charlesw said:
So... Yeah... I call out... Doc Bob! I mean, he's got a 70 horse tractor - what's he thinking when he wants to put a 2 bottom plow on it? With a tractor that is more than twice the size needed for that plow - even in the worst case - couldn't he do some SERIOUS damage to the implement without even noticing? I guess that would be my primary concern. Then there's the fact that plowing anything would take twice as long as it should (of course, this is a bit disingenuous of me to say since I've written elsewhere that it wouldn't bother me to have it take a few years to clear my land)...
Thoughts on this?
BAck in the day when plows were more common, most of the GOOD mounted plows were available in 1,2,3,4, even 5 bottom versions. In a great many cases, it was just a matter of adding additional bottoms on to the same basic "frame". I've got an old John Deere 415A plow and a Ford 101. The Deere plow came originally as a 2X14". I added a third bottom . Deere sold "kits" (or "bundles" as Deere referred to them) to add additional bottoms to most of their mounted plows. In the case of the Ford 101 I have, it was originally a 4X16". It's now a 2X16". And you couldn't tell the difference between it and one that came off the assembly line as a 2X16" model. Same truss frame, same saftey trip standards, same bottoms, same hitch components, ect.
In the case of the Ford 101, it WAS originally a CAT II hitch. I changed to CAT I. ALL that was required was changing the offset drawbar (where lower links hook) They were the same diameter. Only difference was width and size of the "pins". Same EXACT plow otherwise, even though CAT II is intended for 60 to 100 HP and CAT I is intended for lower HP rigs.
Some older plows had solid beams. They could bend if you hooked something really solid. On a lighter tractor, you would spin out first. Most GOOD plows were either shear bolt protected OR saftey trips. Either way, they would let go before you did any damage.
Draft control does absolutely NOTHING to "protect" a plow. Draft control "only" makes that plow exert the same ammount of "pull" on the tractor by regulating depth (draft) of the bottoms.
With all that taken into consideration, you would actually stand LESS of a chance of damaging the plow with fewer bottoms. (Pulls easier with same hitch components)
Where the trouble starts is when you take light-weight, "economy" implements and hook them to heavier, higher HP tractors.
The "load" or stress on the hitch of a 2-bottom plow is no greater on a 100HP tractor than a 35HP tractor. The bottoms have no more resistance, regardless of what's pulling it.
A small plow on a big tractor can spell trouble IF you attemt to go too fast just because it will go faster. Plows are intended to function at a certain speed. Most work best between 3-1/2 and 5 MPH. Crank up the speed and the potential for damage increases tremendously.
2 acres with a 2x16" plow is less than 2 hours work. (at a normal pace)