How much weight can be added to disc

   / How much weight can be added to disc #1  

thunder86

Silver Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Messages
139
Location
Southern Indiana
Tractor
Bobcat ct4045
Looking to purchase a L3901 with a DH1060 disc that's 548 pounds. According to the spec sheet that's 34 pounds per disc, 16 disc. If I add 203 pounds of weight I'd have 47 pounds per disc equivalent to a much heavier DH2572.
I've seen the DH2572 on youtube and liked how much it rips into the ground. So with less disc adding weight with sandbags I'd have the same thing.
So my question is can I add 200 pounds with sand bags on this without tearing anything up on the tractor 3 point or disc harrow?
My dealer told me I could go to a heavier disc that weighs 100 pounds more for $500 more, I'm not paying $500 for 100 pounds if I can add weight.
Am I thinking correctly? Thank you.
Looking to disc fallow field that was cow pasture to enhance native forbs and disc maintain switchgrass.
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #2  
Cow pasture disc'ing. Ouch. So cow breeds get upwards to 1200-lbs. So, the pasture will be hard soil.

For the front row gangs; notched disc. Back rows, smooth disc.

Your machine is in the same power range as mine. My Disc Harrow is a KingKutter 6FT double gang, double row.
Each cinder block is about 30-lbs. That makes 120-lbs of weight total. Going with more, it can get stuck in the fields. IF the soil is soft, then don't run with the weight in the far back. Instead, stack up front. Works better. Let the rear discs do their own work under their own pressure.

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   / How much weight can be added to disc
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Nice field and pics. At one time this was a cultivated field but that was a very long time ago. Didn't think about the weight of a cow and hard ground but they haven't been in there for over 4 years maybe?
Why smooth in the back? Wouldn't I want notched front and back?
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #4  
Nice field and pics. At one time this was a cultivated field but that was a very long time ago. Didn't think about the weight of a cow and hard ground but they haven't been in there for over 4 years maybe?
Why smooth in the back? Wouldn't I want notched front and back?

If you go all notched on all gangs, then the ground will loot ratty and clumpy. The land will then have speed bumps all over the place or it would be like a gofer community moved in. Now, if that's what you are aiming for, that's fine.

Also, on my KK and others I've seen, when lifted off the ground, one can back off the large nuts, and set the attack angle of each gang. The steeper the attack angle the more power is needed to pull. I would rather hit the area twice vs. putting too much hard work on the machine in low speed and high rpms. Not worth it when tractors cost so much now.
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Haha good points, I'm not looking to leave it bumping. So the notches ones tear better but leave clumps and the smooth ones will break those clumps up leaving smooth?
As far as aggressive setting on the angle I like your point keeping it easier on the machine. For enhancing native forbs I think your only looking for 50% disturbance to the ground.
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #6  
Yes to all your questions and statements. You got it down pat now. :)

In my pix, there were about 3,000 pines all 6ft apart in dense rows. It was to be a Christmas tree farm, but it went bust. Owners just left it alone for 40 years. Loggers took out the trees, the disc harrow just grinds the old root systems like knife cutters.

One pass on un-touched soil will not show much work. It takes a few passes doing checkerboard style to get it like rototiller powder or PTO tiller powder. Even a criss-cross pattern would work should you have the room to turn around.
When all the weights are loaded on, I have to lock the rear axle for unison pull effort. And just before ending a path, I have to let up on the lock pedal, then raise the disc harrow, else the tractor will drive straight into the woods even with the wheels turned. So, pay close attention to that. It's part of how it all works together. ;)
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #7  
If you go all notched on all gangs, then the ground will loot ratty and clumpy.
While I am occasionally surprised by 'exceptions' on T-B-N, few disc harrows with pans of diameter 16" - 18" - 20" - 22" are available outfitted with anything but notched pans front and rear. All these relatively light discs struggle to cut unplowed ground and only the notches make cutting through feasible. (( Dirt Dog and Monroe Tufline offer discs with notched pans in front, smooth pans in the back. ))

Discs with 9" spacing between pans penetrate better than discs with 7" or 7-1/2" disc spacing. Less important than notched vs un-notched, but a factor. Less "float" with 9" pan spacing.

When pan diameter increase to 24" - 26" - 28" - 30" there is enough weight to cut through almost any grass. You need a Utility Class tractor (6,000 pounds bare weight) to pull these.


Box frame discs are adjustable. If you begin with aggressive gang settings, then reduce aggressive set with each succeeding pass, a disc harrow can leave a quite smooth field. For reasons beyond my understanding few on T-B-N seem to adjust their disc harrow gang angles.

 
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   / How much weight can be added to disc #8  
While I am occasionally surprised by 'exceptions' on T-B-N, few disc harrows with pans of diameter 16" - 18" - 20" - 22" are available outfitted with anything but notched pans front and rear. All these relatively light discs struggle to cut unplowed ground and only the notches make cutting through feasible. (( Dirt Dog and Monroe Tufline offer discs with notched pans in front, smooth pans in the back. ))

Discs with 9" spacing between pans penetrate better than discs with 7" or 7-1/2" disc spacing. Less important than notched vs un-notched, but a factor. Less "float" with 9" spacing.

When pan diameter increase to 24" - 26" - 28" - 30" there is enough weight to cut through almost any grass. You need a Utility Class tractor (6,000 pounds bare weight) to pull these.


Box frame discs are adjustable. If you begin with aggressive gang settings, then reduce aggressive set with each succeeding pass, a disc harrow can leave a quite smooth field. For reasons beyond my understanding few on T-B-N seem to adjust their disc harrow gang angles.


Jeff,

He's looking at a 37.5Hp compact tractor with a weight less than 3,000-lbs. He would need something over 50Hp for the 6K you had posted.

As my posted image shows, the King Kutter has notched up from and smooth in the rear.

For adjusting the gang angles depends on the compact tractor. The gray market tractors are mainly rice paddy machines with PTO tillers. Tossing a disc harrow onto them needs some sort of tuning for the angle. It's not hard. Takes just one adjustment and it's tuned for the the tractor. My King Kutter is fully adjustable for the attack angle. Love it! You can see the bolt patterns in my images above.

I've found that adding weight is far superior than the pan diameter increases. Adjusting weight loads help tremendously is various soils in all kinds of conditions. And running with no weights will give the garden or land that really fine and smooth till. This is how plant nurseries use a disc harrow. That smooth till pass allows them to place down the nursery garden black fabric rolls. If adding weight up front the first gang takes the hard work. The rear gang will smooth things out too. Having weight on the rear gang will get the disc harrow stuck and the tractor to stall. Having an increased pan would drive a disc harrow into the ground and can get stuck there. Weights really allow for adjustments on the fly. Been doing this for nearly 3 decades.

BMaverick
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #9  
If there is too much weight on the disc frame and the angle is aggressive, something will eventually break. Adding a 100# may be all it needs.
If you need to add 100's of # to it, disc is too small for your job.
 
   / How much weight can be added to disc #10  
Heavier disc have heavier frame. Stronger!
 
 
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