finished plowing

Don656 · Oct 12, 2011

Finished plowing with the 656 and JD 555H 3-14's trailer plow yesterday. Posted some pictures hopefully (first time trying to post pictures on this site).

Here are some stats: 17 total acres plowed, 19 hours total elapsed time on hour meter, 62 gallons of gas consumed (3.6 gal./acre or 3.3 gal./hr.), 2.5 quarts of oil consumed.

Total weight of tractor with liquid ballast and wheel weights is 8,500 lbs. Plowed in 2nd gear, plowed 8-10 inches deep, had to use the TA quite a bit.

Does the amount of gas and oil used seem about right or was it too much?

karl f · Oct 12, 2011

the gallons per hour sounds right for a gas engine doing work. similar fuel consumption with our 656 gas.

karl f

Allan in NE · Oct 12, 2011

Nice looking ol' tractor!

Yeah, that's the trouble with the gassers anything over about 50 horse or so, and they really suck the fuel.

A diesel would have used under a gallon an acre.

Allan

Don656 · Oct 12, 2011

Good to know. Sounds like I may not have done any engine damage running the D-21 spark plugs. It sure sounded awful, though!

The Dukester · Oct 12, 2011

Hmmm, looks like a nice field to plow and a good job doing it. Seems like that outfit could have done more than an acre an hour though. Back in the 1980's I usta pull a JD #555 3-16 with my '53 Super M and I could average over an acre an hour easily and I didn't have nice fields like that one to plow. I had hills and rocks to plow in. Old SM had 4 1/8 sleeves and pistons and it had plenty of power....and appetite for fuel...burnt about the same as your tractor actually. Now I've got a 60+ horse JD G "toy" that burns even more fuel....but it "plays" with the old JD #55 3-14's I pull with it. I sure I can plow over an acre an hour with it....and I'm sure it will burn more gas. John Deere G's really drink the sauce when they're workin'. I think plowing is a great job, about the best enjoyment running a tractor you can get.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 12, 2011

Grandpa's 656 would plow 2 acres per hour in bean stubble pulling 4 16s and use about 4 gallon per hour. You're plowing pretty deep in sod with 3 bottoms. Your numbers are normal.

1950MFD · Oct 13, 2011

I think that you actually have a F620 plow-the tube backbone is a giveaway. (I had to look a ALOT of pictures to id my plow-looks just like yours)

Don656 · Oct 13, 2011

Good to know, but the parts book for the 555H seems to match everything except for the tube backbone like you mention. I think it really is a 555H and a previous owner switched the backbone.

Don656 · Oct 13, 2011

I agree with you. I like plowing. I really don't think this tractor and plow can do any better than an acre per hour, though. The plow is all the tractor wants. I had to use the TA a lot and in a lot of places had quite a bit of wheel slip. Seems like I need a 100 hp tractor and 10,000 lbs weight for this plow! Growing up, I remember my Dad pulling 3-14's with a Farmall M in 3rd gear. That old M would make a lot of noise and my dad would comment "that really makes her bark". When the 656 gets loaded down, the sound is more like a whimper.

Don656 · Oct 13, 2011

Actually it is wheat stubble. I don't think there is any way that I could pull 4 16s with this tractor in my ground. It really struggled with the 3-14s. I don't know how anyone ever pulled these plows with an M! The 656 is 60+ horsepower. I thought the 3-14s would be play for this tractor, but it really struggles with them. How much horsepower do I need? 100 or more?

LMack · Oct 13, 2011

Something is not right. I plowed with a 656 in heavy soil pulling a IH 3-16 flip plow (plows deeper due to plow weight) and high third was typical except in heavy sod. My uncle pulled four 16 mounted beam plow with his. Mine was a diesel though. That had to be some tough soil you plowed. Must have been a long time since it has been plowed up.

Don656 · Oct 13, 2011

Was plowed about 18 months ago.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 14, 2011

Same with me 686 - 3hi for a 3-16 rollover plow. Speed seemed just about right for plowing - not too fast

Something isn" right as a super M should handle 3-14 and the your 656 should have 2x the hp

sflem849 · Oct 14, 2011

I'm not one to set a plow well, but I am not sure yours is correct. There is NO pattern to the soil in the field that we can see in the picture. Are you sure your coulters are set properly? depth? pitch? I don't know what to change...just throwing stuff out there. When I plowed last time I had the 75 year old neighbor help me out. There is nothing better than a person who has done it back when it was cool.

IH fan · Oct 14, 2011

Lot of difference in soil types, but we plowed with 2 JD 60s (37 dbHP) which is about mid-way HP-wise between an M and SM and had no problems in any soil we farmed. Plows were 3x14" JD 55 and the other an IH... don't remember the model but had high speed moldboards and seemed to pull easier than the JD. Later Dad had a 460 (46 dbHP) and pulled an IH 3x16" in the same fields.

slifnom · Oct 15, 2011

This may sound crazy, but I think I used about the same number of gallons of gas with my 300u pulling 3-14"

oldtanker · Oct 15, 2011

The 656 should be able to run a 4-16 plow with no problems. So if it was plowed 18 months ago and it's wheat stubble there is a problem some place. Unless you have really heavy soil plow set up is one thing to look at. Setting on flat ground the bottoms should be darn near flat on the ground. Just up a tad at the rear of the land on each bottom. That makes it go into the ground good but isn't fighting trying to dig in deeper. When plowing dose it pull really bad to the land side? If so the points are going in too deep and putting lot of side pressure on the land side of the plow. If you have the manual check the setup instructions. Your 656 should play with that plow. Another thing to look at is depth. Could be your plow wasn't designed for 10" plowing. Maybe only good for 6-8".

Dad had a JD 3-16 trip plow behind a JD R and we plowed with that in 4th 2/3 throttle about 6 inches deep. Only time we dropped into 3rd and used more throttle was one rented field that had not been plowed in 20 years and plowing down alalfa.

Great looking tractor!

Rick

Don656 · Oct 15, 2011

Pattern? Didn't know there was supposed to be a pattern. I thought you wanted a nice level job of plowing without any ridges. Seems like there would have to be ridges to have a pattern.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 15, 2011

I looked at your picture again. Looks like the ground was kinda wet. If you have clay that will make it tacky and tough to plow. I ran a 656 a lot when I was a kid. The 4 14s we pulled was all it wanted and our soil was loam with some white clay. We also had red clay hills and the torque was used a lot. Your horse power and performance are normal for that tractor.

Don656 · Oct 16, 2011

The ground was pretty wet. We had one of the wettest September's on record. I also do have a lot of clay. The places where the soil breaks up as it is turned, plows easier. The places where the soil turns over as one solid piece plows very hard.

finished plowing

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