Do I have enough power to pull a triple bottom plow?

[Baranx4]

Kioti DK 40se 4wd. I know the rule of thumb is 12-15 hp per plow. I can get a triple bottom really cheap and I guess the worst that it could be would be to just make it a double bottom.

 

[Egon]

It may also depend on wide those bottoms are.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It will depend on your soil and the width of the bottoms as well as your tires and how deep you want to plow. If you have R1's and are plowing a sandy soil you can pull a 3-14. If you have R-4's, well maybe/maybe not. If you are plowing a heavy soil like clay your tractor will just cry at the thought of a 3-12 being hooked to it. I can pull a 3-14 with my TN65 but if the ground is wet I have no chance. I need to put the plow in the ground at the right time or else I am fighting things. My 7710-II would pull a 4-16 thru just about anything once I had a furrow to follow, if the ground was wet it made it a challenge to get the first pass started.

 

[slowzuki]

I'll go ahead and say unless you're plowing sand you're not gonna move 3 bottoms. My L5030 is about the same weight and it likes 2 at most.

 

[N80]

Well, I think it is highly dpendant on soil type and condition. I have a L4400 which is a 45 hp 4wd. We have clay here. I was quite surprised how easily the tractor handled a 2-14 when the clay was hard and dry. It really rolled it right up. I was equally surprised how hard the tractor struggled when this same soil was wet. It did the job but I was in the throttle the whole time and sometimes had to drop into 2nd. (The truth is, it was too wet to be plowing, but I have to do things when I get the time to do them). When the soil is just right, no problems. The tractor handles 2-14 no problem.

I'd say that if you can get the 3 bottom plow for less than a comparable 2 bottom, then get it. If the conditions are right you might be able to pull it. If not, pull a bottom off and go to town with 2.

Edit, I would also point out that set up is very important. The adjustment bolts on mine where rusted up AND I had no idea what I was doing. Once I got the bolts loosened, I finally got the proper alignment and finally got the top link angle set right and the ease and effectiveness greatly improved. All of which is to say that it helps to know what you're doing....or to learn from doing it wrong like me.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well, I think it is highly dpendant on soil type and condition. I have a L4400 which is a 45 hp 4wd. We have clay here. I was quite surprised how easily the tractor handled a 2-14 when the clay was hard and dry. It really rolled it right up. I was equally surprised how hard the tractor struggled when this same soil was wet. It did the job but I was in the throttle the whole time and sometimes had to drop into 2nd. (The truth is, it was too wet to be plowing, but I have to do things when I get the time to do them). When the soil is just right, no problems. The tractor handles 2-14 no problem.

I'd say that if you can get the 3 bottom plow for less than a comparable 2 bottom, then get it. If the conditions are right you might be able to pull it. If not, pull a bottom off and go to town with 2.

There's more than just a little difference between 2X14"'s and 3X14"'s.

Being able to pull 2 plows easily with 45 hp is certainly no indication a 40 hp tractor could pull 3 in anything more than an EXTREMELY rare instance. 40 hp is enough to pull 2 easily. It's NOT enough for 3 in anything short of sand or peat moss.

I know we'll get someone to speak up who added 2000lbs of ballast, shoved their 25 HP tractor down into low 1st, and trudged along at 1.2MPH, but that ain't plowin'. That's killing a tractor.

Back "in the day" it wasn't uncommon to see 40 HP tractors that weighed in over 5000 or 6000 lbs. They would lug a 3-bottom plow along at 2-1/2 or 3 mph. But plows evolved into "high speed" plows along in the late 1940's and plowing speeds near and even beyond 5 mph became common. Plowing slower than that with "modern" plows doesn't even flip the dirt all the way over.

In the end, you'll cover more ground in the same time with a slightly smaller plow at higher ground speeds. That's NOT to say plowing at 10 mph is right. There's a reasonable limit to what can be expected, but 4 to 5-1/2mph is anormally a good plowing speed. And 40 hp won't pull 3X14"'s at 5 mph (at an acceptable depth) in normal conditions

 

[N80]

There's more than just a little difference between 2X14"'s and 3X14"'s.

I'd guess its about 1/3rd.

But I'm sure you're right. If 2 is about right, 1/3 again as much is likely to be too much.

So the question is, if he can get it cheap and run two bottoms is it worth it? The only problem I can guess at would be that getting the furrows lined up with the tires might be a little harder?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'd guess its about 1/3rd.

But I'm sure you're right. If 2 is about right, 1/3 again as much is likely to be too much.

So the question is, if he can get it cheap and run two bottoms is it worth it? The only problem I can guess at would be that getting the furrows lined up with the tires might be a little harder?

It's not 33% more, it's 50% more draft load.

Any CAT I plow I know of is capable of being set essentially the same, 2 bottom or 3, in relation to the tractors track width. They are usually the same plow, with another bottom added. It's not an issue to remove one either.

 

[N80]

It's not 33% more, it's 50% more draft load.

Please explain. Not arguing, just curious.

Any CAT I plow I know of is capable of being set essentially the same, 2 bottom or 3, in relation to the tractors track width. They are usually the same plow, with another bottom added.
It's not an issue to remove one either.

Then if its cheap, he probably ought to go ahead and pull the trigger. And if he's a pee-on-the-electric-fence kind of guy like me (it only hurts for a few hours) he can try all three bottoms, bog it down and then remove one of them and have a cheap two bottom plow.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Please explain. Not arguing, just curious.



Then if its cheap, he probably ought to go ahead and pull the trigger. And if he's a pee-on-the-electric-fence kind of guy like me (it only hurts for a few hours) he can try all three bottoms, bog it down and then remove one of them and have a cheap two bottom plow.

1 bottom is 1/3rd of a 3 bottom plow.

1 bottom is 1/2 of a 2 bottom plow. Add a 3rd bottom to a 2 bottom plow and you're increasing it's size by 1/2 of it's CURRENT size, hence, 50% increase in draft load.