Ballast How many bags of cement to fill ballast box?

[93Mustang]

I finally found the chart I was looking for. I don't believe I can get to these numbers based on my 5 bags so far. Can 5 94 lbs bags get to 900 lbs when mixed with water? I dont think that is the case as i dont think i added 400lbs of water?

________________________________________________
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.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I finally found the chart I was looking for. I don't believe I can get to these numbers based on my 5 bags so far. Can 5 94 lbs bags get to 900 lbs when mixed with water? I dont think that is the case as i dont think i added 400lbs of water?

________________________________________________
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.

Yeah I'm a little confused also!! I might just go with the sand for now in mine??

 

[lost in wisconsin]

Point taken!! I have my rear tires filled and have been using for rear blade for extra ballast but that has proven not to be enough weight for me!! The rear blade is a little over 300# and I have the iMatch on there also not sure about the weight of that though, has to be close to 400# with iMatch... The rear tires were filled with around 260# each I believe... I will have to keep following the post to see what to add to the BB....

Good morning Tom,

For reference, I weighed our i-Match and it came in at 65 lbs.

 

[glc24]

Can 5 94 lbs bags get to 900 lbs when mixed with water?

93Mustang,from what I've read from posters before in other threads,it won't add anymore weight when mixed.When it's cured, a bag will still be around 94 lbs.

Greg

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Im thinking I will just use the sand and duct tape for the inside. Worse case I can always slice the tape in the winter time to let let the sand out on my driveway, providing I keep it dry??? The cement might be the best though, I will have to ponder this decision some more I guess....

 

[93Mustang]

I used duck tape which worked ok, though I have some seepage. I do wonder if I did something wrong but can't imagine 4 bags of cement wrong. I wonder if the box is smaller now. My loader calls for 1300lbs of ballast and I was trying to get to at least hit 1000lbs but that may be difficult. Keeping my tractor on the ground and weight off the front axles when using the grapple is the main reason I got the box as my 500lb box blade was not enough. Thus to justify the cost of the box I figure I should at least double that. Sort of frustrated.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I used duck tape which worked ok, though I have some seepage. I do wonder if I did something wrong but can't imagine 4 bags of cement wrong. I wonder if the box is smaller now. My loader calls for 1300lbs of ballast and I was trying to get to at least hit 1000lbs but that may be difficult. Keeping my tractor on the ground and weight off the front axles when using the grapple is the main reason I got the box as my 500lb box blade was not enough. Thus to justify the cost of the box I figure I should at least double that. Sort of frustrated.

Maybe you can get some steel or a couple of beams and weld them onto the box?? If you welded ends on the beams you could fill them with concrete also??? Should get you closer to the weight you wanted.....

 

[PCABE5]

I just use sand w/ big rocks from my rock pile. Removable if needed and was more than heavy enough at max loader weight.

 

[JDforMe]

Not really a comment on quantity of cement/sand for the ballast box, but a suggestion for those who might want to add some extra functionality to the box. My brother and I (upon suggestions from a similar thread here several years ago) each tried this with our ballast box... We went ahead and cut several lengths of PVC piping ( I'm thinking it's 2 or 3" dia., and the same length as the depth of your ballast box, maybe a little longer) then installed them vertically in the box before pouring the concrete - a few strips of duct tape around the bottom to help secure the pipe, and keep the concrete out helps. Just just pour and adjust the PVC pipes to make sure they're perpendicular to the bottom of the box before it all sets up. Its great for carrying rakes, shovels and other items you might need to haul around the yard. I wasn't thinking that far ahead when I did mine, but you could probably even make a slot for your chainsaw ( use one of the plastic blade guards instead of the PVC pipe ). Cheers!

 

[avguy]

Not really a comment on quantity of cement/sand for the ballast box, but a suggestion for those who might want to add some extra functionality to the box. My brother and I (upon suggestions from a similar thread here several years ago) each tried this with our ballast box... We went ahead and cut several lengths of PVC piping ( I'm thinking it's 2 or 3" dia., and the same length as the depth of your ballast box, maybe a little longer) then installed them vertically in the box before pouring the concrete - a few strips of duct tape around the bottom to help secure the pipe, and keep the concrete out helps. Just just pour and adjust the PVC pipes to make sure they're perpendicular to the bottom of the box before it all sets up. Its great for carrying rakes, shovels and other items you might need to haul around the yard. I wasn't thinking that far ahead when I did mine, but you could probably even make a slot for your chainsaw ( use one of the plastic blade guards instead of the PVC pipe ). Cheers!

That's what I did......

 

[Gobblin Tom]

That's what I did......

I saw a post on here somewhere that they added some electrical conduit to the outside of the box. I really liked the idea of being able to carry some hand tool with you!! Either way would work really good and I really like the chainsaw idea!!

 

[sunnyside360]

I might just go with the sand for now in mine??

That's what I did (a month ago). Took nine 50 lbs bags of sand but I put two 2" x 24" pipe sections at the rear corners and only filled the box about 2" down from top. The sand has since settled some so I could add more sand. Mine should be around 550 lbs of weight at present (with box weight added).

 

[Duffster]

93Mustang,from what I've read from posters before in other threads,it won't add anymore weight when mixed.When it's cured, a bag will still be around 94 lbs.

Greg

Where does the weight of the water go?

 

[glc24]

Where does the weight of the water go?

Duffster, I would guess it (water) evaporates.

Greg

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Duffster, I would guess it (water) evaporates.

Greg

I can't believe that we haven't had some kind of cement / expert on here that could fill in the gaps.....

 

[k0ua]

I am no expert, but I have done some reading, the water stays in there as a hydrate, that forms from the chemical reaction that occurs.

James K0UA

 

[Mechanos]

I am no expert, but I have done some reading, the water stays in there as a hydrate, that forms from the chemical reaction that occurs.

James K0UA

Correct. Concrete does not dry.... it cures. As James stated, it is a chemical reaction that causes the concrete to harden. If you've ever mixed a batch of concrete from a bag of Sackcrete, you'll recall that it takes a surprisingly little amount of water to reach the right consistancy. Therefore, the amount of weight added from the water is small compared to the weight of the dry concrete mix.

 

[Duffster]

the water stays in there as a hydrate, that forms from the chemical reaction that occurs.

Bingo.

You will lose some to evaporation but very little.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Bingo.

You will lose some to evaporation but very little.

So does an 80# bag of concrete mixed with water weigh 94# once it is dry??? You would think it would have to add some kind of extra weight to it???

 

[jenkinsph]

A couple of things,
80# sackcrete is about 2/3 of a cubic ft per bag
You need about 1 1/4 gallons of water per bag

If you want to add concentrated weight in the box and have some room left over for chains and tools consider using Bayrite weight material, this stuff weighs about 36lbs/gallon. Available in 100 lb. sacks that are much smaller than sackkrete.