M4900 3PH Hydraulics and Draft/Mixed Control

[LeadPoison]

First of let me say I know WHAT draft control does.

Question is how do I set it for the M4900 for a 6 foot medium duty shredder and a 6.5 foot disc harrow?

Draft control has a "sensitive," "insensitive" and "float position." Position control has "up," "down," and "float."

So... what do I do. I have read the manula and don't get the full idea still.

Do I even need draft control on the harrow?

Also is there a way to turn draft control off?

 

[LeadPoison]

bump

 

[LeadPoison]

Anyone?

 

[Fredex]

I don't think you need the draft control for the disc harrow. Where draft control is really nice is for a moldboard plow, chisel plow, subsoiler, etc.

Can't tell you how to set up the draft control on the Kubota. Had to re-learn myself when I traded the old MF165 for a Mahindra 6000. The controls you describe are different from both. Guess there are several ways of building draft control.

 

[stevenf]

Lead Poison, I'm running a M9000 but the adjustments in principal should be the same. I'm still a newbie so I'm sure you'll get an oldtimer to come in and tell you exactly how your supposed to do it but heres my method until someone slams me for not doing it right then we'll both learn something. I set the position control where I want the plow to be when engaged in the soil then I start watching the plow and listening to the tractor it'll tell you when its loading up or pulling hard if its pulling too hard before it bumps up to relieve pressure raise the draft control lever a little if its pulling up before the tractor starts groaning or before you reach your limit to how much strain you want on your machine or wheel slippage push the lever down a little for more pressure, STOP before you hit the float position. Hope this helps it works for me, you gotta remember the instructions come from experience on a M9000 and not out of the owners manual so for yours if your set up is the same great if not reverse the push down pull up stuff. Also unless your pulling in very loose heavy soil that bogs your machine down enough to warrant it but I doubt this would ever be an issue I agree with the poster that said you probably won't need it for the disc, only plows and possibly a box blade or other truly ground engaging implements.
Steve

 

[stevenf]

Lead Poison, Sorry should have read your post better, No I don't think you need the draft for the shredder or the disc harrow really although I guess you could set it for the shredder fairly insensitive so that it follows the contour of the ground pretty well but if you should run into a stump or rock it'd lift up but you gotta remember it only lifts until it hits the pressure its set at and then settles back down to the height it was set at which puts your shredder square in the middle of the rock that the edge of the deck hit and then the rotary blades commence to whacking on rock. Best to run with your bucket at full curl back and almost skimming the ground in unknown territory and shut down when the bucket hits something and either move the rock or lift the shredder over it unless you like sharpening shredder blades. I don't think you can shut off the draft control just put it in float I believe.
Steve

 

[LeadPoison]

So I should just set the position control to the desired height and make it insensitive for the cutter? I think that's it. Land is very flat and clear of rocks.

As for the the disc I should put it to the desired height and set the position control on insensitive? That's my thinking on this? Any other suggestions? I really have no idea what "float" on the draft control would do other than act like "float" on position control. Am I correct?

 

[stevenf]

LeadPoison, yes on the cutter pretty much as long as you have slack in your toplink swivel connection on the shredder unless we are talking slab flat land otherwise the first time the tractor goes up in front you'll bend the 3pt hookup on the cutter an equal amount as the rise.
As far as the disc nope not exactly, you want to put the position control lever at the level you wish to disc which in most cases for me is all the way down with 600lbs of water on top of it, it is an 8' 3pt lift disk that weighs a thousand or so pounds before the added weight of the water filled propane tanks. The draft control if yours is like mine you'll most likely want it in the float position or all the way insensitive so that its engaged as deep as possible and stays that way which is most peoples reasoning for not liking a lift type disc and the reason mine is weighted, if the soil is loose and damp and already broken up with a plow of some sort a disc will do a good job of breaking the clods up into smaller pieces if its dry and unplowed you'll have a heck of a time just making marks on the ground without any weight on it and even then without preplowing it'll be a multiple repeat pass discing that your in for to get anything close to a seed bed ready. A disc is a poor mans powered rototiller it does a good job and much faster but from what I understand not nearly as nice of seed bed as a tiller is capable of but much faster travel speeds providing the ground is already broken up someway, I do mine with a very heavyduty 8' 7 shank spring chisel plow with 24" shanks and if the soil conditions are right (damp) I can bury it to 18" or so and keep it that way.
Steve

 

[LeadPoison]

Thanks for the info.

On the disk I meant to say set the position control down and the draft on insensitive. So I think we are on basically on the same page.

My field has been tilled twice a year for ar least 8 years, so the ground is well broken.

Can't wait to put the new tractor to the test this Saturday.

 

[stevenf]

I thought maybe we were on the same page but you know what assuming does. If you don't already have that disc weighted you might start thinking about it, learn from experience here don't ask the wife to go for a ride she won't like it especially if you tell her why. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif