Cub Cadet FAQ's
Brinly Plow Setup & Adjustment
A couple key adjustments & information by Steve Bluiner and ihcubcadet.com:
CLEAN THE MOLDBOARD!!! If it's rusty or rough it will not plow well. Sand the rust off and polish the share/moldboard to as bright of a surface as possible. Some slip-plate will help you get past the initial "teething" while your trying to polish up the plow.
Set the coulter fairly deep. so it almost runs on the bearing/yoke. This will help clean up the furrow wall and make the plow pull easier.
Limit the left swing of the plow...not too much, but limit it enough that the tractor helps hold the landside in the furrow. Makes for cleaner furrow walls.
Level the plow so that the landside tail is about 1/2" off the bottom of the furrow.
Limit the coulter swing to the right to keep it out of the beam and help the plow track straight.
Check that your sleeve hitch lift links are allowing the plow to go all the way down. Generally speaking, the plow should only be about 3" off the ground when raised all the way up. Start in the middle hole of the lower 3 pt. hitch mount. Move to the top hole if you need to lower the plow.
If your plowing sod with one of the Brinley plows all bets are off. You may need to raise or remove the coulter and "lock" the sleeve hitch swing adjustments just to keep the plow in the ground. More point is usually required too.
Most 10" Brinleys can be adjusted to plow 6" deep with a decent furrow wall in "broken" ground...slightly shallower in sod.
Added on Monday August 13, 2001 in response to Robb318’s query:
Bryan and others, Thanks for your help so far with my plow. I received a photo copy of a manual from Brinly Saturday in the mail for my 10" plow.
Some good info in there! I think my issues with the plow are two fold. One, the 3pt hitch holds the toe of the plow constant in its range of motion, and to have enough toe to engage the plow, I end up not having the lay or share lie flat in the Furrow when it is full depth. Secondly, the area I am testing in doesn't allow me to really get up to speed so the plow isn't throwing the furrow over. I have plenty of power and traction to do it, just not a lot of space. Also, with a 10" plow, do most of you run 8.5 tires or can you use 10.5 and still ride in the furrow?
A correctly adjusted plow will pull itself into the ground and then level off at the desired plowing depth. Sometimes the proverbial "perfect adjustment" cannot always be obtained with the Brinley plow and sleeve hitch/3pt. adapter set up. I have found that they run best when adjusted so that the tail of the landside is between 1/2" and 1" off of the furrow floor. This keeps the point down for good penetration, yet the plow runs level for good plowing. Try to keep the beam perpendicular to the ground with the tractor tire in the furrow and the plow running around 6" deep.
Set the coulter fairly deep and make sure it is on the LEFT side of the
frame and running just outside of the shin/moldboard (for a good furrow wall).
Two things can help you get the plow in the ground faster. First, limit the left
swing of the plow with the sleeve hitch adjustment bolts. If left free, it will
want to drag on top and will not penetrate as fast. Do not limit it so much that
you are pulling the front of the tractor over, just take out any excess left
slop. The Brinley manual says to let the plow swing free, but I have not found
this to be the best set up. Second, plow a single furrow across the headland
perpendicular to the direction you will be plowing. It does not have to be very
deep, it's only purpose will be to "hook" the point of the share and help the
plow bottom penetrate faster.
One other little thing, if the ground is really hard you may need to run the plow with a little more "point" to help maintain depth.
| Operation Instructions |
| Brinly Moldboard Plow |
| Model
PP-500 Series
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| PREPARING PLOW FOR USE: The plow bottom must be cleaned so dirt will slide off the moldboard without sticking. Wipe the polished surface with a rag soaked in turpentine, naptha, or gasoline. An old brick or a pumice stone can also be used to remove the protective coating, but usually this is not necessary if soil is not too wet. IN order to maintain a proper plowing cut width, refer to Figures A & B and chart.
