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| We were very happy with the job our 550 did but they pulled really hard, on our 16' model a 150hp tractor was the bare minimum and 180 worked alot better and they worked best at higher speeds like 8 mph or faster. I think the power requirements were part of the reason they didn't stay on the market very long but they also did a very good job of incorporating chemicals which was something that alot of farmer's moved away from just a few years after the 550 was released. The last thing that probably did it in was than in '92 when it was released they would handle heavy residue better than just about anything else on the market but during the mid to late 90's there was alot of progress made in secondary tillage tools and the 550's lost some of their advantages.
As far as I know there were only one or two other 550s around here other than our's and at least one of them has been traded on a 726 finisher. We still have our's and even though we don't use it much anymore we will probably keep it around. Short of a moldboard plow they will kill weeds better than anything else I've ever seen, we've ran it through giant ragweed as tall as the rear tractor tires and it will leave it a little clumpy but the weeds will be killed. With the chisel plow shanks on 20" centers and 24" sweeps weeds don't have a chance at getting around the sweeps like on a field cultivator and it's got the under frame clearance to handle heavy weeds or corn stalks. The incorporator wheels on the back did a good job but after alot of acres you have to watch them for bearing failures. | |
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Will a Field Cult work at only 2 in deep?
