How many plows do I need on a Bottom Plow?

[Chancho]

Is there a rule of thumb to figure out when to use a one bottom plow vs. a 2 bottom, 5 bottom, 7 bottom, etc?

 

[Clint S]

This is based on hp and size of your machine and what kind of ground you have. A 25 hp machine may pull a 3 bottom through sand or well worked ground, but not clay. I guess how big the area your plowing would factor in too.

 

[4570Man]

How big of a tractor do you have. I haven’t plowed much but my observation would be at least 2000 pounds of tractor per plow bottom and probably closer to 3.

 

[Clint S]

I pull a two bottom fine in all but the very toughest unworked clay ground and have pulled a three with minimal trouble in very sandy worked ground . Farmall 200 , 3500lbs , 21 (a little tired )hp.

 

[radios1]

I see you don't have a tractor, are going to be pulling this with horses or other farm animals?. it makes a big difference right there!..

 

[jeff9366]

Moldboard Plows come in various widths.

The common widths for compact tractor Moldboard Plows are 12", 14" and 16".

A 12" single plow cuts a furrow 12" wide. A double 12" plow cuts two contiguous furrows 24" wide. A triple 12" plow cuts three contiguous furrows 36" wide.

How much time do you wish to spend plowing? How much fuel do you wish to burn plowing?

16" plows turn almost double the weight soil of 12" plows, hence require fewer bottoms or a heavier tractor.

Any who express how many plow bottoms they pull without also relating plow width are not sharing much useful information.

 

[4570Man]

My L3800 struggles to pull a 2 bottom. It does have R4s which definitely isn’t ideal for plowing.

 

[oldnslo]

We used to figure 20 horse per 16 inch bottom. 85 HP 14,000 lb tractor

That was both alfalfa sod and corn stubble mostly loam soil

 

[ovrszd]

We used to figure 20 horse per 16 inch bottom. 85 HP 14,000 lb tractor

That was both alfalfa sod and corn stubble mostly loam soil

Generally, I'd agree.

 

[KennyG]

Years ago tractors were classified by plow bottoms. We called them three bottom tractors or four bottom. We knew there was difference in size of the plows, but no one ever classified the tractor by plow size. For example, a AC WD was a three bottom tractor. If you asked someone about their plow they would probably tell you it would pull 3 14s but they wouldn't want 3 16s. As I recall we had 12s and 14s but I don't remember anyone using 16s.

You didn't need all that much horsepower. A 30 HP tractor would pull 3 12s or 14s in most soil. When we put a D-17 kit in our WD-45s they would easily pull 4 14s with a little over 40 horsepower. Of course we were running R1s and had the tractors weighted down. and they were a lot more suitable for field work than CUTs.