Disc Harrow Selection For 18-45 Horsepower Tractors (Revision 2b)

[wkg2013]

I would still like to know what size disc harrow I should get to go behind JD 4410 4 wd

 

[Rebeldad1]

Years ago I bought a beginners used towable 6' tandem disc and pulled it with a old Alice.
being able to adjust the cut simply by backing up or forward and by adding concrete blocks I was amazed at what I could do.
I had no time frame to get it done and was fun.
A cheap way to find out what you need. See them once in a while for under $500.00

 

[jeff9366]

You size Disc Harrows by pan diameter first, because that is where the weight is, then choose disc harrow width and pan spacing depending on your primary task.

Penetration is better with 9" pan spacing, smoothing is better with 7-1/2" pan spacing.

You can smooth with an implement weight of ~37 pounds bearing on each pan. To cut/penetrate requires ~50 pounds implement weight bearing on each pan. Unfortunately, you must pay for every pound.

 

[Egon]

With a 4410 your not going to be able to pull a disc for proper primary tillage On sod type fields. You will be able to pull a six foot disc on land that is cultivated yearly.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a 4 wd 4410 JD. I intend to disc up a section for a food plot. The section was tilled 2 years in a row 2 years ago but is now regrown with field grasses. It has been brush hogged. I know nothing about using a disc harrow. The soil I intend to disc is hard clay.

Are your rear tires inflated with air or filled with liquid?

Rather than buy a light Disc Harrow with 18" diameter pans for this task, which will not be very effective working clay, can you prevail on whoever tilled (presumably roto-tilled) this land two years ago, to roto-till it again? Disc Harrows and PTO powered roto-tillers are both soil mixing implements producing 90% the same output.

Optimally you will seed the same day your plot is tilled, to give your food plot seed the best chance to compete with the naturally selected grass. If you wait several days or a week before sowing seed, the natuarally selected grass will come roaring back, overwhelming your seed.

Buying a light Disc Harrow for preparing a food plot of 1-2-3 acres on hard clay does not make sense to me.


I would still like to know what size disc harrow I should get to go behind JD 4410 4 wd?

Are your Deere's rear tires inflated with air or filled with liquid?

Is your Deere equipped with R1/ag tires or R4/industrial tires?

In what state are you located?

John Deere 4410 Weight	2,900 lbs 1315 kg
Max Drawbar:	562 lbs 254 kg
Max front axle:	1,588 lbs 720 kg
Max rear axle:	4,410 lbs 2000 kg

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	68 inches 172 cm
Length:	117 inches 297 cm
Width:	50 inches 127 cm
Ground clearance:	13.4 inches 34 cm

Mechanical
Chassis:	4x4 MFWD 4WD

John Deere 4410 Power
Engine (gross):	34.6 hp 25.8 kW

I have air in my turf tires. I borrowed the tiller for the two years. I tilled the field but I decided not to borrow again, rather purchase something instead. Disc is cheaper than tiller.

As you have previously tilled your field it is possible a Disc Harrow with 18" diameter pans may serve for maintenance.

The OP's JD 4410 weighs 2,900 pounds. It is probable his 2,900 pound Deere can only pull a light, box-frame Disk with 18" diameter pans, 60" wide (~52" operating width) pans spaced 9" and still be able to use the Disk's three (3) or four (4) gang angle adjustments. You can smooth with an implement weight of ~37 pounds bearing on each pan. To cut/penetrate could require twelve (12) or more tractor passes over the field, NOT GOOD FOR CLAY.

 

[Surshot]

If you get a medium or heavy duty box frame Howse, 18” cutter head, it will cut, due to the weight, the old ones are very heavy. Never needed any extra weights at all on my 20” HD to cut up road bed clay, right to the disk axles in three passes. I am pulling it with a 4x4 with liquid filled wide industrial tred tires with a 45 hp Kubota, standard tranny. When i lift the disk, the tractor squats. After 3 passes everything is on top of the gtound cut or broken into pieces, landscape rake and grass seed, slick.

 

[jeff9366]

If you get a medium or heavy duty box frame Howse, 18” cutter head, it will cut, due to the weight, the old ones are very heavy.

Hmmm....... I owned a box-frame Howse Disc Harrow with 18" diameter pans for several years. I did not share your experience with a Howse 16/18" DLHT disc cutting. You can smooth with an implement weight of ~37 pounds bearing on each pan = 18" diameter pans but penetration in a reasonable number of passes is insufficient.


Like you, I eventually purchased a disc with 20" diameter pans which cuts/penetrates significantly better due to the greater weight of steel in larger diameter, thicker pans.

I have a Heavy Duty Howse 20” x 7 1/2" disk set.

Never needed any extra weights at all on my 20” HD to cut up road bed clay, right to the disk axles in three passes. I am pulling it with a 4x4 with liquid filled wide industrial tred tires with a 45 hp Kubota, standard tranny. When i lift the disk, the tractor squats. After 3 passes everything is on top of the gtound cut or broken into pieces, landscape rake and grass seed, slick.

