First time plowing...

[DougL3 63]

So I plowed for the first time ever on Saturday, as I've done nothing but use a walk behind tiller in the years previous.  Never again I say, from here forward it will be done from the luxury of a tractor seat!

 

I must have picked the perfect time to plow because it was super easy to turn the dirt.  I'm on turf tires, no weights, and no chains.  I only had to back up 3 or 4 times.

I did run into a slight issue though.  I gauged myself off of the front wheel in the furrow, which in turn left me with ridges between each furrow that are the same width as the front tire.

 

Should I have been gauging myself off the rear tire?  That's what it seems like to me!

 

Here's a pic of this years plot...I'll post a pic of the "ridges" when I get back home.

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the rear of the 520...makes me think about running narrower wheels and tires.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2016 by DougL3

[Ed Kennell 40,464]

Were you running the front tire in the furrow, or up on top to the left of the furrow?    Running in the furrow should been the right spacing.

[DougL3 63]

I was running in the furrow.  Inner sidewall of the tire rubbing the left wall of the furrow...but the rear end of the tractor was level with the yard.  It never felt like the back tire was down in the furrow with the front.

[Ed Kennell 40,464]

Yeah, the wide rears may be part of the problem then.   Do you have a narrow one you could try on the right side?    You could also move the plow right by using the left hole in the clevis and  then tighten the left 1/2" bolt in the hitch to throw the plow more right.

[DougL3 63]

I can swap on the 9.5's from the 416 and air them up a little higher.  I'd love to have a set of narrow wheels and ags off of the classic tractors.  I just don't think these wide wheels and tires were made for "farm" work. 

[AMC RULES 37,145]

Think I'd try running a 6-12 ag in the furrow.

[DougL3 63]

1 minute ago, AMC RULES said:

Think I'd try running a 6-12 ag in the furrow.

Will that be a stretch onto the 520 wheels, or should I look for some narrower wheels also?

[AMC RULES 37,145]

For the price of the 6-12 rims and tires...

might as well pick up a little round hood to add to your  collection.

[C-101plowerpower 1,606]

i'd go for a set of 8.50x23 ags, 6-12 may be a little on the narrow side. 

as for the plow, it looks nice and shiny smooth now, keep it that way by cleaning the dirt of and greasing it up, otherwise you will need ag's and wheights next time

horse looks happy about the result too

Edited March 22, 2016 by C-101plowerpower

[squonk 42,516]

I'd run some 6-12 ag's and rims. Narrower tire means more psi on the ground and more traction IMHO. fatter tires float more while the narrow ones dig in.

Edited March 22, 2016 by squonk

[tractorhogg 612]

3 hours ago, C-101plowerpower said:

i'd go for a set of 8.50x23 ags, 6-12 may be a little on the narrow side. 

as for the plow, it looks nice and shiny smooth now, keep it that way by cleaning the dirt of and greasing it up, otherwise you will need ag's and wheights next time

horse looks happy about the result too

Koen's right, the 8.50 AG's will fit on your rims nicely and be great for AG work. 6-12 are great for smaller wheel horse tractors, but I think the 8.50's will be better on this size of WH, even better that you don't have to buy rims

7 hours ago, DougL3 said:

So I plowed for the first time ever on Saturday, as I've done nothing but use a walk behind tiller in the years previous.  Never again I say, from here forward it will be done from the luxury of a tractor seat!

 

I must have picked the perfect time to plow because it was super easy to turn the dirt.  I'm on turf tires, no weights, and no chains.  I only had to back up 3 or 4 times.

I did run into a slight issue though.  I gauged myself off of the front wheel in the furrow, which in turn left me with ridges between each furrow that are the same width as the front tire.

 

Should I have been gauging myself off the rear tire?  That's what it seems like to me!

 

Here's a pic of this years plot...I'll post a pic of the "ridges" when I get back home.

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the rear of the 520...makes me think about running narrower wheels and tires.

 

 

That sandy soil ya'll got down there is what makes for easy plowing. Up north soil is plowed like you would cut a brisket, down your way it's more akin to pulling a ladle through gravy.

