you need. The implement is also called a 'potato plow'.

EDIT: and the post you quoted with the pic, that is still the wrong angle for the implement..........the long yellow bar on the back should be at a 90 degee angle to the ground( in other words....straight up and down).

 

[Baby Grand]

]Yup - to use the middlebuster (potato plow) on the subsoiler shank, you will need to shim it to get the bottom edge level with the ground. Here's how I do it:

 

[von-mil]

Time tp resurrect this thread. I purchased one of these this week, thinking it would be useful to begin working the old field I had reclaimed last fall; but all it does is ride across the top of the soil. Looking at JC's pic it seems like the bracket for my furrower was welded on at the wrong angle; mine is only about 10 degrees from perpendicular to the down piece, and the bottom of the furrower is parallel to the ground. The other one at TSC was the same way.
I tried to include a pic, but my phone isn't "TBN friendly"
Anyone else bought one of these recently and had similar results?? (I really need a plow and harrow, but those aren't in the budget until fall.)

I think I have the same problem. On TSC's website I compared the pictures of the sub-soiler and the middle buster and there is a definite difference in the angle of the shank. I am pretty well convinced that Jstpssng (and myself) recieved a middle buster blade on a sub-soiler frame. Here's mine:



I have tried shimming the rear-most bolt with washers but that causes the bolt holes to get misaligned so that the carriage bolt on top of the blade does not mate with the squared off hole. I think a longer hex bolt instead of a carriage bolt would work but I have not tried that.

I am able to compensate for the too-shallow angle by shortening my top link to its absolute shortest length - about 17 3/4 inches between the pin holes. I would like to go shorter than that but I cannot find a Cat 1 top link that is shorter than the one I already have.

When I first broke the ground for a new garden with the MB, I had to apply weight to it at the start of each pass. On subsequent tills of the garden (6 months/12 months later) I had no such problem, just the first. I also keep the 3pt hitch drop speed knob plenty loose so that the blade reaches its lowest position as soon as possible.

Does anyone else think that TSC has things a little mixed up in their stores?

 

[Jstpssng]

]Yup - to use the middlebuster (potato plow) on the subsoiler shank, you will need to shim it to get the bottom edge level with the ground. Here's how I do it:

View attachment 262887

I went this route, and it works much better. I'm hust a little slow to alter any new purchase until I'm sure I'll be keeping it.

I have the same length top link as Von-Mil although I may eventually weld up something shorter, plus add a little weight as he suggested. Right now the shallow draft works well for my purpose, as it exposes buried roots without tearing them apart.
A year ago much of this 2 1/2 acre field was covered with trees, 1-10 inches at the stump; I expexted to find a few that the excavator operator had missed. The guy was a freaking artist thoigh and did a really good job. I envy anybody who's as good running equipment as he is. :thumbsup:

 

[flusher]

A subsoiler (aka ripper) cuts a narrow, deep groove in the soil to loosen it by fracturing the hardpan compaction layer that results from repeated moldboard plowing and just general compaction due to years of running heavy equipment over the field. This improves soil drainage and helps root development. My neighbor just put in an 8 acre English walnut orchard and used a D8 Cat to rip the soil about 2-ft deep to break up the compaction layer.

A middle buster (aka potato plow) plows the ground without flipping the soil upside down like you do with a moldboard plow. I used a middle buster when I installed the landscaping at my new house to loosen the soil before rototilling. Made the rototilling go a lot faster with less tiller bounce.

 

[Ken Pike]

I made a middle buster/potatoe plow to use with my 1980 B7100. 1st blade was a triangular plate of 1/4" mild steel & it worked pretty good but required multiple passes on sod. I found it worked better with some weight (wife standing on draw bar as a test) so adapted my suitcase weights from the front bumper. I have since picked up a 30 yr. old Troy-Built tiller & it came with a furrowing attachment which is identical to a real Middle Buster blade. I mounted it on my hand-crafted contraption & it works good - my drawbar drags on the ground when using it in the garden. Haven't tried it on sod. Used it last weekend to turn over my garden at the cottage & bury rotted cow manure I spread on it last Fall - weather turned wet & couldn't do it then. My contraption really works well digging up the potatoes.

 

[schmism]

ive used a sub-soiler to pull in direct bury electrical wire about 8" deep.

middle buster/potato plow ive used for digging potato's. check youtube

 

[jonnyc1999]

I've had the same problem with my TSC middle buster. Even with my top link all the way shortened, I could only get it to dig if I pre-dug a hole for it to start. Even then, it wouldn't dig deeper than 4-6 inches. It looks like the subsoiler has a much longer arm that would allow it to dig deeper. I was thinking about trying to exchange my middlebuster for the subsoiler since it has been so useless for me, but have yet to do it.

 

[Jstpssng]

I made a middle buster/potatoe plow to use with my 1980 B7100. 1st blade was a triangular plate of 1/4" mild steel & it worked pretty good but required multiple passes on sod. I found it worked better with some weight (wife standing on draw bar as a test) so adapted my suitcase weights from the front bumper. I have since picked up a 30 yr. old Troy-Built tiller & it came with a furrowing attachment which is identical to a real Middle Buster blade. I mounted it on my hand-crafted contraption & it works good - my drawbar drags on the ground when using it in the garden. Haven't tried it on sod. Used it last weekend to turn over my garden at the cottage & bury rotted cow manure I spread on it last Fall - weather turned wet & couldn't do it then. My contraption really works well digging up the potatoes.

