Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: looking for advice on how to choose a plough  (Read 6261 times)

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: looking for advice on how to choose a plough
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2019, 06:24:53 pm »
The expert in this family has said that the new plough will not have rusted bolts and should be straight whilst the old plough may be out of true and too set in its ways to adjust.

Good advice, gratefully received.  Affirms my thoughts about being within inspection-distance of any 2nd-hand plough (with tape-measures and rigid rules in hand).     

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: looking for advice on how to choose a plough
« Reply #16 on: March 09, 2019, 04:55:32 pm »
Much time spent ont' web past few days gleaning info about matching tractor/plough and set-up etc.  I believe (hope) I've cracked it and calculate that the new plough I've been considering could be an almost perfect match for my tractor (without need to alter tractor wheel spacings). Taking forum advice into account (re old v new), I'm 90% certain I will place order. 

I'm awaiting telecon with supplier to explain a few settings (as the manual will be in Polish !!), but I expect I will be satisfied with his explanations and will commit myself to the necessary £s.
(It won't be so well engineered/adjustable as, for example, a Fergy 2f plough, but heh!)
« Last Edit: March 09, 2019, 04:59:11 pm by arobwk »

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: looking for advice on how to choose a plough
« Reply #17 on: March 11, 2019, 06:47:43 pm »
Have had a good chat with plough supplier (machinerysalesEU) & the deed is done:  new Polish-manufactured 2-furrow plough is on order @ £450 inc VAT & delivery. 

I also ordered 1x spare plough-share at £24 VATin, thinking I'm bound to come across a "stone" large enough to take a chunk out of one of the shares before long.  (While the old pastures have already been turned and trawled for rocks there will almost certainly be some still lurking !)

When I received invoice, supplier had included 2x spare plough-shares and then discounted them (= free). Now, how nice is that !?   :) :)   
I'm looking forward to receiving my new plough. 

[Yeah yeah, I know;  you only get what you pay for and £450 is a soft price for a bit a kit that is going to be put to very hard work.  I'm quite optimistic though.  Obviously I will report idc:  lots of other things to do right now, so any report/verdict on my new plough will be a few weeks off.]


« Last Edit: March 12, 2019, 09:07:53 pm by arobwk »

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: looking for advice on how to choose a plough
« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2019, 04:28:49 pm »
Plough arrived yesterday:  I just couldn't resist sticking the shares into the ground just for the hell of it (without much consideration regarding adjustments).   :)
Well, that produced a right mess  :D :D , which I was fully expecting, especially as I hadn't cleared (flailed) long top-growth in preparation for the quick test, but, on the up-side, Anika (my tractor) hardly noticed she had a 2-furrow plough attached.  Overall ploughing width of 400mm (~16") is quite narrow, but still ... v happy tractor can draw easily without wheel weights etc!
On the down-side, I think I might need to widen Anika's wheel-track afterall - darn it ! 
 
« Last Edit: March 16, 2019, 06:07:24 pm by arobwk »

arobwk

  • Joined Nov 2015
  • Kernow: where 2nd-home owners rule !
Re: looking for advice on how to choose a plough
« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2019, 09:46:11 pm »
5 hrs today playing at ploughing and still working through settings by close of play !  (Would have been easier if not grassland I'm sure, but that's all I have to practice on.)  Definitely getting closer though: the last run was looking half decent (well maybe that should be 1/3 decent :) ).  Starting to realise that quite subtle tweaks can make a large difference to the way the plough runs. 

Now re-reading Kverneland's Ploughing Guide (by Alan Jones) with today's experiences in mind and the primary reason for this post is to say (for any other ploughing novices) that Kverneland's guide is definitely worth downloading.

[Very lucky that the plough skipped over, rather than snagged on, the newly found 3x2' "moor-stone".  Had expected that the contract-ploughing couple years ago would have found such big ones, but continuing caution will obviously be required.  A bit of trial crow-barring suggests it will come out easily enough when I have a few more bodies to help:  the "beer-buddy" work-party I'm organising thinks it will just be laying weed-membrane!!  ;) ]







 
« Last Edit: April 06, 2019, 09:50:22 pm by arobwk »

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS