middle buster
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Farwell
Veteran Member
Not sure of the quality, but TSC sells the one that I use and I am happy with. I can't get is as deep as I would like to but in rougher soil areas I remove the middle buster blade and replace it with a sub soiler blade. This tears the ground up and cuts most of the smaller roots. I then put the middle buster blade back on and I get down a little further. I usually have to finish the trench with a shovel to get it as deep as I want. Once the upper soil is broken, it is much easier to dig by hand.
Farwell
Farwell
Bob_Skurka
Super Member
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I have a Howse sub-soiler, middle buster, trailer hitch combo. It was under $175. I only would recommend the modular units that allow you to easily switch from a sub soiler to a middle buster.
The Sub-Soiler blade get down deeper than the middle buster blade by several more inches. Mine used 2 bolts to swap out the blades/tralier hitch, I took out the bolts and inserted "top link pins" so now I can change the implement blades without any tools.
What type of water pipe are you going to bury and how deep do you need to go? Some types of pipe can simply be pulled into the ground by attaching a hook to the back of your subsoiler (drill a hole in the trailing edge, attach a cable or similar, then attach the other end to the pipe (with a screwed on end piece) and simply pull the pipe into the ground. You will only get about 10" to 12" deep with this method, but it is an easy way to get it under ground. Depending on your soil, you may need to make a pass with the subsoiler alone, then come back and follow the same path to pull the pipe. It is much easier than any other way I know, but only is good if you can live with a shallow burial for your pipe.
Similarly you can easly bury wire/cable/irrigation tubing using the sub-soiler. Simply attach a 90 degree elbow pipe (again drill a couple holes in the trailing edge of the subsoiler, use muffler clamps or similar to attach the elbow to the back side of the blade, run the wire/cable through the pipe from the top and out the back, tie it off at your starting point and drive slowly while feeding wire/cable/irrigation tubing, etc down the pipe).
I also used the sub-soiler/middle buster frame to make other implements. My pallet forks are the most often used implement I hang off of the same frame. I have designed a turf cutter, but have not built it yet.
The Sub-Soiler blade get down deeper than the middle buster blade by several more inches. Mine used 2 bolts to swap out the blades/tralier hitch, I took out the bolts and inserted "top link pins" so now I can change the implement blades without any tools.
What type of water pipe are you going to bury and how deep do you need to go? Some types of pipe can simply be pulled into the ground by attaching a hook to the back of your subsoiler (drill a hole in the trailing edge, attach a cable or similar, then attach the other end to the pipe (with a screwed on end piece) and simply pull the pipe into the ground. You will only get about 10" to 12" deep with this method, but it is an easy way to get it under ground. Depending on your soil, you may need to make a pass with the subsoiler alone, then come back and follow the same path to pull the pipe. It is much easier than any other way I know, but only is good if you can live with a shallow burial for your pipe.
Similarly you can easly bury wire/cable/irrigation tubing using the sub-soiler. Simply attach a 90 degree elbow pipe (again drill a couple holes in the trailing edge of the subsoiler, use muffler clamps or similar to attach the elbow to the back side of the blade, run the wire/cable through the pipe from the top and out the back, tie it off at your starting point and drive slowly while feeding wire/cable/irrigation tubing, etc down the pipe).
I also used the sub-soiler/middle buster frame to make other implements. My pallet forks are the most often used implement I hang off of the same frame. I have designed a turf cutter, but have not built it yet.
Holzster
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Bob is right - I have the TSC combo one - I bought another center plow that was deeper then the one that came with it ($10.00 extra) that i can go 14-15" deep - I can not drive with that one on as it would drag, But it is usefull.
Farwell
Veteran Member
DeereFan,
They have a King Kutter listed at $118 and change but it does not come with the sub soiler blade. I paid $110 for mine about a year ago and ordered the sub soiler blade separate but am not sure how much extra the blade was, it was less than $20. Don't think mine is a KK brand because it is painted yellowish orange and I think KK products are painted red but not positive.
If you get a chance to look at their catalog, at one time they had the combination sub soiler/middle buster, they may still carry it.
I do not know the different brands of middle busters but I think that some company makes a much heavier duty version for the larger horse power tractors.
