top recommendations for optimizing berta rotary plow usage

[TwoWheel]

I know a big two wheel tractor with interior wheel spacing of 16-18" is ideal for operating a berta rotary plow but there are a lot of choices within that criteria.

If you were to buy a brand new two-wheeled tractor today and wanted the best overall setup for Berta rotary plow performance, what would you pick:

Grillo 110 or BCS 853?
Gas or Diesel engine?
Single or Swivel rotary plow?
Wheel size? with or without axle extensions?

Your answer will impact whether I would choose a 26" or 34" Berta flail mower but I'd like to give the nod to optimizing the plowing performance first and foremost.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,

Jeff

 

[NibbanaFarm]

You're talking a huge range of $ with those options. And it depends on how much plowing you have to do. I have a 739 and standard rotary plow. I think it works great. I dug my garden by hand for years until it got the best of me. Now I have a rotary plow. If you end up with the standard rotary plow, I highly recommend the mod by Grasshopperranch on youtube. Excellent idea. I did it and have never had a problem with a rock jam. And the soil here in New England is very rocky.

Berta Rotary plow modification - YouTube

 

[TwoWheel]

Hi NibbanaFarm,

I expect to do a lot of plowing, in stages, over many years (converting up to 10 acres from compacted corn and bean fields into gardens and orchards).

Did you upgrade the wheels on your 739? with or without axle extensions? And do you use any supplemental weight (on engine or on wheels or on the plow itself) in order to optimize the handling, balance, and performance?

Thank you for the Grasshopper Ranch video. I'd like to ask them the same questions - in the video, it looks like they may have upgraded to 6.5"W x 12"H wheels with axle extensions and added heavy wheel weights...

I wonder if Earth Tools would make that rock jam modification if I buy this from them (I guess that they would).

 

[NibbanaFarm]

I use the standard stock 5X10 wheels and ag tires. I set the wheels out to (I think) the widest configuration because that's what the rotary plow instructions said to do. I think they're about 25 inches outer sidewall to outer sidewall. More weight always makes the tractor more stable. But it also tends to sink in very soft soil and it's more effort to muscle around. Generally for soil working and mowing the tractor doesn't need the weights. At least for mechanized soil working implements. For snow moving, more weight is always better.

I think Grasshopperranch talks about his wheels in one of his other videos. Sort of remember him saying that they're atv wheels and tires, which were a lot cheaper than the BCS bigger wheels. I'm sure he'd answer an email.

As for the mod, it's very easy, all you need is a hack saw and a drill press. Or even a hand drill would work.

 

[TwoWheel]

Thanks for your feedback.

If anyone else cares to share what they feel would be the best setup (tractor, engine, wheels, axle extensions, supplemental weights, type of rotary plow) in order to achieve peak rotary plow performance please let me know.

I read some things and think it could be a good piece of equipment to invest in and I read other things (wrestling with it, bottoming it out, flipping the whole tractor completely over, etc.) and am wondering what the best two wheel configuration would be to avoid problems.

Thanks again,

Jeff

 

[mpapiary]

Thanks for your feedback.

If anyone else cares to share what they feel would be the best setup (tractor, engine, wheels, axle extensions, supplemental weights, type of rotary plow) in order to achieve peak rotary plow performance please let me know.

I read some things and think it could be a good piece of equipment to invest in and I read other things (wrestling with it, bottoming it out, flipping the whole tractor completely over, etc.) and am wondering what the best two wheel configuration would be to avoid problems.

Thanks again,

Jeff

I use a 735 with 5x10 wheels and 5" axle extensions with a Berta single plow. Not sure about optimum performance, but works well for me. My soil is predominately clay.The plow is a great little tool and would recommend the investment if your converting old field to a garden. Biggest drawback to using it is speed, your only working a small amount of soil each pass. 10 acres would be alot to turn over at 10 inches a pass.

 

[TwoWheel]

Thanks,

Annual garden bed area will be small (<1 acre). Most of the ten acres would not be plowed. Instead, I am thinking about using the plow to prepare rows on contour and planting fruit trees into those rows...

 

[leonz]

You might want to think about the smallest model BCS rotary tiller to add to your one way rotary plow stable and I will tell you why.

