From plow to subsoiler

[sixdogs]

Spectacular welds. Great job.


Someone asked about 3/4" wide rippers in clay and that might be too narrow. One inch is the narrowest I have seen and 1 1/4" is common..

 

[flusher]

It's amazing how much HP it takes to pull subsoilers. We have a lot of clay around here, which makes it even tougher to pull subsoilers through. I've been running mine at about 16" depth since these fields were never deep tilled. They're very hard and compacted. If I put then down the whole way (24") it'll make that 113 HP Detroit snort.



Mac

You're right about that. My neighbor just put in an English walnut orchard (about 8 acres). He used a double shank ripper (sub soiler) and a D9 Cat to rip down to about 30 inches depth to break up the hardpan. Subsoilers will act like very effective anchors if you let them dive too deeply into the soil and don't have enough drawbar hp to get them moving. That's why you see parabolic shaped subsoiler/rippers--less drag in the soil than the simpler L-shape designs.

 

[City Farmer]

I thought about parabolic rippers when I was making mine. In stead of being straight, I set the pivet point back on my rippers to give it a longer cutting angle. They will engage the ground at a 60* angle and the foot will be parallel to the ground. That will give me an extra 4" of cutting edge in 24"s of depth. I've only looked at pictures and never measured the central angle on a parabolic ripper. So I'm not sure how much more length of cutting edge there is. I'm hoping that the longer cutting edge and the 45* down the length of the ripper will help it pull a lot eaiser thru the ground.

 

[Rio_Grande]

Thanks for the reply.


By the way farmer I know it was mentioned but those welds are amazing. I have been welding for 25 years, non professionally and it is rare for me to lay that nice of a weld. I never break a weld, but I would sure be prouder if they looked like yours!

I may toss a riper together with the 3/4 I have. We have been working our ground for over 20 years with a rear tine tiller and it takes forever compared to other farms to dry out.

 

[sixdogs]

I think you'll be Ok with 3/4" just don't make any turns that might bend things sideways. I think that's the bigger risk.

 

[bcp]

Subsoiler shank style comparison test:



Bruce

 

[City Farmer]

Subsoiler shank style comparison test:

View attachment 314109

Bruce

Thanks Bruce, I'm happy to see its easier to pull an angled ripper than a parabolic. The plow frame I have has an angle of about 54*(could be 52*). To make things easier to cut/fit I set everything up on 60*-30*.

I tried it today and it didn't go very good. It's still pretty wet so the tractor had a hard time hooking up after 10"s. With both rippers it went in the ground nice and even but was to much so I removed one ripper. There's no way I'll be able to pull a single ripper with the set up I have now, I only have a chain connecting the lift arms. I need a turn-buckle on the left side of the tractor because when the ripper starts to enter the ground the other side of the plow frame goes up causing the ripper to tilt while its in the ground. I'll give it another shot in a few days after things dry up. I'll grab a turn buckle from tractor supply too. Worst case I'll make a new mount for the single ripper to keep it centered behind the tractor.

 

[Mac in PA]

City Farmer, I wish you all the best with your subsoiler project.

Here's a link to the United States Dept of Agriculture that explains subsoiling very well and also discusses the different types of rippers used as well as the amount of moisture in the soil for proper fracturing.

It normally requires 25-50 HP per shank depending on soil type and depth. As depth is doubled HP required quadruples. If wings are added required HP increases. Parabolic shanks require the least amount of HP to pull.

http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf08342828/pdf08342828dpi72.pdf

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get your subsoiler working the way you want it.


Mac

 

[Marveltone]

City Farmer, I wish you all the best with your subsoiler project.

Here's a link to the United States Dept of Agriculture that explains subsoiling very well and also discusses the different types of rippers used as well as the amount of moisture in the soil for proper fracturing.

It normally requires 25-50 HP per shank depending on soil type and depth. As depth is doubled HP required quadruples. If wings are added required HP increases. Parabolic shanks require the least amount of HP to pull.

http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf08342828/pdf08342828dpi72.pdf

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get your subsoiler working the way you want it.


Mac

Ooh... Great link for those of us new to the subject. Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

Joe

 

[City Farmer]

Thanks Mac, I have to wait until it dries up around here before I try again, its been raining almost everyday. I had (2) nice Pike swimming in the drainage creek behind my house, they were splashing so much I thought it was a duck. I got 2 of them on video, maybe if I have the time I'll post it.
It seems we have some conflicting information. The artical Bruce posted showed that an angled ripper was easier to pull in different soil conditions. In the URL it looks to have come from the USDA.