Just bought a 4230, now what?

[Kodiak45]

I picked up a John Deere 4230 the other day and now I'm trying find which implements I can use. I plan on putting an extra remote valve on it for a batwing setup. What is a safe disc size for this tractor? I have the dual rear wheels for tractor if needed. I didn't know if a jd 220 disc would be pushing the tractor to hard. I would like a fold over style disc for transport reasons. What should I be looking for?

 

[jeff9366]

TRACTORDATA.COM LINK: TractorData.com John Deere 4230 tractor information

Is your Deere 4230 2-WD or 4-WD?

Diesel or Gas?

Ag tires or Industrial tires?

Rear tires filled with air or filled with liquid?

What type of soil do you have?

How much land do you have to work?


List the tasks you wish the tractor to perform.

 

[Kodiak45]

Good call.
Diesel
2wd
Ag tires and not filled
Soil is clay
Mowing 20 ac
Plowing 5-15 ac

 

[jeff9366]

I pilot a Deere 5103 / 2-WD regularly. I pull a Deere Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans on 9" spacing easily.

Behind your much heavier Deere 4230 you should be able to pull a Disc Harrow with 22" diameter or 24" diameter pans.

Draft resistance come from pan diameter, which equals weight, which equals cutting depth, which equals draft resistance. With either 22" or 24" diameter pans you will have good ability to perform secondary tillage in clay. If you will disc when ground is wet, you will need disc scrapers to keep clay from clogging everything.

In terms of moldboard plows you should be fine with 4/12", 4/14", uncertain about 4/16" in clay, with 2-WD. All under assumption plows have bright moldboards and sharp wear parts. (I am recommending conservatively because I do not have first hand experience plowing clay.)

I have no experience with batwing mowers, sorry.

 

[whis]

jeff he's talking about old 4230 over 100 hp

 

[jeff9366]

jeff he's talking about old 4230 over 100 hp

I understand that, but only 2-WD to put that power to the ground and mgraham112 has clay.

 

[joeu235]

I think a 220 disk would be right on the edge for clay. I have a 16 ft disk and a 4020 used in blackland clay and it pulls real hard. I think what you should do is ship it to me in Texas

 

[Kodiak45]

I have a set of duals that came with the tractor if that makes a huge difference. I definitely don't want to push it too hard and put extreme wear and tear on it.

 

[jeff9366]

Plowing 5-15 ac

Assuming you only want to Disc Harrow the 5-15 acres you want to plow, why get a max width Disc?

Will not 8' or 10' width suffice?

As for the dual rears, aren't they more to increase float and avoid compaction of your clay, than for traction??

Here in north Florida, where good farmers manage to get three crops off the land per year, plows are rare implements. Most land is 'Hogged very short after the harvest, then tilled with 22"-24" pan diameter Disc Harrows, seeded and rolled with big rollers, not Cultipackers. (Our soil is sandy and the land is flat.)

A lot of hay is raised here. But the increasing summer crop, on unirragated land, is peanuts.

 

[Kodiak45]

That's a great point about the duals being for compaction rather than traction. I never even considered that as a purpose. I would like a disc that would cover the tractor width and with duals, guessing this would be about 12 ft