Let's see some homemade 3 point ballast!

[pmsmechanic]

I used to have 1000 lbs of ballast on my three point hitch. I removed it because if I was digging in the dirt a 1" rock was enough to push the bucket out of hard dirt. I removed 400 lbs and it's just about right. At 600 lbs it's nice for digging and it still keeps the back end on the ground for heavy loads. I shake my head at the amount of ballast some on TBN use. How can you get the bucket to dig into the ground?

 

[k0ua]

I used to have 1000 lbs of ballast on my three point hitch. I removed it because if I was digging in the dirt a 1" rock was enough to push the bucket out of hard dirt. I removed 400 lbs and it's just about right. At 600 lbs it's nice for digging and it still keeps the back end on the ground for heavy loads. I shake my head at the amount of ballast some on TBN use. How can you get the bucket to dig into the ground?

by correctly adjusting the angle of the bucket lip.

 

[pmsmechanic]

by correctly adjusting the angle of the bucket lip.

Ok so I agree that a 45 degree angle will get the bucket to dig in but a 1"stone will still roll the bucket up until there is a few lbs of dirt in the bucket. It was just way to frustrating. I'll stick with what I have and enjoy the control that I have. I'll still shake my head in wonder at people who have way too much weight as ballast.

 

[PEJ5]

Ok so I agree that a 45 degree angle will get the bucket to dig in but a 1"stone will still roll the bucket up until there is a few lbs of dirt in the bucket. It was just way to frustrating. I'll stick with what I have and enjoy the control that I have. I'll still shake my head in wonder at people who have way too much weight as ballast.

It would be nice to have a way to calculate the correct/best weight, but there are so many variables - brand and size, FEL and 3Pt capacity, loaded rears, counterweight position, etc. I struggled to decide - I was going concrete so I only had one shot at it. I am happy with the result. My 2600LB FEL could not lift 1300 two feet out without the rear wheels lifting. With a 1300 counterweight on the 3Pt I feel more stable and should be able to safely 1500-2000+. Does this mean a counterweight of half your lift capacity makes sense for most? Hard to say.

 

[WranglerX]

I have bombed around yard with the 500 lb ballast on tractor and bucket (FEL) empty and not had any steering problems or noticed front wheels off ground....

Also keep in mind FEL is not a "digging" tool its a scoop up and lift and dump tool...

Also this is what my NF manual says about determining size of ballast...

Dale

 

[aeblank]

It would be nice to have a way to calculate the correct/best weight

The pivot point is the rear wheels.. the lever arm on a counterweight is so so so much shorter than it is to the loader pins.

If you wanted, measure from rear wheels to the loader pins. Measure from the rear wheels to the end of the 3pt arms. Divide one by the other (front/rear). Multiply that by your expected (max?) loader capacity.

I'd bet that you run out of 3pt capacity before reaching counterweight maxes. Mines like 1200# and is no issue on my L3940.

 

[Imold]

I ended up building this 3pt box that I can put a 30 gal barrel in filled with water or sand for extra ballast if needed.

 

[JK22]

just finished my post on my build; Custom Rear Ballast and Tool Carrier Build

i was going to do a simple backyard build with a 55 gal drum or something, but then thought it'd look ghetto and i'd rather do something a lot cleaner and actually be multipurpose too.
check out the thread for more info.
View attachment 551476
View attachment 551477

-Haas

Wow. Very nice.

 

[djeeper]

Here's the one I made for our 1526 tractor. Each iron disc is 200#. Bolted through a 26" drawbar with steel framework to hold it all in line. Needs some more paint and finish the brace on other side of the hook. At full down it clears level ground but needs to be raised for hills. Fits in really tight to the quick hitch which is great for clearance in tight spots. Couldn't fit all the weights on top of the drawbar so one had to go underneath. Tractor does much better with loads in the FEL bucket and forks.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Here's the one I made for our 1526 tractor. Each iron disc is 200#. Bolted through a 26" drawbar with steel framework to hold it all in line. Needs some more paint and finish the brace on other side of the hook. At full down it clears level ground but needs to be raised for hills. Fits in really tight to the quick hitch which is great for clearance in tight spots. Couldn't fit all the weights on top of the drawbar so one had to go underneath. Tractor does much better with loads in the FEL bucket and forks.


View attachment 632838

You are probably going to hate me but I would be tempted to just bolt the 26" bar to the top of all of those weights and not bother with the frame work. Then it's really easy to set on the ground to remove/reattach.