DEAS 1181 :2023  
ICS: 65.060  
HS 8432.10.00  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved               First Edition 2023  
  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Agricultural machinery — Disc ploughs — Specification   
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 
 
 
 DEAS 1181:2023  
 
 
 
 
 
  
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 DEAS 1181:2023  
3 
 Foreword  
Development of the  East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered wh en goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
The Committee is composed of  representatives of the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together 
with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East African Standards 
are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in  the Partner States. The comments 
received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures 
of the Community.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of  the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
DEAS 1181 :2023  was prepared by Technical Committee EASC/TC 042, Production and general engineering . DEAS 1181:2023  
Agricultura l machinery — Disc ploughs — Specification  
  
 
1 Scope  
 
1.1 This draft East African Standard specifies the requirements for disc ploughs used in four -wheel 
tractors or riding agricultural tractors.  
 
1.2 This standard does not cover two -wheel tractors or  walking agricultural tractors.  
 
 
2 Normative references  
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referen ced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
ISO 730,  Agricultural wheeled tractors — Rear -mounted three -point linkage — Categories 1N, 1, 2N, 
2, 3N, 3, 4N and 4  
ISO 2859 -1, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes — Part 1: Sampling schemes i ndexed 
by acceptance quality limit (AQL) for lot -by-lot inspection  
DEAS 1182 , Agricultural machinery — Disc and moldboard ploughs — Test methods  
 
 
3 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions shall apply : 
 
3.1 concave disc  
circular concave steel plate used for cutting and inverting the soil  
 
3.2 concavity  
vertical distance measured from the lowest point to the center of the disc when its concave side is 
placed on a flat surface  
 
3.3 disc plough   
impleme nt with individually mounted concave disc blades which cut, partially or completely invert soil 
slices to bury surface material, and pulverize the soil  
 
NOTE Blades are attached to the frame in a tilted position relative to the frame and to the direction of travel for 
proper penetration and soil displacement.  
 DEAS 1181:2023  
5 
 
 
 
Figure 1 – Disc plough  and its components  
 
3.4 frame  
structure on which the standards are fitted (see Figure 1)  
 
3.5 hitch  
portion of an implement designed to connect the implement to a power s ource (see Figure 1)  
 
3.6 scraper  
component which scrapes the soil adhering to the concave side of the disc (see Figure 1)  
 
3.7 side angle (disc angle)   
angle, in the soil surface plane, between a tool axis and a line, which is perpendicular to the dire ction of travel 
(see Figure 2)  
 
3.8 standard  
upright support which connects the shank to tillage implement frame (see Figure 1).  
 
3.9 tilt angle  
angle, in a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction of travel, between a tool axis and the soil surface  (see 
Figure 2)  
 DEAS 1181:2023  
 
Figure 2 – Disc and tilt angle 
 
3.10 width of cut  
transverse distance between either the top or bottom cutting edges of the end discs  
 
NOTE For measuring the width of cut, the tilt  angle shall be set at 15º to 25º . For non - adjustable plough  disc 
blades, the tilt  angle shall be set at 18º to 20º . 
 
 
4 Classification  
 
4.1 One -way disc plough  
Tractor -mounted or integral one -way disc plough s are attache d to the tractor by three -point hitch 
linkages and are fully carried by the tractor during transport.  
 DEAS 1181:2023  
7 
 
 
Figure 3 – Tractor -mounted disc p lough 
 
4.2 Reversible disc plough  
4.2.1 Tractor -mounted reversible disc plough  
This plough  is attached to the three -point hitch and is fully carried by the tractor in transport.  
This type is usually limited in  size (2 -4 discs) due to tractor front -end stability and hydraulic lift capacity. (see 
Figure 4)  
 
 
Figure 4 – Tractor -mounted r eversible disc plough  
 
4.2.2 Semi -mounted reversible disc plough  
Semi -mounted or semi -integral reversible disc plough  is attache d to the tractor’s lower hitch points 
and is raised/  lowered by the tractor hitch as well as a remote hydraulic cylinder on the rear transport 
wheel. On some of these plough s, the rear wheel operates on the land and serves as a gauge wheel DEAS 1181:2023  
when plough ing a nd as transport wheel (free to caster) when the plough  is raised. The rear wheel is 
an attachment for converting a fully integral, reversible disc plough  to semi -integral operation. (see 
Figure 5)  
 
 
Figure 5 – Semi -mounted reversible disc plough  
 
 
5 Size  
 
The size of the plough  shall be determined by the number and diameter of the discs and the width of 
cut. For size determination, width of cut shall be calculated by the following formula:  
 
 
 
Where :  W is the width of cut, m  
N is the number of discs  
S is the disc spacing, mm  
D is the diameter of the disc, mm  
 
 
6 Materials of c onstruction  
 
6.1 Mild steel shall be used in the manufacture of the frame, scraper, thrust wheel and hitch.  
 
6.2 Mild steel, forged steel or tool steel shall be used in the manufactur e of spool.  
 
6.3 Carbon steel shall be used in the manufacture of hitch pin  
. 
6.4 Carbon steel shall be  of minimum hardness 360 HBW  used in the manufacture of the disc 
blades.  
 