To cut/penetrate requires ~50 pounds implement weight bearing on each pan = 20" diameter pans.


To save others their time, I note that Howse was liquidated in bankruptcy several years ago. Moderately priced implements, sold at insufficient profit.

 

[jeff9366]

Can My Tractor Pull XXX Tandem Disk Harrow??​

Tractor factors in declining importance:

1. Tractor weight ((traction))

2: 2-WD or 4-WD tractor power transfer to ground ((traction))

3. Tractor tires in relation to vegetation and soil ((traction))

tire tread​

rear tires inflated with air or filled with liquid​

4. Tractor horsepower



Objectives for Disk Harrow use:

Smoothing a field previously plowed with a moldboard plow or a disc plow.
This is the traditional use for Disk Harrows, since horse and mule motive power.
Penetration less important than smoothing and disk width.
Less draft force resistance than other Disk Harrow applications. (( easier to pul l))
This function is SECONDARY TILLAGE.

Maintenance tillage of previously "broken" ground.
Gardens, fire breaks, fence margins, annually planted game food plots, reducing ruts and hillocks in established fields.
This function is SECONDARY TILLAGE.


Tilling virgin/unbroken/unplowed ground and hooved animal grazed pasture.
This function is PRIMARY TILLAGE.
A Tandem Disk Harrow is not very good at PRIMARY TILLAGE.
A specialized ((one trick pony)) "Offset Disk" is designed for PRIMARY TILLAGE.


Implement Issues:

Total Disk Harrow weight bearing on each pan.
Adjustment of gang angles, aggressive for penetration, relatively 'flat' for smoothing.

(( Ease of adjustment varies from Disk Harrow model to model a great deal. ))​

​

Pan structure, scalloped for compact category tractor use, smooth/round for utility category tractor use.


Field Conditions:

The first pass over a field with a tractor/ tandem disc harrow combination has the lowest draft force resistance. Disk pans may or may not penetrate but first pass has the lowest draft force resistance.

Successive passes over the softened ground allow the pans to penetrate deeper and tractor tires sink in, increasing draft force resistance during second, third and successive passes.

Dry soil is much harder for pans to penetrate.
If too dry, pans will simply roll over hard soil surface.
Verdure on the field usually wraps around pans and axles, decreasing penetration.
Wet soil may bog tractor/ tandem disc harrow combination.

 

[jeff9366]

Found a relatively inexpensive 6 1/2’ disc harrow at Rural King. Made by King Cutter. Doesn’t seem very heavy duty, but I’m just going to use it for a couple of acres of food plots, and maintaining 9 acres of CRP. I've got 44 acres, just 10 tillable, the rest is timbered.

DETAILS
KING KUTTER'S ANGLE FRAME DISC HARROWS are constructed with heavy rigid angle iron. It connects easily to any three-point hitch with category one specifications. The disc gang axles are made of 1" square steel rods mounted on double thrust ring gray-iron bearings. All disc harrows have angle adjustments of 10 or 15 degrees. The 5 1/2' discs have two adjustments and the 6 1/2' has three.

• Width: 6 1/2'
• Number of blades: 20
• Blade Diameter: 16"
• Adjustment Settings: 3
  

  Shipping Weight	650.pounds

Shipping weight of 650 pounds may include a 50 pound pallet and some packaging.

650 / 20 = 32.5 pounds bearing on each pan. Pan spacing is 7-1/2".

This angle-iron disc with 16" diameter pans is NOT heavy enough to scuff up food plots.

If you add weight to an angle iron frame disc chances are the frame will distort.

 

[jeff9366]

moparguy55​

4/20/2024​

Hello all. I have a 1547 massey hst 47hp
4wd - Industrial tires (rears are full) supposedly 36hp at wheels.
How wide if a disc can I pull? Or how big of a 3 point disc can I hang?Land has wet spots and a bit of incline in spots. It has left over corn stocks.

From what i see a pull disc is better for uneven grounds.

Thanks

Massey Ferguson 1547​

Width

66.1 inches 167 cm

Massey Ferguson 1547 Weight

ROPS	3597 lbs 1631 kg
Cab	3957 lbs 1794 kg
Max capacity	8378 lbs 3800 kg
Max front axle	4630 lbs 2100 kg
Max rear axle	4630 lbs 2100 kg

From what i see a pull disc is better for uneven grounds.
Yes, slightly. But you give up field maneuverability.

The key metric for Disk Harrow penetration is Disk Harrow total weight bearing on each pan. 35 pounds weight per pan is minimal. 50 pounds weight per pan is reasonably effective. The angle at which pans are set also affects penetration.
You will need every bit of 50 pounds weight per pan, to turn under corn residue.

As your tractor has 4-WD I expect you can pull a Disk Harrow with pans 22" or 24" in diameter 72" to 84" wide at a good clip.

Monroe Tufline is a key independent supplier of Disk Harrows. You can calculate the weight bearing on each pan for Tufline's various models.

Tufline – Well Built, Performance Driven Implements

monroetufline.com

Tufline – Well Built, Performance Driven Implements

monroetufline.com