Used them on the ol’ H back in the day mostly when I got stuck. Never used them on my L. Never have used the diff lock either
Split Brakes
- Thread starter skeets
- Start date
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
That’s why I enjoyed discing with the 9N when I was his age. Throttle wide open in 2nd gear. Get to the end of a row, pull up on the lift. Spin the wheel hard right. Stand on the right brake. Not enough weight to lock it, so pull up hard on the steering wheel for more pressure. 3/4 through the spin, slam the lift down. If timed correctly, the disc harrow hit the ground at the precise time the tractor was straight to get the next pass. Off the brake, back in the seat, ride to the other end of the field and repeat, next time with the left brake. It was kind of fun for a couple of hours. After that it started to feel more like work.Funny thing, my son (7) was asking why there was a latch on the brake pedals on the tractor, so I explained why. Now he thinks it’s fun to do donuts on the tractor
I've never unlinked my pedals, never needed to. The B already has a pretty tight turn radius for it's size. If I mowed with it I would use it for tight turns around trees, but the zt does all my mowing.
On my little B6100 with FEL and box blade, using the steering brake I can still turn it around in about the same spot as a larger skid steer. Both my 'keeper' tractors have loaders but I do have a tractor i bought to resell which has no loader. I used it with a bush hog one time and could see the appeal in terms of the light front end. Light front end doesn't come up for me very much with the loader tractors. The only time I got the 6100 front end light was when i put more weight on the 3pt than what it would actually pick up, and drove it uphill.
I have never used them. But after reading this thread I may give them a try. I have a couple of trees and when mowing around them I could save some time with a sharper turn
I have started to use them over the last month as I am a recent new owner of a B2601. I have only used when mowing with my 60" finish mower to make tighter turns when needed. It does tend to tear up the grass a bit so I only use them when mowing my "north property" .
If you live with snow and ice it's sometimes the only way to steer. Even with all four tires chained up a light front end often just goes straight.
I use independent brakes reasonably often when travelling across steeper slopes. The soil here is greasy when damp. Even travelling uphill on a slight angle, if the front wheels starts drifting to the side so rather than turn against the drift and cut furrows in the soil, instead gentle pressure on the uphill brake fixes it. If I jump on the brake too hard, or pump it instead of steady gentle drag, it breaks traction on the rear wheels and the whole tractor goes sideways. So I am extra careful beside fences and steep banks or other places near the point of no return 
saw a guy at another dealer "powerbrake" a tractor. Mash one brake pedal hard, 2wd, steer and dump the clutch in whatever gear he had it in. As a semi-professional drag racer, it got my interest but I also knew that it wasn't his tractor and for that I had to frown a little.
Tractor operators need to be sure to have the brakes locked when going in high gear, especially at road speed. If the brake is pushed and their not locked and your foot only gets one pedal the tractor will turn quick enough to roll over.