FEL CounterWeight On 3 Pt. Hitch

[kozak]

Find attached home-made weights to provide some ballast when doing FEL work. It was high time seeing I have had the tractor now for 11 months. Boy does it make a difference. FEL operation is much smoother & now I can push / plow the snow. I was hoping to go with wheel weights but the wheels for NH turf tires do not accept weights. As much as I would like to take credit for fabing this weight system up it was done by a retired tractor mechanic. My hats off to him for doing a great job & making my tractoring that much more enjoyable.

 

[kozak]

Following are the specs.

- 8 removable plates weighing approx. 50 lbs each, 22-5/8" L x 6"W x 1-1/2" thick.

- Bottom holding plate 24"L x 6"W x 2-1/2" thick

- 3"W x 1-1/2" C-Channel 16-1/4"L x 1/4" thick

- 7/8" diameter x 29"L rod for attaching bottom two hitch arms

- Two 3"L x 2"W (5/16" thick) plates welded to top inside of C-Channel for attaching top hitch arm

- 4"L x 3/4" dia. pin to attach top arm to plates on C-Channel

- 1/2" rebar to keep plates in place. Steel plates are notched to allow rebar to support & keep plates in place.

 

[JimR]

Very nice setup and it looks pretty simple to make. Thanks for the pictures.

 

[kozak]

When I first saw this design I liked it since I can add weight or remove it as needed. The total weight is approximately 510 Lbs. It almost seems as I gave the tractor a HP boost. JUst goes through anything now with TURF tires.

 

[kozak]

One last pic.

Going to paint it up this summer. Should look nice painted black.

 

[JimR]

Do you want to see her really go thru things? Chain those rear wheels with a set of double ladder chains. I drove my 7275 Cub thru 20 inches of snow yesterday with no problem.

 

[kozak]

Yeah, JimR

I have had experience with chains on my little 14 HP ACCO Allis. The wheels are so small that without the chains you were not going anywhere fast in the snow. They make all the difference. I was hoping to get away without the chains for my bigger tractor as they would be a hassle putting on every winter. The chains I got for my small tractor must have weighed 25 lbs each. For the big wheels I have now, I bet the weight would be closer to 100 lbs or more. So far, with it being so cold, the snow up here has been fairly dry so zero slippage. In fact, with the weights on, I did'nt even have to put the tractor in 4 wheel drive. Just a marvelous thing. MARVELOUS !!

 

[Freds]

Very nice!
Rear weights make it so much nicer than an implement on the back. You don't have to watch as close when backing up and maneuvering. Slick setup.

 

[Bob_K]

Nice job and I know the need to have weight in the rear.

This is the one I made for mine

 

[kozak]

JimR & Freds,

Thanks, just wanted to put this out to share if somebody wanted to get some ideas to put some weights together. I'm sure there are ways to either improve upon or make simpler yet.

Thanks for the pic Bob_K.

Nice black finish. In fact nice finish job all around. Looks like something you would purchase. Nicely done. I have been debating for some time now whether I should get a welder. To a certain degree it is a little intimidating seeing the stuff some of you guys put together. I did do some welding back in my teen-age years but that was eons ago.