Advice for ballast on BX2370

[postalnut25]

Hello all,

I am taking delivery of a BX2370 very soon. It is going to be a multi-purpose machine. I have about 2 acres of mostly flat prairie land in eastern Colorado. I am getting the FEL and the MMM.

I am debating getting a three-point mounted sprayer to use as my ballast when using the loader. I have 470 feet of drainage ditch in front of the house. I plan on moving rock into that ditch. Keeping that area sprayed with roundup is going to be a common task. My thought is that I can keep some water in the tank to act as ballast during the loader work, and then can drain out the water so I'm not as heavy when working on the grassy areas.

Has anybody done something like this? Did it work? Are there any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[radioman]

i think it could work - but it going to be a hassle and problematic. you will be tempted to not to drain the tank when working on the grassy areas. using the tank mounted on 3 pt will bring the center of gravity higher then it should be. My concern is the tank is plastic and it will have a tendency to crack from being exposed constantly in sun and it a hitting hazard and become useless so the investment to use this as ballast will be moot. I dont think its necessary to be that concerned about extra weight on the lawn. I suggest you fill the rear tires and forget about it.

 

[SLIMSHADIE]

It can work and Ive done that, but my concern is not having enough weight. You didnt say how big the water tank is? My kubota ballast box says add 300# for the bx. My 25 gallon tank filled would only be about 200#.

 

[postalnut25]

Thanks for both of the replies. The tank I'm looking at is 40 gallons. With the weight of the implement and the water/poison, it would be about 600 pounds. Radioman brought up a good point, though. Most of the sprayers I've looked at have complaints about the tank cracking around mounting points. I think I can go with the Kubota wheel weights for about 30 per side. In order to load the tires I'd have to find someone to do it. I'm in the part of town where estate houses have pushed out the farms, and the supply stores seem to have been replaced by Walmart & King Soopers.

I did see that King Kutter makes a three point carry-all. I'm getting the BX-specific Land Pride QH05 quick hitch, so swapping implements on the back won't be too bad. I could probably rig that carry-all to hold some heavy blocks, and then take it off when the time to mow comes around.

Thanks again for the input

 

[robertm]

I suggest getting the KUBOTA ballast box for the $200. It's actually part of the loader package on the Build & Price website.
Sloshing around of the chemicals will also get annoying and mess with your C of G.
I have a ballast box for my BX2670. I used it on my last BX2660, then my B2620. I installed a 2" receiver off the back of it bolted through the ballast box and embedded the bolts in concrete in the bottom 8" of the box. Then, I put sand in the rest, short of the top about 6", and stood up PVC pipes in the sand with removable caps. I can stand my rakes and shovels on the PVC when working for quick access. I then capped the sand off with 2" of concrete below the top of the ballast box top edge to create a tray for chains, tools, etc. if I want to empty the box, a few hits with a hammer on the concrete will break it up easily and I can dump the sand to adjust the weight or revise my setup.

 

[am122]

Just get the rear tires loaded and that will take care of all that the loader can lift.

 

[tlj87]

Just get the rear tires loaded and that will take care of all that the loader can lift.

I have to disagree. I have a 2370 with rim guard In the rear tires and it's ok if you are just moving mulch, but if you have a bucket of soil or gravel, and you hit a bump with no ballast on the 3pt, you will find it to be very tippy.

I've added 2" spacers on the rear (4" total) and have a weight bracket to hold 300 lbs of cast iron weights (2 farmall cub wheel weights). So with that 300 lbs, ~160 in the rear tires and the spacers, it is pretty stable.

 

[postalnut25]

I suggest getting the KUBOTA ballast box for the $200. It's actually part of the loader package on the Build & Price website.
Sloshing around of the chemicals will also get annoying and mess with your C of G.
I have a ballast box for my BX2670. I used it on my last BX2660, then my B2620. I installed a 2" receiver off the back of it bolted through the ballast box and embedded the bolts in concrete in the bottom 8" of the box. Then, I put sand in the rest, short of the top about 6", and stood up PVC pipes in the sand with removable caps. I can stand my rakes and shovels on the PVC when working for quick access. I then capped the sand off with 2" of concrete below the top of the ballast box top edge to create a tray for chains, tools, etc. if I want to empty the box, a few hits with a hammer on the concrete will break it up easily and I can dump the sand to adjust the weight or revise my setup.

I like the sounds of this Robert. I was against the basic ballast box as it was just going to be something heavy to have to store when I was using the sprayer. With the set-up you describe, I can leave the ballast box on and have a useful tool carrier of sorts. Thanks.

 

[robertm]

I like the sounds of this Robert. I was against the basic ballast box as it was just going to be something heavy to have to store when I was using the sprayer. With the set-up you describe, I can leave the ballast box on and have a useful tool carrier of sorts. Thanks.

I built a dolly of 2X4's and casters, and drop the box on it to push it out of the way when not used. It's easier yet with adjustable lower links.

 

[SLIMSHADIE]

You may not want to buy the Kubota ballast box, trapezoid shaped. It will not hook up with a quick hitch, at least not Pat's. Get one that is perfectly square or box shaped. This is the one I had and sold.