John Deere plows vs IHC

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
As a kid growing up around Milwaukee I used to hear a lot of the merits of one plow vs another. One that always stuck in my mind was the general opinion that JD pulled harder than IHC. We used 2-12 on a 42 B and the biggest used was 2-16 around here.
Im am not trying to start a war but I am curious if any of you had any experience on comparing JD plows verses any other make. I have not posted this as yet on the IHC forum.
 
I surfed the archives after posting the above and saw a lot of comments confirming what i had heard but was more revealing was the comments touting the merits of Oliver plows of that era.

Proper adjustment of any plow is the secret to its performance.
 
I am not sure which one pulled harder. I do know that the international did the best job. I have Die hard Deere friends that will say that IH and Oliver plows do a nicer job and leave the field looking better. It seemed when a Deere plow turned the soil over that the soil scatterd more. I know that the Deere plows that use hydraulics instead of springs would trip easy if the tractor had weak hydraulics or the plow hydraulics were worn. I know the the IH 710 were well known for being a high trash plow...they could turn over alot of cornstocks and not plug up.

I have a Glencoe 9 shank chisel plow that everyone said a a IH 1466 or JD 4440 should pull with no problem. They wont even touch it. Takes an JD 8400 MFWD with 280 hp to pull it 8 mph and when it gets hilly it goes down to around 6 mph. I always told my friends that if they think they can pull it with a 2wd tractor then they should come right out and try..no one ever showed up
 
When john deere went too the high speed bottoms the quality of the plow job suffered. In my area the Amish all claim the Oliver plows pull easiest. With horses it would seem you would notice how hard they pull quicker than with a tractor.
 
Around here you see almost all IH and JD plows behind all different color tractors. I've used both and been very pleased with the job they do. Never used an Oliver plow, but driving past fields where the've been used, I can't see what the bragging is about. My 5-18 JD plow does pull harder than my friends 4-14 IH plow, maybe because its 50% bigger?
 
I had a JD F1450 5X16 and it pulled terrible hard. I hooked my 5020 onto a neighbors IH720 and it pulled much easier. Don't know why but I had to admit it. In our clay it was easy to see the speed difference I could run with the IH plow on.
I do have a 44H with plastic moldboards and it pulls easy, maybe as easy as an IH would.
 
WE have a JD 555, a JD44, an I-H Little Genius and an I-H 60. All are good plows but the slickest one we have is an Oliver 2x16. Just our experience.
 
A neighbor and I once plowed together on a custom job we were doing. He had a 1456 with a 5-16 540 IH plow. I had my old 4020 with a 145 5-16 plow. I could go round for round with him. The only time he could gain on me is on a hill where he could use his TA and I had to stop and shift to third. We were plowing sod about 9-10 inches deep. The 1456 was blowing as much smoke as my 4020 was. I do not subsribe to the notion that the IH plow pulled easier. If it did, my 4020 couldn't have kept up. As far as the job done, my 145 did a better job and my neighbor agreed. Adjustment, adjustment, adjustment. Mike
 
My Dad worked for a guy who had a 4020 new and a 1206 IH new. With the same identical plow hte 1206 could pass him every hour on a field that was 1/2 mile long. That 1456 that you are talking about had to have problems. but maybe he did not have the plow set right
A good 1456 will always blow the doors off a stock 4020
 
The 1456 was very healthy and the plow was set right. The operator was (and is) very meticulous. My 4020 is not stock. Nothing I own is stock. If the IH plow pulled easier he should have lapped me as well. It didn't, and he didn't. I was there. Mike
 
I bleed green but that is one sick 14 if he wasn't doing laps around you on the 4020. Even a 4320 can't hold a candle to a 14. I have seen 4620s that can't lug doing tillage like the 14 and 15s could. Something isn't adding up.
 
I will stand on my story. Both of my 4020's are "healthy". The 14 was probably stock. I could keep up with him fine. Mike
 
And I understand your 4020 had some helper horses but that still doesn't have any bearing on which type of plow pulls easier. You could have 10 horse more than the 14 did, so it would look like the Deere plow pulled just as easy. Granted I haven't used alot of different plows but from what I have seen locally, there is a reason that the Case dealer here had over 20 Deere plows on his lot, trade ins from the IH and White plows he sold. IH and Oliver/White did something right building plows. There is an area here where the Kverland is extremely common, been told they were an easy drafting plow also.
 
Uh not if you had more power over all.....
And the 1456 was rated at 131 hp, which knowing the IH tractors coming out of the factory it probably had a 145. So if you run a 100hp 4020 against it, then the 4020 will lose.
Define healthy, Whats it turn on the dyno

I bleed green but the 06,66 and 86 series engines are unbeatable for lugging power
 
An IH plow may pull easier all I have ever pulled were 5x18's on an 1450 and a 6x18 2600, The Deere plow compared to other guy's IH's around here do a better job burying the trash.
 
I believe the older Case plows will draft easier and do a better job than a JD or IHC. I also believe that an Oliver will pull easier than the others in the same ground. We have plow days on our ground, plus other ground around here, and you can definately tell where the Case plows made there rounds. Covers trash a lot better. The older JD plows were never known to be easy pullers. The old timers here in KS claim that it has a lot to do with the shapes of the moldboards as far as the easier pulling plows.
 
Yesterday's Tractor Forums

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top