Ballast 2x2x2 concrete weight box

[teg]

My roughly 750# drum is marginal for me (with loaded tires) and I only have an LA463 loader.

View attachment 506502


Older photo, I've removed the tubes and topped it off with more concrete.
View attachment 506503

 

[Sysop]

I've always been told a good ballast weight for 3pt is 2/3rd of what the 3pt can lift. Your 3pt is rated at 1985lbs at 24" (the ends of the links). 2/3rd of that would be a bit over 1322lbs. I think your box will be fine.

 

[LD1]

I've always been told a good ballast weight for 3pt is 2/3rd of what the 3pt can lift. Your 3pt is rated at 1985lbs at 24" (the ends of the links). 2/3rd of that would be a bit over 1322lbs. I think your box will be fine.

Yep, thats a good rule of thumb. As it whatever the loader is rated to lift @ the cutting edge (500mm forward

My L3400 was rated at 860# at the pins. The 3PH was 1500...so 2/3 of that would be 1000#. Guess thats why my 1000# barrel a felt good. Yet 700# was on the edge of not enough.

My MX can lift 2300# @ 24" on the 3PH. The loader is good for 1800#. So 2/3 rule says 1533. The 1000# barrel, not enough. My 1600# bushhog (that has a load center ~30" back, so is more "effective" than weight in close) is perfect. IF I were going to build a compact weight for it, and keep the load in close, I'd be shooting for 1600-1700#

 

[jabelding]

Jeff I have a 1/2 barrel full that weighs in at around 550lbs and that seems just about right for my 35hp kioti I also have Rim guard loaded rear tires.

 

[cat fever]

I am currently building a ballast box, it should come in about 1500 pounds. I hope it is heavy enough.

I think you'll be just fine.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Well thanks for all the replies. I guess I should not expect any as I rarely get involved in many threads but you must know that I do appreciate all your input.

I found the owners manual and it says it can lift 2645# at the end of the arms and 1985# 24" inches back from the pin. I have been thinking for the last couple years that if I mess up when lifting logs I could damage the front end.

You see the only time when I will be using the box is when I saw up my firewood. I have a homemade jaw / clamp on the front bucket and I use it for many things. Mainly though for moving tree length hardwood or softwood wood saw logs. With the firewood I lift the entire tree up to a comfortable height and saw into 16" firewood then when I get close to the bucket I drop the log and re-set and lift it again and saw some more. This way I save my back and all my firewood that has to be split falls to the ground in the same place. Then I move In the splitter , split the pile load the trailer and haul it in with my Ranger. But when I lift a tree length Beach or Yellow Birch 50' long,...and 20" on the stump,... that is very heavy on the front end so I do not want to do that anymore without some rear weight.

The bottom of my box is a 2' x 2' galvanized steel plate 5/16 thick. Then I have 3-2.5 inch diameter pieces of galvanized pipe welded at an angle to the plate in the bottom w/ drain holes that are long enough to extend about an inch above the finished box. I will use these to carry a iron rake in one pipe a spade in another and a crow bar in the last pipe.

I have maybe 30# of misc steel in the box welded to different places to provide support and strength to the concrete. I will also be using a real category 1 draw bar as the lower attachment point for the lower arms and I fabbed up some channel iron for a top link connection. The box will extend 12" beyond the lift arm pins. So whatever I said it weighed in the first post it will weigh,..I can probably add 35 to 50 pounds to it I would guess in the steel inside the box. I think I will leave it as is and pour it full in the future. Jeff

 

[LD1]

Just how exact are your measurements also?

23" x 23" x 23" is 7 cu ft... 1015#
24" square is 1260#
25" square is 1405#.

So how exact is it when you said a 2' square box? Because as you can see, a little makes a big difference.

 

[moship]

Just how exact are your measurements also?

23" x 23" x 23" is 7 cu ft... 1015#
24" square is 1260#
25" square is 1405#.

So how exact is it when you said a 2' square box? Because as you can see, a little makes a big difference.

Valid argument that a relatively small size difference can make a big weight difference, but might want to check the math.

I'll assume you meant cube and not square. Example: "24" square is 1260#"

Using a density of 145 lbs/cuft

23 x 23 x 23 = 1021 lbs
24 x 24 x 24 = 1160 lbs
25 x 25 x 25 = 1311 lbs

It is somewhat surprising that 1" difference per side can be a result in cubic foot difference in these sizes.

23" cube = 7.041 cubic feet
24" cube = 8.000 cubic feet
25" cube = 9.042 cubic feet

 

[bdhsfz6]

I've always been told a good ballast weight for 3pt is 2/3rd of what the 3pt can lift. Your 3pt is rated at 1985lbs at 24" (the ends of the links). 2/3rd of that would be a bit over 1322lbs. I think your box will be fine.

My dealer agrees with this formula for tractors with unloaded rear tires. He recommends 1/2 the loader capacity with filled tires. Although the geometry is slightly different than 3pt ballast, the Rim Guard in the R4 tires on my MX5800 adds almost 1000# of rear weight.

 

[oosik]

I have 1450# of rimguard in the rear tires and a 1000# rear blade on the 3-point. Its always been enough for any heavy lifting with either my grapple or bucket.