I picked up the disc last Friday, and put it to work Sunday through last night. I averaged around 2.7 acres per hour running 2600 RPM in A range at 3.5 MPH. 26 hours of seat time later I had one pass across my 70 acres. Here are my observations.
1. I ran the disc gangs at everywhere from 7 to 21 degrees depending on field conditions. I would shorten the toplink when I hit heavier sod to shift more weight forward for better cutting. Lengthening it would provide a better scrubbing effect to tear up the lighter sod chunks.
2. The weight of the disc would cut through one to two layers of sod. My problem is I have a lot of piles of sod chunks left behind from the field cultivator. The disc leveled these piles down, but the lower lying sod chunks got missed due to the disc riding up on top of the tall piles. I expect my next pass will be more productive in pulverizing those clods.
3. If you are going to run lots of hours on a disc of this weight, I would suggest not using the HF quick hitch. I ripped the top hook mounting bracket and the top of the hitch tube off somewhere around 18 hours in.
4. I ran the first 13 hours with my 450# skid steer bucket on. I took it off because the weight was really beating up the FEL from bouncing around on the bumps. The steering got significantly lighter, but I still had plenty of steering control. This did not seem to have much of any effect on pulling traction.
5. I ran 3.5 miles an hour because that is top speed in A range, and the roughness of the field did not allow any faster. I figured A range was less strain on the hydrostat than running 2200 RPM in B. The tractor could easily pull this disk much faster in B range if the field was smooth enough.
6. The 3720 will pull this disc set at 21 degrees and sunk to the spools in well-tilled fine sand/sandy loam. That was about max load in A range at 2600 RPM. The engine would pull down 100 RPM and I would get a little tire slip, but I never spun out.
7. The disk got easier to adjust the angles on the more acres it had on it. The rear gang seemed to work much more freely than the front, which still required plenty of persuasion at times. Stiffness of the front gang adjustment is my only gripe about the disc at this time. The blades show really no wear outside of polishing, and I have not noticed any disc damage even though it was run over dozens if not hundreds of hidden rocks and stones. This is a very study disc, and overall I am very happy with it and how it matches the capabilities of the 3720.
8. I am hoping to get my tillage done this fall so I can no-till plant soybeans in the spring. I estimate that I have about 15 acres that are ready right now, 25 acres that will be ready with one more pass, and 30 that my take two more due to the volume of residue. I'm going to let the field sit until around the first of November in hopes that I will get some rain and freeze-thaw action to help mellow out the sod before I till it again.
Here are two pics. Sorry for the washout, the sun is directly behind the camera and very bright.I know, not enough but I was more concerned with getting the work done than documenting it.
