Filling my JD Ballast Box - Dummies' Guide??

[KennK]

The time has finally come to fill my John Deere ballast box with cement. I've delayed for too long - mostly because I've never EVER worked with cement before and I don't want to goof it up.

Can someone provide me with a sort of Dummies' Guide to filling the ballast box with cement?

I've seen where folks have put tubes in to carry gear. That is slick, but I'm not really worried about that. I'll probably just fill it to the top w/ cement, plain & simple.

What kind of cement do I use?

Any idea how much cement it would take to fill a standard JD ballast box?

How do I mix it?

Do I need to seal any seams - so the cement doesn't come oozing out?

Do I add add managable portions at a time?

Do I allow the bottom portion to harden first ... and then add more later?

Should I put a huge eye-hook in the middle - to allow me to lift it onto a trailer w/ the FEL - if needed? Or is the center 3PH pin strong enough to take the weight? (I suppose it should be??)

Does cement expand as it dries? Do I need to not fill it to the brim?

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

If you search this topic in the JD forum you'll find tons of posts. I would use portland cement since it's the heaviest. I'd also mix up a few bags at a time and add them to the box. I want to say it takes like 8 bags to fill it. A little bit may seep out the box seems but it will wipe off easy enough. I wouldn't bother with the eye bolt, the top link is strong enough. The concrete won't expand but it does get hot as the exothermic reaction takes place. If you have the time you can mix and pour all the bags in no time. If you only feel like doing a few at a time it won't hurt to through in a little rebar in the first few bags just to make sure the other bags you add later end up as one slab rather than several.

Matt

 

[kennyd]

If you search this topic in the JD forum you'll find tons of posts. I would use portland cement since it's the heaviest. I'd also mix up a few bags at a time and add them to the box. I want to say it takes like 8 bags to fill it. A little bit may seep out the box seems but it will wipe off easy enough. I wouldn't bother with the eye bolt, the top link is strong enough. The concrete won't expand but it does get hot as the exothermic reaction takes place. If you have the time you can mix and pour all the bags in no time. If you only feel like doing a few at a time it won't hurt to through in a little rebar in the first few bags just to make sure the other bags you add later end up as one slab rather than several.

Matt

Good advice! I will reinforce these points:

-Use Portland cement to make it the heaviest, but you did not mention what tractor you are using it on so I am not sure what the target weight is.
-TAPE all the inside seems with a good duct tape or heavy packing tape to avoid water seeping from the seems.
-I welded a D-Ring on the rear to aid in lifting, an Eye-bolt would work fine also
-Mix one bag at a time, and dump it in, fill it up-no need to wait for it to dry till it's full.
-Mix it it a wheel-barrel.

 

[Luremaker]

I filled my ballast box with crushed stone and gravel. Easier than mixing cement. I don't see the benefit of cement over crushed stone. Is there one?

 

[kennyd]

I filled my ballast box with crushed stone and gravel. Easier than mixing cement. I don't see the benefit of cement over crushed stone. Is there one?

Weight. Cement, especially Portand is heavier that gravel or stone.

 

[KennK]

Huh, ... I'm looking at weight tables from Mass, Weight, Density or Specific Gravity of Bulk Materials

Here's what I'm seeing (in kg/cu.m.):

Portland Cement: 1506
Sand, dry: 1602
Sand, wet: 1922
Limestone, pulverized: 1398 (not sure if this is a powder or courser)
Limestone, broken: 1554

So ... that leads me to wonder ... what if I loaded the John Deere Ballast Box with sand, wet it down, pack it, and then just before each use wet it down again with water? It would dry out in between uses, but it would be no big deal to wet it down before each use. Would I be tempting a big problem with rust on the inside of the ballast box (due to the repeated waterings)?

Keep in mind that I don't use the FEL for heavy loads on a daily basis. The tractor's primary job is finish mowing grass (mid-mount). The FEL's primary job is moving composted manure - sometimes topsoil. It can easily haul that without ballast (400 kg/cu.m.), though the ballast box would make things more stable. Every once in a while I'll be hauling crushed limestone - much heavier stuff. That is when I really need the ballast box.

The ballast box would be off of the tractor more than it would be on. Also, I do not have loaded tires or wheel weights - I want to minimize ground rutting when mowing.

If it matters, I have R4's on the tractor and put it in MFWD when working with heavy loads in the FEL.

 

[LBrown59]

I filled my ballast box with crushed stone and gravel. Easier than mixing cement. I don't see the benefit of cement over crushed stone. Is there one?

Me neither.

 

[LBrown59]

Weight. Cement, especially Portand is heavier that gravel or stone.

But butt if stone is more than heavy enough why go for Cement?

 

[pat32rf]

I urge you to think twice about "just filling it" with concrete and come up with some way to use the top of the ballast box to carry "stuff". Even a couple of pins that could hold a container in place. Sooner or later you will want to carry a chain, strap, pipe wrench, hammer, flashlight, chainsaw gas, thermos or something.
The idea of sand does hold a lot of merit and really the difference in weight between wet and dry is nothing. You could probably just line the ballast box with a big green garbage bag and fill it with wet sand, although it might swell and bulge the box when it freezes (didn't notice where you live)

 

[kennyd]

Snipped from an earlier post I made in 2007:

Here is what I know, per the Manual for my 410 loader-page 15-11:

CALCULATED BALLAST:
________________________________________________
UNIT / SAND / CONCRETE /PORLAND CEMENT
________________________________________________
BALLAST / 528lbs / 692lbs / 926lbs
________________________________________________
EMPTY
BOX / 88lbs / 88lbs / 88lbs
________________________________________________
BALLAST
W/EXT. / 176lbs / 104lbs / 308lbs
________________________________________________
EMPTY
EXT. / 8lbs / 8lbs / 8lbs
________________________________________________
TOTAL
WEIGHT / 800lbs / 1018lbs / 1330lbs
________________________________________________


So, Without the BB extension, the box weighs 616lbs w/sand, 780lbs w/ concrete, and 1014lbs w/Portland cement.

I used regular cement from the local rental place that sells Redi-Mix U-Cart concrete. I just put the BB on my trailer and drove there and they filled it! Troweled it when I got home! Don't forget to seal the inside seams first with duct tape or silicone or the water will run out and make a mess! (been there, got the T-shirt!)