I should have just sent you the $150 so that I'd have something that worked the way it's meant to.
I have a furrower for my Troy-Bilt also. It works well for it's intended use so I didn't want to take a chance on destroying it; but maybe I'll try it after all.

May I ask how much your entire unit weighs? I have some old window weights (50-60#) which I thought I may use.

 

[crazyal]

I think I have the same problem. On TSC's website I compared the pictures of the sub-soiler and the middle buster and there is a definite difference in the angle of the shank. I am pretty well convinced that Jstpssng (and myself) recieved a middle buster blade on a sub-soiler frame. Here's mine:

View attachment 262963

I have tried shimming the rear-most bolt with washers but that causes the bolt holes to get misaligned so that the carriage bolt on top of the blade does not mate with the squared off hole. I think a longer hex bolt instead of a carriage bolt would work but I have not tried that.

I am able to compensate for the too-shallow angle by shortening my top link to its absolute shortest length - about 17 3/4 inches between the pin holes. I would like to go shorter than that but I cannot find a Cat 1 top link that is shorter than the one I already have.

When I first broke the ground for a new garden with the MB, I had to apply weight to it at the start of each pass. On subsequent tills of the garden (6 months/12 months later) I had no such problem, just the first. I also keep the 3pt hitch drop speed knob plenty loose so that the blade reaches its lowest position as soon as possible.

Does anyone else think that TSC has things a little mixed up in their stores?

Have you tried setting your lower links to the longer position? That should help get the angle you need. Also if you do a search on ebay you can find really short top links.

 

[Baby Grand]

Have you tried setting your lower links to the longer position? That should help get the angle you need. Also if you do a search on ebay you can find really short top links.

I have to move the pin for the side links to the bottom side link hole and a forward hole in the lift arm. I also move the forward pin for the top link to the top hole on the transmission mount, to keep the top link from mashing the PTO shield.

I have to do this to get my subsoiler to drop all the way to the cross:







This gets the point about about 20-21 deep.

 

[von-mil]

I think I have the same problem. On TSC's website I compared the pictures of the sub-soiler and the middle buster and there is a definite difference in the angle of the shank. I am pretty well convinced that Jstpssng (and myself) received a middle buster blade on a sub-soiler frame. Here's mine:

I am going to correct myself here. The TSC sub-soiler appears to have a longer drop shaft than their middle buster which puts the ripper tooth several inches deeper than the point of the middle buster blade. So I think I do in fact have a middle buster frame. However, the angle of the shank on my MB matches the angle of the sub-soiler shank - too shallow for effective middle buster use.

I found a much shorter top link and I am going to see if it improves the bite when I drop the MB to the ground. The link has a 9-inch body and when fully retracted has about a 13-inch span between the link pins. Here's how it looks above ground:


Only when I dropped it into a hole could I see the angle of both the frame and the blade. I found it necessary to lengthen the top link by about an inch. I also found that I needed to remove the PTO shield to allow room for the top link. Not at all difficult to remove or replace but I may just leave it off permanently.


I will try it out for real when the ground dries up a bit and I'll see what fine-tuning is needed on the length of the top link. Bottom line - I think the ultra-short top link is the answer to my middle buster problems.

Somewhat unrelated - can someone answer me this? The top link has 2 holes in the body that I assume are for the turning rod that came with it. I can't understand how the turn rod is supposed to be fed through the 2 holes. Both ends of the rod have ribs that stick out and will not allow the rod into the holes. How is this supposed to work? I must be missing something pretty obvious here.

 

[Baby Grand]

<snip>

Somewhat unrelated - can someone answer me this? The top link has 2 holes in the body that I assume are for the turning rod that came with it. I can't understand how the turn rod is supposed to be fed through the 2 holes. Both ends of the rod have ribs that stick out and will not allow the rod into the holes. How is this supposed to work? I must be missing something pretty obvious here.

I lined the rod up with one of the holes and drove it in using a "bigger hammer".

 

[dedgin]

I think I have the same problem. On TSC's website I compared the pictures of the sub-soiler and the middle buster and there is a definite difference in the angle of the shank. I am pretty well convinced that Jstpssng (and myself) recieved a middle buster blade on a sub-soiler frame. Here's mine:

View attachment 262963

I have tried shimming the rear-most bolt with washers but that causes the bolt holes to get misaligned so that the carriage bolt on top of the blade does not mate with the squared off hole. I think a longer hex bolt instead of a carriage bolt would work but I have not tried that.

I am able to compensate for the too-shallow angle by shortening my top link to its absolute shortest length - about 17 3/4 inches between the pin holes. I would like to go shorter than that but I cannot find a Cat 1 top link that is shorter than the one I already have.

When I first broke the ground for a new garden with the MB, I had to apply weight to it at the start of each pass. On subsequent tills of the garden (6 months/12 months later) I had no such problem, just the first. I also keep the 3pt hitch drop speed knob plenty loose so that the blade reaches its lowest position as soon as possible.

Does anyone else think that TSC has things a little mixed up in their stores?

I had the same problem with a home made middle buster i bought if you search on amazon they have a cat 1 top link with a 13" body which is 3" shorter than the standard size this will let get get a different angle

 

[Ken Pike]

Not sure how much my suitcase weights actually weigh but they must be at least 20lbs. apiece. Sq. tubing for shank was cut at 45 deg., turned around & re-welded. I had nothing to go by but it works great & really works great digging potatoes.