Can my M7060 pull this disc sufficiently?

[mopardude318]

Hi I have been asked to disc this 7 acre field. The weeds are about knee height. I don't have a disc, however the gentleman has one on site I could use, if my tractor can pull it. The disc's measures 21" diameter, almost 7 feet wide. My tractor is M7060HD12 with R-4's.

 

[big bubba]

are your rear tires loaded w/ballast? do you have a fel for ft ballast? assume you'll mow the field close before the discing? sure, it will work, how much time do you have? will have to be done in low range imho or maybe 1st high range.
would recommend a trial run before committing, but feel tractor can handle if you have the patience. you might consider hiring by hr rather than by job. but a trial run should give you an idea. best regards

 

[mopardude318]

My rear tires are loaded with water. I have an additional 2 sets of rear wheel weights, 412 lbs total of iron weight. Yes I have a FEL. I was not planning to mow the field before hand. I figured it will probably take 2 or 3 passes...? but I don't know, I've never disc'd.

 

[LouNY]

If I looked it up correctly your tractor is 70HP that disc used to be pulled by under 40 hp 2wd tractors.
That looks like a pretty flat field and dry, if it has a wet hole be prepared to pull the hitch pin drove away and then chain back to it to pull it out.
Even with R4s you could most likely pull it in 2wd if you wanted to.
If that's heavy sod with those light disc add some weight and figure 4 passes,
#1 straight
#2 diagonal
#3 the other diagonal
#4 straight

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Your tractor will pull those in that field and barely even know that they are back there. :thumbsup: You may find that you will want to take your loader off though. :confused3:

This is a set of Killefer disks also. In fact that's all that we have. A 6', an 8' and a 12'.

 

[ovrszd]

Remove the FEL just for the "compactness" of it. No need to strap on any weights. Your tractor won't even break sweat pulling that disc. My little Ford would handle it in 2wd.

I've never saw a disc like that. Pretty cool actually. Not very effective in today's world but I'm sure it was a beast when it was made. May have been pulled by an "A" at some time, definitely by a "720". "4020" owners would just laugh at it.

 

[ovrszd]

Your tractor will pull those in that field and barely even know that they are back there. :thumbsup: You may find that you will want to take your loader off though. :confused3:

This is a set of Killefer disks also. In fact that's all that we have. A 6', an 8' and a 12'.

He'll probably have to throttle down so the disc doesn't just bounce around.

 

[sixdogs]

That disc will be a breeze and you could probably pull it at high idle. The disc is so light it wont do much good, however and will likely not be worth the effort. I'll bet it won't even cut some of the grass. Sorry to be negative but that's my experience.

 

[ovrszd]

That disc will be a breeze and you could probably pull it at high idle. The disc is so light it wont do much good, however and will likely not be worth the effort. I'll bet it won't even cut some of the grass. Sorry to be negative but that's my experience.

I'm with you Six. That disc will not turn that field into dirt. Well,,,,, okay,,,,,, if you disc it, wait a couple days, disc it, wait a couple days, disc it, wait a couple days...... Repeat ten times,,, maybe....

 

[kthompson]

I have M6800 model about same, you should be fine. I total agree grass needs to be mowed first if possible. You have no lift on the disk so you need to be sure you don't get into a bind and need to back up. You need to take it slow and yes put weights on the disk. I would over lap by half with the first cut so each pass is cutting one half new dirt/grass and the other half of the disk is making second cut. You probably need to make first cut at the maximum angle you set the blades to. Next cut you can speed up and maybe back off the angle of the blades some. Also agree you don't need weight of fel on there to cut this. Will watch for your feed back. Hey you can do an estimate of how long this will take using your low gear in high range for speed and use half of the disk width. I would think three hours for the first cut.

 

[nybirdman]

At the minimum brush hog first.I would spray(glyphosate)wait a couple weeks "plow" and then disc or roto-till.
Trying to disc long standing grass is a waste of fuel.

 

[sixdogs]

Just as a side comment, you could save lots of time by first mowing it. Then pull a chisel plow over it while dry. One pass will be good. Then disc it either a few times with what you have or once with a heavier disc. All done.