The more you break up the soil the further you can throw it with the one way rotary plow. It may take you a few more passes but by using the tiller you will break the soil and in the process it will allow the rotary plow to dig deeper and throw farther and create very tall raised beds which is what you want because the tiller has broken 4 inches in the primary tillage. The more water you use or are blessed with AKA rain the more the ground will loosen up when it is being tilled with the rear tiller.

With the BCS and Grillo being gear driven through the final drive to the rotary plow, rear tine tiller and the flail mower models its case of whether you have preference for diesel or gas.

Its more a case of "where can I get help with a sick 2 wheel mule engine if I need it?".

Having a diesel will require more TLC unless they have compression release as standard equipment too as they will start hard if they are very cold(hint)-this is where the kerosene salamander comes in handy for both engine types. you can leave the salamander for a half hour and the mules engine will barely roll over and come to life like its 90 degrees out.


Dont let anyone kid you, all fuel turns to crap unless its treated and or fresh(less than 90 days old).

Use high test Premium fuel and SeaFoam due to the ethanol crap or ethanol free premium if you can get it.

SeaFoam also helps eliminate gum deposits and keeps the fuel fresh in both gas and diesel engines.

Most all diesel here has the highest cetane rating so no worries there but diesel fuel will have algae growth over time if it is not treated fuel and Sea foam helps prevent that too.


No matter what I use my salamander to warm up my engines completely to make them easier to start and to have warm or hot crankcase oil in the crankcase. A salamander certainly helps when warming up 25 gallons of cold hydraulic oil in a firewood processor for sure as well as the Honda GX340 engine it had.


With a gas engine you want to starve the fuel system-shut the tank and let it die and then open the choke and start it and let it run out again. with diesel its always a good idea to have fresh fuel and drain the tank and let the engine run it out if you are storing it for a long time-if you put a snow clearer on it you wont have to worry about storing it for long periods where you are.

I do not know if the engines Joel uses are indirect or direct injection engines and that may be an issue for you as the indirect injection engines require bleeding when they run out of fuel but the direct injection engines do not require bleeding to get the air out of the fuel system to let them start up.

The smallest kerosene salamander will do the trick for preheating an engine for you(if you do not already own one).


Spend some time thinking about the issue, talk to Joel at Earth Tools and then you can make rational decision. Just remember the more you can break up the ground the further you can throw it to make wide raised beds to create huge areas of soil that will take rain quickly and not let it spill away.

What you want to do is create a levee plowed area giving you ground that is piled on top of tilled ground that will allow root growth and moisture to sink in the ground and a rotary plow will do that for you and if you plant green manure crops you will be able to dig further down in the soil to throw it further to one side to make raised beds just like levee plow.


The other thing about a rear tiller is that it will cultivate quickly after the ground has been further broken by the rotary plow and allow the ground to absorb the rain between cultivating periods unless you want to plant a continuous green manure crop by the fruit trees .

 

[TwoWheel]

I hadn't thought about doing primary tillage with a tiller prior to using the rotary plow but if I do that then more questions come up about the optimal setup since I'd be running the plow over looser/softer soil. I wonder what wheels on the tractor/rotary plow combo would provide for the best flotation (for example, 6.5" wide tires at low pressure or 10" wide balloon tires?)?

 

[farmerboybill]

Don't rototill before rotary plowing. The rotary plow will do the job without using a tiller, and the loose soil will make it more difficult to get forward traction while plowing. You really don't want to overwork the soil because you destroy more soil structure with every pass. I only use a tiller to shallowly till large areas that have gotten away from me. Otherwise, I rotary plow once and use a wheel hoe to keep down the weeds.

To answer your questions -

BCS or Grillo - Either model will do the job asked. It mostly boils down to how much you want to spend and whether you like green or blue.
Gasoline or diesel - again, personal choice. Gasoline has a much lower initial investment, with much lower noise and vibration. Diesels have much better power, better fuel economy, and I just like them.

One way or swivel plow - I have a swivel plow. It's more expensive, but it allows you to only have one dead furrow, and allows you to go either direction.

Tire size - I have a pair of 5-12s. I've heard 6.5-12s are better because they fill the furrow better. I recently acquired a set of rubber hi-speed tracks, but haven't had an opportunity to try them.