These are a tough unit, and a great value ($300 now thank to our steel situation in 2022). It pulls surprisingly easily with my 30hp Kubota B7800 (depending on the ground) The main shank is 1X4" steel. They work well for removing small stumps as well, drag past it to break the roots, then straight into it until the ripper is under it. Then raise the 3 point while keeping "gentle" forward pressure on it. Pop goes the stump. Works for moderate rocks too. I just got the middle buster as well, same basic build except shorter with a shovel point, and 20 bucks less. Do the 811 UFPO thing if on unfamiliar ground, as it will easily reach underground facilities. Thanks for the demo, and thanks Mr Stienberger for the wisdom of your experience.
Having subsoiled 40000 acres in my life it looks good. You can do the pocket knife test to see how well you fractured it. Dig a hole and push the knife down the side of the hole. If it stops or is difficult to push that's the layer that needs attention. If you want to run water lines etc with it it can be done with some pipe. If you raise the loader all the way up the wieght will be over the rear wheels and you will have better traction. Only do this on fairly flat surfaces. Cross hatching or double ripping really can change the world for the plants.
They will “fold up like a pretzel”! At least in very compacted clay soils, mine was bent beyond use in 200 yards. Your soil is muuuch softer than what I was in.
The shaft is stout and not the issue in my case, it was the angle iron structure. I pulled through a few 1 inch roots, but nothing big. Connected to a 50hp old-school Massey Ferguson, which is a heavy tractor compared with even similar hp compacts. I think on a compact tractor it would last a long time because you’ll spin before there is too much stress on the structure. I am certain the my 35hp kubota could not have bent it.
A more expensive subsoiler from Everything Attachments has a shear bolt to let the shank swing back if you hit an "immovable object", instead of breaking/tweaking the subsoiler frame. It also can go down a few more inches than the TSC model subsoiler. Unfortunately, current steel prices have raised the price to $650, with no shipping charge. Last fall they cost $565, when I got mine. We have rocky soil, so I bought a dozen extra shear bolts from the local hardware for $20.00. Also, dont turn your tractor, even a little, with the shank down, or the shank itself can bend. When the ground dries out a bit, Im going to tackle some poor drainage areas.
Did you use a seeder when you dropped the clover down? We have the same tractor and the same subsoiler/ we needed to assist with drainage too. Picked up a tiller today... gonna give that a go so we can get the corn down on a high spot before it’s too late! - the new pup is adorable! Glad Coors has a mate now 👍☺️
I have used this subsoiler for the last 15 years behind a Kubota L3010 (30 HP). Most of the time I can go almost 20 inches deep in our clay soil. I have 4 inches of soil, then a 2 to 3 inch hard pan that is amazing, with decent dirt below that. No rocks at all. Also used it many times to lay telephone cable. I fastened (baleing wire) a piece of 1/2 metal conduit onto the back side of the shank, with a slight bend at the bottom of the conduit. I could then feed the phone cable down the conduit and it would lay in the bottom of the trench.
If one is able I love to frost seed clover into wheat in the early spring.... combine wheat and bale wheat stubble and clover In fall and again in spring then notill corn or beans after making spring hay. Amazing how good clover is for the soils tilth....
Frist thing, have never used a subsoiler, but I think you could go deeper if you tilled & bottom plow then tilled again before you used the subsoiler.. If you try that make a video for us.