Farwell
They have a King Kutter listed at $118 and change but it does not come with the sub soiler blade. I paid $110 for mine about a year ago and ordered the sub soiler blade separate but am not sure how much extra the blade was, it was less than $20. Don't think mine is a KK brand because it is painted yellowish orange and I think KK products are painted red but not positive.
If you get a chance to look at their catalog, at one time they had the combination sub soiler/middle buster, they may still carry it.
I do not know the different brands of middle busters but I think that some company makes a much heavier duty version for the larger horse power tractors.
Farwell
Bob_Skurka
Super Member
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- Jul 1, 2003
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<font color="red"> They have a King Kutter listed at $118 and change but it does not come with the sub soiler blade. I paid $110 for mine about a year ago and ordered the sub soiler blade separate but am not sure how much extra the blade was, it was less than $20. </font>
I'm not sure that we are talking the same type of blade change here. When I change my middle buster to a sub-soiler, I change out the blade and the down shaft. The Sub-Soiler reaches down several inches deeper because the shaft is longer that the shaft on the middle buster. So it is not just changing the plow head, it is changing the head and the shaft that I was referring to in my post.
<font color="red"> Don't think mine is a KK brand because it is painted yellowish orange and I think KK products are painted red but not positive. </font>
King Kutter uses a yellowish/orange paint. Howse uses red paint.
I'm not sure that we are talking the same type of blade change here. When I change my middle buster to a sub-soiler, I change out the blade and the down shaft. The Sub-Soiler reaches down several inches deeper because the shaft is longer that the shaft on the middle buster. So it is not just changing the plow head, it is changing the head and the shaft that I was referring to in my post.
<font color="red"> Don't think mine is a KK brand because it is painted yellowish orange and I think KK products are painted red but not positive. </font>
King Kutter uses a yellowish/orange paint. Howse uses red paint.
Farwell
Veteran Member
Bob,
On my middle buster the only thing that is removable is the blade itself. I take it off and put on the sub soiler blade. Wish I had the one that you have because several times I wanted to go deeper.
The red color came from my looking at TSC's web site. The one they pictured was painted red and had the name King Kutter in the item description. I think mine is a King Kutter and thought that they changed colors.
Farwell
On my middle buster the only thing that is removable is the blade itself. I take it off and put on the sub soiler blade. Wish I had the one that you have because several times I wanted to go deeper.
The red color came from my looking at TSC's web site. The one they pictured was painted red and had the name King Kutter in the item description. I think mine is a King Kutter and thought that they changed colors.
Farwell
ronbo3
Bronze Member
Yes, TSC changed the KK colors from red to yellow almost two years ago. I bought a carry-all from TSC, and noticed that the red ones were $50, and the yellow ones were $75. When I asked what the difference was, I was told KK colors were changing from red to yellow, and all the red implements were marked down.
Farwell
Veteran Member
Ronbo3,
Wish I had caught the price mark down. TSC must have a few mental giants making financial decisions. If I have stock in a company and I find out that the company is doing things like that I sell as soon as possible. I have been wrong only a few times in doing so.
Farwell
Wish I had caught the price mark down. TSC must have a few mental giants making financial decisions. If I have stock in a company and I find out that the company is doing things like that I sell as soon as possible. I have been wrong only a few times in doing so.
Farwell
deere755
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How well would a middle buster work to bury an electric line. I am just going from my garage to my pole barn, it's about 40 feet. My other question is would my 755 2wd handle it and how deep can you bury something with it. I was looking at our farm store ad and for the price of renting a trencher I can buy a middle buster. Are they handy for other jobs as well?
Bob_Skurka
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If you are trenching high voltage lines, you may have a local code that tells you how deep you have to go. It may be something like 12"? A middle buster for a small tractor is only going to go about 6" deep. A sub-soiler is going to go roughly 10" to 12" deep depending on the brand. I think it might be less work to rent a trencher than to use a middle buster. The trencher will leave you a clean trench. The middle buster will leave spoils in the trench that you will have to dig out to lay down your wire. As you are doing high voltage, you will probably want to enclose it in conduit, which again would favor the trencher for the task. If you could get a sub-soiler instead of a middle buster, then you could spend a hour or so rigging up a cable & pipe puller as I described above and get your wire down about a foot.
