PondCreekFarm
Member
I pull a two bottom plow with a kubota l3130. The front board keeps clogging up and generally seems to do less than the rear board. Why is this? Am I setting it wrong?
setting two bottom plow
- Thread starter PondCreekFarm
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Farmwithjunk
Super Member
PondCreekFarm said:
We need a better description and/or PICTURES. Not really sure what the problem is.
Too deep? Too shallow? Coulters? Coulters not in proper alignment? Track width of tractor not right? (Usually too narrow on most compacts) Shares worn? Plow out of level side to side? Not level front to rear?
Infinate possibilities......
N80
Super Member
Having approached this problem as a total novice recently, and experiencing some of the same problems, all I can tell you is to play with it. The two things that seem to make the most difference to me are 1) top link length and 2) side to side spacing of the plow.
For the top link, it needs to be adjusted so that the front and back moldboards engage the ground at the same 'time'. If it is too short, the front will engage a lot, and the rear less. If it is too long, just the opposite.
But even that is modified by the side-to-side adjustment. That has to be made so that when one side of the tractor is in a furrow made by the previous pass, both boards are engaging at the same height and angle.
You can also make some adjustment in the lift arm height.
Again, I'm a total noob at this and probably not explaining it right. I just futzed around with it until it was right. But, when its right, you'll know it. Its a beautiful thing!
If possible, take some pics and let us see what is going on.
For the top link, it needs to be adjusted so that the front and back moldboards engage the ground at the same 'time'. If it is too short, the front will engage a lot, and the rear less. If it is too long, just the opposite.
But even that is modified by the side-to-side adjustment. That has to be made so that when one side of the tractor is in a furrow made by the previous pass, both boards are engaging at the same height and angle.
You can also make some adjustment in the lift arm height.
Again, I'm a total noob at this and probably not explaining it right. I just futzed around with it until it was right. But, when its right, you'll know it. Its a beautiful thing!
If possible, take some pics and let us see what is going on.
Solo
Platinum Member
I don't know what kind of plow you have, but here is a site Worksaver Small Tillage Equipment that you can download a manual. Just scroll down through to the double bottom plow. This might help a little.
Solo
Solo
schmism
Super Member
FWJ, weres your "how to set up a plow thread?"
i used it when setting up mine. but to be honest. what worked best for me was good ol t&e.
Nothing like just dropping the plow down and makeing some passes and see what its doing, makeing an adjustment and makeing a few more passes.
The trick is, once you get it cutting well, remembering what you did, how far out you had the top link, were you shifted it left/right on your 3pt, how much side to side tilt you had etc.
i used it when setting up mine. but to be honest. what worked best for me was good ol t&e.
Nothing like just dropping the plow down and makeing some passes and see what its doing, makeing an adjustment and makeing a few more passes.
The trick is, once you get it cutting well, remembering what you did, how far out you had the top link, were you shifted it left/right on your 3pt, how much side to side tilt you had etc.
oldgoat2
Bronze Member
Make sure the moldboard is well scoured all the way to the top. Use a steel brush wheel on a 9" right angle grinder to make the job easy.
On level ground, lower the plow to just above the ground. Make the front points of both moldboards the same clearance height. The back of the shear should be an inch or so higher overall. If the shear point is made to dip down, just be sure the overall angle of the length of the shear is slightly lower in front. If this is not the case, there may be some adjustment on each moldboard to get it there. If not, skip to other replies to this thread.
On the first round, set the depth you want at the rear tail wheel. Adjust the front for the amount of ridge you want to deal with.
After the first round, set the front to fill the furrow completely. Most plows work best, especially concerning filling the dead furrow, at a certain speed depending on soil type and moisture content. My 9 bottom works perfect at 5.5MPH in our soils. My guess is a 2 bottom would work best in the 3-3.5MPH range.
Hope this is not too far off. Good luck!
On level ground, lower the plow to just above the ground. Make the front points of both moldboards the same clearance height. The back of the shear should be an inch or so higher overall. If the shear point is made to dip down, just be sure the overall angle of the length of the shear is slightly lower in front. If this is not the case, there may be some adjustment on each moldboard to get it there. If not, skip to other replies to this thread.
