It would seem that the iron wheels in tractors are a relic of the past … Nothing could be further from the truth, in one of the Dutch farms this solution improves the tractor’s tractive power when working on very heavy, clay soil.
Installing wider tires , using twin wheels, releasing the pressure from the wheels, or adding additional weight to the tractor . There are many ways to improve the traction power of a tractor , and one of the more unconventional ways is successfully used on a farm in the Netherlands.
How to improve the tractive power of an agricultural tractor?
The Dutch family farm Enthoven in Zeewolde works on very heavy clay soils. In order to improve the traction of the tractor , the farmers themselves constructed a modern version of the additional metal wheels.
These wheels are equipped with 10 metal blades, which can be adjusted in length, which makes it possible to work at various working depths. As a result, when working in really difficult conditions, the 270 HP New Holland T7.270 towing the 7-furrow Lemken plow has a wheel slip of only 0-1%.
This solution primarily improves traction, but also reduces fuel consumption. It is also worth noting that the additional metal wheels increase the width of the tractor very little , which is especially important when plowing or driving on public roads.
Thanks to the adjustable length of the metal blades, also wheeled transport is not a problem, because the blades can be hidden so much that they do not protrude beyond the outline of the tires.
Interestingly, this system has been used on the farm for five years and so far farmers have had no problems with it.
In the video below you will see how the metal wheels perform in practice.
And what unusual ways to improve traction do you use in your tractors ? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
- The Netherlands – the country of windmills, Maryśka and now iron wheels. Bravo UE!
- A good patent, I would also make these retractable spikes on the cylinders, power supply to the cylinders as in the additional central pumping systems of the wheels, the hose at the top and side of the tire to the axle. It takes an hour to pull out such spikes by hand
- I put large weights on the front three-point linkage and the operator’s seat is pushed back to the max and the headrest is pulled out and the backrest of the Max seat is folded back. In addition, he does not take his hat off his head and most importantly I light all the roosters. Then the load and balance of the tractor is the highest, thanks to which the tractive force is the highest, 110% And the wheel slip is on the level of minus 2 to minus 5%, sometimes I have to pump up the pressure to 8 bar to reduce this slip to 0%.
- Gentlemen! Such a high-tech Netherlands and plowing?!?!? apparently the western world only “without a plow” !!! Notice that in the background of the movie, there is also a way to improve tractor with a plow in the distance. Nevertheless, I envy the plains and no stones!
- o No Sir! “without a plow”, i.e. shallow mixing, deep loosening. Conservation tillage, whether heavy or light, has the same advantages and disadvantages. Heavy, clay soil like in the movie, when it dries up, even the grain of the roots will not develop. Theoretically, read “without a plow” they should leave a lot of mulch on the surface, give a lot of organic and only deeply loosen …
- Standard in the Netherlands. Who was it, knows that farmers there modify the machines themselves so that they are adapted to the needs of a given farm. There, when a new harvester arrives, e.g. for harvesting tulip bulbs, it immediately enters the workshop where it is modified. There, they even cut and remake the frames of the machines so that they work as the farmer wants, and not as the factory invented it. We also have good farmers-constructors, with the difference that they can afford to modify the machine and void the warranty, and not necessarily us…
