What to look for in a disk harrow?

[georgia jeff]

I just purchased a used Kubota L2800HST 4wd tractor with FEL and now need a disc harrow to plant about several 1/2 to 1 acre food plots each year as well as other small tasks that may arise. My tractor has 28 engine HP and 23.5 pto HP and turf tires. I typically mow the foodplots I plant and then a week or two later come back and spray weed killer on the plot to kill the grasses. Then I return in about a month and harrow up the ground. This works well with the tractors I have used in the past and plan on doing this in the future.

I have used a 35 HP tractor to pull a 5 ft. harrow that was made of square tubing and it seemed to work really well. I borrowed a 42 inch harrow made of angle iron from my father in law and hooked it up to my tractor but it feels like a toy but cuts better than expected for such a small and light harrow. A nearby dealer has a 5ft model in which the frame is made of angle iron but the gang arms are square tubing. The bearings are sealed and he wants $650. It is new but has been sitting on the lot for a year or two. Is this a good deal?

My question is what should I look for in a harrow. From what I have read, the heavier the better, sealed bearing are better, and adjustable gangs are a plus. Do you have any advice or specific brand recommendations? I was planning on buying a 5 ft., will my tractor pull a 6 ft.? Thanks in advance, I have learned alot from this forum.

 

[Foodplot]

If you can transport it to your plots, buy a wheel (pull) disc rather than a lift disc. More bang for your buck if you purchase at auctions, more weight (therefore better cut) per disc, and you can generally pull a bit wider wheel disc than a lift disc with the same tractor. An articulated wheel disc will do a better job on uneven ground as well.
In lift discs, the best I've used that are readily available new are the heavier Monroe Tuflines. There are some excellent deals to be had at auctions in this area on used wheel discs. We're overseeding strips in CREP plantings right now, and the wheel disc really does a better job than our similar-width lift disc, as it's much heavier.

 

[clemsonfor]

I just purchased a used Kubota L2800HST 4wd tractor with FEL and now need a disc harrow to plant about several 1/2 to 1 acre food plots each year as well as other small tasks that may arise. My tractor has 28 engine HP and 23.5 pto HP and turf tires. I typically mow the foodplots I plant and then a week or two later come back and spray weed killer on the plot to kill the grasses. Then I return in about a month and harrow up the ground. This works well with the tractors I have used in the past and plan on doing this in the future.

I have used a 35 HP tractor to pull a 5 ft. harrow that was made of square tubing and it seemed to work really well. I borrowed a 42 inch harrow made of angle iron from my father in law and hooked it up to my tractor but it feels like a toy but cuts better than expected for such a small and light harrow. A nearby dealer has a 5ft model in which the frame is made of angle iron but the gang arms are square tubing. The bearings are sealed and he wants $650. It is new but has been sitting on the lot for a year or two. Is this a good deal?

My question is what should I look for in a harrow. From what I have read, the heavier the better, sealed bearing are better, and adjustable gangs are a plus. Do you have any advice or specific brand recommendations? I was planning on buying a 5 ft., will my tractor pull a 6 ft.? Thanks in advance, I have learned alot from this forum.

Im no expert by far but i would say there is no way you will pull that 6.5fter once it breasks the crust of the top. My uncle has a JD 4wd with r4's that is in the 35 hp give or take 3 hp and his disk harrow is that size and thats all it wants. Yours with the turf tires i think, even if you can pull it in your soil type may have traction problems with those tires. You can still get a 5 ft medium duty one and stack weight ontop of it to gain weight.

I have clay/sandy soil and my disk is about 4.5 feet and i pull it no problem with my yanmar 2wd 24 hp tractor, it works best with about 300lbs on top of it, that i get with a various assortment of scrap iron slat stock rr iron and some cast piece and a chuck of concrete, depending upon the weight i want. Soil type is the big thing here heavy clay soil will need more weight and pull a lot harder, sand will proably need no weight and you can pull more disks through it for any given hp.

 

[flusher]

I just purchased a used Kubota L2800HST 4wd tractor with FEL and now need a disc harrow to plant about several 1/2 to 1 acre food plots each year as well as other small tasks that may arise. My tractor has 28 engine HP and 23.5 pto HP and turf tires. I typically mow the foodplots I plant and then a week or two later come back and spray weed killer on the plot to kill the grasses. Then I return in about a month and harrow up the ground. This works well with the tractors I have used in the past and plan on doing this in the future.

I have used a 35 HP tractor to pull a 5 ft. harrow that was made of square tubing and it seemed to work really well. I borrowed a 42 inch harrow made of angle iron from my father in law and hooked it up to my tractor but it feels like a toy but cuts better than expected for such a small and light harrow. A nearby dealer has a 5ft model in which the frame is made of angle iron but the gang arms are square tubing. The bearings are sealed and he wants $650. It is new but has been sitting on the lot for a year or two. Is this a good deal?

My question is what should I look for in a harrow. From what I have read, the heavier the better, sealed bearing are better, and adjustable gangs are a plus. Do you have any advice or specific brand recommendations? I was planning on buying a 5 ft., will my tractor pull a 6 ft.? Thanks in advance, I have learned alot from this forum.

Since you are low on hp and have only an acre or so to till, I'd stick with a 5-ft offset disc and load it with a few hundred pounds of weight.

 

[RedRock]

...My tractor has 28 engine HP and 23.5 pto HP and turf tires. . The bearings are sealed and he wants $650. It is new but has been sitting on the lot for a year or two. Is this a good deal?