Edited March 22, 2016 by tractorhogg

[farmer 1,078]

How wide is your plough 8" 10" or 12" the wider the furrow slice the larger the tyres you can use, I agree with c101 8.5's ags are ideal on the bigger . 

[Phatboy 565]

All ya have to do is line up the plow share with the inside of the right tire.. Which is the part that digs into the ground, you want to line the far right edge of that with the inside of right tire..and it wont matter what size tires you are running in the back,, 23/10.50-12 stock size on a 520H,, you can see tire and rim are exactly even on inside so putting a thinner tire wont make a difference ,,

Edited March 22, 2016 by Phatboy

[tractorhogg 612]

3 hours ago, Phatboy said:

All ya have to do is line up the plow share with the inside of the right tire.. Which is the part that digs into the ground, you want to line the far right edge of that with the inside of right tire..and it wont matter what size tires you are running in the back,, 23/10.50-12 stock size on a 520H,, you can see tire and rim are exactly even on inside so putting a thinner tire wont make a difference ,,

A narrower tire will drop into the furrow where as a wide tire has trouble. I believe the first post made mention of that fact.. Wide tires are great for "pulling", discing, and a few other jobs but they aren't the best for plowing, that's why farm tractors don't look like hot wheels cars the way some garden tractors do, well unless they are "pulling" tractors. Cool is fine, but functional is important to perform other functions than just looking goo.. I would use a narrow front tire as well, like 4.00-8 tri-rib as wide. balloon turf tires aren't suited for plowing, but I'm sure someone might tell me they are

[DougL3 63]

5 hours ago, tractorhogg said:

Koen's right, the 8.50 AG's will fit on your rims nicely and be great for AG work. 6-12 are great for smaller wheel horse tractors, but I think the 8.50's will be better on this size of WH, even better that you don't have to buy rims

That sandy soil ya'll got down there is what makes for easy plowing. Up north soil is plowed like you would cut a brisket, down your way it's more akin to pulling a ladle through gravy.

Umm...I have nothing but red clay for soil!  I'm a solid 4 hours from any sand. 

4 hours ago, farmer said:

How wide is your plough 8" 10" or 12" the wider the furrow slice the larger the tyres you can use, I agree with c101 8.5's ags are ideal on the bigger . 

It's actually an old 8" plow. Guess I'll be looking to upgrade to a 10". The only 12" I know of are Cat 0 3pt. 

[tractorhogg 612]

Well your plow made it look like it went through sandy soil, lol

The 10 inch plow is perfect for garden tractors of your size. The 8" were developed when garden tractors were small, then came the large GTs in the mid 60's and the plow got bigger, toward the mid 1970's and the addition of twin engines the larger 12" three point plows came about. Good rule of thumb is to match the implement to the tractor it was designed for,

Edited March 23, 2016 by tractorhogg

[Phatboy 565]

2 hours ago, tractorhogg said:

A narrower tire will drop into the furrow where as a wide tire has trouble. I believe the first post made mention of that fact.. Wide tires are great for "pulling", discing, and a few other jobs but they aren't the best for plowing, that's why farm tractors don't look like hot wheels cars the way some garden tractors do, well unless they are "pulling" tractors. Cool is fine, but functional is important to perform other functions than just looking goo.. I would use a narrow front tire as well, like 4.00-8 tri-rib as wide. balloon turf tires aren't suited for plowing, but I'm sure someone might tell me they are

My stock fronts were 16x7.50-8 ,, and i agree on front tires i got 16x6.50-8 to fit in furrow better agree 100%

[Phatboy 565]

14 hours ago, DougL3 said:

Will that be a stretch onto the 520 wheels, or should I look for some narrower wheels also?

So ya know you can get a 3 rib for 6" rims but you can not buy a AG tire for 6" rims ,, i try'd for my 310-8.. They dont make them,,, but like tractor hog said tri-ribs are excellent for bottom plowing ,, in my opinion,, AG tires in the front are sort of a dual purpose for snow and plowing,, where tri-rib in my opinion are the best tire for plowing with bottom plow,, just my 2 cents.. 

