| BobNESD - 5/12/2025 12:57
I just went through this this spring. When I bought our TigerMateII new in 2008, it had the bolt on sweeps, we ran those for a few years, I liked how they ran totally flat or parallel to the ground. Then we switched to the Nichols knock on, which stayed on great, but I noticed that they don’t run flat, but rather tip down a little bit. Then after a few years I saw a new 255 with the CaseIH knock on system and noticed that those sweeps ran nice and flat too. So I switched over to theirs, but soon grew very frustrated with loosing sweeps and we found that some sweeps go on farther than others, and those rubber keeper things are a total joke! I wanted to go back to Nichols, but they just don’t sit flat, and I think that’s important for a field cultivator to do a good job. So finally just gave up and went back to the ultra wing bolt ons, at least they run flat and don’t fall off. Don’t think we’ve ever lost one from cracking out from the bolt holes, maybe they’re getting tightened too much?
There are two things that cause bolt-on sweeps to crack. The first is mismatched profiles between the shank and sweep. When we added shank protectors to our TigerMate, we had to grind down the edges in order to provide a matching surface for the sweep to lay on. The second is going crazy on the bolt torque. I blame electric impacts for most of that. It seems like the majority of modern-day mechanics can't manually operate a wrench anymore.
You are also correct in the sense that the lost sweeps are typically the ones that do not wedge very far on the shank retainer. That is where the cleaning and oiling comes into effect. The only knock-on sweeps that have fallen off our machine, were hammered on dry with no cleaning.
I just have to roll my eyes when people mention how quick they can do certain tasks like replacing those knock-on sweeps. It is not the physical hammering that takes up all the time, it is the prep work. There is a reason why I am not on here complaining about losing sweeps, wheels falling off, disc gangs coming loose, bolts breaking, etc. It is because of all the prep work that I put into the task beforehand which most people deem to not be all that important.
I was just watching this YouTube video the other day of some duals being installed on an Allis tractor that was going to start spring tillage. The whole time they were putting those wheels on, I was cringing and shaking my head at the use of an impact and no lubrication. My concerns were validated at the 30-minute mark.
Mav
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Considering bolt on sweeps for TigerMate 200