3pt ballast design questions

gabby · Jun 13, 2022

Kill two birds with one stone: Build or buy a 3 pt fork lift attachment, then build a palletized ballast box to carry with the forks. You will find other good uses for the forks in addition to carrying your ballast. You can build a wood box with 4x4 skids underneath and filli lt with dirt, rocks, rubble, etc. for free. Or you can fill it with concrete but that's not free!

DaBear3428 · Jun 14, 2022

is there anything wrong with adding suitcase weights or scrap iron with notches to a box blade? seems like it would help the box blade function and add counterweight to the FEL, and not add another implement to the growing pile.

Renze · Jun 15, 2022

bcp said:
A couple of manuals recommended a 3-point ballast of a weight that was about 2/3 loader capacity.

Bruce

My loader lifts 1200kg and i use about 650-700kg rear ballast, all steel suitcase weights on a rack, so it lifts above the drawbar of the bale trailer. For loading bales this was perfect, but when digging i would like a bit more.

With the other tractor i loaded the 3pt earth scoop with muck when loading the spreader, quite heavy (it had a safety latch in upper position so when jamming it into the highwall of the muck heap i could increase ballast after loading the first few loads. Because the tractor was a 1963 Deutz D50 without powersteering, every pound behind the rear axle to take weight off the front was welcome)

The drawback of using that big rear scoop as ballast was that you often hit something when reversing, because your mind was on the loader bucket clearing the spreader sideboards when swinging over it at a T junction between the barns...

If the 3pt must carry it, i would not go beyond 2/3 of the lift capacity, because if your oil pump strains when correcting the 3pt hitch lift height, you momentarily loose hydraulic power on the loader and the rear end heats up pretty bad during the day: there have been days that i unloaded the 1.5 cubic yard of solid black muck a bit because the tractor needed full rpm to lift it to max height.

It should be able to lift the rear ballast at slightly over low idle.

Vigo327 · Jun 15, 2022

is there anything wrong with adding suitcase weights or scrap iron with notches to a box blade? seems like it would help the box blade function and add counterweight to the FEL, and not add another implement to the growing pile.

I think the main advantage of a dedicated 3pt ballast implement is that it doesn't create the maneuverability challenges of a normal implement.

I have a tiny B6100 Kubota that I use a 60" box blade behind. The box blade probably weighs 300-350. I bolted a 113lb 54" loading dock bumper onto the back of it and it both makes the box blade cut quicker/better, and massively increased my counterweighting since the 113lb gain (~30% gain?) is at the very back of the box. Now all i have to do is increase my loader pressure so i actually NEED that extra counterweight!

Right now it's a measly 750psi.. Im thinking 1200-1300 oughta find the next weakest link.

PreacherM · Jul 26, 2022

Finally got the weight poured yesterday. Will wait another day or so to try it out, then paint the metal parts (should a done that first). Weighs in right at 600 lbs. Center of gravity is about 2 inches behind the pins. I've got a 2" receiver embedded in the concrete also. Fabricated an extended pin in order to be able to lock the hitch in place.

PreacherM · Jul 26, 2022

Sorry, these didn't get uploaded the first try. All the metal parts are welded together except for the top chain hooks. Planning to build a plywood box on top yet to hold chains, gas can, oil can etc.

DaBear3428 · Jul 26, 2022

Vigo327 said:
I think the main advantage of a dedicated 3pt ballast implement is that it doesn't create the maneuverability challenges of a normal implement.

I have a tiny B6100 Kubota that I use a 60" box blade behind. The box blade probably weighs 300-350. I bolted a 113lb 54" loading dock bumper onto the back of it and it both makes the box blade cut quicker/better, and massively increased my counterweighting since the 113lb gain (~30% gain?) is at the very back of the box. Now all i have to do is increase my loader pressure so i actually NEED that extra counterweight! Right now it's a measly 750psi.. Im thinking 1200-1300 oughta find the next weakest link.

I'm thinking that the box blade does not interfere with maneuvering, it actually helps keep me from backing into brush and breaking my lights on the back of the tractor.

oosik · Jul 27, 2022

When I was deciding on an upgraded tractor - I considered a weight box on the 3-point. But a weight box DOES nothing. Instead I went with Rimguard filled rear tires ( 1550# ) and a 1000#+ rear blade.

These two upgrades successfully handle the total lift capacity of my FEL and grapple. I can lift and move 3000#+ with the FEL and grapple.

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. I'm not limited by confined spaces.

PreacherM · Jul 27, 2022

oosik said:
When I was deciding on an upgraded tractor - I considered a weight box on the 3-point. But a weight box DOES nothing. Instead I went with Rimguard filled rear tires ( 1550# ) and a 1000#+ rear blade.

These two upgrades successfully handle the total lift capacity of my FEL and grapple. I can lift and move 3000#+ with the FEL and grapple.

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. I'm not limited by confined spaces.

Most of my heavy lifting will be done in tight areas. I built this ballast box for around $100 bucks. I'm not buying a box blade until prices come down or i find a used one. Also, this way when cutting firewood i can hook the trailer on behind and still have the weight for extra traction after I unhook. It certainly has limited usefulness, but it's also cheap to build, takes little space, and won't wear out very quickly!