Ballast Small GC 17xx And Ballast....

[WranglerX]

My JD L120 died on me out on back property, yeah "Runs Like A [Dead] Deer", anyway went to retrieve it and with front bumper and wheels of L120 I managed to wedge it into FEL...

Came in from back property and while L120 was still elevated in loader jumped off tractor.... MISTAKE... My 215 pounds were enough to counter balance the weight of the L120 in bucket....This was a lesson... NEEDS BALLAST....

So made a 500 pound ballast box and now pretty confident about heavy weights in FEL....

According to JD manual the L120 mower weighs in at 520 pounds...

Without ballast box and 215 pound (fat boy) in operator seat..



With ballast box...



Approximately 500 pound Box (about 4 cubic feet of concrete)



Dale

 

[Dave M7040]

Rear ballast is critical but.... what I see in recent posts is not going to provide the stability being sought.

The rear axle height is a critical part of any design. The tractor draw-bar is located below the rear axle height. Owners are cautioned about pulling from a higher point on the tractor than the draw-bar.

The center of gravity of any rear ballast needs to be below the rear axle height to provide roll stability.

Locate the center of gravity above the rear axle height and the ballast will actually make the roll over worse..

Ballast needs to be low and wide not tall.

Hope my marked up sketch makes sense

Dave M7040

 

[Diggin It]

What I see is your load is what 3-4' out in front of the FEL? To my limited knowledge, none of them are designed for a load that far forward, but rather for the load to be inside or directly above the bucket. Aside from anything else, you're putting far too much leverage on the loader arms. Carrying a load of that kind any distance could result in some costly damage.


I would have latched on to the dead donkey with a chain or tow strap and drug it home.

 

[WranglerX]

I know the JD is not best example of what load should be, but point I was trying to make is ballast will effect how balance can effect front to rear stability....By having any excessive weigh in loader bucket (500 pound boulder) its going to have effect on how much weight is actually on rear and if you are not in 4WD you are going to have very little braking on rear wheels.... In my case with my tractor FEL is rated at 870 pound lift at bucket.... So the hydraulics are capable of more lift than the balance of a un-ballasted tractor can safely handle...

And we all know but will never admit we load all sorts of crap into FEL.... Look at add on Bale Speer's and pallet forks....

Dale

 

[WranglerX]

Rear ballast is critical but.... what I see in recent posts is not going to provide the stability being sought.

The rear axle height is a critical part of any design. The tractor draw-bar is located below the rear axle height. Owners are cautioned about pulling from a higher point on the tractor than the draw-bar.

The center of gravity of any rear ballast needs to be below the rear axle height to provide roll stability.

Locate the center of gravity above the rear axle height and the ballast will actually make the roll over worse..

Ballast needs to be low and wide not tall.

Hope my marked up sketch makes sense

Dave M7040

Yeah I know, and yes ballast was a bit high, but I was doing this in controlled situation and was pretty sure it was safe... If was hauling weigh in bucket (on the fly), both FEL and ballast would be low....

Its a lot like instructive youtube videos, it was contrived to show a example...

Dale

 

[metalbender]

I'm a little confused as to how the JD lifted horizontal and not left the rear wheels on the ground. Looks like a lot of stress on the front axle and steering components.

 

[WranglerX]

I'm a little confused as to how the JD lifted horizontal and not left the rear wheels on the ground. Looks like a lot of stress on the front axle and steering components.

Yes there is stress.... In very first post I stated bumper of JD was wedged under bucket lip, or I think I did... That is why it lifted horizontal...

Dale

 

[metalbender]

Yup, going back, was mentioned in the first post.

 

[atsah]

The GC will lift it like nothing the way you are lifting it, of course will the correct ballast. I lifted plenty of things with forks way out front, no axle or problems at all, they are tough little tractors..