Proper Amount of Front End Ballast

[Norcal M5]

Hi All,
I'll take delivery of an 80 gallon sprayer this week and to use it most effectively, I'll be removing my FEL to more easily turn around at the end of my vineyard rows. The sprayer plus 50 gallons (that's all I dare carry around my steep vineyard) comes to about 800 pounds when full. My tractor (NH TC34DA) is 2600 pounds and has a 72" wheelbase. Thus the question - how much front end ballast will I need to keep the front end in optimum contact with the ground?

The easy answer, I suppose would be 800 pounds, but I suspect that's more than necessary as the fulcrum I'm concerned about would be the rear wheels when going uphill. The weight of the tractor in front of the rears would help hold it down, but I'm certain that I'll need more hanging off the front, as well as water in the front tires, especially as the grade increases.

BTW, I've used a 700 pound flail mower all over the hill with my FEL installed and never did the front feel light. If I knew how much an FEL weighs, it would be a good rough place to start.

Photo attached shows general slope.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Could you just take the bucket off?
larry

 

[Norcal M5]

Good thought. That would help by giving me about 18 or 20 inches back, but there are about 30 inches extra FEL sticking out the front even without the bucket.

 

[NHmitch]

There are a few good articles on the proper weight distribution when adding front ballast to your tractor:

Also, there wa snother thread where TBN member, soundguy, has the plans, and photos online for very, very inexpensive suitcase ballast front end weights, look on the 2nd page of the thread:http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/241798-suitcase-tractor-weights-2.html

Front to back weight distribution
Weight distribution between the front and back wheels should not be overlooked. Here, your tractor type is the important factor: the total ballasted weight that you determined from horsepower and travel speed should be split 30% front/70% rear for 2WD, 40% front/60% rear for FWA and 55% front/45% rear for 4WD. Again, you can check these weights with the cooperation of your friendly neighborhood elevator agent. The 30% on the front wheels of a 2WD tractor may appear light, but for many tractors, you will have to add front weights to achieve this.http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng5240

 

[Norcal M5]

Thought I would close this one out showing the results. First, I hung 265 pounds off the front (first photo) and went out to try out the tractor on a steep incline with the full spray rig on the 3 pt. The front wheels immediately slipped and started going sideways. I let out 50 liters of water at a time until the fronts were in good enough contact with the ground to pull and steer. That was after dropping 100 liters, or about 220 pounds. I then added the extra weight by having a bracket built. In all, I have 6 suitcase weights at 85 pounds each, plus an approx 40 pound bracket for a total of 550 pounds to counterbalance an approximately 800 pound (when carrying the standard 50 gallons/200 liters) sprayer. I also just used it for my flail mower and it worked great. The weight is lower, inspiring confidence and it can turn soooo much easier into my vine rows.

 

[NHmitch]

Thats looks great! I'm glad that you were able to get it to work out well for you. I also loaded my front tires, after changing them and discovering that they had been loaded for about 20 years with no damage to the front end. It helps add a additional good amount of weight. I have had some very scary incidents with my front end, and front wheels in the air. It does make you feel much beter having the ballast. Again, thats a great looking set up! I know that my tractor is smaller, but I do a lot of work around the farm on it without an FEL, and the ballast makes all the difference in the world. I would look into loading the front tires, and talk to you NH dealer about it, and what they think. This is my smaller set up, but again, we do a lot of work on it, mostly all on steep hills. Take care, and enjoy the rest of the summer!