Chain Harrow

[Rick ('50, NC)]

I want to buy a chain harrow to hook behind my Cub to break up the manure in my pastures. Most of the stores around have the harrows with 7/16 " tines, but know that there are harrows available with the bigger 5/8" tines.

I am wanting a harrow 4 feet wide and 8 feet long so that I can get through some narrow gates, plus not overload the Cub.

Question: Will the harrows with the 7/16" tines be heavy enough to break up the manure during the Summer when the grass is heavy and thick or should I opt for the heavier 5/8" tine model?

[cowboy]

Hi Rick

I use the Farnam drag harrow. I have been using it for three years and it is a good unit. I use the 6' by 8' harrow and usually when pulling I overlap a foot when pulling.

The farnam is nice in that you can pull it with the points down heavy down light or flat. It is two 4' by 6' sections and I use it with the first section down hard to brake it up and the back section upside down (flat) to spread it out. Last year I built a rear headder bar and filled it concreet and it seems to help out some. With the sections as I use them if you top seed it will set and cover the seed in one pass.

The 6by8 weighs 225lb + the headder bar I have been using my 4 by 4 four wheeler but I know the Cub will out pull the 4 wheeler easily. I was pulling big rocks to my rose garden and one I was spinning in 4by4 hooked it to the cub and pulled it up hill in 2nd gear. It says you need 2hp per foot of with of the harrow. But the cub has a ton of torque which is more usefull in pulling

http://www.farnamequipment.com/ is their website goto online store / then grounds maintenace

[Brent]

Rick,

What's making the manure? I have horses and use a length of chain link fence with a fence post tied on the back for weight. It does the job. For cows, and if it's fresh, nothing seems to work. Darn stuff sticks to everything! I would think the 7/16 would work fine,especially if you want to dig the ground up a little.

[Rick ('50, NC)]

Brent,

Mine is for horses also. The problem that I have is that during the Summer, our Coastal Bermuda gets so dense and heavy that the chain link fence drag that I made just floats over the top of the grass and doesn't really get down to the ground to break up most of the pile. I have tried weighting it down too, but it just doesn't seem to do as well as I had hoped. Maybe I am expecting more from a drag than it can produce.