I'm still a newb at this, but the old timer I consult with told me to stay away from the sealed bearings. In terms of a deal, I got my 5' disc harrow for $679 brand spanking new...but it's because I ordered from the dealer that sold me my tractor.

Do you have any advice or specific brand recommendations? I was planning on buying a 5 ft., will my tractor pull a 6 ft.? Thanks in advance, I have learned alot from this forum.

I haven't taken delivery or used it yet, and don't know if your dealer can get them, but I went with this one because of the adjustability and the square tubing of the gang assemblies.

 

[peter_vii]

I just purchased a used Kubota L2800HST 4wd tractor with FEL and now need a disc harrow to plant about several 1/2 to 1 acre food plots each year as well as other small tasks that may arise. My tractor has 28 engine HP and 23.5 pto HP and turf tires. I typically mow the foodplots I plant and then a week or two later come back and spray weed killer on the plot to kill the grasses. Then I return in about a month and harrow up the ground. This works well with the tractors I have used in the past and plan on doing this in the future.

I have used a 35 HP tractor to pull a 5 ft. harrow that was made of square tubing and it seemed to work really well. I borrowed a 42 inch harrow made of angle iron from my father in law and hooked it up to my tractor but it feels like a toy but cuts better than expected for such a small and light harrow. A nearby dealer has a 5ft model in which the frame is made of angle iron but the gang arms are square tubing. The bearings are sealed and he wants $650. It is new but has been sitting on the lot for a year or two. Is this a good deal?

My question is what should I look for in a harrow. From what I have read, the heavier the better, sealed bearing are better, and adjustable gangs are a plus. Do you have any advice or specific brand recommendations? I was planning on buying a 5 ft., will my tractor pull a 6 ft.? Thanks in advance, I have learned alot from this forum.

Hope you don't eat anything from those food lots. Liver and weed killers don't mix

Regarding discs: the heavier the better. But I would recommend you first get 1 bottom plow and break the ground with that. Then get as heavy disc as your tractor can handle in 4' size. Add some weight to about 90% of your 3pth limit, or get a pull type. If you cannot get a pull type for your tractor size, get a 3pth hitch, say 4' 800lb and convert it to a pull type.

Bearings are important but in your application they might not be critical.

Peter

 

[clemsonfor]

Hope you don't eat anything from those food lots. Liver and weed killers don't mix

Regarding discs: the heavier the better. But I would recommend you first get 1 bottom plow and break the ground with that. Then get as heavy disc as your tractor can handle in 4' size. Add some weight to about 90% of your 3pth limit, or get a pull type. If you cannot get a pull type for your tractor size, get a 3pth hitch, say 4' 800lb and convert it to a pull type.

Bearings are important but in your application they might not be critical.

Peter

Good thing most people dont spray weed killer on their vegtable plants then. This is a huge thing, and misconception among those who are not familliar with herbicides. Glyphosate (the active chemical in roundup) is harmless with proper label usage. Once it washes or contacts the soil is turns to harmless crystals that are not taken up by the food. What do you think they spray on the weeds and crop stubble in no till farming? Most of that is glyphosate.

 

[clemsonfor]

I'm still a newb at this, but the old timer I consult with told me to stay away from the sealed bearings. In terms of a deal, I got my 5' disc harrow for $679 brand spanking new...but it's because I ordered from the dealer that sold me my tractor.



I haven't taken delivery or used it yet, and don't know if your dealer can get them, but I went with this one because of the adjustability and the square tubing of the gang assemblies.

While you may think $700 after taxes is a deal, some may not. I paid $200 for my disk, its not near the size of yours but it has 12-16" disks. Disked several acres so far not the first problem, all bearing are tight and it has the spool greaseable bearing that you can buy from agrisupply for like $10.

If you look you can find stuff cheap!

 

[peter_vii]

Good thing most people dont spray weed killer on their vegtable plants then. This is a huge thing, and misconception among those who are not familliar with herbicides. Glyphosate (the active chemical in roundup) is harmless with proper label usage. Once it washes or contacts the soil is turns to harmless crystals that are not taken up by the food. What do you think they spray on the weeds and crop stubble in no till farming? Most of that is glyphosate.

Harmless, eh? You can only convince me if you drink few cups of that stuff and survive.

Glyphosate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It interferes with testosterone and estrogen production. Only 85ml of that stuff can cause serious problems to your body. Spray it on your skin before you spray it on your land. See how harmless it really is. Try it.

I would not want roundup near my farm.

BTW, we don't spray ANY chemicals on our farm. But I know very well what is being put on "production crops". We use cover crops, physical covers, cultivation for weed control. Works well. Few weeds here and there are ok.
They go back to the soil before they re-seed.

 

[georgia jeff]

Hope you don't eat anything from those food lots. Liver and weed killers don't mix

Regarding discs: the heavier the better. But I would recommend you first get 1 bottom plow and break the ground with that. Then get as heavy disc as your tractor can handle in 4' size. Add some weight to about 90% of your 3pth limit, or get a pull type. If you cannot get a pull type for your tractor size, get a 3pth hitch, say 4' 800lb and convert it to a pull type.

Bearings are important but in your application they might not be critical.

Peter

I don't eat the liver anyways, nasty! I disked a 1/4 acre today with my father in laws 42 inch disc harrow. It tore up the ground just fine. keep in mind however, I had planted an early season plot in this same spot about 2 months ago. I think that a 5 foot would be about perfect. My brother has one that I can hook up to the tractor. I just need to borrow a trailer and haul the tractor down there some time soon.
What difference does the diameter of the discs make? Why does the front blades on all disc shoot the soil out to the edges and the rear disc pull the dirt back in. This seems to be backwards to me.