plow troubles

[mao123]

greetings folks,

I am a newbie farmer, so bear with me if this sounds like a real dumb question.

I borrowed a 2 bottom 3 point hitch type plow from a friend.
He told me he could never get it to work properly from the day he bought it.
But I was welcome to try it.

I only wanted to plow over a small area that was rough pasture, and eventually put some lawn in for my wife. The area is only about 2 acres.

Anyway, the problem I discovered is that the second or further back plow will not roll over the furrow. I can watch it attempt to roll, but after about 5-6 feet, the furrow falls back into its original spot. This is really making a mess!

The owner of this plow told me he had numerous old timer experts look at the plow. They tried many different adjustment, all to no avail.

I was hoping I might find some answers here, after reading some of the posts, it sounds like there is a lot of good knoweldgeable help out there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


PS

I am not sure what type of plow this is, Turf or otherwise.

Regards Mike

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Any chance of getting a few pictures? One looking straight at the front. One straight on from the rear. And one from the side. Maybe a sprung beam. One or the other bottom not in proper alignment that way. Also, what speed are you trying to plow at? Too slow and the furrow slice will turn up on its edge, then flop back down "green side up". Also, is the plow level when in the ground? (front to rear) If the rear bottom isn't in the ground as far as the front, they'll turn the dirt quite differently.

And last. This one needs a keen eye or the pictures. I bought a plow several years ago where someone had taken a 2X12" plow and installed 16" bottoms. Rear bottom was only getting a partial cut. Dirt was sliding down the moldboard and not turning it. Turned out to be a parts plow....

 

[wolc123]

Since you only have a couple acres to plow and the front bottom is working good, just remove the rear bottom. If a couple old-timers could not get it working right then it is doubtfull that you will have much luck yourself with the back bottom even with "expert" internet advice. This will also enable you to bump up the speed quite a bit which may also help as FWJ suggests.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

As odd as it may sound, I've seen countless numbers of old farmers who just couldn't grasp the concept of plow set-up. They figured if it's in the ground, it must be OK. Nothing farther from the truth. A well adjusted plow can reduce the load on a tractor by a huge margin over an incorrectly adjusted one. "Back in the day" good tractor salesmen would know how to set up their plows to make their tractors look more powerful. It's not rocket science, but there's a LOT more to it than what meets the eye.

 

[Gator6x4]

I asked a farmer one time how individuals adjusted the double bottom plows to plow and leave the field looking smooth. His response was to place a 4x4 in front of the left rear wheel, drive forward and stop with the wheel on top of the 4x4. Then using the lift arm adjustment lever-handle adjust the plow until is level. Drive forward off the 4x4 and finalize the adjustment in the field when plowing. I have never tried this. I am passing the information on just as received.

I also found this link here on tractorbynet on how to set the plow up. More detailed than my descriprion above.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/29965-turning-plow.html

 

[Charlie175]

depends on how deep the furrow is, with the tire in the furrow you want the plow to be level. This is why the 3 point mounting points are not in line.

 

[N80]

It takes me a good 20 minutes to get my plow set up right each time I put it on, mostly because I'm not very methodical. As Gator and Charlie mentioned, you have to get it set up keeping in mind that one side of the tractor is going to be in a furrow. You also have to adjust the top link so the rear bottom is engaging the same way (depth and time) as the front. As FWJ mentioned it isn't rocket science but it does take a bit of what I'd call intuitive experience....which kind of translates into knowing what you're doing and having done it a lot.

That's what I don't have. That's why it takes a lot of fiddling and trial and error.

My point is, keep fooling with it and you'll find that sweet spot. That's the best we newbies can do.

I also agree with FWJ about speed, you got to give that turf some momentum to keep it rolling over.

 

[art]

From time to time we have found a bent beam on a plow do to the rocks we can hook up on with a plow. This is not that uncommon in our area on older plows without a breakaway release for the bottom.

When a plow is bent it is not uncommon for it to do what you have described although with bigger bottoms such as 20 and above in old sod a lower ground speed will also do the same3 but often for all bottoms.

With adjustments to all tillage equipment the frame should be level when in the ground working, they must be both front to rear and side to side. This being done on the second pass so the tractor is in the open furrow with the right wheel. It is also good to have someone watch it while working with it to check the level.

When tillage equipment is set up improperly it will pull harder and wear engaging parts faster.

 

[N80]

Art, how much does a plow have to be bent to make a noticeable difference? In other words, is this something you can eyeball or does a bend too small to eyeball still cause problems?

 

[schmism]

if the bottom of the furrow isnt flat, thats an indication that your leaning to far to one side with the plow.

usually the furrow falling back into place is just a simptom of not enough speed to flip the sod. A "high speed" plow will want to run between 4-5mph. doesnt sound fast till your out there doing it then it feels like your hauling arse.

the tilt of the plow/3point can be affected by how the plow was built. mine was designed with a straight draw bar, but there are many that take the offset draw bar.

FWJ has a great plowsetup thread out there with pics... i keep meaning to bookmark it for these times...