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

B8FISH · Apr 1, 2008

I would say it was 50% more or 33% less depending on which way you look at it. If you start with two and need to get to three you add 50% and if you start with three and go down to two you drop 1/3rd. Not sure how the math relates to draft load, but that's the way my mind works ;-)

schmism · Apr 1, 2008

Farmwithjunk said:
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.

following this logic, a 2 bottom is twice as hard (double the size) of a single bottom.

I can tell you that i can BARELY pull a 2x14 with my TC33 R4 hst. IT will NOT do it in virgin sod. It will do it in previously plowed ground. (the above about twice as hard as a single holds true for my seat of the pants, when i adjust mine to mostly plow with only one bottom its SOOOOO much easyer)

As said above, R1 would be better, im short on traction even with 4wd and locked rear for the right plowing conditions. Any wet'r than i have tried and it would be useless. any dryer and it would be to hard to pull pull both at proper depth.

N80 · Apr 1, 2008

schmism said:
following this logic, a 2 bottom is twice as hard (double the size) of a single bottom.

No. He's right. He said 50%. That is half again as much.To double it would be 100%. Problem is we're not comparing mathematical apples and oranges. I was thinking about it the same way B8FISH was. And now I have a headache.

Bottom line is, and I think everyone will agree, that for a light tractor in the 40-45 hp range a two bottom plow will be just right and adding a third bottom is likely to take it from just right to no go, or at best barely capable.

Wildcards would include transmission type and soil type and soil condition and tire type and 4wd. The one thing I can say is that 4wd makes a big difference on my light tractor.

I can tell you that i can BARELY pull a 2x14 with my TC33 R4 hst. IT will NOT do it in virgin sod. It will do it in previously plowed ground.

I still remember, with some gratification, my farmer buddies laughing at my little tractor with the 2-14 on it, telling me it wouldn't be able to pull it. (These are cattle farmers and probably had no more time in front of a plow than I did). But, I've now plowed up 3-4 acres of previously unplowed land and the tractor has done a fine job. It is a geared tractor with R1's.

scott_vt · Apr 1, 2008

Farmwithjunk said:
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.

Good Evenin Bill,
That weight and horsepower bring to mind the Farmall M. About 6000 lbs and just shy of 40 hp but still considered a 3 btm tractor ! Oh and what a great sound she makes when pullin 3 btms !

Farmwithjunk · Apr 1, 2008

scott_vt said:
Good Evenin Bill,
That weight and horsepower bring to mind the Farmall M. About 6000 lbs and just shy of 40 hp but still considered a 3 btm tractor ! Oh and what a great sound she makes when pullin 3 btms !

YEP! WAAAAAY back when, while I was a youngin' and still at home, a neighbor had an M, a Super C, and an old Dodge truck with one of those danged Mopar gear reduction starters. Every morning, he'd fire up one or the other to drive out to his mailbox to get his newspaper. One of those 3 sounds was my alarm clock. He'd head out at 5:45AM regular as clockwork. I had to be moving by 6 to make the school bus.

Ah, the memories!

The M was by far the most "pleasing" sound of the 3.

Thankya Scotty!

djw250 · Apr 2, 2008

We had a Farmall 560 LP gas tricycle gear tractor that we used to pull a 5 bottom plow. It was about 60 HP and probably about 6000 pounds. Talk about a sound! When it was pulling that plow in moist ground, it sounded like it might blow some hard part out the exaust at any minute, but I couldn't tell you how many hours I spent plowing with it like that. The smell of freshly plowed ground always takes me back to sitting crooked in the saddle of that tractor with my right wheel in the furrow plowing for hours.