Brinly Plow with Spring assist

[jfinney]

Hey there, forgive me if this is a stupid questions, but here goes: I have a spring assist on my 73 and a 10" Brinly plow. If I set the spring to provide maximum assist in raising the plow, will that in any way adversely affect the plows ability to dig in or return to maximum depth if I were to hit a rock and the plow popped up a little? Another question, when plowing, should the implement lift lever be set to float, or locked at maximum depth? I was at my first plow day this weekend, but wasn't sure I had it set right. I followed information I found on this site on how to "dial in" your plow. Also, I found my plow performed much differently depending on who I followed in the furrow? Is that normal? In fact, some seemed to be plowing so deep that it made it tough for my 73 to follow them at all. Sorry for the long winded question. Thanks, Jason

[jfinney]

So, any of you plowing experts have your plows set up on a manual lift tractor and spring assist? Thanks,
Jason

[Matt G.]

I have never plowed with anything other than manual lift and a spring assist. Go ahead and tighten the spring assist as far as you like. I connect the 3-point to the sleeve hitch adapter with chains so it can float there. I lock the lift lever in the lowest position and adjust the plow such that there is some slack in the chains when the plow is in the ground.

If you're following a JD leaving a crappy 2" deep furrow, it'll plow differently than if you're following a super Cub with a 12" plow. The depth of your furrow depends on the depth of the previous furrow, to some extent.

[jfinney]

Matt G, thanks for the reply. I would never have thought of using a chain to lift the plow. I'm new at this plowing thing and even though I followed the directions on how to set my plow up, I'm not real sure it was right. It would be great if there was someone I could ask to help set it up right. I did ask two guys at the show and the only thing they advised me to do was to take my coulter off because it was stopping my plow from digging in. Jason

[MBounds]

JFinney: Matt is using chains but the slots in the lift bars for the Sleeve Hitch Adaptor are intended to do the same thing: allow the plow to raise up and then return to the original setting.

Myron B

[jfinney]

Myron, thanks for the information. It seemed that when I hit a rock and the plow bounced up a bit it wouldn't sink back down, but I had the lift lever set to float and the whole lever would pull back and raise the plow. I guess I'll set it to lock next time and see what happens. Should the plow stay down in the ground even if it's set to float? Perhaps I didn't have it adjusted correctly. Thanks,
Jason

[Matt G.]

When set up properly, the plow will pull itself into the ground and stay there. Like I said, my chains have a bit of slack in them when I'm plowing. If you are having to apply down pressure, your plow isn't set up right. If you've got a spring assist, it was pulling the plow back out of the ground. You need to lock the lift lever and let the plow float with either chains or slotted lift straps.

[jfinney]

Thanks Matt G. I don't know that I'll be doing any more plowing this year until the fall, so I'll have to wait until then to see if I can get the plow set up properly. Jason

[PaulR]

I assume you were at the Danville PD, we sure had a good time! I had a manual lift/spring assist tractor and another with hydraulic lift, both worked about the same. A lot has to do with how you adjust the attitude of the blade with the adjustment handle.

I did follow a few green tractors which weren't set up right and it was tough following them.

[jfinney]

yes, i was at the Danville PD...great time! I can't wait until next year and wish that there was something closer to me. Maybe I'll see if someone could help me set it up better next year.
Jason