Disc recommendations

zuiko · Mar 31, 2004

I'm thinking I might be able to find something like an old 12 foot disc pretty inexpensively and use it to break up ground to plant grass. A tiller would probably be better but I'd rather avoid spending that much if possible.

I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of how big of a disc I could pull with my 40hp (35hp PTO) CUT? I have filled R1 tires... I would guess it weighs close to 5000 lbs with the loader, the ballast, and everything else.

Would I be able to use a hydraulic disc without hooking up the hydraulics? Also if a disc has a bad bearing or two how cruicial is this and how hard are they to replace? Are the blades all pretty much interchangable?

Thanks.

gone · Mar 31, 2004

You are gona have a hard time pulling a 12' disc with that tractor. if you could pull it youd be moving in such a low gear the disc woulden't be tossing the dirt the way it should. i doubt it could pull it when in the ground a all

JerryG · Mar 31, 2004

I'm with GONE on this. A 12' is way way to large. A 6' is about the size you need or a 7' at the most.

rdln · Mar 31, 2004

my 970 pulled a leinbach light angle iron frame that was 7.5' with 20" disks without a problem. It has filled r-1 tires
4wd and loader and less hp. The problem was that the implement was a POS and I bought a rototiller within a year. If you can find a square tube frame 8' maybe 9' it should work for you. I wouldn't consider anything over 9'

rambler · Mar 31, 2004

I would look for an old Fergeson or the like 3pt _single_ disk 12' wide. This only has 2 gangs of disks, not 4. It's got one V, not 2.

When you want, you can disk the full 12' for light work. If you want heavier disking, overlap your rounds by 1/2, covering 6' of new ground each pass, and you will have the results of a 6' double disk.

Your tractor will handle this fine. You can hold it up a bit with the 3pt in tough going, and let it down in drier hard soils.

It will not handle a 12' full disk very well or very often.

You should not turn with a hyd disk in the down position (they have ridgid frames & you will bust off a front gang), so you can't use one without hydraulics.

You could use an 8' - 10' trailing disk with 4 gangs, but getting hard to find. (They use a rope or lever to adjust angle, no wheels but they angle straight to roll from field to field - it does leave knife marks in sod & does _not_ travel down a paved road tho.)

Disks have round or square shafts, and range from 16" to 20+" in diameter, and have several different shapes - notched, cone, regular. A used disk will be worn down, so you can't buy _1_ new blade & replace an old one, it will be an inch or 2 larger & cause you much problems. Small disk blades don't do much, go for larger by the way.

I would not push for a bigger size, a CUT is lightweight, and one needs some weight for traction when disking.

I have a 12' Dearborn 3pt disk that my ~50hp tractor plays with, and I used to use 4-gang pull type disks of 10' & 12' with my 36-60 hp gas tractors in hard clay soils, so I think I'm steering you in the right direction. I ran a 12' trailing disk in bean stubble or cornstalks with a 36 hp tractor, but it was on the edge, & that is the easiest disking there is. In spring on rough soft plowed ground - no way. It barely pulled the 10' disk in those conditions.

It depends some on your soils & when you want to use the disk, harder ground or softer ground.

I do not think much of the new little 3pt disks you can buy at the corner fleet & farm store. They are very lightweight, usually not adjustable, and just don't do a whole lot. JMHO.

--->Paul

RonR · Mar 31, 2004

Well, my opinion is a little different. As a youth, we pulled a 10 ft disc with a 25 HP tractor with no problem, so I'd think 6-8 ft would be pretty small for your HP.

These were not very aggressive disk blades. Some of the new ones now are real aggressive and would be harder to pull.

As for an old disk, if the price is right, you could put on some ear protection (for the squeeling bearings) and go to it! Most likely an old disk the blades would be dull as can be, so they wouldn't cut well.

I've seen those old beater disks that had all the bearings shot, but they were used anyway--not worth the hassle to fix it to disk a small strip.

Some of the old disks we used didn't have hydraulics--they had a mechanical motion that changed the angle from cutting to straight. If you find one that needs a cylinder, you can buy a hand rachets that will go where the cylinder is and it will work fine.

I don't think bearing are very expensive, but you have to beat and bash a lot to change them.

Best wishes,
Ron

zuiko · Apr 1, 2004

Thanks for the great information. I was afraid a 12 would be too much. I guess I'll keep my eye out for a much harder to find used 8 footer.

gsganzer · Apr 1, 2004

You should be able to find a used one somewhere. Bad bearings shouldn't be a problem. Most AG equipment use standard bearings. Pull one off, bring it to Purvis Bearing and they'll be able to find a replacement.