Disc Harrow for 3720

[sunnyside360]

Update,

I've been looking hard at a variety of units and am leaning towards the Land Pride DH2572 over the Woods DHM6. (20) 20" blades, 7.5 spacing, and 47# per blade. The Land Pride is definitely in the next category up as far as weight and construction stoutness. It also allows 100hp so I have the flexibility if I up size the tractor down the road. Thoughts?

I had the Land Pride DH2596 disc for an 85 hp tractor and besides being 2 ft wider it weighed about 200 lbs more than the DH2572. The tractor weighed about 10,000 lbs. I currently have a 3720 cab tractor and it's hard for me to believe it would handle the DH2572 disc based on my experience......... just my $0.02.

 

[dkhntr04]

That Land Pride sounds nice and beefy. What does that model cost?

Asking prices have been in the $2800-3250 range. Working on deals with 2 dealers at the moment, hope to close one of them tomorrow. I was originally not looking to spend that much, but an under performing disc is going to cost me way more in time and money than going all out and knowing I got the best I could pull.

 

[deere5105]

I had the Land Pride DH2596 disc for an 85 hp tractor and besides being 2 ft wider it weighed about 200 lbs more than the DH2572. The tractor weighed about 10,000 lbs. I currently have a 3720 cab tractor and it's hard for me to believe it would handle the DH2572 disc based on my experience......... just my $0.02.

Was my initial thoughts too. Chalked it up to my underestimating the capabilities of these smaller tractors. Your comment makes me think I wasn't as far off as I thought. My 8' unit with 4" frame will spin all four on my 5303 in soft previously tilled soil.

For the money when buying new, I don't believe you can go wrong with the Howse units. In my opinion, the best bang for the buck.

 

[dkhntr04]

I had the Land Pride DH2596 disc for an 85 hp tractor and besides being 2 ft wider it weighed about 200 lbs more than the DH2572. The tractor weighed about 10,000 lbs. I currently have a 3720 cab tractor and it's hard for me to believe it would handle the DH2572 disc based on my experience......... just my $0.02.

This is the kind of info I really need. Can you expand some more on what you used the disc for and how the 85hp handled it?

 

[sunnyside360]

This is the kind of info I really need. Can you expand some more on what you used the disc for and how the 85hp handled it?

The 85 hp tractor was fairly new with 4wd and R1 tire tread and handled the DH2596 for working freshly plowed soil which had some clay. HP was never a problem but in wet spots tires would lose traction though never got stuck. I also had a 45 hp CUT at the time (Massey) with cat I 3PH and I moved the disc under a shelter once. It moved the disc but could hardly steer the tractor due to heavy disc on rear (very light front). Also, the disc was just barely off the ground due to max height of tractor 3PH vs attachment height of disc connection points.

So, the three concerns I have using the JD 3720 tractor with a Land Pride DH2572 disc are: 1) traction; 2) weight of DH2572; and 3) lift height on the 3PH. I don't believe the 3720 HP is an issue.

 

[jeff9366]

So, the three concerns I have using the JD 3720 tractor with a Land Pride DH2572 disc are: 1) traction; 2) weight of DH2572; and 3) lift height on the 3PH. I don't believe the 3720 HP is an issue.

All three valid concerns.

From my prior experience in Maryland, where we had blue clay, traction is much more of an issue with wet or dry clay than with OP's sandy soil.

In Florida sandy-loam I cannot remember an occasion where I lost traction with my Kubota B3300SU pulling ground contact implements so long as I selected a low enough HST range and enough hand throttle before starting the pull. I have R4s and they are NOT loaded. OP's conditions and equipment are not identical to mine; I realize his experience may vary.

DH2572 weighs 947 pounds and is Cat 1/2. JD3720 has 3-Pt. lift capacity of 2,530 pounds, when new, and is Cat 1.

OP'S tractor picture shows a Front End Loader so the disc will be partly counterbalanced. He can load the bucket should the front feel light.

OP should contact Land Pride and ask about lift height of DH2572 on JD3720, I would think both tractor and implement being Cat 1 it would be ample, but if the purchase was being made with my money I would contact Land Pride to be sure. Land Pride likely fields a dozen similar calls for Technical Support per day. I expect Land Pride can give OP minimum lift to 1/2" off a chart.

