What is draft control

[Brady D]

I’ve always wondered what it is everyone I’ve asked doesn’t really know

 

[seville009]

DRAFT CONTROL How does it work?

I have had this on a tractor since 1972, but I don't farm and have often wondered how it works. Does it work? How does the system know what depth your implement is actually at? What effect does this draft setting have if using your 3PH for other applications? I have never noticed a...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[rScotty]

It's for plowing and ground engagement 3pt implements. When it is engaged, it raises the 3pt slightly when you hit a hard spot like a rock. Then lowers it again once you are past.
It can be dangerous because it works by sensing compression on the top link. If the compression stays there - like when using a 3pt hoe - it will continue to raise the 3pt hitch with tremendous force.... smashing anything in the way. Big hazard with 3pt hoes. You will see warning signs in any ag dealer shop.

 

[Brady D]

It's for plowing and ground engagement 3pt implements. When it is engaged, it raises the 3pt slightly when you hit a hard spot like a rock. Then lowers it again once you are past.
It can be dangerous because it works by sensing compression on the top link. If the compression stays there - like when using a 3pt hoe - it will continue to raise the 3pt hitch with tremendous force.... smashing anything in the way. Big hazard with 3pt hoes. You will see warning signs in any ag dealer shop.

Oh that makes sense

 

[Raul-02]

always wondered

That flapper on your wood stove, that rear flap on old school long johns, your ability to say really close to the vehicle in front of you on the highway letting him suck you along,
Oh you mean your tractor.
Gee I think it's some gizmo that is supposed to automatically adjust the position of the implement on the 3-point so it doesn't move up and down as your tractor pitched up and down in the rough ground.

Fer the life of me I can't imagine that they actually work. How's it know where the gound is? What the pitch of the vehicle is?

Ask Tractor Mike

 

[MossRoad]

That flapper on your wood stove, that rear flap on old school long johns, your ability to say really close to the vehicle in front of you on the highway letting him suck you along,
Oh you mean your tractor.
Gee I think it's some gizmo that is supposed to automatically adjust the position of the implement on the 3-point so it doesn't move up and down as your tractor pitched up and down in the rough ground.

Fer the life of me I can't imagine that they actually work. How's it know where the gound is? What the pitch of the vehicle is?

Ask Tractor Mike

That video is incorrect. Position control keeps your implement at the same depth. Draft control actually raises an implement out of the ground, so it cannot be keeping the implement at the same depth.

How draft control works, as explained on my old IH2500b...

There's a triangle formed by three sides:

1- the line of the back of your tractor
2- the line of your lift arms to implement
3- the line of your top link

There's a rock shaft somewhere at the point that your top link connects to your tractor.

Now, let's say you're driving along with a plow in the dirt. You're in soft easy soil, and all of a sudden you come into some harder soil. Your plow has a harder time cutting through the soil, putting drag on the tractor, so the rear wheels start spinning instead of pulling forward.

As the rear wheels spin, they start digging a hole, which lowers the rear of the tractor.

When the rear of the tractor lowers, the implement does not, because it floats.

Since the rear goes down and the implement does not, that puts pressure on your top link. The top link is trying to get shorter but it's solid. It has to maintain the three legs of the triangle. The implement pushes the top link against the rock shaft. The rock shaft activates the 3 point hitch to lift the implement out of the ground. It keeps lifting until the plow comes out of the ground enough to allow the rear tractor tires to stop digging a hole and start moving forward enough to allow the pressure on the rock shaft to diminish and it lowers the plow back into the ground, eventually back to the pre-determined depth that your position control was set at, unless it hits hard dirt again.

The plow causes a constant push and relax on the top link, depending on soil conditions.

You can manually set the sensitivity of the draft control to react faster or slower to conditions.

So, to summarize:

Draft control keeps your tractor from burying the rear tires by raising and lowering the implement as soil conditions change.

Position control allows the implement to drop to a preset depth and no more.

 

[big bubba]

so my question is for utility use not requiring fully engaged draft control, lever up or down when not needed?
always have mine fully engaged, maybe that's not recommended no issues either way.
heavy duty utility tractor hydraulics so far are bullet proof, but good question from OP i don't plow much

 

[DK35vince]

Draft Control: What is it and How is it Used? – Your Local Farmer

 

[Brady D]

That video is incorrect. Position control keeps your implement at the same depth. Draft control actually raises an implement out of the ground, so it cannot be keeping the implement at the same depth.

How draft control works, as explained on my old IH2500b...

There's a triangle formed by three sides:

1- the line of the back of your tractor
2- the line of your lift arms to implement
3- the line of your top link

There's a rock shaft somewhere at the point that your top link connects to your tractor.

Now, let's say you're driving along with a plow in the dirt. You're in soft easy soil, and all of a sudden you come into some harder soil. Your plow has a harder time cutting through the soil, putting drag on the tractor, so the rear wheels start spinning instead of pulling forward.

As the rear wheels spin, they start digging a hole, which lowers the rear of the tractor.

When the rear of the tractor lowers, the implement does not, because it floats.

Since the rear goes down and the implement does not, that puts pressure on your top link. The top link is trying to get shorter but it's solid. It has to maintain the three legs of the triangle. The implement pushes the top link against the rock shaft. The rock shaft activates the 3 point hitch to lift the implement out of the ground. It keeps lifting until the plow comes out of the ground enough to allow the rear tractor tires to stop digging a hole and start moving forward enough to allow the pressure on the rock shaft to diminish and it lowers the plow back into the ground, eventually back to the pre-determined depth that your position control was set at, unless it hits hard dirt again.

The plow causes a constant push and relax on the top link, depending on soil conditions.

You can manually set the sensitivity of the draft control to react faster or slower to conditions.

So, to summarize:

Draft control keeps your tractor from burying the rear tires by raising and lowering the implement as soil conditions change.

Position control allows the implement to drop to a preset depth and no more.

Good explanation

 

[oosik]

I used draft control - ONCE - on my M6040. Too many rocks to allow it to be effective.