What size plow

[OrangeToys]

About to buy a used turn plow for my Kubota MX5100 HST R4s but I want to make sure I don't get to big. What size do you all think I should go for? I don't know anything about them other than the 1,2,3 bottom. What's the 12-16" and how does it affect a plow?

 

[Reyer Farms]

I run a two bottom with 14" mold boards with my 5010 Mahindra. It is a pretty good pull in new ground, but great when I can plow when conditions are favorable or in previously worked soil. Tractor gearing and proper set up are important to easy straight plowing.

 

[leonz]

About to buy a used turn plow for my Kubota MX5100 HST R4s but I want to make sure I don't get to big.
What size do you all think I should go for? I don't know anything about them other than the 1,2,3 bottom.
What's the 12-16" and how does it affect a plow?

A single 12 inch plow with a disc or fluted coulter will be your best friend.

Plowing in the fall when everything is still dry is your friend

Plowing and harrowing a week before planting in June is your friend


NOW;


The terms you need to understand are:

For the tractor are;
adjustable Top link
Lower left link
Non Adjustble lower right link
Adjustable lower right link


For the plow they are :

Furrow
Dead furrow
On land plow
In furrow plow
two way or Rollover plow
Mechanical right furrow rotary plow
MechanIcaL left and right furrow rotary plow
Disc Coulter
fluted Coulter
landside
Plow point
plow share
Plow suck
Shear pin
Shin
Trashboards
Wear plates
Wear pads
Moldboard
Moldboard Plow
Coulter
Disc Coulter
Fluted Coulter
Drag
Plow width being at the bottom edge being 12-14-16-18........inches
In furrow depth guage wheel


The disc or fluted coulter cuts the sod or broken
ground directly in front of the plow share.

The moldboard folds the dirt over as the coulter wheel and plow share cuts it as it advances

The amount of surface area a plow moldboard has affects the amount
of drag it creates when it is sucking into the ground.

The adjustable top link will determine the angle the first share enters the soil and then the rest follow suit.

The adjustable lower right link affects the geometry of the attachment connected to it where if the lower link
was cranked all the way in it would force the ground engaging attachment it would be at its lowest possible point/depth
in the furrow.

The narrower the width the of the plowshare the less drag; The plow with a disc or fluted coulter reduces the drag even further
by cutting a slit the depth of the plow plow to aid in plowing and reducing drag by creating a path for the plow point and share to follow.

The trash board rolls the trash left from the harvest over into the furrow (if you are lucky) and it is not clogged up with the field trash-corn cobs/stubble.

I am sure I forgot a few things, but you have to understand that the less resistance you create with a single moldboard and disc or fluted coulter the better. :cool2:

A rotary tiller does this in one step as long as you use a slow speed of advance.

A two wheel tractor can do this in one step while also building a raised bed at the same time.

 

[OrangeToys]

How do you think this would handle?

 

[nspec]

Leonz: a single 12 is ridiculous for a 50hp tractor, c'mon! I pull a single 16 with 26hp. Give the guy some decent advice.

A two bottom plow on an mx5100 would be great. I believe a few guys pull 3 bottoms with that tractor, but in my opinion, it doesn't have the weight behind it for that. A two bottom with 14" moldboards would be my #1 choice. Don't know your soil type, but this should enable you to move along easy and quick enough to do a fine job of actually turning the soil over. Lots of guys say they can 'pull' a bigger plow, but in reality they aren't pulling it fast enough to do a proper job.

That picture looks light you're on the right track.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Your tractor would handle that plow just fine. I use one almost identical to that one, and my tractor is much smaller than yours, 34 hp. By the way, that is a very nice plow, Ford 101 I think. It is trip plow, not a shear pin version, very handy.

 

[OrangeToys]

I didn't know plow tripped?

 

[allen in texas]

two 14's would be good. Probably wouldn't have any trouble with two 16's.

A 12 inch? c'mon.
I pulled a 14" two bottom with a 32 hp tractor (engine) and I now pull a three bottom rollover with a 59 hp tractor. (again, engine hp)
There are some old "rules of thumb" One of them is "1 hp for every inch of bottom". Therefore, two 14's would take 28 HP, two 16's would take 32 HP. The plow you picture would be fine behind your tractor.
my $.02
I put this in another thread but here's a video of my tractor pulling three 14 inch bottoms.
sorry for the bad quality.
Oliver plow - YouTube

" Lots of guys say they can 'pull' a bigger plow, but in reality they aren't pulling it fast enough to do a proper job."

nspec, how about my speed in the video? never below 4 mph and occasionally as high as 4.7 mph. (too fast actually) my soil is sandy loam.
You are correct though, a plow needs to be pulled at a proper speed.



tripping plow...
it is an over center device, or a spring loaded device that holds the plow in place. It you hit something buried in the ground, the plow will trip out before damaging something. You generally set the plow on the ground and back up to reset it. A shear bolt plow has a bolt that hold the shank in place. Hit something, the bolt breaks and releases the bottom before something is damaged. You push it back in place, (or hammer it) replace the bolt and you are on your merry way. There are several different methods to the same end but they are all to prevent damage.
PS looks like the hitch has be replaced on the plow you pictured. I'd look for another plow. That hitch is welded solid. A correct hitch is adjustable and allows you to adjust the way the plow trails the tractor. Very important. A well adjusted plow pulls easier.

