KK Disc Report

[foggy1111]

So...I finally had a chance to hook up my new King Kutter 5 1/2' Box Frame Disc this past week....and I thought I would report on its operation using a light tractor like my 790.

First off...they guy I buy from has his KK stuff painted red...so dont let the looks fool you....it's KK. This disc is pretty stout. After picking it up at the dealer, I had to adjust the cutting angle of the Disc....which was a PITA as allt he bolts had to be loosened to get the gangs to slide...and I didnt have many tools out in the field. I got that done and gave it a pull.

On my trial run...the disc was a bit light and would only penetrate about three inches.....I kinda figured that may be the case....so I put about 150 #s of log on the frame for weight and gave it another try. Much better.

The disc pulled pretty good on the first pass through virgin soils (sandy loam)....getting about 5" or more penetration. But, on subsequent passes....with the same (aggressive) setting the tractor would spin-out at times until I lifted the disc a bit to help it along...even in 4wd with the diff locked. I need to try another less aggressive setting or take some weight off for the second pass.

My 790 has fluid in the tires and I left the loader on for front ballast. The tractor picked up the disc fine...so I may try to add a bit of weight for the first pass operations....but it wont help with subsequent passes.....I just lack traction in this soil.

 

[phyxer]

I think you're having trouble cause of the sandy soil. I think if you were in clay like we have down here you'd fair better. Good luck and let us know what you figure out

Troy

 

[JoeinTX]

"but it wont help with subsequent passes.....I just lack traction in this soil...."


Just an aside, but that's one problem with many of the sub/compact tractors produced today........they certainly posess the engine power and drive train to use an implement but they don't necessarily have the weight and heft to do it completely. Not criticizing your tractor at all, just making a general observation. I use a nice, medium built 5' disc carrying some extra weight with our 8n/NAA and rarely if ever find the tractors having a problem with it in our soil conditions ranging from sand to dry clay.

 

[spruce Deere]

I second what phyxer says. I have ran into sandy mixed type soil pulling good on the first pass and darn near stuck like feelings from there on out. Weight helps on the first trip but hinders from there. By changing the angle of the gangs to not so aggressive or a less agressive implement will help more than anything. On the bigger tractors we use duals on the rear tires, flotation is key. Duals on a 790...... That would look cool. Maneuverability/fit-ability would suffer due to added width. Nice lookn 790 by the way.......

 

[dirt ditch]

Tough looking disc foggy. The bright red paint looks good also.

Couple weeks ago I found a like new (faded paint) 6 ft. angle iron framed disc on CL for $495. I had already picked up a Cosmo 500 3pt spreader on CL for $300 that the previous owner had used only once.

Bought both pieces of equipment because a few acres of our pasture are blowing thanks to a drilling company not replanting grass when they were finished.

It was calm last weekend so we spread a mix of bluestem grass seed then lightly disced the area to cover it. The spreader and disc worked great. We had no trouble with the angle iron frame so I guess it was money well spent.

 

[pitt_md]

I don't know how my MX5000 would do with a disc but I can't help thinking about all the time I spent as a kid on a Allis WD 45. It pulled an 8' disc all day long whithout ever having a traction problem. Gearing and weight are the keys to ground engagement tasks.

 

[foggy1111]

Heres another pic of this disc. I really like the build quality...this disc should hold up pretty well....and it's easy to stack weight on it. I was not too happy with the amount of work it took to change the angle of the front and rear gangs....and this was one of the big features I had anticipated. I figured it would be easy to remove one bolt (at the center) and slide adjust the front and rear gangs to the degree of cut wanted. But nooo......I had to loosen up a buncha bolts to free things up to get the gangs to pivot. Anybody else with one of these, that has a tip on getting it adjusted??? Maybe its just all the fresh paint?

On second thought....much of my wrench bending had to do with the gangs being set wrong which would not allow the clearance to adjust for the most agressive setting (the U bolts were too close to the frame). Plus I did not have the best tools with me. With this now corrected (the gang setting)....it should not be that big of a deal.

 

[pitt_md]

It funny how our 4WD scrappy tractors can't pull what the lesser 2WD tractors did when I was growing up. I spent many days in the seat of a Allis WD45 pulling and 8-10' disc all day long. Its all about weight and gearing for ground engagement tasks.

Not sure what your JD weighs but the WD45 was:
The bare tractor weighed 3,955 pounds, with 1,900 pounds of weight being added to each rear wheel

 

[kthompson]

Foggy, be sure your disk is not cutting so deep the axle is in the dirt or even pushing dirt. That is possible on sandy soil and will really load you down. If you want the depth you are getting now, worst case remove outside blades all around. Depending on how close you are traction wise the outside ones on the front axle are easy to remove and may be enough. Agree with your thoughts you will find next adjustments easier.

 

[kthompson]

Foggy, one other thought. Don't disk the field all the way across one time and then come back to it for second pass. Rather over lap your cuts. For each pass be disking 50% of disk (width) is on first pass and 50% on second pass. We have some sandy soil which this works in but slipped my mind as I have not put disk in that field in few years. You might give up a little depth on this. Also you may find the you can run across what you have disk the first time at a 45 or 90 angle to work better for traction.