The New Harvest of Mid-Sized Diesel Tractors

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

DRAFT CONTROL: Several machines in the 1979 Ford line offer a draft control option, and such capability may be available on the Kubota L245DT and L285 in the near future. To appreciate the value of this feature, take a minute to examine Me attachment points of a typical moldboard plow, as shown in the drawing (page 124). Me lower links of the tractor's hitch support the implement and pull it along. As the cutting edge digs into the ground, the whole device tends to pivot at the lowerlink pins, and this action provides a forward pressure against the top link.

Draft control is a simple but effective means of keeping the plow working at a nearly uniform depth. Because of its shape, the advancing plow blade tends to cut deeper and deeper into the soil ... and the forward pressure on be top NA (due to the mounting resistance of the earth) increases.

With draft control, this forward pressure is absorbed—to a point—by a powerful spring within the top-link attachment. Then—when the spring's limit is exceeded—the pressure on the upper link activates a lever in the hydraulic mechanism ... which in turn operates a control valve that transfers just enough hydraulic fluid to raise the lower links a bit and lift the blade. As the implement rises (and contacts less soil), the pressure on the top link decreases and the blade resumes its tendency to dig in.

If you plan to use soil-contacting implements (such as a plow, subsoiler, or rearmount scrape blade) extensively, draft control is a time-saver well worth the price ... but it isn't an essential feature. However, should your choice of tractor lack draft control, you can achieve nearly the same advantages by purchasing implements fitted with adjustable side wheels which directly limit working depth.

POSITION CONTROL: All of the vehicles hoed am equipped with position control, a means of bringing an implement to the same point (relative to the tractor) each time the lower links are returned from the raised to the "working" setting. Be sure to check out this option before you buy, however, because there am several systems used to accomplish this task ... and some are definitely better than others. The best of the bunch are those mechanisms which are directly connected to the draft control unit.

A LESSON IN DIESEL ENGINE TERMINOLOGY

A diesel is an internal combustion engine in which the fuel is ignited by the heat of compression rather than by an electric spark. While a diesel will cost more than a comparable gasoline engine,

this initial difference is usually offset by lower long-term maintenance costs. It is not uncommon for highway diesels to log half a million miles or more between routine overhauls, and a tractor equipped with one of these powerplants should provide many thousands of trouble-free working hours.

Since a diesel has no electric ignition system or carburetor, the usual on-the-farm servicing consists of little more than cleaning and replacing the air and fuel filters, and checking and changing the oil ... operations that require a minimum of time and no special skills.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print