How much should ballast box weigh?

[mdelmarcelle]

I have a kubota m7040 with a FEL. I'm looking to build a conrete 3pt ballast weight. The front end loader will lift close to 3000lbs. The hitch can lift 3300lbs 24 inches back. My tractor has cast iron wheels, adding about 700lbs to the back end. I'll be using the loader to move sand and wet ground. Considering all this, how much should the ballast weigh. I was thinking in the 1500 to 2000 lb range. Is that too heavy, not heavy enough?

 

[RoyJackson]

If you still have the manuals that came with your tractor/loader, there will be a section in the loader manual indicating how much ballast should be on the 3PH for a given load on the FEL.

If I was mdelmarcelle, I'd go with 1200-1500 permanent weight (concrete or somethng like that) and add more weight (sand, cast iron weights, etc.) as required.

BTW, I use sand in my ballast box (totals about 600 lbs, estimated). That's what came with the (used) ballast box and works great for my usage (traction for some fairly light loader work and snow plowing).

 

[srs]

I too find this confusing sometimes. Especially trying to determine how much a block of concrete weighs. What makes it tough to figure out is lets say you have tires that are filled with liquid, x amount of weight, then say you want to add wheel weights, that too adds so much weight, and finally if you add a weight box the question is (as mdelmarcelle) what is enough or not enough. You have to wonder if all of this weight combined is putting too much stress on the rear axle, 3 pt. hitch, etc.

 

[Ford tractor]

I have a kubota m7040 with a FEL. I'm looking to build a conrete 3pt ballast weight. The front end loader will lift close to 3000lbs. The hitch can lift 3300lbs 24 inches back. My tractor has cast iron wheels, adding about 700lbs to the back end. I'll be using the loader to move sand and wet ground. Considering all this, how much should the ballast weigh. I was thinking in the 1500 to 2000 lb range. Is that too heavy, not heavy enough?

Ideally you would want a combination of wheel weights, tire fill and 3pt weight to be 1.5x the loader capacity. Less on a 4wd tractor, but you want at least that much on a 2wd machine. I would make one in the 2500-3000# range and try to make it as low and close to the tractor as practical.

 

[Glen Watkins]

"I would make one in the 2500-3000# range and try to make it as low and close to the tractor as practical."

That would be an awful big ballast box don't you think?

 

[tcartwri]

You have to factor in the length of the moment arm as well. 1000lbs 30" behind the axle is more effective than 1500lbs between the wheels.

 

[jonyyuma]

I agree with you that is a large slab of concrete? { 3000#}I would need a trailer..Jy.

 

[wvpolekat]

It should weigh as much as its contents + the weight of the box itself.

 

[Soundguy]

i'd fill the tires and add weight to the 3pt. either as a tub (less usefull) or as an implement.. say a box or angle blade with suitcase weights or 5g weight buckets on it.

I used 600# on the back of my old fords in order to lift 1200#.. plus I have wet tires..

soundguy

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Thanks for the input. I'm beginning to frame it up, making a concrete block. It'll be about 36 inches wide by 23 inches deep, and 32 inches tall. More a less a concrete block with a drawbar going through the front side of it for lifting and a connection point for the top link. If my calculations are correct it will be around 2000lbs. For concrete, I'm going to use quickrete, probably the fiber reinforced stuff. I may through an extra bag of portland cement into the mix to increase the strength. And I'll use rebar and wire to decrease cracking. I'm no concrete expert, but I think this will work. My fear is that the block will break while using it and damage the tractor in some way. So, I'm trying to think of everything I can do to prevent that from happening.

I'd use an implement, but I don't have anything that nearly that heavy. It'd be nice to have a super heavy box blade to hook up while using the loader because most of the work I'll be doing would also benefit from a box blade. But super heavy box blades like that are pretty expensive.