What size plow

[mikehaugen]

I bought my dearborn 2 bottom 14" from a municipal auction for $200. Everyone thought I was nuts. One guy asked me later when I was loading it up what I paid for it and I told him, he said that was fair but he had bought his for $90 a couple years ago. I have not used it much since I don't have the tires for it, but even with my wide turfs and 2wd I could pull it fairly well if not too deep. I am pretty sure I won't have a problem using it to it's full potential if I ever get around to getting the loaded r1's. BTW, my tractor is 39 engine hp.

[fordoutback]

$200 is a real good price as far as I'm concerned. Some of the dealers around here wanted $600 to $700 for one. I wound up paying $350 for mine with the coulters from a local "junk-tion" barn

[LouieJunior]

Wondering how an HST transmission works plowing. Is 2 x 14 still a good fit for 40 HP hydro?

[oldnslo]

Oldnslow: Tractor weight is a huge factor as you know with regards to how much plow you can pull. That Ford is over 2,000 lbs heavier than the Kubota mx5100 in question. The Kubota does have 4wd though, although the r-4's won't be as good as ag tires. Lots of factors to consider.

Wow, I never would have guessed the MX5100 was that much lighter than a Ford 5600. From memory the 5600 was around 7000 - 7500 lbs on the scales at the elevator course that was 30+ years ago so can't vouch for that memory..

[case245]

yes oldnslo Kubota s are to light my 70 hp is 8300ibs

[idaho2]

I'm pulling 3 16" and at 8" depth with my Mahindra 5530 4wd Turbo, AG1 tires, no ballast. The plow is a Ford/Dearborn 10-209 with coulters.
Paid $495 from a dealer.



idaho2

[nybirdman]

Wondering how an HST transmission works plowing. Is 2 x 14 still a good fit for 40 HP hydro?

HST has worked fine on both my tractors plowing.My plows don't have "trips" ,the HST saved me more than once.

[nspec]

I pull mine with a hydro and I have no problems.

One other factor to consider guys. Some plows pull easier than others. I know the Fergusons, Ford/Dearborns, Olivers, and others pull nice and easy. I also know that the John deere plows are notoriously hard pulling sob's.

[MHarryE]

Plows are real soil dependent. Someone said to plow when it's dry. In our soil, forget it. The clay breaks up like boulders. Our farm in Missouri, bottom land, rich black dirt, plows easy. Could pull 3 x 14 with my L5740 no problem. In Northern Minnesota, the 40 where my house is and the 40 across the road, 2 x 14 is all it can do, but it varies from place to place which makes turning on all the control options on the hydro great because it will keep it at peak power across the field with more than 50% speed variation. I had an old Dearborn with cast shares but broke the point on a share last fall and replaced the plow with a King Kutter to finish, didn't notice and difference in plowing seed. The Dearborn had 6 moldboard options - I had the general purpose. But for most of our plowing we use our 7730 deere with 5 x 14. It loafs at 7 mph but never ave to shift down. The tractor s 150 PTO HP per Nebraska tests or 3 times the PTO HP of the L5740, but with its semi-mounted plow it can get to be a nasty in small crooked fields (major diff between Northeast and Northwest MN) so the CUT with fully mounted plow has its place. So here 25 PTO HP per bottom seems to be adequate, but like I said, our MO farm with loose soil will take about 12 - 15 PTO HP per bottom. And as to the question about a hydro doing the job - the L5740 uses about twice as much fuel per acre as the 7730 with a 20 speed power shift.

[newbury]

Wealth of timely info in this thread.
I've the two tractors in my sig, a Kubota B7610 (24HP)and a Kubota M4700 (51HP) both 4WD, and I'm planning on separating them by about 800 to 1,000 miles, but still share implements among them. I think it will be a lot more energy efficient (cheaper) to carry a plow, harrow and pallet forks in the back of my truck vs dragging my trailer all the time. Primary usage will be small vegetable gardens and deer plots, no plans to do acres and acres. I figure with the B7610 I'll have to plow shallow once, then plow a second time deeper.

So I've a few questions on plows -
Is the only downside to using a 1 bottom plow on the bigger tractor the time it takes to do the job?
How important are coulters?
What about gauge wheels?