Pulling an 8 foot disk

[MtnViewRanch]

Not that this will help the OP, but I am continually trying to figure out how some of the people on TBN are able to pull gangs of disks as large as they say that they pull. Either they have very small disk blades, or very hard ground and do not ever get the disks cutting down very deep. Maybe they pull them with little or no angle on the disk blades? Don't know what good that would do though, other than to say that they pulled some disk that is really to big for their tractor.

I pull our disks with either my Mahindra 7520, or our old Cat D6. We have 3 sets of Kilfer offset pull disks, not 100% sure of what they weigh, I should weigh them some day just so that we would know. Anyway, all have 22", 3/16" thick blades. 6 footer has only been used once, I can pull that all day long, anywhere and everywhere. The 8 footer can be pulled almost every where. I do have some problems with the 7520 pulling this disk if I end up having to go over the same area more than a few times. (more than axle deep on the disk) Our 12 footer is what I consider a joke for the 7520 to pull. The tractor weighs over 12K and has 75hp, and it is not due to lack of traction because of the R4 tires, It just doesn't have the power to do it. If the ground is anything more than slightly up hill, it will not pull it. Now I am talking about with the disks angled pretty good and 8"-9" deep. Now here is the killer, if the ground is damp enough, even the D6 tracks will slip pulling the 12' disk up hill with the disks 8"-9" deep. I should wait for the ground to be a bit dryer at these times, but I am a weekend warrior and do not have that luxury all the time.

So these are some of my experiences, I would love to know what the circumstances are that allow people to pull what seems to me, a bigger disk than what the size of their tractor should be able to pull. Do you guys pull your disks and are happy to turn over only 4"-6" of earth?

I don't know, I am not a farmer, I disk for fire prevention-control. I sure would like to know though.

 

[flusher]

Not that this will help the OP, but I am continually trying to figure out how some of the people on TBN are able to pull gangs of disks as large as they say that they pull. Either they have very small disk blades, or very hard ground and do not ever get the disks cutting down very deep. Maybe they pull them with little or no angle on the disk blades? Don't know what good that would do though, other than to say that they pulled some disk that is really to big for their tractor.

I pull our disks with either my Mahindra 7520, or our old Cat D6. We have 3 sets of Kilfer offset pull disks, not 100% sure of what they weigh, I should weigh them some day just so that we would know. Anyway, all have 22", 3/16" thick blades. 6 footer has only been used once, I can pull that all day long, anywhere and everywhere. The 8 footer can be pulled almost every where. I do have some problems with the 7520 pulling this disk if I end up having to go over the same area more than a few times. (more than axle deep on the disk) Our 12 footer is what I consider a joke for the 7520 to pull. The tractor weighs over 12K and has 75hp, and it is not due to lack of traction because of the R4 tires, It just doesn't have the power to do it. If the ground is anything more than slightly up hill, it will not pull it. Now I am talking about with the disks angled pretty good and 8"-9" deep. Now here is the killer, if the ground is damp enough, even the D6 tracks will slip pulling the 12' disk up hill with the disks 8"-9" deep. I should wait for the ground to be a bit dryer at these times, but I am a weekend warrior and do not have that luxury all the time.

So these are some of my experiences, I would love to know what the circumstances are that allow people to pull what seems to me, a bigger disk than what the size of their tractor should be able to pull. Do you guys pull your disks and are happy to turn over only 4"-6" of earth?

I don't know, I am not a farmer, I disk for fire prevention-control. I sure would like to know though.

I'm a wanna-be hay farmer. Got 6 acres available out of 10 total and all the equipment I need to get started (several 2-14 plows, 6-ft offset pull disc, 7 ft tandem pull disc, 9ft culitipacker, 13 ft tandem wheel disc, grain drill, sicklebar mowers, side delivery hay rake, two-twine small square baler). Gonna get started this year for sure.

A while ago I had a chat with a neighbor who has hay-farmed around here off and on for 20 years. That talk really set me straight.

I told him I planned to start with a 2-14 plow---he says Wrong!!! This isn't Illlinois where you might have 6 ft of topsoil. I'm fortunate to have about 6" of good soil. He said to get my fertilizer mix per the soil report, broadcast it, and then use a tandem disc set real light to disc it in. Then drill the seed (oats, probably) and cultipack. That's it. No deep plowing; no deep discing.

So a few weeks ago when I found that 13-ft wheel disc for $600 including delivery, I couldn't resist that deal, even though if you run the numbers my Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine) is only able to handle an 8-ft tandem tops.

Not to worry. Around here planting is done in Sep after the soil has baked in triple digit heat for 2-3 months. I expect to use that 13-ft disc set pretty light to essentially fracture the top 3-4 inches of soild as I disc in the stubble. The disc has hydraulics so I can control the tillage depth.

I definitely won"t be burying that wheel disc up to the axles like the guys in your thumbnail photos are doing.

So this long-winded screed is an attempt to answer your original question why some folks might be able to pull discs significantly larger than usual.

 

[AKfish]

I pull our disks with either my Mahindra 7520, or our old Cat D6. We have 3 sets of Kilfer offset pull disks, not 100% sure of what they weigh, I should weigh them some day just so that we would know. Anyway, all have 22", 3/16" thick blades. 6 footer has only been used once, I can pull that all day long, anywhere and everywhere. The 8 footer can be pulled almost every where. I do have some problems with the 7520 pulling this disk if I end up having to go over the same area more than a few times. (more than axle deep on the disk) Our 12 footer is what I consider a joke for the 7520 to pull. The tractor weighs over 12K and has 75hp, and it is not due to lack of traction because of the R4 tires, It just doesn't have the power to do it. If the ground is anything more than slightly up hill, it will not pull it. Now I am talking about with the disks angled pretty good and 8"-9" deep. Now here is the killer, if the ground is damp enough, even the D6 tracks will slip pulling the 12' disk up hill with the disks 8"-9" deep. I should wait for the ground to be a bit dryer at these times, but I am a weekend warrior and do not have that luxury all the time.

