Plow day

[nra1ifer]

Originally Posted by john hall

OK, guess I was just overthinking getting the field level. I do have a couple questions about plowing with those Brinly plows.

How does a fellow maintain depth without a gauge wheel? Especially in a field (not a garden plot) where soil conditions can vary. Our plows had a gauge wheel in addition to the load and depth control on the tractor.

So why is it the 4xx Deeres seem to plow deeper and faster. Are they just that much bigger, better weighted/proportioned?

I highly doubt I'll ever plow with any of our Cadets, but it is pretty cool seeing you guys do so, just trying to understand the ins and outs a little more.

Re: your gauge wheel question..... when you are setting up your plow, the goal is to get a nice clean furrow 5 or 6 inches deep, and the plow share will be running level (front to rear) at that depth, and trailing straight behind the tractor... not trying to dig deeper and not trying to come up out of the ground. When it's level like that, the tip of the plow share is able to cut through the dirt like butter. If you can imagine the plow share with the tip still angling down at that depth, somewhere you'll reach the limit of travel on your hitch, but the plow will still be trying to dig deeper and deeper. Your GT will keep trying to pull that, until you can't go any more.

If/when you get the plow set up correctly, the more power you have, the faster you can go. For me, though, it is not a race...... you want to go at a pace where the ground will lay over nicely....too slow and you won't get a clean furrow to travel through on the next pass; too fast .... well, to me it's obvious when you hit that sweet spot of a well-adjusted plow and a good-running tractor where it's not getting beat to death. I have seen some guys that might get a good setup on their plow, but then they want to go so fast that they almost throw the dirt onto the top of a previous furrow..... looked like a bass boat going through the water with a rooster-tail wake!

I am going to add a link to an owner's manual for a Brinly sleeve hitch plow. It has some good setup instructions and diagrams.

http://www.brinly.com/graphics/manuals/PP_51BH.pdf

Even a well-adjusted plow will work better if it is clean. When you get finished plowing and want to store the plow, it needs to be washed off, dried, and coated with something to keep it from rusting. I use bearing grease and smear a light coat over the face of the plow. A little wipe before the next use will do, and it won't take many feet of plowing for that mirror finish to be seen again.

Hope all this helps explain it a little better.

Plowing is my favorite part of gardening!...... well..... until it's time to eat the results of the garden....... in between is a LOT of work!

[IliketheRedcubs]

Originally Posted by drcjv

Darrell over the years I have seen several 2182s plowing. I have also seen 1872s and 2072s plowing and they seemed to do fine. I have only used my diesels to plow but a few weeks ago there were a number of gas supers plowing at PA plow day.

Originally Posted by Oak

One thing I found at a pd is when you have a nice clean furrow to work with it makes plowing so much easier. I also found that the Deere guys like to run behind you when you have a clean furrow like this.
Attachment 84387

That way they can run right up on you and make their little green machines look tough. Then when you get to the end of the row and motion them ahead of you they elect to stay behind you. I can keep up with the 400 Deere machines on my SGT's and probably my 882. As the others have said, setup is the key to success.

One thing I learned at the pd's I've been to....stay the hell away from Sears machines. The ones I've been behind were horrible.

Originally Posted by nra1ifer

Re: your gauge wheel question..... when you are setting up your plow, the goal is to get a nice clean furrow 5 or 6 inches deep, and the plow share will be running level (front to rear) at that depth... not trying to dig deeper and not trying to come up out of the ground. When it's level like that, the tip of the plow share is able to cut through the dirt like butter. If you can imagine the plow share with the tip still angling down at that depth, somewhere you'll reach the limit of travel on your hitch, but the plow will still be trying to dig deeper and deeper. Your GT will keep trying to pull that, until you can't go any more.

If/when you get the plow set up correctly, the more power you have, the faster you can go. For me, though, it is not a race...... you want to go at a pace where the ground will lay over nicely....too slow and you won't get a clean furrow to travel through on the next pass; too fast .... well, to me it's obvious when you hit that sweet spot of a well-adjusted plow and a good-running tractor where it's not getting beat to death.

I am going to add a link to an owner's manual for a Brinly sleeve hitch plow. It has some good setup instructions and diagrams.

http://www.brinly.com/graphics/manuals/PP_51BH.pdf

Hope all this helps explain it a little better.

Plowing is my favorite part of gardening!...... well..... until it's time to eat the results of the garden....... in between is a LOT of work!

Okay, I'm thinking I was going to deep... It is true I was leaving one of the best clean furrows of the pack... I may not have my plow set up correctly. Todd, Charles and nra1ifer, maybe if you could send me a picture of how you have the pins on the plow or close up of the rear of the tractor... I'd be interested in seeing yours... I did the 4 x 4 trick and had it level and so on... I've plowed 1000's of acres over the years but we didn't use these little plows... I'm going to have to make a point of coming to a couple of the popular plow days down in PA or close to there and see how the "professionals" do it...

[nra1ifer]

I went back and edited/added a couple of things....

And, if you are using a three-point hitch, the goal is still the same: a plow that is going through the dirt at the right depth and with as little up/down and side-to-side friction as possible.
On your bigger "real" tractors, power can overcome a plow that is not set as well as it could be. Doesn't take too long to eat up a lot of extra fuel, though.

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by john hall

So why is it the 4xx Deeres seem to plow deeper and faster. Are they just that much bigger, better weighted/proportioned?

Well.... I don't know if they can necessarily plow deeper.... but the 4XX Deere's do have a 2 speed gearbox with their hydrostat which gives them much better torque. Plus, a 4XX Deere is heavier, and has a higher trans housing, so it has better clearance, and they have a wider stance, so you get better traction. Get those wheels where they need to be. I love my Cadets, but those green machines are a little better built.... Lets give credit where it's due. The 4XX Deere's are great small tractors.

[drcjv]

Darrell my plows are off the tractors and all packed away until next year. I can tell you the way I set them up was following the manual for the brinly plow and they work great.

[Terry C]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Well.... I don't know if they can necessarily plow deeper.... but the 4XX Deere's do have a 2 speed gearbox with their hydrostat which gives them much better torque. Plus, a 4XX Deere is heavier, and has a higher trans housing, so it has better clearance, and they have a wider stance, so you get better traction. Get those wheels where they need to be. I love my Cadets, but those green machines are a little better built.... Lets give credit where it's due. The 4XX Deere's are great small tractors.

Ive never seen one plow. Do they run the gearbox on the low side then run the hydro like almost full speed? That would be a big advantage IMHO.
Most guys by me that have one treat it like a show car, just show it off and not do anything with it.

[J-Mech]

Gear box between the hydro and the differential. Where a CC's reduction drive is. The Deere's high gear is basically the same as a CC. Then it has a low range. Huge advantage.

[nra1ifer]

one of my brothers has a JD 455 (his is diesel, are they all?). It is a very nice tractor and I would love to have one like it.

[J-Mech]

All 455's are diesel. 445's were gas.