Got the 3-point mounted

[Dan T in MO]

I picked up a 3-point hitch for my H and I finnally got it mounted on the axle. Now I just have to hook up the hydraulics. It has a single cylinder that is double acting. I don't as yet have a control valve and looking at what's available at Orcheln's it might be a few paychecks away ( I get payed monthly at my in-town job).

So, I was thinking, If I drain the fluid from the top of the cylinder and plug it, I could have power up/gravity down. Besides having to hold the rod with one hand while steering with another hand and doing something else with my third hand,is there any disadvantage to not having power down on a 3-point? I suppose I could weld another stop on the hydraulic control rod.
 

[Janicholson]

No need. Leave the upper cylinder port open and put a filter on it to keep dirt out. A lawn mower air cleaner and a short hose would work. The hydraulic rod is lower when pushed in all the way, Hold when on the stop, and lift when pulled back.
Your hitch will work fine. Jim
 

[DeltaRed]

Do not "plug" the Cylinder,vent it or it will air(or worse 'hydro lock') lock.You do not want "power down" on a 3point.I have a SuperH with the same setup,it works great,no need to use "3 hands".
 

[farmallboy15]

Vent the cylinder like they said. Here is a vent I ordered from the surplus center, google them.

 

[mkirsch]

You can also drill a few small holes in a 49-cent pipe plug from the hardware store to achieve the same thing.
 

[Dave H (MI)]

I'm curious...not a challenge. Why do you not want down power on your 3 pt? I am assuming you are saying that gravity drop is the way to go, correct me if I am wrong. The number series tractors I have been looking at with FH all appear to have cylinders on them that move the hitch up AND down. I was thinking this was an advantage over my 1989 Ford which drops the implement and does not put any pressure on the implement when doing, say, post hole digging. Down pressure PTO was an expensive option on that tractor that I passed on when I bought it new back then...it was the most expensive thing I ever bought at the time and that includes vehicles.
 

[DeltaRed]

I do not want power down.from the original post,It appeared that he thought he needed power down.Power down will usually get you in trouble.
 

[wilson ind]

put 3 pt on smta years ago for old friend whoo insisted on power down. Put valve on with float position as well as 2 way. later he was thankful
 

[Rumplestiltskin]

Hi, Dan.

I have to say I love the "power down" on my 3-point. I have a 3-point mounted disk with no accommodation for weights. Without power down it just bounces along if the ground is dry. With power down, it digs right in and does a great job.

I've also (rarely, briefly, and carefully) used power down to lift the rear wheels without a jack, and have considered adding a blade from a maul to make a vertical log splitter. And it's more convenient for popping tire beads loose than lowering a plow point on them.

So, I'd say it's nice to have the option. If you don't use it, you haven't really lost much.

Mark W. in MI
 

[Farmallhal]

Dan, I have a 1953 Super C with the factory 2 point fast hitch which has down pressure and might have been the first tractor model with that feature. I can give you a couple of places where that feature is certainly very handy. One, you can place a block of wood under the drawbar and lift the back of the tractor off the ground to adjust wheel spacing to to remove a tire and rim. Second, when using a post hole auger it is a way to control how fast the auger can dig into the ground. When digging a post hole and a tree root or large rock is encountered the auger without down pressure will "screw itself" into the ground and will take considerable manual effort to extract the auger from the hole. A lot of people think the down pressure is great to force the auger into hard ground and that might be true but where I live I'm concerned with an auger getting stuck in the ground wrapped around an unmoveable object and having to hand twist it back out with a pipe wrench or similar tool. I control the speed at which it is fed into the soil with the down pressure control I have with the fast hitch. Hope this helps, Hal.
P.S. Where in Missouri are you located as I'm down near Rolla - my email is open as well.
 

[Dave H (MI)]

I guess we have to disagree on that one. Post holes are a bear without it as is rear tire adjustment/change. That's just for starters, if you want to talk tillage...
 

[LMack]

We had a 200 Dad bought in the fall of 1955 and it had the 2 point with down preasure, if you put the pin in the lift rod. I would say since 1955 we used it once or twice. I would also say that having touch control of your cylinder could be an advantage. I never did like those single acting cylinders on the front of my uncles 240.
 

[Dan T in MO]

Thanks for all the replies. The power down idea was mostly for the blade. When I've used it with the 9N it will sometimes ride over where I want it to dig in. I currently have 75 pounds hanging from the blade, but figured some hydraulic preasure would let me be able to hold the blade firmly to the ground without adding weight. It's not a major issue, so power down really isn't needed. Saves me some bucks and gets the hitch working a lot sooner if I go for gravity down. Although, being able to lift the back end off the ground is mighty tempting.

I was thinking a plug might cause problems. I'll be sure to vent the upper side.

To the fella down near Rolla, I'm just a bit south of Eldon and a piece north of Lake Ozark.
 

[Brown Dirt Cowboy]

Hal, sounds like Dan T and Old are neighbors. I'm still holding things down here on the East Coast of Mo (Cape Girardeau Co).Tom
 

[Farmallhal]

Tom, Nice to see your post - hope all has been going well and I'm still trying to get over losing Jimmy King. He used to stop by the house about once a year when up here visiting Alice's family. Trust you are getting through the winter all right but we still need some more moisture in the ground around here. A couple of inches the other day got the creeks running again. Be careful out there if you are still driving those big rigs, Hal.