Plows

[Big Boar]

I am having a lot of trouble with my 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow balling up with trash. In front of the hitch and between the coulters and the moldboard. I also have a hydraulic 3-14 #8 and a 3-14 #16 for my Super M or W9. Does the #16 clear trash better than the #8?

 

[Janicholson]

I am having a lot of trouble with my 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow balling up with trash. In front of the hitch and between the coulters and the moldboard. I also have a hydraulic 3-14 #8 and a 3-14 #16 for my Super M or W9. Does the #16 clear trash better than the #8?

A long hitch pin in the clevis will snag trash. A short pin with retainer clip will help, as would a metal guard under the pin that smooths the flow of trash down and under.

one Source

The use of segmented coulter blades, as some shown in the link, will make much cleaner plowing. Jim

 

[teddy52food]

Get rid of the coulters!

 

[Red Dave]

I am having a lot of trouble with my 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow balling up with trash. In front of the hitch and between the coulters and the moldboard. I also have a hydraulic 3-14 #8 and a 3-14 #16 for my Super M or W9. Does the #16 clear trash better than the #8?

Yes, a #16 should clear trash better than a #8 because the main beams are higher off the ground. However, it can still ball up trash. Sometimes it helps to take the coulters off. I've seen some guys drag a #9 wire under the moldboard and behind the plow to pull trash under. I never had a lot of luck doing that though.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

There is no one solution because different types of trash and ground conditions require different approaches to the problem; assuming the coulters are correctly adjusted and the lines of draft are where they are supposed to be.
One problem that universally gives trouble in trashy fields is trying to plow too shallow. When you have 9” of soil going under the beam the heavy slice keeps the trash moving.
This is not a universal cure but one of many depending on conditions. For instance I don’t see what removal of the coulters will accomplish if the trash is piling up behind them. If they are set properly , the trash will be cut and pass the plow beam on both sides.
It isn’t clear exactly clear where on the hitch is the trash being caught… but if you’re talking about the hinge, you can unbolt and raise the hitch plates a little bit, but if you get carried away here, the weight on the nose increases and puts more pulling weight on the front axles. That’s why the lines of draft are important to know at the outset; so you can adjust to the conditions without making the plow pull hard or slow to enter the ground .

 

[jwal10]

I think a #16 will clear more trash. A 16" plow will clear more trash than a 14" normally. Also a higher beam will clear more trash. Mowing first may help if trash is real tall but if a lot of trash, mowing, especially if a lot of it (fluffy) may make it worse. Sometimes mowing and disking with a heavy disk will work, but it needs enough dirt on top to hold the grass down. Some times running a roller behind disk will help pack it down. Use a long piece of wire attached to the coulter. Are coulters running deep enough?. Concave coulters can help bury grass by burying with dirt....James

Viewing a thread - A moldboard plowing question - pulling a wire

 

[caterpillar guy]

Having the coulters off lets the trash flow around the tip of the pont as well as the whole bottom instead of balling up between the coulter and the bottom. Corn stalks will get between them and then hang there till you stop and pull them out or dump the whole mess so it will plow under. Plowed a lot of corn stalks right behind the combine back in the 80's 18's will clear trash better than 16's and so on. Some times disking will cut it up enough to flow ,most times it makes a bigger mess though. We just chisel plow things and most time it will flow through. I have had cornstalks plug in the chisel plow too.

 

[JohnRowehl]

A long hitch pin in the clevis will snag trash. A short pin with retainer clip will help, as would a metal guard under the pin that smooths the flow of trash down and under.

one Source

The use of segmented coulter blades, as some shown in the link, will make much cleaner plowing. Jim

Segmented?
=notched?

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Having the coulters off lets the trash flow around the tip of the pont as well as the whole bottom instead of balling up between the coulter and the bottom. Corn stalks will get between them and then hang there till you stop and pull them out or dump the whole mess so it will plow under. Plowed a lot of corn stalks right behind the combine back in the 80's 18's will clear trash better than 16's and so on. Some times disking will cut it up enough to flow ,most times it makes a bigger mess though. We just chisel plow things and most time it will flow through. I have had cornstalks plug in the chisel plow

How does a full length corn stalk “flow” around a plow beam easier than one that is cut in half? Is it possible that the coulter on the o.p.’s plow isn’t doing anything at all? That it is just bouncing along the top of the top of the ground like so many decrepit plows I see at plow days? We are all laboring under the assumption that this plow is field ready and not piled high with wheel weights to make it penetrate because the points are shot.
I have a 3 bottom Little Genius with Lantz coulters and it will plow all sorts of trash and bury it without a trace.

 

[Mike Fitz]

Look up tractor plow adjustment and operation on the internet, it is an old ISU extension publication that does a good job of showing proper plow settings for good work. After that make sure your plows working parts are in good shape. Also I believe the number 16 plow was a more heavy duty plow and should have more clearance. What are you plowing? small grain stubble or sod will plow differently than corn stalks. These plows were designed to plow down stalks from 80 bushel corn and still had problems,modern high yielding corn stalks are much tougher to handle, it may require chopping or pre disking to reduce the trash size to something your plow can work with.
Mike

 

[Big Boar]

Get rid of the coulters!

I did and it was much worse!