Rear Ballast Close to or Far out from the tractor??

[RoyJackson]

Be careful how heavy you make your ballast box. I had 1000 lbs of cast weights on my three point hitch. I then added a quick tach. That moved the 1000 lbs 4" further back and I couldn't dig properly at all. A 1" stone was enough to lift the bucket out of the ground while digging. I took 400 lbs off and what a difference. You can always add more weight to a ballast box, but if you make it permanent then it's hard to remove.

Good point!
I use sand in mine...plenty of weight and it's easy to add or reduce the weight. Wet the sand and it's even more weight.
Another advantage is I can always shovel a bit out if needed for increased traction.

As far how far out the ballast extends...well, if one carried something that extended far forward of the bucket, I could see the need for rear ballast extended as well. However, I much prefer the ballast box to be close in. Less likely to hit something (like your car, truck or house) when maneuvering in close quarters.

 

[fried1765]

And then get off the tractor and hookup the toplink......

Pat's is an improvement but should never be confused with a QH.

"confused"???
Thought I mentioned: "don't have a real QH".

 

[ovrszd]

"confused"???
Thought I mentioned: "don't have a real QH".

No confusion at all. I know what you have.

 

[oldbones]

Don't know what you have for tractor and loader, but it really doesn't make any difference.
I have a little Deere 5303 fwa, with a Deere 522 loader. About 65 hp. Handy little thing.
I have a quick hitch on it, and it never comes off.
In winter, I have a rack for the qh with ten 100# suitcase weights. I hook it up for snow only. I never use the rear weights when using the loader other than snow traction. I always figure that if the load on the loader is enough to affect rear traction in summer, that's plenty.
Same with digging (I hardly ever dig with it), too much weight could give too much traction digging, and end up tweaking the loader arms. Did that 40 years ago, and won't forget it.
All that said, I'd just leave the qh on it and use it year around.
As far as using rear weight other than snow, your loader, your choice.

 

[mike69440]

See: Post #30
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/327912-custom-3-point-attachment-2-a-3.html

 

[ModMech]

So I finally got what I think is everything to make my own barrel ballast box. This forum has so much on ballast boxes that its great!
I planned to do something like mikes... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/347445-ballast-barrel.html

So I got all my parts and I also picked me up a quick hitch along the way. So this has me thinking. Should I keep the barrel close to the tractor and set the drawbar nearly in the middle or create a way to set it so that I can use the quick hitch?

I figure that setting it out would help with the FEL but I need (or i think I need) it more for traction in the snow (crossing fingers). Yes it would be nice to change implements with the quick hitch but being new to this and welding I believe it requires more pieces/parts/time.

So with that said I guess I have a couple questions.

1. Does the 1-2 ft make that much of a difference? (close to the tractor vs offset with the quick hitch)
2. What would be the best way to create something to off set the barrel for a quick hitch? extension pieces I could weld? I'd prefer to go this route but wouldn't mind trying a basic ballast box first.

1. The Tq the ballast box will provide is Force x Distance > Weight of the box x Distance from the FRONT axle centerline (loader ballast I presume). So yes, it will make a difference, but not much of one because it you are not adding a great percentage of length.

2. Take another drawbar, cut a hole in the barrel close to one side so it will slip thru and then for the top link use two pieces of 2" angle iron (1/4" thick) to make that connection, inserted thru a single hole nearer the top. You can add rebar between by metal ties or welding to make it more secure.

 

[Fallon]

I just cut out a slot in my leaky aircompressor tank & welded in a Cat1 3pt drawbar CountyLine Cross Drawbar, Category 2, 3/4 in. dia. - For Life Out Here (that's a more expensive Cat2). Need to reinforce the tophook slot but it's holding as is for now.

Up to the tophook slot is filled with brake disks, other trash steel & concrete for weight & strength. Above that is just sand to adjust weight if need be. Welded some scrap steel behind the tophook slot to keep some space for the hook to grab. Used some metal tape to temporarily seal it while the concrete setup & sealed it better.

 

[jenkinsph]

If I were you, I'd think about multi-functional counterweight. Example, heavy attachment, or a box, which could be used either loaded with rocks or a piece(s) of concrete, or with water barrel(s) inside. The closer to a tractor you'll make it, the less 3pt hitch lifting force will be needed. It means, the heavier it could be. That box you'd be able to use for the other purposes.
Best solution might be, that you could have a possibility to adjust it's weight.

With a quick hitch I recommend something with square sides rather than a barrel. And with a 1025R it does not need to be too big, maximum of 600 lbs should do it. A standard ballast box or a heavy box blade, rear blade, land plane will all work better than a barrel.

A barrel (42 gallons) of concrete weighs about 842 lbs. for the concrete only
A drum (55 gallons) of concrete weighs about 1100 lbs. for the concrete only.
Both are too heavy for a 1025 or 1026R.

 

[ModMech]

My favorite rear ballast design is from "Heavy Hitch", because you can use the same suitcase weights front and back - depending on where you need them.

Second best option I have seen is "bumbell" weights, but you have to have some way of preventing them from sliding around like a PVC sleeve over the bar.

Example of dumbbell weights: http://www.mytractorforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=80735&d=1256741625

 

[Renze]

I hung a set of suitcase weights on an H beam, welded 3pt brackets to it, and welded some angle iron on it to slide the underhood weights in, which i dont use because the loader is enough weight already on the front. About 700kg and it makes the 2wd push great when digging with the loader. All i'm thinking of now, is converting to Z kinematics to get a lot more breakout force and faster dumping...