How much weight can be added to disc

[bmaverick]

Heavier disc have heavier frame. Stronger!

True with a heavier machine.

In the OP's 1st posting, he has a little compact tractor. Not some commercial Ag tractor. That's what he is dealing with. So, it will be a compact tractor disc harrow and pulled by a compact tractor. Thus, adding some weight in proper places will be the advantage.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Almost every disk I ever saw under 8' wide had additional weight added on it so I decided to just do it right and not have to worry about it falling off or chains or straps breaking or rotting.
The Disc weighs 515lbs and I added 425lbs of weights.

I've only used it once for the food plot but it worked great chopping up most of what I brush hogged last summer. Having the hydraulic top link was a great help as I could level it perfectly on the fly or change the weight front to rear.

 

[bmaverick]

Almost every disk I ever saw under 8' wide had additional weight added on it so I decided to just do it right and not have to worry about it falling off or chains or straps breaking or rotting.
The Disc weighs 515lbs and I added 425lbs of weights.

I've only used it once for the food plot but it worked great chopping up most of what I brush hogged last summer. Having the hydraulic top link was a great help as I could level it perfectly on the fly or change the weight front to rear.

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View attachment 694953

I like the weight setup. You can mount them facing forward or rearward for a slight change in soil action.

 

[bdog]

My 7.5’ disc weighs 2,018 lbs from the factory. It seems to be just about right. As long as the frame can handle it and your tractor can pull it I say the more weight the better. Smaller discs are notorious for being too light to do any good.

 

[bmaverick]

My 7.5’ disc weighs 2,018 lbs from the factory. It seems to be just about right. As long as the frame can handle it and your tractor can pull it I say the more weight the better. Smaller discs are notorious for being too light to do any good.

Guess your post has no value to the OPs question then. He can't go bigger because he has a nice small compact tractor.

 

[bdog]

Guess your post has no value to the OPs question then. He can't go bigger because he has a nice small compact tractor.

It has more value than your post. I wasn’t suggesting He needs a 2000 pound disc I was merely stating the more weight the better. Make it as heavy as the frame will support and the tractor can pull. Adding sandbags or cinder blocks it seems it would be pretty easy to experiment and find out how much you can add before the frame starts flexing or the tractor can’t pull it.

If OP can’t pull it with enough weight on it to do some good then try making the disc narrower by removing the outside discs Or maybe sell it and buy a narrower unit and adding weight to it. How well a disc performs is directly related to the weight per disc.

I have nothing against compact tractors I used to own a tiny BX23S but when it comes to tillage there is simple physics involved. It takes all my 73 HP to pull my 7’6” disc. Works out to about 10 hp per foot. Equivalent for his HP is a 3’6” disc. When it comes to tillage if you have a smaller tractor one needs to realize that they are going to have to use narrow implements. A compact tractor can do pretty much anything a full size farm tractor can you just have to realize it will be just a few feet at a time instead of 20 or 30.

Many of the implements marketed towards compact owners sort of anger me because they are just too light to do any good. I have owned a variety of smaller tractors over the years and the typical farm store discs and they are basically useless. People plop down their hard earned money and wind up with something that will disappoint them. They are not cheap but on smaller tractors I have found rototillers to be the best in terms of getting tillage done with limited HP.

 

[bmaverick]

It has more value than your post. I wasn’t suggesting He needs a 2000 pound disc I was merely stating the more weight the better. Make it as heavy as the frame will support and the tractor can pull. Adding sandbags or cinder blocks it seems it would be pretty easy to experiment and find out how much you can add before the frame starts flexing or the tractor can’t pull it.

If OP can’t pull it with enough weight on it to do some good then try making the disc narrower by removing the outside discs Or maybe sell it and buy a narrower unit and adding weight to it. How well a disc performs is directly related to the weight per disc.

I have nothing against compact tractors I used to own a tiny BX23S but when it comes to tillage there is simple physics involved. It takes all my 73 HP to pull my 7’6” disc. Works out to about 10 hp per foot. Equivalent for his HP is a 3’6” disc. When it comes to tillage if you have a smaller tractor one needs to realize that they are going to have to use narrow implements. A compact tractor can do pretty much anything a full size farm tractor can you just have to realize it will be just a few feet at a time instead of 20 or 30.

Many of the implements marketed towards compact owners sort of anger me because they are just too light to do any good. I have owned a variety of smaller tractors over the years and the typical farm store discs and they are basically useless. People plop down their hard earned money and wind up with something that will disappoint them. They are not cheap but on smaller tractors I have found rototillers to be the best in terms of getting tillage done with limited HP.

Oh, I value your post, sorry you didn't think mine was insightful. Your your post came across like a big iron tractor use only for tilling with a disc harrow and made it seem the OPs posting for his machine was inferior and to forget even thinking about doing it.

In my postings, images and success with the disc harrow with use of a compact tractor, going full depth of what the disc harrow can doing can be counter-productive especially when tilling in surface compost. Going too deep will submerge the compost to the point the the planted field of crop would never root down far enough to benefit from it.

Should a heavy disc harrow need to be lifted to keep the compost tilled in at a controlled depth range, it would fail and the 3PT hydraulics isn't reliable enough as the tractor moves forwards. Going over any high or low spots will negate that benefit. Now, Bear67 did post his pixs of the top-link hydraulic assist. This is a great way to overcome the problem, however, not all folks can afford a fancy upgrade for a couple of acres or less.

 

[thunder86]

Almost every disk I ever saw under 8' wide had additional weight added on it so I decided to just do it right and not have to worry about it falling off or chains or straps breaking or rotting.
The Disc weighs 515lbs and I added 425lbs of weights.

I've only used it once for the food plot but it worked great chopping up most of what I brush hogged last summer. Having the hydraulic top link was a great help as I could level it perfectly on the fly or change the weight front to rear.

View attachment 694951

View attachment 694953

That is an awesome setup with the weight. Can't believe you was able to add so much. What size tractor do you pull that with? Hydraulic top link is new to me, you can control it up and down from a function? How much did that cost?

 

[bdog]

I just added a hydraulic top link to my cat 2 tractor and my total cost with hoses and all was $400. I think on a smaller tractor it could be done for quite a bit less. I bought the components at agristore.

 

[bdog]

Oh, I value your post, sorry you didn't think mine was insightful. Your your post came across like a big iron tractor use only for tilling with a disc harrow and made it seem the OPs posting for his machine was inferior and to forget even thinking about doing it.

In my postings, images and success with the disc harrow with use of a compact tractor, going full depth of what the disc harrow can doing can be counter-productive especially when tilling in surface compost. Going too deep will submerge the compost to the point the the planted field of crop would never root down far enough to benefit from it.

Should a heavy disc harrow need to be lifted to keep the compost tilled in at a controlled depth range, it would fail and the 3PT hydraulics isn't reliable enough as the tractor moves forwards. Going over any high or low spots will negate that benefit. Now, Bear67 did post his pixs of the top-link hydraulic assist. This is a great way to overcome the problem, however, not all folks can afford a fancy upgrade for a couple of acres or less.

You have got some very good results from your setup. I am sure like anything it depends on location, soil types, etc but around here a light disc pretty much just rides on the surface and does nothing. Very frustrating. In the beginning I, and probably many other people, had unrealistic expectations of what a tractor could do. I remember being so excited bringing my new disc home only for that to turn to disappointment when I used it.

Chisel plowing is very effective and commonly used here but it takes even more HP. A 10’ chisel is all my 150 HP tractor with duals would want. Do the math on that and with a small tractor you basically are left pulling a single shank subsoiler. It will get the job done but it won’t be five or six feet at time.