What size plow

[leonz]

The above posts explain in great detail why i suggested a single bottom 12 inch plow to do this job as it would be smooth sailing for him until it broke a shear pin.

Even if he bought abrand new single bottom plow he could probably buy a Weiss conservation tillage share that would allow him to plow 14 inches deep and break the hard pan each and every year and have good loose soil that he could add gypsum and lime too before he plowed it under.

my thoughts on cold sunday afternoon.

 

[nybirdman]

I plow ten acres a year with a 2/12 behind a 44HP Kubota ,did the same with a 31 HP Kubota...4wd for the most part with the smaller tractor.This is in the rocky North east.

 

[nspec]

Leonz, respectfully - you're giving terrible advice. You can't plow 14" deep with a 12" wide bottom. It is generally accepted that the proper depth for a plow to be running is half it's width. Thus, a 12" plow should run 6" deep. Not saying you can't go a couple inches deeper, but there is no way you could plow 14" deep with a single bottom 12" plow.

AND....I stand by my previous statement. A single bottom 12" plow is ludicrous for a 50 horsepower 4wd tractor.

 

[fordoutback]

I have a 40 horse Mahindra 4035 with loaded rears and a FEL. I use an older double 14 Dearborn plow with coulters. This setup has worked excellent for me in previously worked ground and never plowed areas with very thick sod.

 

[DJ54]

There's probably a good reason that Ford plow's points/shares, and moldboard look so good, with the welded hitch. It didn't work so good. A lesson I learned a long time ago when going with uncle's and buddies plow shopping. They'd always look for the one's with those items well worn for two reasons. One reason, it could be bought cheaper, but the main reason, that plow would plow well. That's how it got in that shape.

And rule of thumb around here is, with whatever width share you end up with... Plowing depth is usually set at half the share width. Around here, topsoil thickness varies quite a bit, so most bought plows using that formula, to plow just deep enough to turn the topsoil, not so much on share width, as far as determining how much width was turned.

And I'm not quite sure I understand why someone would want to plow much deeper than that. Most crops I know of grow in 6 - 8" of prepped soil. Any deeper, and you're only making the hardpan further down, and harder to eventually break up. If ever it comes a time you do develop a hardpan, getting a subsoiler, and running diagonal to the direction you moldboard plow will break it up. Much easier to pull one at 9 - 10" deep, than 16 - 18" deep. Plus the fact running way deeper than it was designed for, you loose what I would refer to as the action of the moldboard. Dirt literally going over the top of the moldboard, instead of being turned over, to cover the previous crop residue. It took me a while to convince a buddy of mine who moved out from town, and was complaining of how badly his little A-C CA tractor and plow were doing such a bad job of plowing. It took all of 20 minutes to get it adjusted to get it to plow like it was intended. It would have probably taken less time if he'd been paying attention, and stopped when I wanted him to, to readjust. Just mesmerized buy the turning dirt I reckon'..., LOL...

Also look real close at used plows for bent beams, coulters on it, tail wheel condition, if it has one, etc. And when you find one, and start plowing, go a little slower the first year or so, in case you do find some sizeable rocks, at least on top. Around here, there have been a few work up closer to the top through freeze and thaw cycles over the years. A plow with a bent beam is about worthless.

 

[DJ54]

Oh yeah... fordoutback... I'd love to have your 'tater digger..!!

 

[fordoutback]

I was really lucky the day I found this. It was headed to the scrapyard at one point before the person I got it from decided to use it for a lawn ornament. It was all bent up from being wadded up with a skid-steer and it took me about 10 hours with torches, big pipe wrenches and a sledge hammer to straighten it out and get everything turning the way it should.

 

[Ted Summey]

I agree that a single bottom plow is poor advice for a 50 hp tractor. My FIL used a Massey Ferguson 35 (37 engine hp) and later a MF 135 (45 engine hp) to pull the plow I now use with my Kubota MX5100. It is a Dearborn 2 bottom 14 ". He plowed as much as 25 acres in late fall for tobacco and corn. It took days to get it done with a two bottom plow. With a single bottom he may have been able to plow faster but still likely would have taken days because the speed could not have been double. I have on occasion used the Farmall 140 to pull the two bottom plow in light soil here and it is a 24ish hp tractor.

He taught me that plowing and subsoiling are two different processes. Plowing more than 8" or so deep is difficult in heavy soil and subsoiling is often necessary to break the land prior to plowing. Anything deeper than 8 or so inches tends to waste fuel and time, at least for the crops we plant. Subsoiling deeper is a different matter since pulling a single point subsoiler is somewhat easier than pulling a turning plow.

The idea of plowing 14" deep is not practical where I live. I may have missed it, has the OP said his soil type?

 

[DJ54]

I missed one last fall at an auction for two reason's... I was thinking the sale was a week later, and they did NOT list it in the auction listing. It was buried under "stuff" in a building, and covered up. I'm thinking it went reasonable... I have a search out on AuctionZip, Clazads, and there are some deals... 800 miles away, LOL...

