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 | KIRK
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2000-01-22 12166
I recently purchased a JD4600. I thought draft control was standard equipment but it is not. I've found that as an option the dealer will install it for me. I am not experienced with "Draft Control" and do not know how valuable it will be to my operation. I plan to plow several acres of stoney ground with a two bottom plow and I plan to use a new rototiller quite extensively. My question Is, Will it be worth my while to install Draft Control or can I get along quite well without it??? I know very little about this subject so any comments will be appreciated. KIRK
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962 
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2000-01-23 12169
Kirk, I don't know a lot about "draft control" and have no idea what it costs as a dealer installed option, so I can't say whether it's worth it, but I'm betting not. A neighbor has it on his big John Deere, but he's pulling 20' wide plows, too. The way he explained it to me is that he sets it for a certain depth, and if the tractor starts pulling too hard, it automatically raises the plows enough to prevent slowing or stalling, and when it's again pulling easily, it returns to the deeper depth. Is your two bottom plow going to pull the tractor down that much? And I use a rototiller a LOT and I can't see how draft control would be any benefit. The depth is adjusted with the skids and I just push the 3-pt lever all the way forward to allow the tiller to drop to its maximum depth. ....
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| Roger L.
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 0
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2000-01-23 12170
I have draft control in the 33 hp Yanmar and also in the ag tractor. It works good in the ag tractor....though don't find much use for it, prefer to just work the 3pt by hand, you can do the same thing by paying attention to the way the implement is pulling and raising and lowering the 3pt in tiny increments. On the littler 33 hp Yanmar (at about 4200# with implements), the tractor is just too light for draft control to do much good. With stony ground I think you are going to be working the 3pt constantly anyway. ....
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 | lsheaffer
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 1082 Northern Illinois 
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2000-01-23 12171
Draft contol would not be a benefit with a rototiller. If you are getting along fine know, I wouldn't add it now. Where it is a benefit is in ground with varying soil types or rolling ground. When the 3 point arms sense a harder pull it raise the arms a little. When the resistance decreases it lowers the arms. The only place I've used it on the farm is moldboard plowing, which hardly anyone does any more. My problem with it is: If you want to plow 9" deep & you have rolling ground, when you go up the hill it may be 6" deep, because of the draft response. What is more important, uniform speed or uniform depth? ....
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| KIRK
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-01-23 12172
Thank you all for adding to my education on "DRAFT CONTROL" The way the advice is going, I'm going to save several hundred by NOT installing it. My last concern; I was told that with draft control I would not plow up so many stones; but the plow would lift and go over the stones thus limiting the dragging off of so many rocks with the drag after plowing. This is a big concern of mine, as I used to plow with a small 12hp cub which would stall before bringing up the large rocks. The new JD4600 has a lot of power! What do you think??? ....
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| David Paul
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2000-01-23 12177
I think you would find little benefit of draft control for the tiller. However if you are running bottom plows in rocky soil or hilly ground with a light low HP tractor (The JD falls in this category) you will proably be unhappy with the plow's performance without draft control. If you try to control the plow by hand several things will happen, you will have difficulty plowing a straight furrow since you must watch the plow, you will get a crink in your neck from watching the plow, and you cannot respond quickly enough if you are plowing at a decent speed to raise and lower the plow. Without draft you will become fustrated and cuss the bottom plow, I know I've been there. I installed draft control on a 1520 Ford I had and it was money well spent. The plow would not dive in with draft and cause the wheeels to spin like it did without. (Yes the tractor was ballasted to the max for plowing) Try plowing without draft and if the results are unsatisfactory (buy draft control and don't look back). Pun intended. ....
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| KIRK
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-01-23 12179
I can't tell you how happy I am to have found this site not only for the answers to my own question which have been extremely helpful, but for the abundance of other information contained here. I live in Rhode Island which is hardly in the farming zone and I am a novice farmer at best. I am going to stay glued to this site and thank you all for your input. ....
