POST YOUR PICTURES OF SUBSOILERS

[JRP]

I made a subsoiler but know there is a lot of ways to customize, such as for cable plow work. If you have protos and ideas about subsoilers for TBN members, post them here.

I'll start.
I made this plow for about 1/2 the cost of a TSC plow and it has twice the steel. The shank is 1.25 thick. It is made to fit a Speeco hitch and can plow about 24" deep (I hope). It is heavy so I wish I made some stands to keep it erect, which could also double as a wore spool rack. The Speeco uses 1.5" lower link lins so the ones here are just 6" long CRS bar shoved into the 2" sq tubing. The tip is a chrome hardface made for farm equipment.

Now post your pictures and share them for all of us who want to make a better one.

 

[TedLaRue]

Looks nice; looks strong; looks heavy.

Just curious - what's the white stuff in that square tube?

Edit: I just saw your other post where you said it is foam to keep bees out. I thought perhaps that's what it was, but with all the other welding you did, I figured you would have just welded a piece of plate over the end. But I agree, the foam is a lot easier.

 

[Renze]

Welkom op de website van Evers Agro.

lots of subsoilers in all different executions. Evers was a town blacksmith that started building 1 leg subsoilers when tractors came to the farms, meanwhile it has grown into an international business, subsoilers is still a specialty to them. They build them for all different soil types.

 

[JRP]

Thanks,
The evers site is interesting. I probably should have looked more before I started. I think I could easily pull two shanks.

 

[Renze]

I see in your members profile that your tractor is a Kubota M 6800 ?? I suppose its a 68 engine hp 4wd ?

That tractor should be able to pull a 3 shank ripper at 24" (60 centimeter) because my Zetor 5245 can bury our neighbours Evers 3 shank heavy duty ripper to the frame ( 80 cm ?) on medium sand soil.
Zetors are a bit heavier than Kubbies, weight is traction so your tractor would pull a 3 shank ripper at least 60 cm in sand soil...

I dont know what soil you're on, but clay, virgin or rooted forest soil is a different story.

 

[JRP]

Thanks Renze, I think you are right. I tried it yesterday and in first gear you could barely tell the engine was loaded. I think I should have looked for pictures before I started.

Two reasons I made this include cutting roots around trees I want to pull, and also as a cable plow for pulling in a phone wire. Both uses would require one shank.

Well, If I need three shanks I have a torch.

 

[Bill Barrett]

Jrp, when you start the cable project going I'd love to see some pics.

 

[texasjohn]

Here are photos of my subsoiler... heavy about 4" solid bar on 3ph, sweep plows rotated 180 degrees so I can mount weights on them, sweep removed from the single shank that engages the ground and replaced with a chisel point. chain attached to metal cap that is pulled underground by the chisel point. Plastic pipe with electric high tensile underground fence wire inside is folded over the metal cap and held in place with duct tape. Subsoiler is well offset because I need to get up close to fence line and bury the plastic pipe/electric wire.

I go slow, 4wd, try not to hang a rock too hard.

 

[Barnboy]

Here are some pics of my modified KK middle buster/subsoiler sitting on the stand i made. The soiler point is home made too. Darn thing is heavy. The square tubing on the back is work in progress. I tack a coupling on it for pushing pipe under my drive. I have not tried burying cable with it YET. Soon it will have muffler clamps welded on it holding the elec. elbo for burying cable

 

[Farmerford]

Texasjohn:

That looks like a handy rig. If you plow 12-24" deep, how long a section of flexible plastic pipe can you put in before the friction (or something) on the pipe makes you put in a joint and start over with a new section of pipe? I know the soil matters, and today in Georgia it is so dry that you need a concrete saw to make a trench. But what about sandy loam that is fairly moist?

Thanks.

 

[texasjohn]

Farmerford, Well... there are stories in several TBN threads that people have pulled plastic pipe several hundred feet. I only have experience in pulling it for maybe 30 feet along one side of a fence... under the gate.. then along the fence again to come back up and hook the underground electric fencw wire back into the electric fenc.

So, I can't give you any direct experience, but I am here to tell you that it is amazingly frictionLESS.... and don't doubt that quite a long pull can be done..however, I DO recommend that you do it with a buddy... one to drive the tractor, the other to watch where the pipe enters the ground and keep kinks away, etc.

Yep, soil will make a difference.

Once, I pulled a black plastic pipe under a gateway and got interrupted and just left the tractor where it was.... came back about a week later... we'd had a light rain, maybe .5 inches a couple of days after the initial pull. I decided that I needed to pull another couple of feet, so started the tractor and started slowly forward... yep, all moved forward OK... UNTIL I looked at the pipe.... it was STRETCHING OUT... AND GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER. The rain had caused the loose dirt to clamp down on the pipe and it no longer was pullable! Lesson learned... don't stop a pull until it is COMPLETELY done.

Give it a try, you'll be amazed how well it works. If I didn't need to snuggle up to a fence, I'd make it a well centered pull rather than off to one side.

 

[SBD]

Here is a subsoiler I made out of some scrap metal I had laying around. I got a few different blades for it from the local farm supply house.

It sure lets me know I don't have a very heavy tractor when I hit something solid. But it does work well for my needs in very compacted soils. I used it to dig up and loosen some soil that I needed to move with the loader. It worked perfect for that task after I ran back and forth from different directions to loosen it up.

 

[gilliganfarmer]

I am looking at getting L3400 and I would like to get a subsoiler for it. it's great to see your home made versions.

I am not as handy as you guys are when it comes to welding. do you know of any subsoilers that are available that the L3400 could handle? I will be using it on some pretty hard clay soil. 18" deep should be enough for what I need.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

tractor supply sells them -- King Kutter brand -- generally under $150

 

[gabby]

Texasjohn:

That looks like a handy rig. If you plow 12-24" deep, how long a section of flexible plastic pipe can you put in before the friction (or something) on the pipe makes you put in a joint and start over with a new section of pipe? I know the soil matters, and today in Georgia it is so dry that you need a concrete saw to make a trench. But what about sandy loam that is fairly moist?

Thanks.

Hey Farmerford,
Why use flexible pipe? PVC is better pipe, and I plow in PVC pipe all the time. I've pulled as much as 900 feet at a time. I have sandy loam too, and dry soil doesn't affect the pipe much. You might have to make extra passes to get the depth you need before you actually pull the pipe. The subsoiler shank needs to have a sharp edge to slice neatly through the grass. I've posted pictures in past threads but I don't know how to search for them.
gabby

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Just picked up a King Kutter middle buster yesterday at TSC. $125. Took it out and tore up the spot for next year's garden this morning, worked great. I'm fairly sure King Kutter also has a subsoiler/ripper point for that same frame...Pulled it with my JD 2320.

 

[TrippleT]

Here is one I built about a year ago. I cut the cross a bit shorter than the usual implements. Felt like it would give more strength. I put a brace on it for strength.
A stand is a good idea.
I fixed it so that I can use several types of points. Such as a middle buster, or other plows, as well as the subsoiler bit I made for it.