Ballast Rear Weights

[daTeacha]

I got some inch thick round sections of steel at a junkyard, plus some pieces of deck plate which I drilled to fit the weight holes on my rims. I welded the rounds to the deck plate and bolt the plate to the rims for 130 lb on each wheel. I also have about 900 lb of concrete on the 3 point.

3 point weight is good to keep the rear end down, but is not as effective at counteracting tipping as wheel weights or loaded tires. It's all in the center and offers no extra roll resistance. Wheel weights or loaded tires counteract tipping but pound for pound do not counteract a loaded bucket as well as a 3 point weight due to leverage concerns. You need some of each, how much depends on your ground and what you do with your machine. A box blade offers weight low, far back, and wide. It also can act as sort of an outrigger. If you start to tip, the box can hit the ground and help prevent further tipping.

Each option has it's good points and bad points. I don't have need for a box blade and the things I use were cheap -- the rear concrete weight was just left at the place by the P.O. and the junkyard weights cost me about $20 for materials and a bit of my time on the welder.

Weightlifting weights are about 50 cents per pound around here, not what I'd call cheap, but those EZ weights are otherwise a pretty neat solution.

 

[JerryG]

Here is collage of my weight bracket that I made several years ago and still use. There's 200 pounds on each side. Each weight plate is 50 lbs..

http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/65/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

 

[jacobweaver32]

Wow ... this is quite deep....good information for a new user like myself. I am planning to move some dirt with my newly purchased MF 1533 FEL.... I got R4s and a backhoe thats gotta weigh close to 800lbs.... Anyone know how much the BH80x weighs by chance??? Doesnt say on the brochure.

 

[daTeacha]

I don't know, but a backhoe should be plenty of weight to counteract a FEL. Where are you in NE Ohio? There are a lot of guys here from that general area. I'm near Wooster. Your screen name sounds like you might from Amish country, too.

 

[jacobweaver32]

HAHA no im no amish.... my name is just jacob... for some reason my mom was a fan of the bibical names.

I live in Deerfield just north of Alliance bout 10 miles.... I bought from White's Farm Supply.

Nice to here from a local... take care.

Jake

 

[daTeacha]

I hope you're upstream of the infamous Deerfield Dump. If you're new to the area, ask about it. Back in the '70s it was known nationally as a site where an assortment of hazardous materials were simply buried in 55 gallon drums with no thought to leakage, mixing of chemicals, and so on. It was one of the first Superfund cleanup sites. It eventually drains into Mosquito Lake about half way between the north and south ends on the west side. The actual dump site has supposedly been cleaned up, but if you are in the immediate area and have kids, you would do yourself a favor to find out as much as you can about the place. It's kind of scary to this chemistry teacher to know such places have faded from our institutional memory so fast.

 

[jacobweaver32]

Hey thanks for the heads up... but OBVIOUSLY I have heard of the dump site. It's actually quite funny how everybody I tell that I built a home in Deerfield say the same thing.
Things have been pretty much cleaned up, I have heard of no recent issues. I pull my water from the ground and drink...(purified obviously).... which is another story... like 5k worth of equipment to do so (not because of the chemicals... but because of the hardness, sulfer, iron & iron bacteria... ya its gross)... but on the up side my 12 acre plot only cost 40k.

But to agree with your posting.... I keep my ears open for any issues arrising... and in the future when I have kids I'll make sure they know not to go swimming in the creeks around.