Opinions of a 1466

I also owned a 20' disk with 20" blades and 25' vibra shank cultivator with crumblers. The Deere would always pull that disk in 3rd or 4th which is 3.5 and 4.5 mph respectively. Sure the 1066 would pull it at 5 to 6 mph, but like most farms I had the ocasional big rock. And you know something, the Deere never broke a disk blade, 1066 would. One day we were a bit short on help, and put a greenhorn on the 1066 with cultivator. I went to check on him and he was flying, 2 gear hi and hi on the TA. The cultivator was bouncing, thus leaving soil like waves on the ocean. I drove on it with the pickup and man, a guy would have gotten seasick planting corn behind him. Interesting part is it took three years for the waves to disappear. 1066 had duals another reason I didn't plow with it. He had only been going about 1/2 hour and already there were three broken shanks on the cultivator, the first ones I had broken in about 5 years since the cultivator was new.

No my friend speed is not the answer. I never needed a larger plow but if I had, it would have been an on land hitch and I would have plowed with duals. Contrary to what you claim on cost of operating plows, or for that matter disks or cultivators speed does not pay. Your breakage and wear costs will far out weigh any time you saved. Now I've just done some quick figures on 6 and 8 bottom plows. An 8 bottom plow at 3 mph will plow exactly the same ground per hour as a 6 bottom at 4 mph. If you step them each up 1 mph to 4 and 5 mph respectively the 8 bottom plow at 4 mph will plow roughly 10% more ground than the 6 bottom plow making 5 mph. Your fuel savings are also substancial per acre at these slower speeds. I like 4 mph for plows and disks and 5.5to 6 for cultivators. It doesn't bother me a whole lot if I have to go slower. I know the equipment industry is yelling high speed everything, but then they love to see us busting up equipment.

Remember I can plow in the heaviest of clay with my Farmall 130 and 2x12 fast hitch plow, 1st gear which is 2.3 mph and on lighter soils I get to 2nd quite easily and that is 3.7 mph. That is roughly 11.5 hp per 12" bottom, I stand by what I said in the earlier post. 20 hp should be just about right for an 18" bottom.

The guy that bought the rotoveyor, bought a 200 hp 2 wheel drive MF with duals, that didn't work so they went to a MF 1500, 8 wheeler, it was too fast in 1st gear. A couple of guys lost their shirts on this machine. The last I saw of it a new owner operator had 225 hp Deere with 4x4 and duals behind. I wouldn't have wanted that machine on my tractor every day, but from what I've seen since the 1066 was just as productive as the others on that machine.

Getting back to the plows, your point is well taken. I will suggest that I wouldn't be afraid to try with less as long as the less was a pre 1980 Farmall. Remember my 656 with 6 front end weights no fluid or wheel weights, 16.9x38 rubber and an Excell cab, probably weighed in at less than 9,000 lbs. It pulled 5x16 semi-mount 8" deep in 2nd, hi on TA easily and ocasionally 3rd. It was plowing 5x16 = 80" at 8" deep, that is over half what a 8x18 = 144" would be plowing.

Now I do realize a 5 bottom semi-mount will probably give greater weight transfer proportionately than will an 8 bottom semi-mount. I have watched a few of those 7 to 10 bottom on land hitches operate, and cant see that they transfer a lot of weight to tractor. I watched a guy just last fall with 10x18 and an older 225 hp Case 8 wheeler. His tires weren't great, it was greasy, and it was causing him some difficulty. This land close by where I live is quite heavy clay. There were a couple of small corners, I plowed with my 130 and 2x12 plow, definately the toughest plowing I've ever done with that little machine. My farm was sandy loam and a picnic to plow along side this SW Ontario clay. I understand that right here we are in the worst of it. I planted some potatoes in this soil. I asked one local guy how they would grow in this clay. Oh he said,"they will grow, you may need an excavator to dig them if you have then burried well enough to prevent sunburn. I suspect this Middlesex clay compares very closely with your IL clay. Walk across it the day after the snow goes and in 50 feet your boots will weigh 25 lbs. each, does that sound familiar. The guys around here tell me they could never pull 5x16 with a 656. Most of them pulled 4x14, but with 15.5x38 tires. My 560 and my 656 both came new with 15.5x38, not much of a tire in my opinion. 16.9x38 made tractors out of those two.