6.5 High carbon steel shall be used in the manufacture of standard.  
 
 
7. Constr uction requirements for mounted and semi - mounted disc ploughs  
 
7.1 The disc plough  shall conform to the following requirements  as shown in Table 1. 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS 1181:2023  
9 
 Table 1 – Construction requirements for disc plough  
 
Items  Requirements  
Type of disc  plain or notche d 
Number of disc  2 to 8  
Diameter of discs, mm  260 to 810  
Working width, mm  150 to 2000  
Working depth, mm  50 to 400  
Frame height, mm  300 to 800  
Disc spacing, mm  300 to 750  
Weight per disc*, kg  15 to 250  
Drawbar power requirement per 
disc, kW (hp) 5 to 20  (6.7 to 26.8)  
* It is the total weight of the plough  divided by the number of discs.  
 
 
7.2 The thickness of the disc varies with the disc diameter, as shown in Table 2.  
 
Table 2 – Disc diameter and its t hickness  
 
Disc diameter, mm  Thickness, mm  
560 4 to 6  
610  4 to 6  
660  5 to 6.5  
710  6.5 to 7.5  
760  8 to 10  
810  8 to 12  
Note:  
The thickness of the disc is measured at the centre  
 
7.3 The concavity of the disc varies with the disc diameter, as shown in Table 3.  
 
Table 3 – Disc diameter and its concavity  
 
Disc diameter, mm  Concavity, mm  
560  60 to 92  
610  60 to 106  
660  69 to 124  
710  82 to 140  
760  89 to 137  
810  104 to 144  
 
 
8 Performance r equirements  
 
8.1 The maximum depth of cut of the plough  specified by the manufacturer shall be attained.  
 
8.2 During operation, the plough  shall produce good quality of work such as: quality of inversion (ease 
of burying plant residues) and uniformity of soil clods, especially between successive passes.  
 
 
9 Other r equirements  
 
9.1 Each disc shall be  fastened securely to the hub with four or five agricultural bolts.  
 
9.2 The frame shall be rigid and durable.  
 
9.3 The scrapers are fitted in such a way that they shall not touch the face of disc and shall be able to 
scrape the soil effectively.  
 DEAS 1181:2023  
9.4 Grea se points for lubrication of bearings shall be provided. The bearings shall be properly aligned 
and provided with special dirt seals.  
 
9.5 The hitch of the disc plough shall be compatible with the hydraulic system and the three -point 
linkages of the tract or. 
 
9.6 The plough  shall be easy to operate such as:  
a. hitching to and unhitching from tractor;  
b. adjusting the depth of cut;  
c. changing the position of the plough  with respect to the line of pull of the tractor;  
d. moving the standards laterally on th e frame;  
e. maneuverability during operation;  
f. clearing blockages;  
g. changing from transport to work position and vice versa; and  
h. adjustment of the scrapers when fitted.  
 
 
10 Workmanship and f inish  
 
10.1 The disc plough  shall be free from manufacturi ng defects that may be detrimental to its 
operation.  
 
10.2 Except for disc blades, other uncoated metallic surfaces shall be free from rust and shall be 
painted properly.  
 
10.3 The disc plough , except for disc blades, shall be free from sharp edges and sur faces that may 
injure the operator  
 
 
11 Marking and l abeling  
 
11.1 Each plough shall be marked with the following information using a plate, stencil or by directly 
punching it  at the most conspicuous place:  
a) Name of the manufacturer or registered tradema rk  
b) Model and size  
c) Serial number/ Batch number  
d) Country of origin  
e) Safety/precautionary markings shall be provided.  
 
11.2  The markings shall have a durable bond with the base surface material . The markings shall be 
weather  resistant and under no rmal cleaning procedures, it shall not fade, discolor, cr ack or blister 
and shall remain legible. Safety/precautionary markings shall be in red color with a white 
background.  
   
 
12 Sampling  
 
The moldboard plough shall be sampled for inspection and testing  in accordance with ISO 2859 -1. 
 
 
13 Test methods  
 
The sampled plo ughs  shall be tested in accordance with DEAS 1182 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS 1181:2023  
11 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS 1181:2023  
Bibliography  
1) PAES 121: 2001 Agricultural machinery – Disc plough  – Specifications  
2) TZS 1416: 2011 Agricultural equipment – Disc ploughs – Specifications