 

[leonz]

Leonz, respectfully - you're giving terrible advice. You can't plow 14" deep with a 12" wide bottom. It is generally accepted that the proper depth for a plow to be running is half it's width. Thus, a 12" plow should run 6" deep. Not saying you can't go a couple inches deeper, but there is no way you could plow 14" deep with a single bottom 12" plow.

AND....I stand by my previous statement. A single bottom 12" plow is ludicrous for a 50 horsepower 4wd tractor.

I disagree, but its fun to talk about anyway. I suggested Weise conservation tillage plow shares as ar eplacement for the stock plow share only because it has good suck AND very low drag due to the design. Several of the National Corn Growing Contest winners use the Weise conservation tillage plows.


Edit: The beauty of the Weise design is that it is mini moldboard plow which reduces the amount of drag while plowing.

www.weiseindustries.com/conservationtillageplows

 

[mikehaugen]

I bought my dearborn 2 bottom 14" from a municipal auction for $200. Everyone thought I was nuts. One guy asked me later when I was loading it up what I paid for it and I told him, he said that was fair but he had bought his for $90 a couple years ago. I have not used it much since I don't have the tires for it, but even with my wide turfs and 2wd I could pull it fairly well if not too deep. I am pretty sure I won't have a problem using it to it's full potential if I ever get around to getting the loaded r1's. BTW, my tractor is 39 engine hp.

 

[fordoutback]

$200 is a real good price as far as I'm concerned. Some of the dealers around here wanted $600 to $700 for one. I wound up paying $350 for mine with the coulters from a local "junk-tion" barn

 

[LouieJunior]

Wondering how an HST transmission works plowing. Is 2 x 14 still a good fit for 40 HP hydro?

 

[oldnslo]

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.

Wow, I never would have guessed the MX5100 was that much lighter than a Ford 5600. From memory the 5600 was around 7000 - 7500 lbs on the scales at the elevator course that was 30+ years ago so can't vouch for that memory..

 

[case245]

yes oldnslo kubota s are to light my 70 hp is 8300ibs

 

[idaho2]

I'm pulling 3 16" and at 8" depth with my Mahindra 5530 4wd Turbo, AG1 tires, no ballast. The plow is a Ford/Dearborn 10-209 with coulters.
Paid $495 from a dealer.



idaho2

 

[nybirdman]

Wondering how an HST transmission works plowing. Is 2 x 14 still a good fit for 40 HP hydro?

HST has worked fine on both my tractors plowing.My plows don't have "trips" ,the HST saved me more than once.

 

[nspec]

I pull mine with a hydro and I have no problems.

One other factor to consider guys. Some plows pull easier than others. I know the Fergusons, Ford/Dearborns, Olivers, and others pull nice and easy. I also know that the John Deere plows are notoriously hard pulling sob's.

 

[MHarryE]

Plows are real soil dependent. Someone said to plow when it's dry. In our soil, forget it. The clay breaks up like boulders. Our farm in Missouri, bottom land, rich black dirt, plows easy. Could pull 3 x 14 with my L5740 no problem. In Northern Minnesota, the 40 where my house is and the 40 across the road, 2 x 14 is all it can do, but it varies from place to place which makes turning on all the control options on the hydro great because it will keep it at peak power across the field with more than 50% speed variation. I had an old Dearborn with cast shares but broke the point on a share last fall and replaced the plow with a King Kutter to finish, didn't notice and difference in plowing seed. The Dearborn had 6 moldboard options - I had the general purpose. But for most of our plowing we use our 7730 Deere with 5 x 14. It loafs at 7 mph but never ave to shift down. The tractor s 150 PTO HP per Nebraska tests or 3 times the PTO HP of the L5740, but with its semi-mounted plow it can get to be a nasty in small crooked fields (major diff between Northeast and Northwest MN) so the CUT with fully mounted plow has its place. So here 25 PTO HP per bottom seems to be adequate, but like I said, our MO farm with loose soil will take about 12 - 15 PTO HP per bottom. And as to the question about a hydro doing the job - the L5740 uses about twice as much fuel per acre as the 7730 with a 20 speed power shift.

 

[newbury]

Wealth of timely info in this thread.
I've the two tractors in my sig, a Kubota B7610 (24HP)and a Kubota M4700 (51HP) both 4WD, and I'm planning on separating them by about 800 to 1,000 miles, but still share implements among them. I think it will be a lot more energy efficient (cheaper) to carry a plow, harrow and pallet forks in the back of my truck vs dragging my trailer all the time. Primary usage will be small vegetable gardens and deer plots, no plans to do acres and acres. I figure with the B7610 I'll have to plow shallow once, then plow a second time deeper.

So I've a few questions on plows -
Is the only downside to using a 1 bottom plow on the bigger tractor the time it takes to do the job?
How important are coulters?
What about gauge wheels?