Looking for new plow, suggestions?

Bill3508 · Oct 5, 2011

I'm kind of thinking of getting a new plow. Our tractor is a NH TD80 4wd. We currently have an old international 4 blade moldboard plow. I really not that fond of using it and its in poor shape in general. Our light tillage is a prime 303 harrow. I was kind of thinking of getting a chisel plow as I don't really need the soil turning of the bottom plow. There is an Athens dealers not too far from our place so the 156 chisel was on the list.
Another option would be a disc plow but but it would have to be a good bit heavier than the standard harrow to work well. The place has a model 107 offset disc but its rather large and seems like in the smaller fields it would be difficult to work. There is also the model 62 pull harrow that weights some 2500 lbs and is shorter that might work. Both these disc are much more in cost than the chisel though.

Any thoughts on picking up something different. I've looked used but all the inexpensive chisels I've found are in very poor shape, and no pull disc locally.

Thanks

Bill3508

kf4uda · Oct 5, 2011

I have a NH TD5030 4WD which I think is the same tractor as you have with a newer model number. I found a used Athens 156 7 shank chisel plow in decent shape. I contacted Athens Plow Co. and ordered the replacement parts that I needed to put the plow back "factory". I also ordered a new set of twisted shovels from Shoup. I now have about $650 in it. It does a fantastic job, needing only a new paint job. If I am chiseling ground that has not been worked in years it will certainly put a load on the tractor but it handles it. Chiseling ground that is worked every year is no problem.

I have a fairly heavy 8' wheel disc which is no challenge to the tractor but I would like to have an Athens 62, maybe 10~12ft. A new one would be pricey. For that matter so is a new 156 chisel.

Bill3508 · Oct 5, 2011

Thanks for the reply. Yeah any of the new stuff is expensive. So you've been happy with the 156. They said I could add an additional 2 shanks onto the
7 if needed.

kf4uda · Oct 5, 2011

I am been really happy with the 156 so far. I have not started my big project with it yet (cross chiseling 80 acres of pasture) but so far it has done well. They have been making that same plow unchanged for many years. They also made them under the Rhino name.

I am not so sure about pulling 9 shanks with your tractor. I am sure it would depend on the type soil you have. I am not saying you will run out of HP but you might run out of traction even in 4WD. I have 650lbs of weights on the front and loaded rear tires and have spun all fours in some areas of hard pasture ground with 7 shanks. Now I was chiseling at max depth and just had to ease up on the lift a little. I think the general rule of thumb is about 10-12hp per shank depending on soil type.