setting two bottom plow

   / setting two bottom plow #1  

PondCreekFarm

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
35
Location
SW Missouri
Tractor
Kubota L3130
I pull a two bottom plow with a kubota l3130. The front board keeps clogging up and generally seems to do less than the rear board. Why is this? Am I setting it wrong?
 
   / setting two bottom plow #2  
PondCreekFarm said:
I pull a two bottom plow with a kubota l3130. The front board keeps clogging up and generally seems to do less than the rear board. Why is this? Am I setting it wrong?

We need a better description and/or PICTURES. Not really sure what the problem is.

Too deep? Too shallow? Coulters? Coulters not in proper alignment? Track width of tractor not right? (Usually too narrow on most compacts) Shares worn? Plow out of level side to side? Not level front to rear?

Infinate possibilities......
 
   / setting two bottom plow #3  
Having approached this problem as a total novice recently, and experiencing some of the same problems, all I can tell you is to play with it. The two things that seem to make the most difference to me are 1) top link length and 2) side to side spacing of the plow.

For the top link, it needs to be adjusted so that the front and back moldboards engage the ground at the same 'time'. If it is too short, the front will engage a lot, and the rear less. If it is too long, just the opposite.

But even that is modified by the side-to-side adjustment. That has to be made so that when one side of the tractor is in a furrow made by the previous pass, both boards are engaging at the same height and angle.

You can also make some adjustment in the lift arm height.

Again, I'm a total noob at this and probably not explaining it right. I just futzed around with it until it was right. But, when its right, you'll know it. Its a beautiful thing!

If possible, take some pics and let us see what is going on.
 
   / setting two bottom plow #4  
I don't know what kind of plow you have, but here is a site Worksaver Small Tillage Equipment that you can download a manual. Just scroll down through to the double bottom plow. This might help a little.

Solo
 
   / setting two bottom plow #5  
FWJ, weres your "how to set up a plow thread?"

i used it when setting up mine. but to be honest. what worked best for me was good ol t&e.

Nothing like just dropping the plow down and makeing some passes and see what its doing, makeing an adjustment and makeing a few more passes.

The trick is, once you get it cutting well, remembering what you did, how far out you had the top link, were you shifted it left/right on your 3pt, how much side to side tilt you had etc.
 
   / setting two bottom plow #6  
Make sure the moldboard is well scoured all the way to the top. Use a steel brush wheel on a 9" right angle grinder to make the job easy.

On level ground, lower the plow to just above the ground. Make the front points of both moldboards the same clearance height. The back of the shear should be an inch or so higher overall. If the shear point is made to dip down, just be sure the overall angle of the length of the shear is slightly lower in front. If this is not the case, there may be some adjustment on each moldboard to get it there. If not, skip to other replies to this thread.

On the first round, set the depth you want at the rear tail wheel. Adjust the front for the amount of ridge you want to deal with.

After the first round, set the front to fill the furrow completely. Most plows work best, especially concerning filling the dead furrow, at a certain speed depending on soil type and moisture content. My 9 bottom works perfect at 5.5MPH in our soils. My guess is a 2 bottom would work best in the 3-3.5MPH range.

Hope this is not too far off. Good luck!
 
   / setting two bottom plow #7  
I'm with you on the trial and error Steve. It works and doesn't take too much time.

I'm not sure what brand of plow mine is, but its a typical modern, low end deal like KK or Howse. What's nice about it (and maybe every other kind as well) is that the whole thing rides on a bar that goes between your lower lift arms. So all you have to do is loosen a bolt and the whole thing slides side-to-side. This makes it easy to adjust so that the right rear tire rides in the left most furrow you made with the last pass and the front moldboard rolls the dirt right into the furrow the right rear is riding in.

The picture below shows the plow.....it is not set up properly in the photo.

dsc3703cf1.jpg
 
   / setting two bottom plow #8  
My understanding was that you want the bottome of the plow to pull flat and straight as compared to the ground not the tractor. So after your first pass you are riding with one tire in the furrow which causes the tractor to lean. I was told to put blocks under the highside the same height as the depth of your furrow and then adjust the bottom of the plow to be flat on the ground as decribed above. this means you need two setups, one for the first pull and the second for the rest of the field. Since I was only doing about 2 acres to get it ready for pasture I didn't worry about the first pull setup. I am no farmer. This is what I ws told and it worked pretty good for me.
 
   / setting two bottom plow
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for all the advice. I will try to get a good set up this weekend and will try to get some pics while I am at it.
 
 
 
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