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Measure inside distance between rear tractor wheels - refer to following chart for proper hitch attaching hole.
| NOTE: When extreme plowing conditions are encountered (or whenever wide, high flotation tires are used) it may be desirable to reduce the width of plow cut. (for example, 8" or 9" wide with a 10" plow or 10"-11" with a 12" plow). This can be accomplished by hitching plow (1) or (2) holes over to the left from recommended setting given in charts. |
Inside Dim. Inches Between Rear Tractor Wheels |
Plow Size |
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| 8" Plow | 10" Plow | 12" Plow | ||
| 18" | Use Hole #1 - Fig. A | Use Hole #2R - Fig. B | ||
| 20" | Use Hole #2L - Fig. A | Use Hole #1 - Fig. A or B | Use Hole #3R - Fig. B | |
| 22" | Use Hole #3L - Fig. A | Use Hole #2L - Fig. A | Use Hole #2R - Fig. B | |
| 24" | Use Hole #3L - Fig. A | Use Hole #1 - Fig. A or B | ||
| 26" | Use Hole #2L - Fig. A | |||
| 28" | Use Hole #3L - Fig. A | |||
| DEPTH ADJUSTMENT: The plow point pitch or suck is controlled by depth control crank. Turning this crank clockwise will cause plow to go deeper, counter-clockwise shallower (Fig. C).
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COULTER ADJUSTMENT: Coulter should be adjusted to slice 2"-3" deep. While making this adjustment, the coulter limit stop pin should also be set to prevent coulter from swinging into plow beam or bottom. If properly adjusted, coulter will be free to swing outward a limited amount from beam but will not be free to swing in to touch plow beam or bottom (Fig. E).
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| LANDING ADJUSTMENT: The plow bottom will react similar to a rudder while ground engaged. If plow point is too far from left of beam, plow will tend to over cut and leave a ragged furrow wall. This condition can be readily corrected by making the following adjustment: Loosen 2 bolts attaching plow bottom ti standard - turn land adjusting bolt clockwise two turns – retighten plow bottom attaching bolts securely. Repeat adjustments as necessary until plow follows correctly and proper width of cut is reached. (Fig. D)
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WHEN TO PLOW: Make sure the ground is in proper plowing condition before starting. Never plow when the soil is wet. If it is too dry, it will be difficult or the plow to penetrate he soil. Avoid low places, old roadways, paths and other places where the soil is overly packed. Expect to have trouble with thick sod which has not been plowed in several years. However, by finding the correct setting at the coulter, the hitch and the turnbuckle, you should be able to a satisfactory job under most conditions. High weeds or grass should be cut down with the rotary mower before plowing.
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TO BEGIN PLOWING:
This plow generally works best at a depth equal to about 1/2 of its cutting width, i.e., 8" plow 4"-5" deep, 10" plow 5"-6" deep, 12" plow 6"-7" deep.
To turn the plow point into the ground when opening the furrow, use the depth adjustment crank (Fig. C). Adjust plow point downward until a satisfactory penetration is accomplished. NOTE: Be sure tractor hitch is properly adjusted so as not to hold plow out of ground when tractor lift lever is lowered.
After the dead furrow has been made, level the plow by running the right tractor wheels in the previous furrow. Adjust depth control crank (Fig. C) until the plow landside heel runs 1/4" - 1/2" from the bottom of the furrow.
NOTE: When the right tractor wheels are in the furrow, the plow hitch is designed to level the plow in the proper horizontal angle.
Lay out your field to be plowed, and, if possible, make it rectangular in shape, about 3 tiles as long as it is wide. NOTE: It is easier to plow a few long furrows than many short ones. LEAVE SOME ROOM AT EACH END FOR TURNING YOUR TRACTOR. Start plowing by laying off a dead furrows shown in the sketch below. (Fig. F).
Begin at point "X" and plow a furrow to the end of your plot. Fix your eyes on a tree or some distant object in line with the middle of the plow so that you can guide your tractor and plow a straight first furrow to point "A". NOTE: ALWAYS LIFT PLOW BEFORE TURNING, and at point "B", lower it again and plow a dead furrow piling the dirt on top of dirt from the first furrow. When you return to point "X" and start your real plowing with both the tractor’s right wheels in the furrow at point "C", level out the plow with the turnbuckle. Plow in a clockwise direction, always LIFTING your plow at the end of the furrow before turning.
SPEED:
Do not plow fast. Move steadily along so that the earth will turn over and not fall back into the furrow. In most soils, this is done at full throttle in first gear. In light soils, plowing may often be done in second gear, but if you go too fast, you will get an uneven plowing job and the dirt is apt to be thrown instead of rolled over.
NOTE: When putting plow away, always wipe polished surface and coulter blade with grease or oil to prevent rust – replace badly worn plow shares.
Data provided by Steve Blunier, September 2002