I have found the 5-hp per foot of Disc Harrow rule-of-thumb to work in my conditions. The JD3720 has 44-hp when new, which is over 7-hp per foot on a DH2572.

 

[jeff9366]

Asking prices have been in the $2800-3250 range. Working on deals with 2 dealers at the moment, hope to close one of them tomorrow. I was originally not looking to spend that much.

I see Everything Attachments has crank adjustable 20/20" Disc Harrow, 810 pounds / 40 pounds per disc, 82" wide, for $1895 delivered. Delivery to MN could increase the price a bit. ( 1" axle ? )

It would arrive in Y E L L O W.

 

[dkhntr04]

Thanks for the info guys, especially from sunnyside360.

I went back to the dealer today. We hooked the disc to an open station 3320 with no loader on it. The tractor lifted the disc to over a foot off the ground, probably closer to 16". The steering was a little light, but not bad. I should be fine considering I have the cab, loader, and 450# bucket. I also ran over some of the sod chunks from my field that I need to slice up, and the disc cut through them very well.

When you boil it down, the DH2572 has a 2" bigger blade and 140# on the DHM6, which there seemed to be little doubt I could handle without issue. I can always lessen the depth if I run low on traction.

Needless to say, I bought the DH2572 today. Should find time to pick it up by midweek and be using shortly thereafter. I will post pics. Thanks again for all the input and help.

 

[jeff9366]

This has been an interesting thread to write for and interesting to read.

Thanks for letting us know how your Disc Harrow search turned out.

Will you have notched discs, smooth discs, or notched front / smooth rear?

 

[dkhntr04]

I picked up the disc last Friday, and put it to work Sunday through last night. I averaged around 2.7 acres per hour running 2600 RPM in A range at 3.5 MPH. 26 hours of seat time later I had one pass across my 70 acres. Here are my observations.

1. I ran the disc gangs at everywhere from 7 to 21 degrees depending on field conditions. I would shorten the toplink when I hit heavier sod to shift more weight forward for better cutting. Lengthening it would provide a better scrubbing effect to tear up the lighter sod chunks.

2. The weight of the disc would cut through one to two layers of sod. My problem is I have a lot of piles of sod chunks left behind from the field cultivator. The disc leveled these piles down, but the lower lying sod chunks got missed due to the disc riding up on top of the tall piles. I expect my next pass will be more productive in pulverizing those clods.

3. If you are going to run lots of hours on a disc of this weight, I would suggest not using the HF quick hitch. I ripped the top hook mounting bracket and the top of the hitch tube off somewhere around 18 hours in.

4. I ran the first 13 hours with my 450# skid steer bucket on. I took it off because the weight was really beating up the FEL from bouncing around on the bumps. The steering got significantly lighter, but I still had plenty of steering control. This did not seem to have much of any effect on pulling traction.

5. I ran 3.5 miles an hour because that is top speed in A range, and the roughness of the field did not allow any faster. I figured A range was less strain on the hydrostat than running 2200 RPM in B. The tractor could easily pull this disk much faster in B range if the field was smooth enough.

6. The 3720 will pull this disc set at 21 degrees and sunk to the spools in well-tilled fine sand/sandy loam. That was about max load in A range at 2600 RPM. The engine would pull down 100 RPM and I would get a little tire slip, but I never spun out.

7. The disk got easier to adjust the angles on the more acres it had on it. The rear gang seemed to work much more freely than the front, which still required plenty of persuasion at times. Stiffness of the front gang adjustment is my only gripe about the disc at this time. The blades show really no wear outside of polishing, and I have not noticed any disc damage even though it was run over dozens if not hundreds of hidden rocks and stones. This is a very study disc, and overall I am very happy with it and how it matches the capabilities of the 3720.

8. I am hoping to get my tillage done this fall so I can no-till plant soybeans in the spring. I estimate that I have about 15 acres that are ready right now, 25 acres that will be ready with one more pass, and 30 that my take two more due to the volume of residue. I'm going to let the field sit until around the first of November in hopes that I will get some rain and freeze-thaw action to help mellow out the sod before I till it again.

Here are two pics. Sorry for the washout, the sun is directly behind the camera and very bright.I know, not enough but I was more concerned with getting the work done than documenting it.