Ballast weight ?

[skeets]

At breakfast with the boys this morning, an interesting question was asked. One of the brothers was going to order a new green tractor,,,, yeah I know, but he feels he got a deal,,,, So anyways, he was asking about a ballast box , and wanted to know how much weight he needed??????????
Dayum I really dont know, so when I got time today, I looked in my book for the B, I mean there should be something about 3 point ballast,, right, or at least some math to figure what you might need.
I like so many others just hang a barrel filled with what ever off the 3 point, or some implement, and thats good enough.
It did however get me thinking, how does one know how much is enough or too much?

 

[85Hokie]

Ask them what the capacity of their new 3 point tractor is......... and then use 75% of that on the rear.

Like you mentioned - anything on the rear helps, traction and the FEL ability.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It gets down to either 'complicated' math or 'simple' trial and error.
How much weight out back depends on what's going on up front and WHERE the work's being done.
That's why I prefer a carryall and a 'skid of weight'. Say you need 400# of ballast.There's NO benefit to using 500-2000# BUT that extra weight CAN cause problems. extra stress on the tractor, slower ttravel times, wife not happy about the ruts in HER lawn......

In my case I don't require ballast all the time, so rears have air only in them and no weights(dust collectors).
There is no 'one size' fits all to ballasting, having it 'adjustable' means you'll get the best overall though.

 

[skeets]

Yes Jay I understand no one size fits all, I would however like to give him an educated answer to some degree. There has to be a simple way of doing it, Hookie said about 75%, that might be a good place to start, and that probably will work for most cases. I don't do very much FEL work and what I do is all light stuff, so I really dont know what to tell him

 

[Henro]

Yes Jay I understand no one size fits all, I would however like to give him an educated answer to some degree. There has to be a simple way of doing it, Hookie said about 75%, that might be a good place to start, and that probably will work for most cases. I don't do very much FEL work and what I do is all light stuff, so I really dont know what to tell him

First I would tell him more is better if no calculations were able to be performed.

If calculations are an option, then I would ask what is the maximum weight you are expecting to carry in the loader?

Then I would make two measurements. One from the center of the front axle to the center of the bucket, and the second from the center of the bucket to the center of the rear axle.

Dividing the front measurement by the rear measurement, and multiplying that by the max weight expected to be carried by the loader would in my mind tell me what the MINIMUM weight I would want on the rear 3PH.

This is simplistic, because the weight on the 3PH is back past the rear axle, so it has a greater effect on keeping the rear wheels on the ground, but the way I would do it adds a bit of a safety factor into the calculation.

Of course, this is South Western PA math....

 

[je1279]

@skeets What is the model of said green tractor in question?

 

[85Hokie]

One more thing to consider:

MORE weight means you will need to have a longer period of braking or slowing down. AND if in high range on lets say a BX model - it will NOT want to go up a hill in High range.

MORE weight is not necessarily a perfect thing.

THE idea is to pick up something on or in the FEL and NOT have the back end lose traction or come off the ground. SO adding more than is REALLY necessary is not helpful.

Once the FEL has reached it's limit of lift - and more weight on the ass-end is simply there for better traction if that is needed.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

one weird way to look at it is the tractor is a teeter totter.
if you add 400# up front, 400# out back is 'balanced'
so add 500# out back and it'll be more 'stable'
add 600# you're real 'stable'
add 1000# and you gain nothing

 

[The Evil Twin]

One more thing to consider:

MORE weight means you will need to have a longer period of braking or slowing down. AND if in high range on lets say a BX model - it will NOT want to go up a hill in High range.

MORE weight is not necessarily a perfect thing.

THE idea is to pick up something on or in the FEL and NOT have the back end lose traction or come off the ground. SO adding more than is REALLY necessary is not helpful.

Once the FEL has reached it's limit of lift - and more weight on the ass-end is simply there for better traction if that is needed.

That's about what I did. Settled for around 700lbs (box blade + suitcases). The log I picked up maxed out the FEL at 20ish inches up. Rear stayed down.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

great question but wasn't mentioned so going to assume ballast is being considered because a loader is being added to the front?

if that guess on my part is right then from my school days we were taught depends on so many factors but starting point something like 1/3 to 1/2 the weight of the loader mechanism added to the load weight you are planning to regularly pick up. Higher end if on soft / un even / bumpy ground. lower end if lift arms and ballast way out the back versus tucked in. higher end if making very high lifts / lower end if low lifts like moving bales around at ground level only, etc...

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Look at the 3 point lift numbers, tada there is your answer.
If the three point can lift 800lbs at then that would be your ballast max.

great question but wasn't mentioned so going to assume ballast is being considered because a loader is being added to the front?

if that guess on my part is right then from my school days we were taught depends on so many factors but starting point something like 1/3 to 1/2 the weight of the loader mechanism added to the load weight you are planning to regularly pick up. Higher end if on soft / un even / bumpy ground. lower end if lift arms and ballast way out the back versus tucked in. higher end if making very high lifts / lower end if low lifts like moving bales around at ground level only, etc...

OH HECK WITH IT, JUST BUY A DOZER!

 

[skeets]

@skeets What is the model of said green tractor in question?

I dont know but he said it was about the size of my B, so I would be guessing