Dry mix or wet concrete for ballast box

[Fallon]

I filled the bottom 1/3 of my busted 60 gallon air compressor with brake disks, drums & other scrap then tossed in a few bags dry. A little water ontop. The rest got filled with sand & dirt. I wanted the cement to help lock in the 3pt hitch bar I welded in a notch I cut on the bottom. It & tape are also is holding a backer chunk of scrap that makes a hole for my QH toplink to fit in.

I didn't fill it all the way due to cost & wanting to be able to adjust weight if I needed to. Or to be able to dump it if it ever fell over (the 60 gal compressor tank is a bit taller than ideal for a ballast box).

 

[Fallon]

Not much unless there is a mushroom cloud

I've heard the "fact" Hoover dam would still be cooling today if they haven't put in a network of pipes to pump coolant through. Never verified it though.

 

[Fallon]

I have also considered adding scrap steel or lead, but the cost makes that less reasonable.

This is my future "box" when I get time to melt it. one cubic ft. = 707.96lbs. (scrap lead from restoring old stained glass windows) have about a ton of it[/QUOTE]
Or just pack as much as you can into the ballast box then pour cement or even sand over the rest to fill in the gaps.

 

[RaydaKub]

I've heard the "fact" Hoover dam would still be cooling today if they haven't put in a network of pipes to pump coolant through. Never verified it though.

The plaques there say it is still curing...

 

[s219]

This is my future "box" when I get time to melt it. one cubic ft. = 707.96lbs. (scrap lead from restoring old stained glass windows) have about a ton of it

I wish I could locate some of that nearby. I'm going to check with a metal recycler next week and see if they have any scrap lead for a reasonable cost. I believe they process battery cores, but I have no idea what the cost will be.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I wish I could locate some of that nearby. I'm going to check with a metal recycler next week and see if they have any scrap lead for a reasonable cost. I believe they process battery cores, but I have no idea what the cost will be.

Interesting thread. Learned some stuff about crete. I won't add any advice about what to use in your box - seems you have enough already

Reminded me of a guy I worked with that was a antique gun enthusiast extreme. He did a lot of reloading to make old caliber ammo and cast his own bullets. For years and years since he was young he would go around to garages and get there old wheel weights for tire balancing. It was trash then. His cellar is packed full of barrels and barrels of old wheel weights. tons and tons of it. They are just sitting there now. The lead is high in antimony and a little hard but it is still heavy.

gg

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep, always had buckets of free balance weights stored in the shop. Melted them into 75 pound wheel weights. :thumbsup:

 

[Deere5420]

My local cement plant will fill whatever I take down there for free with their overages. I took a ballast box I built down, left it on a trailer, then 2 days later, they called and said it was done. I took them a couple of pizzas for their efforts. I left it on the trailer for about a week to set up, then removed it with my f.e.l. About 2500 lbs. If you have any car repair shops locally, some of them will give away used antifreeze that they store and have to pay someone to haul it off. I put about 100 gallons of it in each of my rear tires. Between that and the ballast box, I can use my JD 542 loader to it's full potential.

 

[fried1765]

I have also considered adding scrap steel or lead, but the cost makes that less reasonable.

This is my future "box" when I get time to melt it. one cubic ft. = 707.96lbs. (scrap lead from restoring old stained glass windows) have about a ton of it[/QUOTE]

I have lots of old lead roof flashing...at least 500lbs.
What sort of pot/heater do you plan to use for melting your scrap lead?
....and what for a mold?
Any information?

 

[Fallon]

My local cement plant will fill whatever I take down there for free with their overages. I took a ballast box I built down, left it on a trailer, then 2 days later, they called and said it was done. I took them a couple of pizzas for their efforts. I left it on the trailer for about a week to set up, then removed it with my f.e.l. About 2500 lbs. If you have any car repair shops locally, some of them will give away used antifreeze that they store and have to pay someone to haul it off. I put about 100 gallons of it in each of my rear tires. Between that and the ballast box, I can use my JD 542 loader to it's full potential.

Careful if you ever get a leak. Animals love that stuff, but it will destroy their livers & kill them in a painful few days.

 

[crazyal]

My 55 gallon drum ballast "box" has a layer of cement that I mixed up. I did that simply because if the bottom of the drum rusted out the cement would hold everything in. After that bottom layer, that also holds a tube that connects both lower link pins, I used anything scrap I had. From rocks to a few 5 gallon buckets of old tire weights. If it wasn't needed and had weight I used it. I filled in the gaps with dry cement. The the last 6 inches or so I used mixed cement to seal it off.

 

[crazyal]

My local cement plant will fill whatever I take down there for free with their overages. I took a ballast box I built down, left it on a trailer, then 2 days later, they called and said it was done. I took them a couple of pizzas for their efforts. I left it on the trailer for about a week to set up, then removed it with my f.e.l. About 2500 lbs. If you have any car repair shops locally, some of them will give away used antifreeze that they store and have to pay someone to haul it off. I put about 100 gallons of it in each of my rear tires. Between that and the ballast box, I can use my JD 542 loader to it's full potential.

A friend owns a sprinkler business. Some of the systems he services need to have antifreeze put in them and then in the spring he drains them back out so they can be filled with water. He uses non-toxic antifreeze because when it drains he just lets it flow out onto the ground as long as it doesn't make a mess. When he can't let it drain on the ground he fills a bulk container and brings it back to his shop. It's mixed with the oil used to cut the threads into the pipe and the dope used to seal the joints so it's not food safe. On occasion someone will ask him for it to fill tires but usually it just gets thrown out. If you have a local sprinkler company it could be an option (I'm not sure if pipes freezing is an issue around you like it is up here).

 

[JimWalch]

This is my future "box" when I get time to melt it. one cubic ft. = 707.96lbs. (scrap lead from restoring old stained glass windows) have about a ton of it

I have lots of old lead roof flashing...at least 500lbs.
What sort of pot/heater do you plan to use for melting your scrap lead?
....and what for a mold?

not sure about the melting pot yet but I think I'll make a larger bottom drain out of a large cast iron kettle. I don't think my 25lb ladle will cut it. mold will be made out of castable refractory with metal reinforcement on the outside that will come off when cool.
Any information?[/QUOTE]