Balast

[pickeringchris]

The planting area is just small. 4x4 say. I plan on doing a grid pattern in the whole garden with the subsoiler to improve drainage. Come august I have one 30x30' root system.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I think I understand now. The whole garden would be 60 feet x 60 feet. Divided into 4 - 30 foot x 30 foot quadrants. One pumpkin to each 30 foot x 30 foot quadrant. Yes??

Don

 

[pickeringchris]

More like 30x150' but yes you have the principal down.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I just saw a couple of your pumpkin pictures in another thread. Very Impressive!

The 3 point hitch lift capacity on a CK27:
Lift Capacity, 24" aft of hitch, lb(kg)1,764 lbs. (800 kg)

With a set of forks on the 3 point you may be able to lift the pumpkins. The issue will be the further away from the back of the tractor the less you can lift. You could also use the forks to load up weight for ballast.

Don

 

[Gittyup]

2011 was my second year growing giants. In 2010 my best was 1030lbs. Pretty good for a beginner. This year I was plagued by bad luck and my best was 1065 lbs. really disappointing considering I had one split the first week of August at 930lbs and was doing about 30lbs per day. It was on target for 14-1500lbs :-(

Btw for the guys that ad wiper fluid for ballast do you have tube or tubeless tires??? I know wiper fluid does have some corrosion inhibitors.....

Your loader will lift at least 1200 lbs. So it would do OK for those "average" little 1000 pounder pumpkins should you choose to use it. Obviously, if you get to your goal, then then loader won't likely get it moved.

 

[Gil Case]

I would think you would put a pallet under the pumpkin when it was little and let it grow on the pallet?
Then you can move it with the pallet forks in place of the bucket, no muss no fuss.
Pardon me if this is a dumb statement/question, I know nothing about growing pumpkins let alone BIG pumpkins.

 

[pickeringchris]

That's not dumb at all. People actually do it. It does create other problems though and It is not that important to me that I can lift the pumpkins with the tractor.
I just set up a tripod over the fruit and lift it with a chain hoist. Then back the trailer under.

 

[pickeringchris]

I just saw a couple of your pumpkin pictures in another thread. Very Impressive!

The 3 point hitch lift capacity on a CK27:
Lift Capacity, 24" aft of hitch, lb(kg)1,764 lbs. (800 kg)

With a set of forks on the 3 point you may be able to lift the pumpkins. The issue will be the further away from the back of the tractor the less you can lift. You could also use the forks to load up weight for ballast.

Don

Hey Don. We started going these because we though it would be fun for the kids. Then I got addicted. . The pumpkin community is small and we look forward to seeing our friends at the fairs.
We have been in the local paper and on the national news. It is a fun hobby and makes people happy. We love the looks we get when driving to weighoffs.
3ph forks would work but I don't think they would get high enough to load onto my trailer.

 

[Gittyup]

With 3ph forks that use hydraulics u can get pretty high. The pair that I have raise to about 5 feet.

 

[kiotiken]

I'm going to guess you could lift a 1500lbs pumpkin with forks on the FEL. The 1200lbs lift rating is to full height. I believe the CK 27-35 has a breakout force of 1700lbs. You're probably good for 1500lbs to at least 5 feet.

I have loaded tires and always keep an implement on as well. It's not really an issue when the BH is on (1200lbs), but I'm happy to have loaded tires with only the box blade (450lbs) on the back.

 

[pickeringchris]

What exactly is breakout rating?

 

[IndyIan]

What exactly is breakout rating?

Its the amount of weight the loader will just be able to lift at ground level where the geometry of the hydraulic cylinder and loader arms allows more force at the end of the bucket.
Your loader is rated at max height where the geometry isn't ideal for lifting force so with some ballast you can actually lift more than that near the ground level.

 

[kiotiken]

What exactly is breakout rating?

I'm sure somebody here could give you the technical description of breakout force, but how it's been explained to me is the amount of force you can break out of a pile with or lift up to a couple of feet in the air. The KL 130 FEL specs show 1155lbs to full height and 2046lbs break out force, both measured at the pivot pins.

I have tested this for myself. I had a heaped bucket full of river rock this summer, right near the lift capacity of my FEL. I could tell because it was a little slow to raise. Very carefully, on flat, solid ground and not moving, I decided to see if I could raise it the entire way. By about 6 ft, it was done and wouldn't go any higher.

This is one of the biggest challenges when comparing FEL lift capacities of tractors. For example, not only does the KIOTI KL 130 have a higher rated lift capacity than the JD 201 (I believe that's the model, it's been a while now), it also lifts that load higher. The KL 130 is even stronger than the numbers would seem to show over the JD 201 if you only measured to the top height of the JD 201 since the lift capacity drops drastically with height. This is why breakout force is usually a better indicator of the FEL's true capabilities, it only measures to a couple of feet in the air.

 

[TBDonnelly]

The issue with the loader lift as far as large pumpkins is, the pumpkins could be as much as 4 feet in front of the pins or farther in front of the pins if the forks are atttached to the front of the bucket. Figure roughly 20 to 30% decrease in lift capability every 20 inches out from the pins(from memory). Your results may vary.

Don

 

[TBDonnelly]

What exactly is breakout rating?

Courtesy of Steve Carver Equipment:

Loader breakaway or breakout force​

When using a loader -- it all starts at the front cutting edge of the bucket. The more power and force it has equals the more work you can expect to perform. The cutting edge on the bucket exerts a tremendous force as it lifts and pushes against the soil, rock, payload material you are handling. More breakway/breakout force is achieved with the combined power of the loader lift and bucket (crowd-dump-fill) cylinders. The combination of a tractor/loader's weight, hydraulic lift capacity, loader design, traction all are important ingredients to determine how much "breakout" force the equipment may develop.

Don

 

[Gittyup]

The issue with the loader lift as far as large pumpkins is, the pumpkins could be as much as 4 feet in front of the pins or farther in front of the pins if the forks are atttached to the front of the bucket. Figure roughly 20 to 30% decrease in lift capability every 20 inches out from the pins(from memory). Your results may vary.

Don

But one could use straps where the pumpkin is under the loader bucket.

 

[TBDonnelly]

But one could use straps where the pumpkin is under the loader bucket.

Excellent point! :thumbsup: ....as long as the pumpkin would clear the front of the tractor.

Don

 

[pickeringchris]

FYI, a 1200 pounder could easily be 180" circumference. It would be pretty hard on this machine to get the fruit much closer than the leading edge of the bucket.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Either way, since there's only 4 possible pumpkins to harvest I sure would practice on anything else besides a prized pumpkin.

Don

 

[Gittyup]

FYI, a 1200 pounder could easily be 180" circumference. It would be pretty hard on this machine to get the fruit much closer than the leading edge of the bucket.

Might be even harder on the pumpkin.

Yeah probably too big around to use the loader. But, maybe a boom pole on the 3ph. These are cheap and simple attachments.