 

[oldnslo]

In ighter soil you probably could pull 3-14's if you have enough weight on the front to lift a fully mounted plow. Semi-mounted 3-14 should be no problem. Used to use a pull type 3-14's with a 5600 Ford breaking sod. This had R1 ag tires full of fluid but was not FWD.

 

[nspec]

Allen: your speed looked good to me. I've seen those videos where the guys are just crawling and the sod isn't being turned over well. Too much plow, you know?

Also, I agree with you 100% about the hitch being replaced on the plow in that picture. That was the first thing I noticed. The 'back half' looks to be a Ford 101. Great plow, parts are cheap and readily available. You could never set that plow up properly though with the hitch being welded solid. I always make little adjustments to mine while I'm plowing to get it to run just right. Especially at the beginning. That's part of the fun of plowing!!

Oldnslow: Tractor weight is a huge factor as you know with regards to how much plow you can pull. That Ford is over 2,000 lbs heavier than the Kubota mx5100 in question. The Kubota does have 4wd though, although the r-4's won't be as good as ag tires. Lots of factors to consider.

 

[npalen]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned depth but that can be a large determining factor in the draft requirement of a moldboard. Running any shallower than 6" depth is just "chicken scratchin'".

 

[case245]

i say a 2 bottom plow i pulled a single with a 21hp case ih it would spin if the rock i hit was 100ibs or heavier i pulled out 300iber with the setup broke shear pins pulling out the big rocks and all you need to know is TOP LINK ADJUSTMENT turn the top link intowards the tractor to go deeper or outwards to bring the plow back out of the ground i wouldnt try a 3 bottom that to much in hard soil and to hit 2 rocks at once

 

[ENG18LT]

I am pulling 2-14s with smooth coulters behind a Mahindra 5530 with little issues. Traction is going to be your biggest battle. I have R1s, loaded, and FEL, weighs in around 9200 lbs. Most of the time 2wd is fine, unless I hit a soft/wet spot. I had looked at the mx5100 when tractor shopping, nice machine, but I was concerned about traction when plowing, discing, pulling logs, etc. Would love to hear how you make out plowing. Best of luck to you.

 

[case245]

9200ibs for a mahindra 5530 is that a 55 hp tractor my 70 hp 7040sud weights 8300ibs on the scale a 9540 weights 9300ibs

 

[ENG18LT]

9200ibs for a mahindra 5530 is that a 55 hp tractor my 70 hp 7040sud weights 8300ibs on the scale a 9540 weights 9300ibs

That is correct, and one of the reasons I went with it.

 

[Ted Summey]

Has the OP mentioned soil type? That will be a big factor! 2 12s or 2 14s is what I recommend.

I have a Kubota MX5100f 2wd gear model. In the red clay here it takes most of 50 hp to pull a 2-14" bottom plow at 6 or 8 inches deep. That's with position and draft control. Lighter soils will plow easier of course. With heavy land you need to have the right amount of moisture for it to turn properly. Too much and you spin because it is wet, too dry and you spin cause the soil is too tight.

I couldn't pull three 14s with the MX5100 in our soil.

 

[npalen]

I recall my Dad's plowing lineup on our Kansas wheat farm consisting of an RD6 CAT pulling a 5x16, an International WD9 Super pulling a 4x16 and a D2 CAT pulling a 3x16. One year we tried adding the 8N Ford with it's 2x14 but it just couldn't "hack it" and the draft control was constantly lifting the 3PT to maintain ground speed. The exhaust ran under the floorboard which would get hot enough to burn your foot and set stubble on fire. We were plowing mostly in wheat stubble but also some summer fallow ground. Light to heavy clay soil and 6" to 8" depth. This was back in the 50's.

 

[Verticaltrx]

2-14" bottoms is about standard for a 40hp utility tractor. That is about what you should be looking at, 2-16's are probably too much. The only issue is your R4 tires, not great traction at too wide to properly fit in the furrow. Traditionally, most tractors using a 2-14 plow had 12.4 or 13.6 wide tires, 14.9s are ok too, but that's about the limit for a 14" furrow.

 

[OrangeToys]

Forgot yo add that my tires are loaded (about 1,000lbs) with leader. Soil type is a little rocky but the further south you go more rock and bigger.

 

[allen in texas]

I plowed with r4 tires on my 3240. I never had a traction problem with my two bottom unless I buried it. My tires were loaded. They were on the verge of being too wide. When I traded tractors I went with r1 13.6 x 28. I didn't do it just for plowing, It turns out that most of the stuff I did with my tractor was more suitable for r1 tires. I simply made a mistake when I bought my first tractor in tire choice.
Weight...
The r1s an my 5740 are loaded and I also have 321 pounds per side of cast weight on them and a loader on the tractor. Before I added the weight, I spun on just about everything I did. It was aggravating so I added weight. The tractor will still spin but it pulls a whole lot more before it does and of course it's 4wd. I need to weigh my tractor so I know exactly what it weighs.

It was mentioned that your tires may be a problem. Maybe, maybe not. I know the tires on your tractor are bigger than the r4's I had on my little tractor but I don't know how much. But here is something to consider...
there are large ag tractors that have huge wide tires on them. They are much too wide for the furrow but farmers use them all the time. Doesn't seem to cause a problem.
I say find yourself a good 2 bottom 14 inch plow and make us some videos.