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| Kim Hartshorn
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2000-01-23 12182
Heyas...
Are you getting 4wd option?..it will be more important than draft control. ....
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| Kruser
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-01-23 12185
Kirk... The descriptions of draft control have been good. Just one thing to add: The old Ford 8Ns (not 9N or 2N) had draft control (you could flip a lever and select either position control or draft control). Draft control was always troublesome. They had a constant problem with "bobbing"... that is, the plow would constantly raise and lower a little "by itself". They never did get this truly fixed, and many owners stopped using it because of the problem. ....
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| Roger L.
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 0
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2000-01-24 12192
Kirk! Did I hear you correctly that adding the draft control to a 20K tractor is only a few hundred dollars? For that price I would be tempted to get it whether it was an advantage or no. Posts seem to be saying that it wouldn't help with the rototilling and the jury is out on whether it would help with the plowing....It should, but depends on the ground, the tractor weight and gearing, and how responsive that the draft control is. It all sounds to me like the perfect excuse to spend money on your tractor toy. ....
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| mbjacobs
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-01-24 12193
Kirk: Like you, I'm really impressed with the amount and quality of information on these boards. ....
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| MChalkley
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-01-24 12197
I've used draft control on Kubota 25-43 hp tractors. As has been said, it is of no value for rototilling, but for plowing, ripping, scarifying, and similar types of work, it can make the work a lot less tiresome. When the force required to pull the implement becomes greater than the setting on the draft control lever, the draft control automatically raises the implement until the force becomes less than the setting again. The raising of the implement serves two purposes: As the implement raises, it of course lessens the drag, and may in the process help turn up stones, etc. Second, it increases the force on the rear wheels as the implement is raised, which increases traction when you need it most. I think you'll find it worth "a few hundred bucks". ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2000-01-27 12262
Mark, nice job again just a little brief. Thru the years there have been many styles, on compact tractors they are all upper link control. They have many varing amounts of sensitivity from 7% to 20% plus (no mention to color), they do not respond to hills on the older tractors only load, only some of the newest farm tractors where you can dial in wheel slip as a factor might it make a difference on hills. To say it wouldn't make a difference on a tiller is wrong because if you were tilling fast in sand and hit clay soil it vary well would raise the tiller if the draft is set light enough which in stone's might save tines. To properly use draft control put it in the lightest setting and drop your hitch to the lowest positition and then move your draft lever to heavy. When at head lands or turn around then only use the hitch lever to raise and lower. ....
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| MChalkley
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2000-01-27 12265
Art, I hadn't thought about that aspect of tiller operation. My statement was a little broad & sweeping, wasn't it? The tillers I've used generally just hop up and down when they hit really hard stuff, so I don't think it would matter much, plus when I'm going fast and they hit hard stuff, it tends to just 'walk' up and over it. But I'd also forgotten about reverse-till tillers. They would probably benefit a great deal from draft control in difficult conditions. ....
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| Mark A. Holt
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-02-01 12414
Concerning draft control. I use it often in using the box scraper on my Massey Ferguson 35. I is helpful in the maintaining control of the volumn of dirt I am pulling but my object being getting the dirt level without spending a few thousand on a hydrolic leveling box frame with wheels so you can make adjustments on the fly. Or at least that what appears to be done by othres.
I also have a top tilt hydrolics (which I want to add to a 4600 in a near future purchase) on a smaller tractor. The middle point of the three point is hydrolic (rather then manual adjustment) and it is great for adjusting the angle of my bite. This feature also allows some control in my tiling. Of course I have the adjustment on the side of the tiller to play with as well. The more automatic features that I had at my disposal the more control at the touch of the hand without manual intervention. These features may help in minimizing you bringing up rocks as well.
Mark Holt ....
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| Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2000-02-01 12424
Mark, Your right with the use of the draft control with the box scraper use on your massey ferguson 35, the system on that tractor is a a sensitive unit for the age of the tractor. You should be able to carry a load and not be spinning the tires or obusing the tractor. ....
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