Ballast weight - how high can I go?

[nebo]

I have been rethinking the idea of just using a random 3 point piece of equipment as ballast. The box is closer in to the tractor so useful in situations where you have close quarters.

I agree. I'm not sure the exact weight of my box, but total is likely between 1000#-1100#.

 

[Coyote machine]

I put two 55 gallon plastic barrels filled with sand on my box blade for my Kioti DK-40, and so far it's working great. I strapped them to the middle framework which connects to my top-link with 2 3" ratchet straps so they can't move. So the weight is well centered over the BB and at center of rear of the tractor. The barrels cost nothing- got from a friend who buys diesel fuel exhaust treatment in the barrels, and switched to a different delivery method !

Yo, 'funny Bunny' up North- you use diesel up there, no?! Go get some barrels and a box blade, no fabrication, can use box blade with the ballast on them, etc. American ingenuity strikes again! No charge to my friends up North!:thumbsup:

 

[katoomed00]

I can still lift the rear tires off the ground on a TYM T503 cab with a 1100lb flail mower on the back. Ended up using the counter weight off a small forklift ($250)and attached lifting pins to it to use on the 3pt, tractor is extremely stable. With so much weight, I don't use it often, but when I do I'll take my time and try to operate smoothly.

 

[PhysAssist]

I can still lift the rear tires off the ground on a TYM T503 cab with a 1100lb flail mower on the back. Ended up using the counter weight off a small forklift ($250)and attached lifting pins to it to use on the 3pt, tractor is extremely stable. With so much weight, I don't use it often, but when I do I'll take my time and try to operate smoothly.

My SWMBO talked our Kubota dealer into throwing in a ballast box AFTER we finished signing the deal- so I did this- saved used brake disks from all our vehicles, and stacked them into the box in several piles, then put a piece of PVC pipe through the center of each for long-handled tool storage, and then filled the whole thing the rest of the way with bags of Sack-rete.

We leave it on unless we're using the box blade or rake, and between that and rim-guarded rears, we've never had any rear wheel lifts since.

It also makes a great carry-all for the chain saw, garden tools, and what ever- plus I mounted a bumper hitch from HF on the bottom, so we can tow our little HF utility trailer w/o removing the ballast.

We also have a HF QH, so I had to make new 3-pt mounts for it.


Between the 275# of brake disks [one stack around each of those pipes, and I don't know how many bags of concrete, we figure it's well over what that little sticker recommended, but it works for us.

 

[4570Man]

800# in the form of a ballast box is light enough that you can still lift the rear tires.

Which puts more weight and stress on the front axle than if you had no ballast box.

Exactly. I'm surprised at how many people that don't understand that adding ballast actually increases the front axel load in most cases. It would take A LOT of weight in a ballast box to lighten the front axel a notable amount. I don't recommend not running ballast, but thinking you're doing your front axel any favors is wrong. At least in the form of weight reduction. In the right conditions you could put less load on the front axel drive components.

 

[Fastball]

Titan doesn稚 ship to Canada. Neither do Rural Farm or Northern Tool or any of the traditional places. Pat痴 wants almost as much for the shipping than his quick hitches. Granted, that痴 probably not HIM, but the shipping rates.
Can稚 even get a 3pt carry all here.

 

[brown40]

Be careful on your height--low ballast stabilizes on all surfaces, but at grades high ballast creates instabilities. Japan put armored pagodas on their WW2 warships... capsized a few in turns...

 

[oosik]

Well - - IMHO - you kind of have to know what you are going to be lifting with the FEL. Loaded rear tires ARE counter weight to the FEL load but definitely not as effective as something hanging out back on the 3-point. Loaded rear tires improve stability and help keep the rears grounded. They are no help to taking the FEL load off the front axle. Something out back - hanging off the 3-point will take some of the load off the front axle. I have 1550 pounds of Rimguard in the two rear tires and a 1000# of rear blade hanging out back. I have lifted right at 3000# with my grapple but things were REALLY LIGHT in the rears. Definitely did not and would not want to move too far with that load. I've developed a weight chart for each of the heavy things I handle - logs & rocks. This allows me to keep things to 2500# or less with the grapple. I have no desire to experience upending my tractor.

 

[pmsmechanic]

So those of you with excessive weight on the rear of your tractors.... How do you get the FEL to dig anything? I had 1000 lbs on my three point. You couldn't dig anything. A 1" stone in the dirt was enough to lift the blade of the bucket. I removed 400 lbs and what an improvement in FEL performance.

Yes the rear of my tractor is light at times but I can just reduce the amount of dirt or gravel in the bucket.

 

[4570Man]

So those of you with excessive weight on the rear of your tractors.... How do you get the FEL to dig anything? I had 1000 lbs on my three point. You couldn't dig anything. A 1" stone in the dirt was enough to lift the blade of the bucket. I removed 400 lbs and what an improvement in FEL performance.

Yes the rear of my tractor is light at times but I can just reduce the amount of dirt or gravel in the bucket.

FELs aren't meant to dig anyway. What tractor did you have that 1000 pounds on the back noticeably lightened the front end? I've never had any trouble using the FEL with the backhoe on the back that weighs more than 1000 pounds. I can take a 6" cut with the CTL bucket and its light on the front end.