BX1500 and rear ballast

[Hawken54]

They now have me wondering about rear ballast on the BX1500. I made a platform for my 3 pt hitch out of an old potato plow frame and some angle iron. I am going to bolt in pieces of 2x6 between the angle iron and also use it as a platform for a sprayer. I am going to use 80 lb bags of concrete for ballast weight.
Now I went looking in the manual about ballast and the only thing Kubota mentions is liquid in the rear tires. I figure that using weight on the 3 point is no different than attaching a tiller for the weight, but not a word about recommended weight in the manual. The ballast is for use with the FEL. Any other 1500 owners out there? How much weight do you use when doing FEL work?

 

[gwdixon]

Lots of information on this site - do a search.

Your manual lists the capacity of the 3 PH so approaching that with ballast will be fine.

It also depends on what you intend to lift with the FEL and the type of terrain that will be traveled.

What your photo shows should be sufficient for most jobs with a tractor that size. Having it farther away from the tractor on the fork frame increases the efficiency of the ballast as you have done.

 

[DiezNutz]

They now have me wondering about rear ballast on the BX1500....

They? ...

Now I went looking in the manual about ballast and the only thing Kubota mentions is liquid in the rear tires...

OK check your manual for the section regarding rear implements... it should have a maximum recommended implement weight. You can use this as a guideline for how much rear ballast to add.

You'll note that this spec will be considerably less than your 3PH lift capacity. The difference is because the implement weight assumes the load will be hanging back there bouncing around as you're working/transporting it (dynamic load) and is purposely conservative to avoid overstressing the 3PH.

So the more you exceed the rear implement spec, the more mindful you'll have to be about this... i.e., move slowly over rough terrain, etc.

Btw,
:welcome:

 

[Hawken54]

Thanks for the quick replies.. "They" are Kubota.. I was just scratching my head because they mention nothing at all about weight on the hitch in the section on ballast. Very complete directions and specs for filling tires though. The specs mention 1210 lbs as the maximum lifting weight for the 3 pt, so I guess I will just load it up with 3 to 4 hundred pounds, tighten the turnbuckles and quit worrying about it

 

[Grandad4]

Here's an idea... don't know if it would work with your "potato plow" setup or not. I bought a "carry all" whose forks would allow a standard pallet to slide on. Then I rigged up several different pallets for different applications... one as a flat platform, one to carry a sprayer setup, etc. That way they are easily interchanged without having to unload each time.

The angle iron looks somewhat larger than what is on my carry-all, so it might not slide into a standard pallet, but just thought I'd pass the idea along.

 

[Hawken54]

That is a great idea, but I was going for dirt cheap! The old potato plow was a freebie from my wifes grandfather. Angle iron was laying around. A few welds and I had a free platform. It would be nice to be able to move pallets though.

 

[Tom_H]

That is a great idea, but I was going for dirt cheap! The old potato plow was a freebie from my wifes grandfather. Angle iron was laying around. A few welds and I had a free platform. It would be nice to be able to move pallets though.

Check Northern Tool. I have seen carry alls there for as little as $79. These are light duty, which is appropriate for a BX1500.

 

[gwdixon]

Check Northern Tool. I have seen carry alls there for as little as $79. These are light duty, which is appropriate for a BX1500.

TSC has them for $99 not on sale. That would save shipping.

CountyLine Carry All - 2128210 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[radioman]

I posted a thread on adding rimgaurd "liquid ballast" to my BX. IMHO its alot better then having rear implement as ballast. If for any reason you need more rear weight, just add your potato plow frame on :thumbsup: .

With liquid ballast, I'd would just fill to max of 75% of tire size and be done with it. You will always have the extra weight when its needed.

 

[bw12]

I also own a BX1500, and after just repairing the front axle pivot (oil leak), I recommend weight behind the rear axle rather than wheel weights or filled rear tires. Weight behind the rear axle reduces the load on the front axle when using the loader. This extends the life of the front axle pivot. Adding weight to the rear wheels does not reduce the load on the front axle.