Ballast box

[CMV]

Big brown truck delivered a big red box today. Got this ballast box from Titan Distributors (not sure if that is same Titan as sticky at top of this page???) on Amazon Amazon.com: Ballast Box 3 Point Category 1 Tractor Attachment: Home Improvement. I thought $259 was a very fair price for how heavy this thing is esp since that included shipping. Box/packing cardboard was pretty beat to heck, but once unwrapped it seemed to be in great shape minus a little scuff here & there on high points - which I couldn't care less.

Couple questions:

1. There are 2 big round cylinders welded in corners on one side. Do those serve a purpose or is that just structural support? Could carry around a hoe or rake but otherwise can't think of a reason for them to be there.

2. How heavy should I try to make it? It's 130 lbs empty. I have a small 25hp tractor that can lift about 1200 lbs with FEL. Rear tires are fluid filled. I do lots of dirt/gravel moving with FEL. So far have been doing that with a 5' box blade on rear and machine handles fine. I have sand, ABC gravel, #1 crushed concrete, and 4x8x16 concrete blocks to choose from to add weight. Thinking the blocks are a good choice since easy to remove but would be lightest option. Sand I would guess needs a have trash bag liner or something to keep it from leaking out of the trap door?

3. If I do use the cement blocks that would put total weight around 600-650 lbs. This box has a receiver for a 2" trailer hitch. So if I wanted to move my empty trailer around (16' dual axle landscape/utility type, 1800 lbs, no idea tongue weight) would I need to worry about too much weight on the rear or 3-pt?

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate.
The corner 'pipes' are for handled tools that you may want to transport (shovel, hoe, rake, etc...).

As for adding weight, that's up to you. I loaded my JD ballast box up with bricks that were lying around the property. Filled it to within 3" of the top and then cut a rubber mat to place on top. Some folks simply pour cement into it to bring it up to that level... even adding a chainsaw scabbard.

The amount of weight that you can add is entirely up to you.

 

[CMV]

But is there a 'correct amount'? Some ratio of X in the bucket, Y in the ballast box is best for stability and unloading front axle? Obviously, everything placed in the bucket is going to be different. If I'm primarily taking as big a scoop of dirt or gravel that it can lift when I use the FEL, Does that mean I want 300 lbs or 700 lbs hanging off the 3-pt? Maybe I'm overthinking it or worrying about nothing....just don't know enough about this stuff in general. I also wonder if it was engineered thinking a 300lb box blade or 450 lb bush hog is what would typically be back there, is running around with a lot more causing excess wear? More lift capacity in rear than front, so probably not, but still makes me wonder if it would be prudent to get the box 'heavy enough' but no more.

 

[Wagtail]

Well, it's mostly a 'personal' estimate. The estimate being what is the usual maximum load you are going to use your FEL to lift & carry.

My usual load is a 5x5 round bale of hay... I could probably put some more weight back there (in the box) during haying season whilst bouncing around fetching & loading the rounds, but that's only a week or so out of the year.

Also consider that a box blade or bush hog hangs out farther back than a ballast box = the balancing weight of either of those implements will be more regarding the balancing 'pivot point' of your tractor. A ballast box, being closer in to the tractor will slightly put that 'pivot point' back whilst also increasing the weight-on-ground of your rig.

It's a trial & error process combined with a balancing act.

 

[rkidd]

A good rule of thumb is to run 70% of your loader capacity for ballast. That should get you in the ball park. My B2650 has a loader capacity of just under 1100 lbs. I run 700 lbs of ballast, and it keeps the tractor planted nicely.

 

[tjkubota93]

The manual of my bx tells you how much ballast to have.

Where did you get all that train track?

 

[Harry Christopher]

I also came home after work yesterday to discover my Titan ballast box lying in my driveway. The one in your photo is the same Titan as in the sticky. I had the same questions about how much weight to put into my box as you do. I have a Mahindra Max 26XL Gear with a FEL. The category 1 3 point hitch has 2 weight ratings. The first is apparently measured at the lower lift links next to the rear of the tractor and is said to be 2205 lbs. and the 2nd is measure 24 inches behind the lift point and is published as 1430 lbs. The Max engine is essentially a detuned 28hp depending how the rpm is set and measured for emissions testing purposes.