On the first round, set the depth you want at the rear tail wheel. Adjust the front for the amount of ridge you want to deal with.
After the first round, set the front to fill the furrow completely. Most plows work best, especially concerning filling the dead furrow, at a certain speed depending on soil type and moisture content. My 9 bottom works perfect at 5.5MPH in our soils. My guess is a 2 bottom would work best in the 3-3.5MPH range.
Hope this is not too far off. Good luck!
N80
Super Member
I'm with you on the trial and error Steve. It works and doesn't take too much time.
I'm not sure what brand of plow mine is, but its a typical modern, low end deal like KK or Howse. What's nice about it (and maybe every other kind as well) is that the whole thing rides on a bar that goes between your lower lift arms. So all you have to do is loosen a bolt and the whole thing slides side-to-side. This makes it easy to adjust so that the right rear tire rides in the left most furrow you made with the last pass and the front moldboard rolls the dirt right into the furrow the right rear is riding in.
The picture below shows the plow.....it is not set up properly in the photo.
I'm not sure what brand of plow mine is, but its a typical modern, low end deal like KK or Howse. What's nice about it (and maybe every other kind as well) is that the whole thing rides on a bar that goes between your lower lift arms. So all you have to do is loosen a bolt and the whole thing slides side-to-side. This makes it easy to adjust so that the right rear tire rides in the left most furrow you made with the last pass and the front moldboard rolls the dirt right into the furrow the right rear is riding in.
The picture below shows the plow.....it is not set up properly in the photo.
Eric_Phillips
Platinum Member
My understanding was that you want the bottome of the plow to pull flat and straight as compared to the ground not the tractor. So after your first pass you are riding with one tire in the furrow which causes the tractor to lean. I was told to put blocks under the highside the same height as the depth of your furrow and then adjust the bottom of the plow to be flat on the ground as decribed above. this means you need two setups, one for the first pull and the second for the rest of the field. Since I was only doing about 2 acres to get it ready for pasture I didn't worry about the first pull setup. I am no farmer. This is what I ws told and it worked pretty good for me.
OP
PondCreekFarm
Member
Thanks for all the advice. I will try to get a good set up this weekend and will try to get some pics while I am at it.
N80
Super Member
You'll know when you get it right. Your tractor will purr and the chorus of Beethoven's 9th will echo in your head!
Image:Ode to joy.ogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image:Ode to joy.ogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
OP
PondCreekFarm
Member
OK Guys here's what I found: (1) the top link was too long and the rear shear was engaqging first; (2) the whole thing needs to be moved left so that a full cut is taken by the front plow; (3) the front shear point was broken off. I have some work to do and then we will see. I am wondering if the coulters are encouraging crop residue and mud to build up. I may remove them and see if that makes any difference too.
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
PondCreekFarm said:
If your coulters are set RIGHT, they'll PREVENT crop residue from building up. That's 75% of the reason why they're there in the first place. Make certain they're set 3/8" to 3/4" to the LEFT of the leading edge of the shin, and cutting only 2" or 3" deep when the plow is at full depth. They'll slice through that crop residue and leave a clean cut for the shin to work through.
A plow SHOULD be centered on it's DRAFT LINE. That's generally 4" to the left of the total cutting width. Then the right rear wheel should be set to clear the lead bottom. Translated, a 2X14" plow's draft line is 18" from the extreme right side of it's cutting width. The top link SHOULD be straight back in line with the center line of the tractor. Then the right rear wheel SHOULD be 18" (to 20") inches FROM the center of the tractor to the INSIDE of the sidewall.
It's not unusual for a plow to be set to fit the tractor's width, but done CORRECTLY, the TRACTOR's width is set to fit the PLOW.
By setting the plow to the left in order to clear the inside of the right wheel, you MAY get the plow too far to the left, making it tend to force the tractor to the right when the plow is in the ground.
