BX1850 ballast options

washmo66 · Jun 24, 2007

i Have a new BX1850 and the new FEL is on the way. I was wondering if instead of buying the ballast box I could just liquid fill my tires and put a rear blade on it? I was looking at a king cutter 4 or 5 ' blade for the back to push snow...

Just wondering if that and my 235lbs of butt is enough to stabilize the tractor when using the FEL? Moving rock and mulch and dirt with the FEL.

thanks in advance for the advice.

-Todd

RoyJackson · Jun 24, 2007

washmo66 said:
i Have a new BX1850 and the new FEL is on the way. I was wondering if instead of buying the ballast box I could just liquid fill my tires and put a rear blade on it? I was looking at a king cutter 4 or 5 ' blade for the back to push snow...

Just wondering if that and my 235lbs of butt is enough to stabilize the tractor when using the FEL? Moving rock and mulch and dirt with the FEL.

thanks in advance for the advice.

-Todd

It's not just a matter of stabilizing the machine. That rear ballast aids in traction and balances out the load, thus reducing stresses from the front axle.
If you're going only use your loader in light applications, the rear blade may be adequate. You'll have to use your good judgment.

As far as your 235 lb butt...it'll help traction, but it's in the wrong location (on the tractor) to provide ballast for the front loader.

Will_C · Jun 24, 2007

As Roy posted, the blade will do for light jobs. I do the same with a 5' landscape rake on my BX. In the winter, when I am pushing snow, I put around300 lbs on a 3pt hitch weight bar. I don't have loaded tires, so that will certainly help you.
Will

Volfandt · Jun 24, 2007

You shouldn't have any traction or counterbalance problems carrying material around when running filled rears with a blade only. Especially on level to slightly slopeing terrain.
I routinely carry bucket load's of material around my place with only filled rears and no additional weight on the rear.

That said, if you were to get into serious digging where you were needing to haul material up/down steep inclines you'd definitely want additional weight on the back to both offset the FEL weight and to keep most of the weight on the rears as possible. A weight box or additional weights secured to a blade or box blade will work then.

Of course with a full FEL always be careful, only carry the FEL as high as needed to clear ground obstacles and keep your ground speed slow enough to keep control of the machine. A full FEL can make a tractor behave like it's got a mind of it's own

washmo66 · Jun 25, 2007

Thanks for the replies, I'll give it a shot with the blade and filled tires and see how it does.

JW1554 · Jun 25, 2007

I have the BX2200 and made a wooden ballast box that bolts to the top of my 3 PH Bushhog blade. The box holds six solid, easily removed, concrete blocks (4"x8"x16"). Total weight - about 300 lbs, including the box. Makes the blade and FEL work better.

kwolfe · Jun 25, 2007

I add weight to may box blade when digging or moving heavy material like gravel. In the pic you will notice 2, 5 gallon buckets on the BB. I filled them with rock. I figure they go about 90lbs a piece which brings the total hanging off the back to around 430lbs.

art · Jun 25, 2007

BX's take the same wheel weights that a garden tractor uses and they have them in weights of 60 to 75 per side and they bolt on quite easily.

SkunkWerX · Jun 26, 2007

Art, That is excellent info! Thanks for the idea, time to start looking for some used metal ones.

Like Will, I have been using my 5' Rake, it probably weighs same as my blade, but the rake hangs much farther back. Over the weekend I added a 4 foot locust log to the rake, just for some extra weight.

Kwolfe has the right idea also, add weight to a heavy implement.
I have seen people add suit-case style tractor weights to implements, like hang them off of grader blades and such.

I am seriously considering welding some expanded metal onto the lower frame of my grader blade, and filling some cinder blocks with concrete, so they can be moved to various implements. I made one for my drag-behind spiker/aerator, bent a peice of rebar as a handle, adds some decent weight, in an easy to manage form.

But, I have an old beat up upright smoker, that is a cylinder about 20 inches tall and 16 inches round, I'm really contemplating filling it with concrete and any used metal I can throw into the mix....run a rod through it, so it can be fastened to the 3PH.

If you have a carry-all (rear forks) you can simply add weight to a small pallet.
Bricks, blocks, rocks, logs.

I am leary of water filled containers, unless they are 100% full.
When partially full, the water sloshes, front to back and side to side, that has always made me wonder. I think commercially designed water filled ballast boxes have separate compartments and/or baffles to keep the sloshing in check.