Poured concrete Ballast box build

[JB4310]

A cap with a hole drilled in it would be the easiest, but if you broke it, you'd be stuck.

How about steel pipe, with threaded steel cap. How much pipe will be sticking up above the top? I'm worried if you break the pvc pipe you would stuck with a short hole.

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[countrybumpkin]

I am only looking to put two pipe in the mold, and they will be angled from the sides will have about 32 inches in cement.

 

[Kernopelli]

Well The Ballast box has had to be placed on hold for now, till all this dang water goes down. Geez what a mess, we have been super busy this week. Anyway, I did get to add a receiver hitch to the rear of the ballast box, still have to add a couple of hooks to hang chains from.

Anyway Back to the question , I'm placing two three foot long pieces of PVC in the box for shovels, rakes ect. and was trying to figure out the best thing to do on the bottom of the PVC I was planning on putting a cap on the bottom but I still need a way for water and stuff to drain out. Any Ideas from people that have storage tubes in there boxes?

Well, I thought the cap was a good idea (use min . sch 40). You're going to have to have something in the bottom of the PVC that keeps the tool handles from falling through and concrete out while filling. If the cap is going to be right on the bottom of the box, it could be drilled with a small drain hole that wouldn't compromise the strength of the cap much but would probably clog. If the cap is not going to be right at the bottom of the box you could drill the cap and glue in a 1/2" ID nipple that reaches the bottom that would act as the drain....then the idea of using rods was offered up. I think that is a great idea. it leaves the pipe almost completely open for drainage but closed enough to keep tools in and it won't break....brilliant!

I see you are a SEMO firefighter, I know you've been busy! Crazy water down here right now isn't it! I live in S. Illinois and work for Corrections in a southern county smack dab between the Miss. and the Ohio Rivers. Lots of coworkers have been spending the last week building sand bag dikes around their homes/property. I saw Jay Nixon on TV last night saying that the Corps of Engineers might still blow out the levee in the Bootheel...what the heck are they thinking? I'm sorry, Cairo is a historic town because of the confluence but the truth is there is little more left there than falling down buildings and gang banger wannabes. They have made it so bad to live there that the few nice properties left are almost valueless. Let God decide what happens!

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Try an inch of small stone in the bottom, put the pipes in place,
add another inch of stone to level around the pipes and pour the concrete in.
Bingo! easy drain, assuming there are weep holes in the bottom of the
weight box, and the pipes won't fill with concrete.

Bill

 

[k0ua]

Try an inch of small stone in the bottom, put the pipes in place,
add another inch of stone to level around the pipes and pour the concrete in.
Bingo! easy drain, assuming there are weep holes in the bottom of the
weight box, and the pipes won't fill with concrete.

Bill

I put 2 inches of 2 inch stone in mine

James K0UA

 

[countrybumpkin]

I can't use the crushed stone or anything like that, because the box is just a form and will be removed once the concrete curs. I think I may try the rod thru the bottom part of the pipe, plenty of drainage and still hold the handles.

yep been crazy around here for the past week, who would have thought we would be back in the flood issues again but worse than 2008. Now we are getting more rain this weekend, we have had State patrol water division Staged at out station all week, really has been a mess. I have to agree about the blowing of the levy on purpose, just have to keep everyone that has been , or will be effected in our prayers.

 

[k0ua]

I can't use the crushed stone or anything like that, because the box is just a form and will be removed once the concrete curs. I think I may try the rod thru the bottom part of the pipe, plenty of drainage and still hold the handles.

yep been crazy around here for the past week, who would have thought we would be back in the flood issues again but worse than 2008. Now we are getting more rain this weekend, we have had State patrol water division Staged at out station all week, really has been a mess. I have to agree about the blowing of the levy on purpose, just have to keep everyone that has been , or will be effected in our prayers.

I dont know exactley where your at, but here in Branson, there a a bunch of houses under water, kinda sad to see this again even worse than 3 years ago. The only problem at my house is a lot of damage to my road, from washout.I worked this weekend on improving ditches between rain showers. I think the rebar thing at the bottom of the pipe is the best idea also.I almost wish I had some something like that as I think mine will fill up with dirt an debris thru the years. better to be almost open on the bottom and let everything fall thru.

James K0UA

 

[countrybumpkin]

Well took a while to get this project finished but finally was able to get around and pour the box full of cement yesterday, it has been setting in the back of my shop sense about April. Just had so many things going on all year never got around to it, until a friend of mine put in a pool a few eeks ago and asked if I could help him pour the concrete around it, didn't even give the box a thought till almost the last minute.

Here are pics after pouring, guess I will let it set for a couple days then remove the forms.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Well She is finally finished, and looks like it will work just as I was hoping for. A couple of pics with it all painted and ready for use.

 

[SamSpade]

I made a similar concrete ballast with a hitch reciever ooff the back.

Some things I wish I had added to mine:
Provision for picking it up with forks. A lifting eye is good but fork slots are even better!
I also wish I had made mine with a lifting eye for when it's on it's back as well as standing up.
And finally, I wish I could see through the ballast box to the hitch ball from the driver's seat. I have gotten pretty good at hooking up blind, but not perfect. Puting in a 3 or four inch drain pipe oriented so I could see the hitch would be a big improvement.

And places to hook more chains, both for tugging and storage would be nice.

And more weight. Mine is about 600 lbs. I should have made it closer to 1000 lbs to counter balance my 4320.