Followup; Plowing with a 30 Hp Compact Tractor

art · Sep 10, 2007

Thirty to forty horse should pull three bottoms without to much trouble. The most important part is the adjustment for ease of pulling them. They not only should be level from front to rear but side to side! You should be level when you are in the furrow with your wheel to do this.

There are differences in the way the moldboard is curved as well as the points and land slide for the path of the soil. There are high speed bottoms as well as some made to run deeper but as a rule of thumb that 6" deep for normal plowing needs a 12" bottom. The 14" plows will need to be a 7" and 16" should be about 8" deep.

My recommendations is to use spring tine tools like heavy spring loaded tines as they don't create hard pan like plowing does. This is better for the soil and is very efficient as far as time and fuel.

Rara Avis · Sep 10, 2007

The horsepower needed depends on the number of shanks, the depth of tillage, and the compaction of the soil. Increasing the number of shanks will increase horsepower. Dropping shanks will reduce horsepower as long as the unit does not get to narrow. If the tractor tires run on the previously loosen ground, it will have very poor traction, and re-compact the soil.

It also depends on the actual soil makeup...Clay is MUCH harder than a Sandy Loam...

Soundguy · Sep 11, 2007

JerryG said:
I use a three bottom 14" behind my 40 hp and used it behind the 33 hp tractor that I had before. Most of the pulling hard has to do with the plow design. Some brands plow a lot better than others. My MF model 66 plow pulls like there is very little back there.

My old dearborn 10-1 2 bottom also pulls well behind an old ford.. etc..

Soundguy

wolc123 · Sep 11, 2007

I think the biggest problem with plowing these days for the majority on this forum is that they have the wrong tire. An equal weight tractor with R4 tires will only pull about 1/2 the plow as one with R1's. Other problems are unloaded tires (or un-weighted for those like Art). Hydro trans. may also reduce plow capacity by as much as 25% compared to gear. Horsepower is usually abundant but weight, traction, and drive train are often lacking compared to the old days.

bkheur · Sep 11, 2007

Tires are not the problem. Weight is the key to ground engaging work.

art · Sep 11, 2007

I've pulled many a plow with no or little weight on tractors. I've pulled three sixteens on a 35 horsepower two wheel drive tractor at about five miles an hour with only two sets of rear weights and about 200 lbs on the front.
I have many tractors with proper air pressure out performing over weighted tractors doing tillage work.

Your hydro is at it's worst with any ground engaging tools that are not pto powered.
You do need to balance your tractor and you will do fine as long as the plow is adjusted correctly and you have your ballast in the proper place.

N80 · Sep 11, 2007

I don't see how anyone can say tires aren't the problem or that weight isn't the problem. They are all variables and R1s will clealry and undisputably give better traction that R4s. And weight has a role too, obviously. I think all of the common variables are important:

Horsepower
Tire Traction
Weight
Soil Type
Transmission Type/Gear Selection
Plow Type and Set Up
Number of driven wheels.

How can anyone realisticlly dismiss any of these? I don't know anything about plowing but physics is physics. Traction is traction. And all the big Ag tractors I've seen in picturtes in the midwest have tons or hp, tons of weight, tons of tires and 4wd.

And I think people tend to forget that this is the internet. When some of us talk about plowing, we're not talking about turning over last years 'soil'. We're talking about busting up clay and rocks that have never been turned over by anything that didn't have four hooves...if it was ever turned over at all. Its going to take a little more of something to pull through it.

I have found my little L4400 with R1s and 4wd and 45 hp to be proficient at turning this stuff over. All of those are good things but I'm guessing if I tried a three bottom plow in the stuff I have to work with, the tires, 4wd and hp maight not be able to overcome the tractor's light weight. And that's the way I see this equation. You have to match the machine and the plow to the ground you have to work with.

Greyfields · Sep 12, 2007

You can plow for sure with a CUT. Without draft control, though, you do have to stop and back-up quite a bit to restart.

scott_vt · Sep 12, 2007

N80 said:
I don't see how anyone can say tires aren't the problem or that weight isn't the problem. They are all variables and R1s will clealry and undisputably give better traction that R4s. And weight has a role too, obviously. I think all of the common variables are important:

How can anyone realisticlly dismiss any of these? I don't know anything about plowing but physics is physics. Traction is traction. And all the big Ag tractors I've seen in picturtes in the midwest have tons or hp, tons of weight, tons of tires and 4wd.

Afternoon George,
I think those statements say alot ! I dont know squat about plowing either but Im learning about plows as I refurb my old Dearborn 10-8. Im happy to have R-1 tires on the tractor because I think I will need them, and probablly all 5000 lbs of the tractor and loader. As Jerry mentioned, alot depends on the plow, and of course your commentary on weight and traction or lack thereof is on the mark. My Dearborn 10-8 2 btm as " Soundguy " previously stated was pulled by an 8n, less hp than my machine and probablly not as heavy ! Im looking foward to giving it a go either later this fall or next spring !

BTW we shall see if the draft control works on my old Massey !

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