Whoee..!! That's a BIG disc! And I don't know if I've ever seen a more aggressive "offset" on the rear gang!

No wonder it seems "confusing" to you when somebody is talking about pulling an 8' disc with a 50hp tractor!

AKfish

 

[slowzuki]

I'll second that, big power to drag that sucker around! Do you need all that offset to get good covering of the residue?

 

[schmism]

Seems the 5hp per foot is about right for just about everything you pull behind a tractor.

Ive heard about 5hp per foot of disc is about right. 8' = ~40hp 5' =~25hp which is why most guys with the 25-30hp CUTs talk about pulling 5-6' discs. Some report decent pulls with loaded R1's and "light" discs, others talk about struggling to pull even a 5' heavy duty disc with R4's

The point, stick to the 5' range with 26HP CUT

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I'll second that, big power to drag that sucker around! Do you need all that offset to get good covering of the residue?

Try dragging a 32 bottom plow around, that is what it seems like sometimes. No, not really, but there is a huge load put on the tractor when pulling, and a lot of that is up hill.
The 12 footer has 8 different adjustments if I remember correctly. We only use the 3 steepest angle settings. Most angle on the first pass, wait a few weeks and depending on moisture content, one of the lesser angles. On the 2nd pass, I try to run at a 30-35 degree angle from the 1st pass. Works very good and that is what has worked the best for us with the weeds and brush that we have.

 

[kthompson]

On your disk with no wheels on it you have no depth control other than what the angle gives you, correct? If you are pulling a disk up to and over the axle very often I suspect you are really wearing the spools and such a lot.

FYI, posted this on another thread today but happened to have my two Kubota manuals with me at office. 27hp rated for 66 inch disk, 68 hp for 84 inch disk. for 41 hp more you only get 18 inch more in disk width per Kubota. Makes we go...hummmmm

 

[MtnViewRanch]

On your disk with no wheels on it you have no depth control other than what the angle gives you, correct? If you are pulling a disk up to and over the axle very often I suspect you are really wearing the spools and such a lot.

FYI, posted this on another thread today but happened to have my two Kubota manuals with me at office. 27hp rated for 66 inch disk, 68 hp for 84 inch disk. for 41 hp more you only get 18 inch more in disk width per Kubota. Makes we go...hummmmm

Correct, no depth control other than gang angle. Usually the spools are not in the ground much other than when I am crossing where I have already crossed before, places where I have to go around boulders and such. Although there have been times when the spools started to get shined up, but that is not the norm. I have not noticed any wear to be concerned with so far.

As far as the different widths and tractor sizes, I have no idea what they are thinking when they write these things. Do they happen to have any other sizing listed? Weight, height of blade, type of disk?

 

[CCWKen]

All the published guides are just that--Guidelines. Soil loads change about four times on my own property. Can you imagine nationwide? What works for you may not work down the road and vise versa. The "Hp=FS/375" formula gets you pretty close for ground engaging implements. The more accurate you can get the soil load, the more accurate the result. But it's just a rule of thumb.

One thing for sure is that you have more than the standard 38lb. soil load going 8" deep at the angle your disks are set. Probably closer to 50lb. That could be the reason for the drag. The "norm" for soil load I mentioned is based on 4-6mph at a depth of 4-6" in pre-worked soil. Moisture, clay and sand content will change this too. So everything is just a guide unless you analyze your own equipment for use on YOUR land.

 

[wolc123]

I dug up this old thread because of some recent experience with an old pull-type disk I picked up recently. It measures 8 ft wide across the back sections, and 7 ft wide across the front so I guess it would be considered a 7-1/2 ft or so. First, off, it has been so long since I used a pull-type disk (20 years or so) that I had forgotten how much better they work than 3 pt models. I used this disk the last couple weeks on three different tractors. On my aprox 20 hp, Allis Chalmers C, I could pull it on previously disked gound in second gear (aprox 4.5 mph) at the second steepest angle setting. My aprox 30 hp, Ford 8n would handle it on previously disked ground in second gear (aprox 4.5 mph) at the steepest angle setting. My 43 hp, 4wd, JD 4120 seemed completely uneffected by the disk and would pull it with the engine at idle (6th gear, idle = aprox 4.5 mph), at the steepest angle setting in fresh-plowed ground. I ran it at that speed in 5th gear with the rpms up just a bit because I dont like to work my diesels at idle. Two things stand out here, first, 4wd makes a world of a difference on a disk and no implement I know of, except maybe a loader, benefits more from a driven front axle. Second, this disk is way undersized for my JD, but just about right for those other two tractors. This disk is certainly quite a find for $100, which also included two 3-section drags the guy threw in with the deal (good thing scrap steel has dropped 90%). What I really like about it, compared to the old Bissels I had long ago, is you dont even have to get off the tractor to change the setting. Just pull a rope and back into it to make it steeper with about 8 settings, or pull the rope and drive ahead to straighten it out for transport. It has a little green paint left on it so I think it might be a JD. Any ideas? Sorry, no digital camera here.