Lawn roller ideas

[smoker]

I have a 4'x2' lawn roller that insists on leaking water. Suggestion was to use sand as weight. Have any of you folks used sand and did you fill it full, half full?? Grandson says it will hold ~20 50# bags of sand, I think I would need a
D-9 to pull it Appreciate any experiences you can share. Thanks, smoker

 

[yomax4]

If you can't fix the leaks, You could fill it up 1/2 full and try it. Add if it pulls easily. Weigh a gallon of sand and see how it compares to a gallon of water.

 

[smoker]

I've welded on that thing for the last time! Made out of beer cans I think. I wondered if the sand would hang up and then fall or......? I'll bet there is someone here who has done it already. Water weighs ~ 8# per gallon and this is a 55 gallon roller so when its full there is ~ 400#. 10 50# bags would be about right. Just can't seem to see how the sand would follow the roller and stay on the bottom, or does it???

 

[LD1]

Sand should stop the leak.

But dry sand is about 100# per cu ft. If your rollers inside dimensions are indeed 2x4 on the money, you will need 1250# of sand. As opposed to about 750# of water. So it will be a little heavier, but I don't think you need a d9

 

[smoker]

Thanks LD1, just joking about the D-9. My question is how will the roller react being half full of sand? Like I said there has to be someone who has done this. Just don't want to go off half cocked. smoker

 

[medic0648]

Lowes and home depot sell sand in 1000lb bags now also. It is cheaper than the 50lb bags. Sand needs to be pretty dry to flow like you want. Filling it completly full would help if it got wet and not wanting to flow.

 

[smoker]

"Wanting to flow", is exactly what I would like to know. Filling it full would really make it very heavy.

 

[jgayman]

Calculate the volume of your roller. 24" x 48" should be around 12.56 cu ft. Water is 64.4 lbs per cu ft so that is 808 lbs plus the weight of the roller. Sand weighs 100 lbs per cu ft so that would be 1256 lbs plus the weight of the roller. Unless there is something you can add to sand to keep it fluid I suspect condensation in the roller will eventually cause the sand to pack and clump and result in jerky motion - especially when it sits between seasons.

I would simply fill it with sand. With the roller the more weight the better. I have one of the Ohio Steel 24" x 52" filled with water (920 bs) and I pull it around with my little John Deere 175 Hydro riding mower.

 

[smoker]

Looks like that will be the way I'll go. The condensation was my concern and the only way to get around that is to fill er up

 

[6011Artist]

Not sure how much concrete weighs per cubic foot but I have a roller someone gave me that was filled with concrete. Works good.

 

[smoker]

Thought of that also. Both appear to be heavy work

 

[medic0648]

1 cu ft of dry concrete is about 150lb

 

[smoker]

Getting closer to that D-9

 

[LD1]

Water is only 62.4 per cu ft.

Ditto on the concrete being 150.

I would just fill it full. The added weight will help do its job. And I don't think you'll have any issues towing.

 

[jgayman]

Not sure how much concrete weighs per cubic foot but I have a roller someone gave me that was filled with concrete. Works good.

The actual weight can vary slightly based on the cement, sand, water, and total air content of the mix but 150 lbs per cubic foot seems to be a good number to use.

 

[CNC Dan]

Sand don't flow like water.
Fill a jar half full with sand and see how it rolls. Do the same with water.
Then try it _full_ of sand. See the difference.

Anything less that full when using sand will be harder to roll, as the sand wastes energy as it tumbles.
Could be helpful as it would stay put when unhitched.

 

[David Devuono]

I wonder how many boxes of Jello it would take to stop the leak:licking:

 

[sparc]

I wonder how many boxes of Jello it would take to stop the leak:licking:

or oatmeal

 

[The kid]

Lowes and home depot sell sand in 1000lb bags now also. It is cheaper than the 50lb bags. Sand needs to be pretty dry to flow like you want. Filling it completly full would help if it got wet and not wanting to flow.

That's one heck of a bag of sand. I'd hate to be the guy that has to load it. :shocked:

 

[medic0648]

That's one heck of a bag of sand. I'd hate to be the guy that has to load it. :shocked:

Haha, that's why they invented fork lifts and fels. just don't hang out under the bag while it's in the air.