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Leesburg, Ohio | I don't want to sound like a salesman here, but will relate our experience. We have a Johnson plow, and definately like the long boot for more consistent grade control. This boot is about 10' long. The plow depth is controlled entirely by the pitch of the boot "plane-ing" thru the ground, and does not use the transport wheels at all for depth control. Digging in is not a concern for us...one more "set" with the hoe each time. The weight/strength of the plow design is the heaviest built I have seen by far. We pull it with a Cat 75 (325hp) and can go to 3.5 or 4' deep in one pass, or down to 5' with pre-ripping. Johnson makes 6' and 7' deep models also. Have been around a Gold Digger some as well...not nearly as heavy built nor as long of a boot (about 4'), but seems to work fine for the neighbor. Another neighbor had some tile plowed in several years ago with a frame-mounted plow on an 8630...got the job done, but I did not like the way the mounted plow "wallered" the tractor around, and squatted the tires...don't see how the grade could have been very accurate...don't know what brand the mounted plow was.
We have a basic, but fairly accurate laser transmitter, a single grade Apache, with auto leveling. I would recommend auto leveling. We have not needed dual grade to this point. The trimble unit we were comparing was a little higher $ and a little less range and accuracy, but not a big difference. The apache receiver and controller works very smooth with a variable rate hydraulic valve on the plow. We bought a 4' long hydraulic cylinder from our laser dealer (midtechservices.com) and built a bracket for the receiver, so we can change the depth (height) of the laser on-the-go with a tractor remote to keep our tile depth at no more than 3-3.5' when we have excess grade.
We have a 6" boot and blade for plowing in mains. Johnson also makes a boot and blade for 8", and maybe even 10" tile, but we don't have those. The 6" boot pulls harder, of course...4'deep in one pass with 6" boot sometimes requires the 4020 or 4250 on the front...doesn't take much. Sometimes need the extra tractor on the front with the 6" boot to be able to turn and keep the tile straight.
We did 55 acres last August ('06), and once we got the mains in, we plowed the laterals in about three days...did 18,000 feet one day, and quit early for the fair. The limiting factor on laterals is digging the "starts". One hoe and two men need a head start to keep ahead of the plow...takes longer to dig in than to plow the lateral.
You might consider calling Roger Kolbet at Mid-Tech. They have good prices, and sell and service most brands of lasers, as well as building their own brand. I talked to Roger at the Louisville Farm Show, and was concerned about distance (I'm in Ohio-they're in Iowa) but it hasn't been a problem at all.
We certainly don't have all the answers, but I hope this will help some. I like reading about other's experiences here with tile plows. Good luck.
Ken | |
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Tile Plow
