Rake Floating a rake/ follow up post

[jeeperjoe]

In my post about removing debris after clearing, I got a lot of information and am willing to try my rake again and take care of the side ridges of dirt witha drag. Question is, I have a TC30 and can't seem to get the rake to float. SHould I go to a slack chain in place of the toplink? Plan to try that and remove every other tine for the first few passes to minimize having to stop and clear the rake so much. I've never been able to get it to float and am not sure if my tractor is set up to do so. 3 pt control just says POSITION CONTROL on it. ANy help?

 

[RobS]

I wouldn't eliminate the top link, you'll have no control over the pitch of the implement. Normally, float on a three point implement is when the lever is pushed further down that the "ground" level. Then the implement just rides along at whatever level gravity and tooth angle will allow it. Fewer teeth may actually let it cut deeper. You can vary the tooth angle with the top link length, or swivel it around backwards for even less cut.

The other float is the side-to-side. You get this with some sort of slot arrangement on the lift arms. Not all tractors have this feature though. The side-to-side, or lateral float allows the rake to better follow the ground contour and gouge less at the edges.

Hope this helps, maybe someone else with a TC-30 can offer more specifics.

 

[Willl]

I think I know what your referring to.

When using my rake in loose material it tends to dig too much and acts more like a blade than a rake.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

In my post about removing debris after clearing, I got a lot of information and am willing to try my rake again and take care of the side ridges of dirt witha drag. Question is, I have a TC30 and can't seem to get the rake to float. SHould I go to a slack chain in place of the toplink? Plan to try that and remove every other tine for the first few passes to minimize having to stop and clear the rake so much. I've never been able to get it to float and am not sure if my tractor is set up to do so. 3 pt control just says POSITION CONTROL on it. ANy help?

Does the TC30 have draft control? Draft control works something like "float" for the lift arms. If your tractor only has position control, you can't float (not actually correct terminology) your 3 pt. arms.

True float is in the FEL. When the FEL is in float, there is no hydraulic control. Only the weight of the bucket holds it down. The bucket floats with the contour of the land surface. Float position in the FEL is used when back dragging. This keeps from putting undue pressure on the FEL cylinders. The cylinders can be damaged if float isn't used in certain situations.

 

[greg_g]

Without gauge wheels or draft control, the best method to float a rake is to shorten the toplink to its minimum length. Or even buy a shorter toplink, they make Cat 1 toplinks down to about 13" or so (barrel length). The shorter the toplink length, the less aggressive the angle of attack. This should permit tines to "ride" gravel surfaces. Now if you're talking soft surfaces - loose dirt for example - that's a whole 'nuther ball game. Lacking draft control, you then might have to consider installing gauge wheels

//greg//

 

[jbrumberg]

Gauge wheels adjusted correctly really help with the "float" of the rake. I have one gauge wheel that will hold air and one that will not and the final product actually shows the difference (I need to replace the valve.). Jay

 

[jeeperjoe]

Wow, thanks to all! Those were the answers I was looking for. I guess the total float like my FEL was what I was looking for, just letting the rake follow the contour and I see that that isn't possible on my tractor. I'll try the shorter top link idea and look into adding gauge wheels. The ground is VERY powdery as it was just cleared, and I'm trying to police up the last remnants of sticks/roots etc without altering the grade much.
Thanks again to all.