Hello, I have been going thru old post it seems like you are the only here who still farms on steel wheels. I have been thinking about using rear steel on my H. I would like to hear your opinion on how well they work plowing. How do they work on wet ground? I know your ground is dry but maybe you know. Some of my ground is wet but only in the spring. Will an H on steel pull a 2 or 3 bottom plow? If you have time I would like to hear your opinion.
 
I'm not Sad.. but steel will hurt performace.The mud will collect on steel,whereas rubber will shed it keeping traction.A steel wheel takes mor power to turn.You will probably 'loose' a gear steel over rubber.An H is a 2 bottom plow at best.A smooth ride is not the only reason steel went out of fashion.
 
I used to plow with a 36 John Deere A on steel and 2x14" bottoms. In the field it rode as good as rubber, on a gravel road is very rough.. Someone has pictures of me plowing a pond of standing water, but once the steel stops and spins, you will become stuck real fast. I don't think it used any more power to turn the steel as it does rubber.
 
I never lost a gear with steel wheels. 2nd with plow, 3rd with other tillage. South Texas, silt loam. 4th was seldom used, rubber or steel. We didn't attempt to work wet ground.
 
how do you think this country was opened up if not for steel wheels. there is no problem using steel wheels as long as the ground is in proper shape, as you don't plow wet ground. and no you don't loose a gear due to steel. for breaking new ground steel wheels worked better than rubber. the 15-30 mccormick was the better breaking tractor over the john deere d as the d sat lower and would get hung up on stumps, both with steel wheels.
 
Love my steel wheel Farmall H for ploughing and harrowing. Finally managed to get steel wheels for my 1947 Farmall M. I had to get the front skid rings made for it by a local engineer. He did a magnificent job. I have ploughed and harrowed on both rubber and steel. The Farmall H is wonderful for this work on its steel wheels. Not good at all for mowing and raking hay!
SadFarmall
 
I have H on full steal wheel's. Skeleton rear's. My experience is, the further in the ground the lugs sink, the more power you loose. They absolutely hate rocks, and you will cringe your teeth everytime you hit a rock that is just barely under the dirt so you can't see it. Smooth riding as long as you stay off of roads or really compacted ground. The wetter or softer the ground is, the more the wheels will sink in. If on sod, you will tear it up pretty good just driving on it. If you spin a rear wheel, you better get the clutch in. The lugs become shovels and will dig the wheel into a whole real fast.
 
My first tractor restoration was a 1939 Case L on steel. I bought it from my uncle (back in the early 1960's). The engine was stuck, but with some used parts from the neighbor I got it running. We used it for plowing alfalfa and pulled a 2-16 plow. It was a great tractor for plowing with the steel wide front as you didn't need to steer the tractor once the front wheel was in the dead furrow. This tractor had apparently done a lot of plowing as the land wheel lugs were worn much more than the furrow wheel. As others said it was really rough riding on hard surfaces. My father-in-law told about he knew a guy who would plow with two tractors like this and two guys would sit on chairs on the ends of the field. When the tractors would get to the end of the field they would turn them around and send them back down the field (must not have had any rocks). I never knew for sure if the story was actually true. You could probably do this with multiple tractors as long as you kept them in sync.
 
I have heard about driverless tractors plowing on steel. The story I heard was, where they farmed solid square miles, and farmed in a circle, drivers would operate more than one tractor each. They would drive one tractor, and get off (without stopping), and walk/run to a tractor they were watching if it came out of the furrow. They would plow in this manner except for the corners, and the very center of the circle.
 
Ive used both. Steel is ok for playing around at a plow day or something but if I have stuff to get done its done on rubber

and its proven that it takes more HP to do the same work on steel Vs rubber

I had an F-20 with 8K pistons in it that would plow in 3rd on rubber. I thought I wanted it on full steel and swapped it. same plow, same field and it didn't really want much to do with 3rd gear so its stays in 2nd
 
As you can see we have lots of opinions on this subject. I still don't know what to think. I found a pair of rear wheels that seem to be in pretty good shape for $300. I wish I could try them out before I have to buy them. I'm partial to your opinion because you actually farm with steel wheels. Thanks to all for your opinions. Dave
 
I can only speak for the soil conditions here in Australia. Soil here is hard. Hard means that with a three disk plough a Farmall H is running in 1st gear. With a four or five disk plough a Farmall M is running in 1st gear. Ploughing in higher gears here is just asking to damage machinery. The McCormick-Deering Tractor Disk Plough (called GL-70 here and 34-43) in the U.S. is NOT a stump plough. Hitting a decent rock under the surface in second gear with a disk will cause the plough to leap and may damage disks or castings on the implement.

As to the argument that traction is better with rubber wheels I have often wondered why rubber wheels heavy centres, wheel weights and often water in the tubes. Two men can easily move a rear steel wheel off a Farmall M, but the rubber wheel assembly, with its weights etc requires machinery to lift it.

Secondly, when it comes to getting a tractor bogged… we all know how much fun that can be. Both steel and rubber wheeled tractors can dig themselves in with alacrity once the surface is broken. I have had slippage issues when harrowing on rubber wheels; never on steel.

It is, of course, true that the lugs on the rear wheels can make a mess and it comes down to where and when it is appropriate to drive on steel wheels. For cutting and raking hay, they are a nuisance. For using disk harrows after ploughing the steel wheels beat the rubber every time for me.
That's my five cents worth. Really, it comes down to what you like. I like ploughing and harrowing on steel wheels and harvesting on rubber tyres.
SadFarmall
 

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