I ran a Toro commercial 522XI with a FEL and weight box for 17 years and 1200 hours before I bought the Max. I guessed at how much weight to put in the box of that tractor. I had rear wheel weights as well as the rear ballast box on the Toro. The correct weight to carry was just a flat out guess on that tractor.

I bought the Max this past August and have put approximately 75 hours on it to date. I did not have the rear tires filled or any rear wheel weights added when I first picked up the tractor at the dealer's. I noticed that when doing serious loader work moving horse manure there were a few occasions when I lifted the rear tires which was rather disconcerting. I called my dealer this past Monday and asked for his recommendations about offsetting the weight in the FEL. He offers the beet juice in the rear tires routine or suggested a rear ballast box on the 3 point hitch. He said that he felt adding 300 to 400 pounds of weight in the box would make a definite difference to how the FEL handled on this particular tractor. I elected to chose the Titan box over having the rear tires filled.

The OEM lower link pins that came with the Titan were a bit too short on the threaded portion for my liking so I went to Tractor Supply and bought longer threaded category 1 link pins and grade 8 flat washers. The longer pins afforded me the ability use the washers on either side of the box pin bracket as well as allow the 7/8 NF nut to have sufficient threaded bolt length remaining after it was tightened up. On the original pins when the nut was fully tightened up there was no threaded bolt length remaining.

I bought general use sand at Home Depot which I poured into 3 heavy duty trash bags that I lined the inside of the ballast box with and tied off the bag ends with nylon wire ties. I chose to put 300 lbs of sand in the box for the following reasons: 1st that amount was in line with the dealer's thoughts and I have found his advice to be very helpful so far; 2nd I have read of folks having so much weight in the rear box that the front end becomes a bit light and they experience steering issues; 3rd the total weight of rear ballast is 132 lbs for the box, 300 lbs for the sand and 3 lbs for the 2 inch hitch receiver for a total all up weight of 435 lbs which is approximately 20% of the 2205 lbs listed carrying weight capacity and 30% of the 1430 lbs listed weight capacity. I drove the tractor around late last night and could definitely feel a seat of the pants difference with the rear ballast.

The amount of weight to use is an individual owner's decision. I like the sand idea because it affords me the ability to fine tune the carried weight and know exactly how much weight that I actually have in the box at any given time. Later today I will try out the new tractor addition in our horse riding ring while I prep it for winter storage as it were in view of tomorrow's plow-able snow fall that I just discovered on my morning look at the weather. We are suppose to get in the 2 to 6 inch range so if that much does show up I will also be able to test how the rear ballast works while plowing the drive.

 

[CMV]

Thanks. I will try 500ish total weight and go from there. Didn't think about box blade hanging out further, but that makes a lot of sense. Just the box blade seemed sufficient - I didn't have any handling or stability issues with a max bucket load. So I'm assuming I don't need to go a whole lot heavier.

Pins on mine seemed just fine when the nut was torqued down. Pretty much flush and I like that - one less thing in the way in that real tight area at back of my tractor. But I didn't add flat washers. With a few threads sticking out, I guess that would be a good visual indicator that a nut was backing off, but otherwise isn't adding any strength to the fastening connection.

Will try it all out tomorrow after I get the box loaded. If I find myself doing a wheelie up the trailer ramps I guess that means too heavy

 

[Otgaugres]

I estimate that I’ve got about a 1000 pounds in mine. It’s used on a JD 4066R. I don’t have my tires loaded, and I’ve got a root grapple I use on the loader. I’ve really found to do some good work with the grapple, I need all the weight I can get. I’ve hesitated to load my tires, because I do a lot of woods work and in the past my luck with tire punctures hasn’t been the best. My luck, the time and money is spend loading the tires would end up leaking all over my property. I’ve attached a link to mine, along with a dolley I made for storage in my barn.

Storage Dolly for John Deere Ballast Box - YouTube

 

[CincyFlyer]

I have one; it's loaded up to about 800 lbs, for my Mahindra. I started out with sand (dampened, so it wouldn't leak out) but I never removed or adjusted it, so I filled it in with scrap iron, sand, and concrete (leaving the implement holes open.)
My only issue is that the top link is a little close to the box for easy use of the quick hitch; I had to thin down my HFQH's hook to get in there without first removing the pin. Otherwise, it's the right shade of Red for a Mahindra, and works fine with half a ton in the bucket.