horsepower to impliment ratio

[jiminpa]

how do you know what horsepower you need for differnt impliments? how many horse per plow blade?how wide of disk per horse?is there any rule of thumb for this?i would sure make buying impliments easier!!

 

[Bird]

jiminpa, there may (or may not) be such a rule of thumb, but keep in mind that it will depend on how hard the ground is, the weight of the implement, weight of the tractor, type of tires, type of plow, etc. so I don't think I'd count on anything other than the individual tractor and/or implement manufacturer's recommendations, and even then I don't always go with that (my B2710 manual says for a 4' rotary cutter and since that is narrower than the rear tread, I found, for my use, a 5' one is much better).

Bird

 

[Roy]

Like Bird, I believe that there are too many factors. Specific to the tractor would be factors like weight, hydraulic capability, transmission, etc. The only real guide is the owner's manual. But, that does not necessarily preclude creating a generalized rule of thumb. Never ran across one, though. My thoughts are that if one were devised, it would have to cover a relatively large range (10 or 20 HP increments). It would probably serve to help decide which class of tractor is required, but not offer the granularity to determine HP required within a class. Doesn't mean that one may not exist. Seems like rules of thumb are created for everything. (Aside: I like rules of thumb as a starting point, but professionally have had problems with coworkers who take them as Gospel. They use them to simplify their thought effort. So, you take the good with the bad).

 

[TomG]

Many implement manufacturers on the web give tables that contain recommended minimum HP for their equipment (Maximum HP's too for drive shafts and gearboxes). I believe these recommended HP's tend to be conservative since buying an implement too big for a tractor (or breaking gears) would make for unhappy customers. However, these recommendations probably make good rules of thumb.

As Bird noted, soil conditions, tractor ballast, tires etc. make a big difference in how big an implement a tractor can operate. The way an implement is used also makes a big difference.

A couple of days ago I found myself spinning all four turf tires trying to pull scarifiers through sod. I had to pull up the scraper a bit and then riped the sod in two passes.

I know the turfs limit the pull of my tractor, but I stick with them anyway. I have to drive on lawns sometimes. I can manage most traction problems by adding ballast, going slower, taking smaller bites etc.

Since I have turfs, I probably should aim low on the recommended HP's, but the scrapper calls for a higher recommend HP then my tractor has. I got a wide scraper because the next smaller size wouldn't quite cover my tire tracks. It does most jobs I have to do OK, and I can just plan on spending a little extra time doing the rest.

 

[W5FL]

There are certain broad catagories. Ag tractors are 100 HP and up. Utility tractors are 40 HP and up. Compacts are 17.5 HP and up. 6 ft implements relate well to 40 HP and up. Can always pull them a little slower, but a round bailer likes about 50 HP and up. All gound engaging implements take a lot of traction and some take a lot of HP if you are going to pull them fast. Usually Ag and Utility tractors come standard with Draft controls to allow the depth to be changed on the fly for varing soil conditions. Most manufacturers recommendations take all of this and more in consideration and I would stick close to them unless you know that you are not creating a problem for yourself.