OP
PondCreekFarm
Member
When I checked the setting, what I found was that the rear plow cut great, and rarely clogged up. The front on, however, was only cutting about ten inches to the left of the previous furrow. I simply hooked the plow up and left the pins out of the arms so that the plow has quite a bit of play if it needs it.
I am not certain that I can adjust my tractor to the specifications, but I am not adverse to the idea if I know how to do it. Is moving the assembly left on the bar that the lift arms attach to a bad idea? I need to find a way to get the front board to turn more dirt or I am really just using a 1.25 bottom plow aren't I?
I do not know if this matters, but the plow is a 1950's ford (blue) with boards that are spring-loaded and break away if I hit something. They also have an extra curved top that seems to cause the dirt to roll over better when everything is working right. I really want to get this right because I remember as a kid how cool it was to plow and have it all work. Then I was using a Ford 8N and my grandpa set it all up before sending me out. I should have paid better attention.
I am not certain that I can adjust my tractor to the specifications, but I am not adverse to the idea if I know how to do it. Is moving the assembly left on the bar that the lift arms attach to a bad idea? I need to find a way to get the front board to turn more dirt or I am really just using a 1.25 bottom plow aren't I?
I do not know if this matters, but the plow is a 1950's ford (blue) with boards that are spring-loaded and break away if I hit something. They also have an extra curved top that seems to cause the dirt to roll over better when everything is working right. I really want to get this right because I remember as a kid how cool it was to plow and have it all work. Then I was using a Ford 8N and my grandpa set it all up before sending me out. I should have paid better attention.
Farmwithjunk
Super Member
PondCreekFarm said:When I checked the setting, what I found was that the rear plow cut great, and rarely clogged up. The front on, however, was only cutting about ten inches to the left of the previous furrow. I simply hooked the plow up and left the pins out of the arms so that the plow has quite a bit of play if it needs it.
I am not certain that I can adjust my tractor to the specifications, but I am not adverse to the idea if I know how to do it. Is moving the assembly left on the bar that the lift arms attach to a bad idea? I need to find a way to get the front board to turn more dirt or I am really just using a 1.25 bottom plow aren't I?
I do not know if this matters, but the plow is a 1950's ford (blue) with boards that are spring-loaded and break away if I hit something. They also have an extra curved top that seems to cause the dirt to roll over better when everything is working right. I really want to get this right because I remember as a kid how cool it was to plow and have it all work. Then I was using a Ford 8N and my grandpa set it all up before sending me out. I should have paid better attention.
With many compact tractors, you're somewhat limited with rear wheel "track" width settings. If that's the case, you'll have to adjust the plow's "width of cut" some to compensate.
I'm going to take a wild guess here, and speculate that what you're referring to as an "extra curved top" might be "cover boards" (AKA trash boards) that are intended to throw surface crop residue into the open furrow ahead of each bottom so the plow can better cover them. If that's the case, the coulters need to be set even wider. They need to run 3/4" to 1-1/4" to the left of the leading edge of the shin. (towards the "land side" and away from the "furrow side")
Back in the day, ALL tractors were designed with plowing as a major consideration. Not many tractors were sold that DIDN'T end up pulling a plow at some point. Today, even what's considered a "farm tractor" PROBABLY won't do much moldboard plowing. Many utility tractors and MOST compacts aren't designed with pulling a plow as a major consideration. 3-point hitches need some side to side float and clearance to do so. Rear wheel track width needs to be adjustable, or at a minimum, wide enough to allow a plow to be set centered on its draft line. Without these design criteria in place, you're left to compromise. The plow may HAVE to run a few inches to the left of being on center. The 3-point may HAVE to be "stabilized" somewhat to keep from contacting the draft arms. The "rules for adjusting a plow" I've been commenting on are "perfect world" scenario. In the end, you have to do whatever works.
But... If you can adjsut the coulters near what I mentioned, you should have considerably less trouble with trash plugging. (also make certain you don't have the coulters too deep.)
OP
PondCreekFarm
Member
I really appreciate all of the help. I will try to put it to good use tomorrow.
