Most of the farmers around here that use a disc use an offset one. From what I have seen the offset does a better job then the tandems, but I have also heard they "pull" a lot harder. I have never seen a small offset disc for our tractors. I was thinking about building one 7' wide or so but was curious if there was a reason we do not see them and also if they really worked better than a tandem or it was just my imagination.
offset vs tandem disc
- Thread starter bdog
- Start date
Ledgemere Farm
Veteran Member
My brother has an offset disk, either 10 or 12' (I can't recall) that he pulls with a 95 HP JD 4020 and it is ALL it wants. I think a 7 footer on a 47HP tractor my be pushing it, but it depends upon what type of soil you are working. We have heavy clay soil mixed with rocks. The terrain vaies, but we have allot of hills too.
I have access to an old Ford 6 1/2' offset disc. It is at the ragged edge of my 50hp Mahindra. And I have to take the FEL off to keep it from slipping. With the same tractor I pulled a 6' tandem disc with little problem. The offset does seem to 'bite' better than the tandem. We have a 12'7" tandem we pull w/ a 116hp JD 4320 and it can be a load on it depending on soil type. It seems most manufacturers have either gone to large wheeled discs. All the small discs I see anymore are 3pt, which I don't particularly like. Also, have you priced pans for a disc lately? With steel what it is now, you can almost buy a whole disc for what the pans will cost.
I have 30hp kubota 4wd. i found a 4 foot Towner offset drag disc that I really like. I do some laps with the offset disc, plow, offset disc, then I use a 4 foot tandem drag disc, a wood scrub, and a roller. then I wait a while to rototill, roll, then plant. It is hard to find good old implements for small tractors. 3 point discs are worthless, lightweight, can't turn, and no scrapers.