Disc Harrow Ford 5610 MWFD vs Athens 97 Offset Disk Harrow

[sawtooth]

Well stated.

Again I have to disagree. A few years ago a salesmen said my Ford 3910 could not handle a Bush Hog 286. Guess what cutter I purchased and still use today? Yes a Bush Hog 286 and it handles it perfectly. For anyone that thinks all sales people are experts then your pretty gullible yourself. My experience at best has been 50/50.

 

[sawtooth]

I just found this Sawtooth.


Athens Offset Disc Harrow

Great find and thank you Turbys. I really want a 3 point lift version though but after thinking further may not really need it cause the land is pretty even over most of my farm. Based on this I may consider it further. Thank again.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Wow great info. Was it the 7'6 version with 20 disc?

No it had 22"disc, I actually thought that the model 97 came with either 22" or 24" disc blades, have you given any thought to a pull type? I bought mine for under $3k and it is very well built, I know you would like the heavier harrow because I wanted to go up to the next size from the one I bought but I'm glad I didn't as it would have been to much for my tractor in certain conditions

 

[sawtooth]

No it had 22"disc, I actually thought that the model 97 came with either 22" or 24" disc blades, have you given any thought to a pull type? I bought mine for under $3k and it is very well built, I know you would like the heavier harrow because I wanted to go up to the next size from the one I bought but I'm glad I didn't as it would have been to much for my tractor in certain conditions

Yes you are correct they come with either 22 or 24" diameter disk. But I was referring to the number of disk. The 7'6 version has 20 disk. Just not sure what width harrow you were using. Thanks

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Yes you are correct they come with either 22 or 24" diameter disk. But I was referring to the number of disk. The 7'6 version has 20 disk. Just not sure what width harrow you were using. Thanks

Sorry, apparently I wasn't clear in my earlier post, I borrowed the exact same disc that you are looking at it was 7' 6" with 22" disc blades.

 

[RickB]

Again I have to disagree. A few years ago a salesmen said my Ford 3910 could not handle a Bush Hog 286. Guess what cutter I purchased and still use today? Yes a Bush Hog 286 and it handles it perfectly. For anyone that thinks all sales people are experts then your pretty gullible yourself. My experience at best has been 50/50.

I have more experience communicating with manufacturer reps than the vast majority of the users here. Dealership sales reps will often say anything to make a sale. Manufacturer's reps typically are more careful to make sure a sale doesn't create negative blowback. Gullibility is not something those who know me often accuse me of.

You would be well served to further investigate the operating characteristics of mounted offset discs vs trailed models. When you are on the edge of oversizing implements, trailed models offer advantages.

 

[jeff9366]

The problem I run into on multiple occasions is new sales guys really don't know the strength and capability of the old Ford's as they relate more to the newer equipment which is lighter duty and lacks some nuts compared to the old steel. When I spoke to the guy on the phone I could tell he was going more by horsepower. Once I told him 70hp then he just discussed lift capacity but said I have plenty of horsepower but not enough lift capacity so go figure.

Not trying to be contrary, trying to assist your decision process; but tractors are tractors.

If the tractor weight, hitch capacity and options are known, the Athens people should have a clear idea whether or not your tractor can lift whatever model Athen's Disc is under consideration. No matter if tractor is a Ford, a Deere or a Kioti. Were I Athens, my reps would have a graph for each model Disc, indicating hitch lift capacity required with negative aspect of Disc length leverage figured in.

From what Athens tells me the tractor will pull, lifting the disk is the problem. The tractor is designed to lift 3,100 pounds 2 feet behind the lift balls. So my question is do you guys agree with this?

I understand that this is a long implement but seems to me considering that my tractor is MWFD with cab and with front loader that it should handle it OK.

Category 2 lift capacity is the issue you should focus on. The issue is probably not one of tractor weight, nor tractor balance, but of Disc weight, Disc length and leverage working against hitch lift capacity.

Your Three Point Hitch was spec'ed at 3,100 pounds new, but it is not new today. If lift hydraulics have declined 10%, which seems reasonable, your Ford lift capacity 2 feet behind the lift balls is 2,790 pounds today.

I do not have a side in this thread. More interested in Discs than most implements and, as a retired sales/marketing pro, customer/sales interaction.

 

[sawtooth]

Not trying to be contrary, trying to assist your decision process; but tractors are tractors.

If the tractor weight, hitch capacity and options are known, the Athens people should have a clear idea whether or not your tractor can lift whatever model Athen's Disc is under consideration. No matter if tractor is a Ford, a Deere or a Kioti. Were I Athens, my reps would have a graph for each model Disc, indicating hitch lift capacity required with negative aspect of Disc length leverage figured in.



Category 2 lift capacity is the issue you should focus on. The issue is probably not one of tractor weight, nor tractor balance, but of Disc weight, Disc length and leverage working against hitch lift capacity.

Your Three Point Hitch was spec'ed at 3,100 pounds new, but it is not new today. If lift hydraulics have declined 10%, which seems reasonable, your Ford lift capacity 2 feet behind the lift balls is 2,790 pounds today.

I do not have a side in this thread. More interested in Discs than most implements and, as a retired sales/marketing pro, customer/sales interaction.

What you say makes perfect sense but unfortunately i've found these companies only have some of this information. For example Athens doesn't offer a chart for lift capacity. They mainly reference HP. But that leaves A LOT of holes in the equation. They don't tell you if its engine or drawbar hp, for 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive, front loader or without loader. Point being is that all tractors are NOT created equal as are their HP ratings. Its more important to know the efficiency of applying that HP to the ground, rear lift capacity, and the overall tractor weight and how the weight is distributed via front loader etc. Brown Manufacturing is the same way with very limited info.

All this being said I called Athens again today but this time was handed over to a different rep. Not surprising to me I received different feedback. This guy said I had plenty of lift capacity but was on the edge of their HP rating. Going by the numbers one might agree BUT then I asked him if those numbers were for 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive tractors and was that engine HP or draw bar HP. He hesitated for a bit "LOL" then said it was engine HP and for 2 wheel drive. Again I said I had MWFD and front loader so now he said "Oh" you should be in good shape then. I'm telling you these guys and their specs are not very scientific and are really just a good guess. If it were my company I would list required lift capacity, and most importantly drawbar HP. At the end he said I could easily lift the model 97 and pull it since i had MWFD. He also said their tandem model 65 cuts just as good as their offset as their angles of adjustment were the same as were their weight per disk. This makes me wonder then why even use a offset then if they have no benefit? Athens makes great equipment and I'm not picking on them in any way as their competitors are the same way. Just a little surprised that these companies don't have more info to reference when specifying the correct equipment for their customers. If these units were cheap I would just buy one then trade it if I didn't like it but they're actually very expensive so a one time purchase is preferred. Anyway thanks for everyones input as I love this forum and being able to discuss silly stuff like this while learning a bit in the process.

 

[jeff9366]

Well reasoned reply.

You are persistent. Not a quality seen very often today.

 

[kevin37b]

Why do you want a mounted disc ? A pulltype works so much better .