Pulling disks?????

Rod

I had a Bush Hog 28 blade offset with 26" blades, and that one would do a number on 100hp and that 100 hp almost had to be 4x4. Roughly 3.5 hp per blade.

I also had a Bush Hog tandem, 80 blade, with 20" blades. In easy going or finish work 100 hp would do. If I got into max penetration with that disk, it was a 120 hp job. Roughly 1.5 hp per blade.

I've got a little 20 blade tandem, 16" blades just a nice load behind my Farmall 140. Roughly 1 hp per blade.

I see some of these guys are off on a how deep will that disk go. Since 1960, I've found most disks will go axle deep, until the blades are worn out.

Bear in mind the the 4" square frame was tubing. My offset disk had 26" blades, spaced 10" or 12" but it also had 4" square frame, but this one was solid steel, that adds a lot of weight. I don't doubt there is a lot of difference between my sandy loan and you Texas soil. I've been on discussions long enough to hear just how hard Texas soil is. In our soil my offset with 26" blades would got axle deep much quicker than the tandem I had with 20" blades. I liked the offset for putting down corn stover, it chopped it better, yet left stalk material close to surface, thus it broke down faster. Basically I used it as primary tillage. In spring it was one pass with tandem disk followed by cultivator with leveling plank and crumbler.

I quite agree that big disk blades will not penetrate without added weight, however it took more steel in that frame to withstand those big blades.

In knew a guy with an 80 blade 20" blade offset. He pulled it with a 4630. I drove it once before I bought my tandem. I really couldn't see a whole lot of difference in pulling that or my 80 blade 20" blade tandem. One could say his 4630 had more hp than my 1066, however I loaned him my 1066 once for forage harvester. He told me it made his Deere look bad. Believe me the Deere dealer got going over on that one, I know because he asked me if my 1066 was turned up.

You don't give the specs on the JD 1635, thus I have no comment.

The 4630 and 1066 were as they came from factory, 4630 had about 400 hours and 1066 around 8,000 hours, and it was the Deere owner's opinion not mine. I had driven his tractor but never at max. pull. I never figured either one of our tractors were anywhere near max. pull on the disks we had. Both tractors had been bought new to run forage harvesters.

The 4500 bales per day was not a one man hay day, but rather about 15 to 18 men. Small square bales have never been about horsepower, just pure manpower.

No one said anything about any tractor out pulling the other. The Deere owner knowing full well his 4630 being rated 20+ hp more than the 1066, after using my 1066 on his forage harvester, said, "It makes my Deere look bad". He didn't say it ran away with the harvester, he didn't even say it did as well as the 4630. I forget the exact ratings but that 4630 would have been rated around 150 hp. It was always my opinion that he the owner of the Deere was somewhat disappointed with his tractor. By the way that 1066 was turning 150+ the day it was new, it was turning 150+ at 4,000 hours as it was at 8,000 hours, and that was as it came from the factory.

This discussion started out comparing offset to tandem disk, that my friend was the question, in case you hadn't noticed.

Since most tandem disks have 18" or 20" blades, I think you can safely figure on 1.5 hp per blade. I never figure a disk by foot of width, just too many variables. I do know this, if you take a tandem and an offset with the same size and number of disk blades there will be very little difference in hp required.

If the offset blades are same size as tandem blades, numbers of blades the same and blades at same angle in relation to tractor the draft will be exactly the same.