Edited March 23, 2016 by Phatboy

[DougL3 63]

2 hours ago, Phatboy said:

So ya know you can get a 3 rib for 6" rims but you can not buy a AG tire for 6" rims ,, i try'd for my 310-8.. They dont make them,,, but like tractor hog said tri-ribs are excellent for bottom plowing ,, in my opinion,, AG tires in the front are sort of a dual purpose for snow and plowing,, where tri-rib in my opinion are the best tire for plowing with bottom plow,, just my 2 cents.. 

 

I don't have 6" diameter wheels on anything...my 520 has 8" just like yours does and so does my 416. I think you may have gotten confused by the old standard of tire sizes, the 6-12 (6" sidewall for 12" wheel) Ag on a 5" wide by 12" diameter wheel. I'm also definitely not interested in front ag's. 

 

My front tire drops in the furrow just fine, but the inner 1/3rd of the rear tire is still riding high on level ground. It makes no difference how I adjust the plow, since it's an 8" cut it just doesn't slice enough to work with the 520's wide tires. 

[C-101plowerpower 1,606]

i've got an 8" plow on mine wich works fine, no need to go bigger since i'm not american

you can allways try to force it wider with the two adjustment bolts in the hitch

[tractorhogg 612]

I always wondered why they us 6" wheels on the 310's, but hey, you can switch them to  8 inch wheels

[C-101plowerpower 1,606]

Just now, tractorhogg said:

I always wondered why they us 6" wheels on the 310's, but hey, you can switch them to  8 inch wheels

 

it's because of the deck that came on some, the shape of the deck meant that 8" wheels would hit the deck when turning

[tractorhogg 612]

Good Call Koen, I did not think of that, but if your not mowing with it, it might be okay

[6wheeler 662]

Move to the right so the rear tire is in the furrow. Use the front wheel to steer, keep the rear in the furrow. Also, your plow shined up nice(even to the heel of the moldboard) so it is taking a nice cut. If your ground is relatively sandy and you can go faster? Do it. As long as the heel of your plowshare is even or close to even with the inside wall of the furrow? It is set right for its cut. Tires are just a matter of opinion. I run turfs on my 520 pulling a 12" inch plow. If I get slippage? I throw chains on. I have ags on the D-250 because I do not mow with it. I put very skinny ags (walk behind tractor tires) on my 312h for cultivating between the rows (to narrow the tractor up as far as possible) so I can "fit" between the rows. If it is a little wet when you plow? Or, you are cutting sod? The furrows may not fill. The plowed ground may stand in ridges rather than roll over. This can even happen with the big equipment when plowing old alfalfa or pastures. Sometimes if you can go faster? You may be able to "throw" it over. However, plowing wet ground can make it very hard when it dries out. Making it hard to break up the clods. Discing it after does work but still leaves clumps sometimes. It looks like you have an 10" plow there. I think if you run the R/R tire in the furrow? You will see a big difference.     Good Luck.  Happy Gardening       Pat

[tractorhogg 612]

2 minutes ago, 6wheeler said:

Move to the right so the rear tire is in the furrow. Use the front wheel to steer, keep the rear in the furrow. Also, your plow shined up nice(even to the heel of the moldboard) so it is taking a nice cut. If your ground is relatively sandy and you can go faster? Do it. As long as the heel of your plowshare is even or close to even with the inside wall of the furrow? It is set right for its cut. Tires are just a matter of opinion. I run turfs on my 520 pulling a 12" inch plow. If I get slippage? I throw chains on. I have ags on the D-250 because I do not mow with it. I put very skinny ags (walk behind tractor tires) on my 312h for cultivating between the rows (to narrow the tractor up as far as possible) so I can "fit" between the rows. If it is a little wet when you plow? Or, you are cutting sod? The furrows may not fill. The plowed ground may stand in ridges rather than roll over. This can even happen with the big equipment when plowing old alfalfa or pastures. Sometimes if you can go faster? You may be able to "throw" it over. However, plowing wet ground can make it very hard when it dries out. Making it hard to break up the clods. Discing it after does work but still leaves clumps sometimes. It looks like you have an 10" plow there. I think if you run the R/R tire in the furrow? You will see a big difference.     Good Luck.  Happy Gardening       Pat

Very good advice!