Problems if you get an attachment that's too small for your tractor?

[Farmwithjunk]

Width in inches X MPH, divide by 10 will give you 10 hours worth of acreage. Divide by 10 AGAIN and get 1 hours worth. That equates to 1.4 acres per hour @ 5MPH and a 2X14" plow. That doesn't include "wasted motion" like turning and wheel spin. Factor in 10 to 15% for that.

After a good bit of searching in my office, I found a copy of a study done by Ohio State University AG Dept. back in the early 1970's. It gave their "magic formula" for figuring acreage covered by typical tillage implements per hour. The formula works with ANY sort of tractor drawn implements, not just tillage tools. I pulled this article out of a copy of "Prarie Farmer" magazine.

Width of implement (in inches) X MPH divided by 100 = per hour coverage. Wheel spin, turns, ect. reduce efficiency. Estimate percentage of wasted motion. Let's say it's 10%. With that, you take width (in inches) X MPH divide by 110. (100 + the "10%") It works out to a very accurate estimation in most cases. The only arbitrary figure is the percentage of wasted motion. Bigger fields (with less turns per acre) tend to lower the wasted time factor. Smaller implements on bigger tractors reduce the wheel spin percentage. In the case of implements that "overlap" previously worked ground, you need to use the width actually being worked, and NOT the width of the implement. (i.e. a 10' disc that's lapping over a foot into the last pass would use 9' (108") in the formula)

The purpose of their formula was to help determine that wasted motion percentage. By taking actual amount of acreage worked in an hour, and dividing it by (width X MPH) you can determine that final part of the equasion. Amount beyond 100 is the percentage of lost effort. The study was originally done to create a simple method of determining traction efficiency with different brands of tractor tires.

Fast, easy, and accurate formula.

 

[charlesw]

Easy there Charlie, you are the one that first said it was going to take 8 hours to plow 2 acres!!!! Hahahahaha!!!! With a horse maybe!!!!

Well, and, obviously, with plenty of time left over to clean the plows!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

How do you keep the shares from rusting?
Bob

When I'm done with the plow, I scrape off all the dirt that will come off, then take plain ol' grease on a rag and wipe down the wear surfaces. The plow spends its winters in my shop out of the weather. Rusty plows EAT horsepower.

 

[Soundguy]

! Besides, come on, man! Who is running a plow through thick clay at 5 mph??
...

Depending on make and design.. some plows clean and scour better at 'medium' speed.. vs slow speed.

On a ford 8n... '2nd' gear, not '1st', was plowin' gear. ( 2nd gear will run up to 5.4 mph... )

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Depending on make and design.. some plows clean and scour better at 'medium' speed.. vs slow speed.

On a ford 8n... '2nd' gear, not '1st', was plowin' gear. ( 2nd gear will run up to 5.4 mph... )

Soundguy

Somewhere along about 1950, plus or minus a few years, most plow makers started building "high speed plows". That was considered anything over 3-1/2 or 4 MPH. Tractors were getting more powerfull. Plows were trying to keep pace. What made them "high speed" was the contour of the moldboard for the most part. Take an older plow and try to go fast and the dirt/sod would literally flip completely over and end up "green side up" again.

 

[Doc_Bob]

When I'm done with the plow, I scrape off all the dirt that will come off, then take plain ol' grease on a rag and wipe down the wear surfaces. The plow spends its winters in my shop out of the weather. Rusty plows EAT horsepower.

How do you remove the wee bit of rust when you get some? Do you ever get rust? Does the rust just come off after you plow for awhile? Does your plow get shinier with time and use?
Bob

 

[Farmwithjunk]

How do you remove the wee bit of rust when you get some? Do you ever get rust? Does the rust just come off after you plow for awhile? Does your plow get shinier with time and use?
Bob

I don't let it rust if I can help it. Clean and grease right after using.


Every now and then, a little surface rust might form, but a few seconds of flipping dirt wears that right off.


In a few acres, you can get quite a shine on the bottoms. The ones on that Deere plow are fairly new. They've got about 15 acres use so far. They're just starting to wear slick. I've seen moldboards that looked like a mirror.

 

[Fredex]

Lot of farmers around here keep an old 3 or 4 bottom plow around for terrace maintenance - plow the dirt uphill every fall to counteract erosion & maintain normal terrace height. Most of those old plows are now being used behind 100 hp or more - the small farm tractor of the 21st. century. Haven't heard of damage issues from too much hp. However if too much hp for the implement is a concern, I would try this: gear up & throttle down - pick a gear that is about 6-7 mph at full throttle, then pull the rpms back to about 4 mph. Won't be most efficient for the engine but would limit available drawbar/3pt pull in the event of hitting something. I personally would just let'er go, but I don't have rocks or stumps.
Fred