Actually, discs are sort-of old fashioned now and a chisel plow with a harrow dragged behind would be just what the doctor ordered. I know you're thinking of the disc because it's what you have but it's like trying to drive a 1950's car in todays interstate traffic. Your M7040 is just itching to pull something like a 7 ft or 8 ft chisel plow. Just my two cents here

 

[RickB]

That disc will be a breeze and you could probably pull it at high idle. The disc is so light it wont do much good, however and will likely not be worth the effort. I'll bet it won't even cut some of the grass. Sorry to be negative but that's my experience.

I agree. Pulling the disc isn’t the challenge. A disc like that is not a primary tillage tool in grass sod. A waste of time and fuel. Even a chisel plow is less than perfect in sod. Moldboard plow it or kill it with Roundup.

 

[Rmart30]

At the minimum brush hog first.I would spray(glyphosate)wait a couple weeks "plow" and then disc or roto-till.
Trying to disc long standing grass is a waste of fuel.

If you have the time Gly really is your friend when it comes to disc work with "lighter" or less than ideal equipment.
Not only are you making the stems nice dry and crispy those green root balls that hang together get nice and loose after gly and the ground breaks up much easier.

 

[kthompson]

Small point not sure any of us pointed out but you need to try the disk to be sure it will still work. Bearings do fail and depending on the type of bearings this disk has they could be frozen.

 

[MickeyDBC]

I have the Kioti 7320 which seems to be their version of the 7060 and am discing and planting 30 acres of old cattle pasture now. I borrowed the neighbors John Deere folding disc (12 foot wide folded and 20 when it is open) and I am not having any problems with it. When I started about a month ago the grass was very low and two passes with the disc really broke the soil up nicely. Then we had two good and heavy rains so now I am running the shredder cutting low before discing to get decent results. If the disc gangs on the 8' JD that was offered turn freely you will probably want to add some more weight to the disc (400 pounds would be a good starting point) to get it to really cut. Just remember that it is really not that many acres so treat it like a good learning experience if nothing else.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I had a disk of similar size and setup which I was able to pull with a 45hp Kioti with R4 tires, and your machine is much larger. The R4 tires are your biggest limiting factor, but you should still be just fine. As others have said, you can pull it, but it won't produce good results fast (or maybe at all). Mowing first will help, but may not be enough. Turning sod into a prepared seedbed in a short period of time (days) requires a plow or a rototiller.

Is this a paying job? I would price it for at least four passes with the disk, plus mowing before if at all possible. And talk to the owner about reasonable expectations, because it is not likely to look like a long-farmed Illinois farm field in spring when you're done.

 

[Grumpa Wally]

If you have the time Gly really is your friend when it comes to disc work with "lighter" or less than ideal equipment.
Not only are you making the stems nice dry and crispy those green root balls that hang together get nice and loose after gly and the ground breaks up much easier.

I concur with previous posters. It would help the quality of disking tremendously to mow to the ground, nuke with a high dose of glyphosate and then disk about four weeks later. The M7060 will pull that harrow in high range if you want to. The herbicide will brown the grass down to the root and prevent the root clod clumping which will want to cause the harrow to ride over the top and not really sink in well. Even so, if you can't spray, if you go over the field in a criss cross pattern enough it will suffice.

 

[mopardude318]

Well I appreciate everyones input this far. I'm going to give it a try. I would like to follow all the advice of mowing, but unfortunately I do not have a mower, neither does the owner of the property. I don't know if it's a money issue or what but same for spraying, I'm not sure if he has the time for that. I think he mentioned something about the county bothering him because the weeds are too high, so he wants it done asap...

I'm going to start in an area, and if it aint working out, I'll say forget it and pack up and leave. lol

The drawbar on my tractor is the standard flat bar. If you look at the hookup point on the disc in the pics in the beginning of the thread, would I remove that chain he has on there, and just use a twisted clevis, with another standard one on the disc?

Robot Check

 

[sixdogs]

Lots of farm places rent implements. You could mow with a seven footer.