Personally, I'd probably rent a trencher unless the land was flat and open and I wanted to build something out of my sub-soiler. But if the choice was a middle buster or a trencher, I would choose the trencher every time. Realise too that you are working a fairly short run of wire, and you have to hand dig the beginning and the end (the length of the tractor to the wall) so you might find it much easier to do with the trencher.
The thing I built, and the thing others have built is great for long runs, but it is not great in smaller areas and is a pain when you get up to the ends because of the hand digging.
As for the 755, I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with that model. If it is a 2 wd tractor roughly similar to a 790, then I'd say you could pull a sub-soiler/middlebuster through most soils.
Personally, I'd probably rent a trencher unless the land was flat and open and I wanted to build something out of my sub-soiler. But if the choice was a middle buster or a trencher, I would choose the trencher every time. Realise too that you are working a fairly short run of wire, and you have to hand dig the beginning and the end (the length of the tractor to the wall) so you might find it much easier to do with the trencher.
The thing I built, and the thing others have built is great for long runs, but it is not great in smaller areas and is a pain when you get up to the ends because of the hand digging.
As for the 755, I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with that model. If it is a 2 wd tractor roughly similar to a 790, then I'd say you could pull a sub-soiler/middlebuster through most soils.
OkieG
Veteran Member
There are two types of tractor jobs...those you can do, and those you can't. Of the ones you can do, some would be more easily and efficiently done with a larger/heavier/4wd tractor. I think middlebuster on a 2wd 755 falls into that category. It may take two or more passes to get you where you want to go, but I think you could do it.
OkieG
OkieG
Farwell
Veteran Member
Deere755,
If you have a use for a sub soiler in other areas they do have their uses. I use mine quite a bit for directing snow melt run off. It helps rip up smaller tree and brush roots I have done some trenching with a middle buster but what it does for me is break the ground surface and rip out weed roots to make it easier to dig by hand if I want or need to go deeper than a foot. 40 feet in good soil is do-able by hand. 40 feet in hard clay with tree roots, rocks etc, will seem like miles by hand.
I too like a trencher and if I was going to run high voltage or under-ground piping I would pay the money and rent the trencher or dig the trench by hand depending on code requirements and soil type. I have a 42 inch frost line so if I run water I need the depth. The type of soil you have is also a determining factor. My soil is 12 inches of top soil over sand and I have to dig early in the year while the sand is still moist before it turns into sugar sand.
Of course I would love to have a back hoe.
Farwell
If you have a use for a sub soiler in other areas they do have their uses. I use mine quite a bit for directing snow melt run off. It helps rip up smaller tree and brush roots I have done some trenching with a middle buster but what it does for me is break the ground surface and rip out weed roots to make it easier to dig by hand if I want or need to go deeper than a foot. 40 feet in good soil is do-able by hand. 40 feet in hard clay with tree roots, rocks etc, will seem like miles by hand.
I too like a trencher and if I was going to run high voltage or under-ground piping I would pay the money and rent the trencher or dig the trench by hand depending on code requirements and soil type. I have a 42 inch frost line so if I run water I need the depth. The type of soil you have is also a determining factor. My soil is 12 inches of top soil over sand and I have to dig early in the year while the sand is still moist before it turns into sugar sand.
Of course I would love to have a back hoe.
Farwell
TheSmartFarmer
Member
We sell a middle buster that is a heavier duty model than the howse and most other potato lows and it is only 99.99 in our store so if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me about it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
flusher
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I think that KK yellow implements are their "standard" products for "full-size" CUTS. The KK red implements are from their "sub-CUT" product line, aka the "XB" line. Check the KK website.
I have a yellow KK 48" brush hog (weighs 420 lb) and a red 48" KK XB box blade (weighs 295lb). The corresponding red 48" XB hog weighs 400 lb and has twin rear wheels. And the yellow 48" box blade weighs 350 lb.
I have a yellow KK 48" brush hog (weighs 420 lb) and a red 48" KK XB box blade (weighs 295lb). The corresponding red 48" XB hog weighs 400 lb and has twin rear wheels. And the yellow 48" box blade weighs 350 lb.
