Let's see some homemade 3 point ballast!

[Msamt]

What is it filled with?

If you're talking about mine it has 11 1/2 bags of 80lb concrete with some steel and a drawbar.

 

[aczlan]

Here's the one that we use on our L3830. It is a 55 gallon plastic drum that I built a frame into to lift it and to pull trailers around. I left about 6 inches at the top for storage and have both running lights and turn signals wired back to there using 3/4 inch grommet mount lights.

Aaron Z

 

[MatHaas]

just finished my post on my build; http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/395086-custom-rear-ballast-tool-carrier.html

i was going to do a simple backyard build with a 55 gal drum or something, but then thought it'd look ghetto and i'd rather do something a lot cleaner and actually be multipurpose too.
check out the thread for more info.



-Haas

 

[kenlip]

This is being used on a JD 5065. Weight is 2400 lbs View attachment 550808View attachment 550809

I like this design a lot.

Is the hitch simply bolted to the concrete block?

Do you have any photos taken during the construction phase? Trying to follow the welds, I can't work out how you built the frame. Is it flat bar or angle, with one flange of the angle buried in the concrete?

Are the upper and lower link points imbedded in the concrete at all? If so, I would assume you had to cut slots in the formwork for them to project through.

Is the block plain concrete or do have steel in in for extra weight? (I am planning on using disk brake rotors for extra weight). Reinforcing?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am keen to follow your plan.

Thanks
Ken

 

[oosik]

View attachment 555781 Very simple block of concrete with rebar and heavy mesh reinforcement inside. Lift loop in the center - specifically made to sit on my disk harrow. Weight - 490#.

 

[cat fever]

Here ya go. 1600+ pounds

 

[cat fever]

All hooked up.

No welding just drilled and bolted inside.

 

[FSM5065]

I like this design a lot.

Is the hitch simply bolted to the concrete block?

Do you have any photos taken during the construction phase? Trying to follow the welds, I can't work out how you built the frame. Is it flat bar or angle, with one flange of the angle buried in the concrete?

Are the upper and lower link points imbedded in the concrete at all? If so, I would assume you had to cut slots in the formwork for them to project through.

Is the block plain concrete or do have steel in in for extra weight? (I am planning on using disk brake rotors for extra weight). Reinforcing?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am keen to follow your plan.

Thanks
Ken

Ken, attached are pictures of the steel framework inside the block of cement. 36, 60 lbs bags of cement mix.
No other steel in the block. The the outer slots are for a Cat II tractor and the inner one is Cat I. I waited 3 weeks before using it so as to let it set properly. One of the pictures shows it filled with concrete, I wrapped it with 2肺4 to keep the sides from blowing out. The form is 3/4 plywood.

 

[kenlip]

Ken, attached are pictures of the steel framework inside the block of cement. 36, 60 lbs bags of cement mix.
No other steel in the block. <snip> I waited 3 weeks before using it so as to let it set properly. One of the pictures shows it filled with concrete, I wrapped it with 2肺4 to keep the sides from blowing out. The form is 3/4 plywood.

Thanks, FSM5065

That's an impressive framework.

A few more questions, if I may....

36 x 60 lb bags of concrete = 2,160 lbs plus the weight of the steel! That's a heavy block! What are its dimensions?

What is the perpendicular distance between the centres of the upper holes and the lower holes?

I am still a bit confused about the bolts. I can see that the bolts are holding the framework to the ply, which would provide the stability required for the pour (although there seems to be more bolts than would be required to simply stabilise the ply.

In the final product, the ply has been removed. But there are still bolts. Did you replace the bolts for pure aesthetic reasons or was there some other reason?

Interestingly, while awaiting your reply, I did a bit of research about the feasibility of simply bolting a framework to a concrete block. A 1/2" sleeve anchor (3/8"bolt) has a tensile strength ranging from 2,200 lbs to 4,400 lbs, depending on the compressive strength of the concrete. I assume these figures are for a static load. Perhaps, a concrete block bouncing up and down subjects the anchors to different forces and the tensile figures can't be extrapolated from static to dynamic loads.

Even if one used only 25% of the tensile strength figure, by simply adding a sufficient number of anchors one should easily be able to support the block on a frame that is bolted to it.

I aim to get my block up to somewhere around 800kg (1,760 lbs) (after seeing your numbers I am inspired to go even higher) using as many brake rotors and other bits of steel I can encase in it. If one uses the 2,200 lb figure for low compression strength concrete, and divides that by four, that means one anchor can support 550 lbs. That, in turn, means three anchors should suffice for a 1,760 lb block. With six or eight anchors one should easily be able to support the block.

Am I missing something here?

The the outer slots are for a Cat II tractor and the inner one is Cat I.

As a newbie tractor owner, I don't quite follow this. Is this about the distance between the arms or about the hole sizes?

Cat I=7/8"(22mm) and Cat II=1 1/8" (29mm). If you put the Cat II balls in the outer slot, the pin diameter has to be 1 1/8". That means the holes in the outer and the middle plates have to be 1 1/8". If you put the Cat I balls in the inner slot, the pin diameter has to be 7/8". This means that the hole in the inner plate has to be 7/8". Does the pin you are using have two diameters - 1 1/8" between the handle and the inner plate position and 7/8" between the inner plate and the end?


Did you bevel the corners for aesthetics or for some functional reason?


Ken

 

[bcp]

All I had to do was drill two holes. The weights came from yard sales and Goodwill. I use it for tight quarter work only.



The bar is now full. Around 425 pounds.

Bruce