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Tractor FEL Ballast Requirements

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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-05-08          54526

Have any of you taken a look at what the owner's manual for your FEL actually calls for?????? I was told by the dealer that the 110 gallons of fluid tire fill was all I needed. After reading a post in another section about FEL ballast and a post from Mark Hunstiger; I review my owner's manual and discovered that the dealer was wrong and that I was actually 1320 lbs. short on ballast for the 3 pt. hitch. I had glanced through the manual earlier but I evidently read it wrong. You all may want to take a second look at what your owner's manual actually says. Could help you avoid joining the "Man of Steel" Club.

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-05-12          54722

Gentlemen, lighter is better! But we have work to do, and we need weight to get the job done. It is important that somebody with knowledge of the equipment makes some good decisions for you. You don't want to have to weight a tractor for the full weight allowable by the manufacturer if you don't need to. Now, if you own stock in your fuel provider as well as your tractor manufacturer as well as your local dealer do go ahead and ballast fully because by making that heavy you will wear out your drivetrain prematurely, burn more fuel than nessecary for most all of your work and keep both the dealer and manufacturers parts system busy. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-05-12          54732

That is why I use cement blocks. They are cheap, relatively heavy and go on and off in a flash.

Unlike many folks who mow and cut brush, almost all of what I do with my tractors is move dirt.

And like most things there are trade-offs. With my newest new tire set-up on the JD4100, if I keep 500 pounds on the 3 point, I can operate in 2wd 95 percent of the time, saving wear and tear on the drive train (I think?). ....

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Foghorn
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 21 Lake Anna, VA
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2003-06-20          58057

Art, my dealer told me to operate in 4wd all the time. Does that sound right to you?? If a tractor's drive train is anything like a 4wd p/u truck then that's bad advise. What is your opinion? I'm a newbie and my thinking is only use 4wd when needed.

Foghorn ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-20          58060

Foggy, unless you live in the mountains, or at least someplace your likely to be 'tractionally challenged' your thinking is not far from the mark, run in 2wd till you need 4wd, or the going gets tough and it's warranted for safety reasons.

Besides if you constantly run in 4wd all the time you will eat up a lot of front tires and probably a few other hard parts.

A lot of the time we are using the loader to 'ferry' sod or trees out to a repair/rebuild site on a golf course, since we are going out with a load on the loader and we need ballast, on the way back the loader is empty and we no longer need the ballast. We combine both needs into one operation.

We run 3pth water tanks, supplied by a pto-powered water pump. When we need ballast we pump the water tank full, pick up the sod or tree(s) and go, when we get to the destination we now have water for the newly installed product. Even if all we are moving is soil we often use this method, but instead sprinkle the water along the pathway to keep the dust down on the return trip.

For home use a plastic drum on a 3pth utility platform would work as wel, a hand pump will fill it in short order and gravity is pretty dependable for emptying it.

Best of luck. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-06-22          58114

Fog: I don't know which tractor you have. Most 4wd tractors are designed with a front axle lead (the front tires travel a few percent further than the rears). That means the fronts will have some slippage in addition to conventional tire scrubbing. That stresses the front drive train a bit and even more when on high traction surfaces or with heavy weight in the loader (especially if the tractor has turf tires). For most tractors, it's pretty common advice to avoid using 4wd on hard surfaces. ....

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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-06-25          58248

Fog horn, I would ask him why. Ask him about lead on the front axle and if it would not create stress on the tires and the worst part the drivetrain. Normally even on a well balanced drivetrain you can feel the wind-up with-in a short distance. After you stop and try and disengage the lever it will be difficult. I recommend all you can without it engaged, but if you feel you ae going to need it for what you are doing by all means leave it in. ....

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Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-25          58256

Murf, do you know of any manufactures who make a pth platform ? I think that sounds like a prettly slick idea. Are you useing steel or plastic drums and how do you drain ? spiget, hose etc ? My owners manual says to only use 4wd when necessary and ditto for the limited slip, although because my tractor is so light I find myself useing both a lot unless just driveing from spot to spot. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-25          58263

Doc, I can send some pics of my 3 pt platform. You can sort of see it in the background of my current #1 Pic.

It was very easy to make- no welding required- and has a 2 inch receiver for a trailer hitch built in. ....

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Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-25          58272

Please Do I'd like to see them, its a heck of a good idea. ....

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Misenplace
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 875 Michigan
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2003-06-25          58305

Mark, I got the photos, thanx. How did you make this with out welding ? How did you find a piece or what did you use that attaches to the 3 pth ? ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-25          58306

The base is a strengthened set of "carry-all" forks. Mine came from Gearmore, but they are available from several sources. Most are rated for 1000 pounds carrying capacity and they sell for about $125.00 ....

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Stan in Calif
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 47 Sacramento Valley- Glenn County
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2003-06-26          58330

Chief, I think that part of the manual was written by lawyers. My choice for ballast is filled tires (water), two sets of wheel weights (these stick out 1/2 inch past the tires [standard size R4s]), and always an implement on the back. If I'm going very high with the loader, I make sure the implement is one of the heavier ones, like the box scaper or the 55 gal spayer, filled with water. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-26          58345

Stan, I think you are on the same track.... The ballast you just described sounds like it is about 1300 pounds. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-27          58421

Doc, sorry for the delay in answering, I have been behaving myself so the 'Warden' said I was allowed a couple of days liberty at the cottage.

The carry-all is made by several manufacturers, it is also really easy to make one yourself, even without a welder. Let me know if your interested on the welder-less version.

We use a shop-built platform that bolts to a standard Cat. 1 drawbar. The drum we use is a standard plastic 45 Imperial / 55 US gallon drum which lays sideways, locked into a cradle of strap steel on the platform. The drum has two 'bung' holes already, it is lined up so that the larger one is at the 12 o'clock position. There is a 90 degree elbow screwed into the upper hole for filling the drum. A 6' wide 'boom' made of 1" plastic pipe (drilled every 2") & a 'tee' fitting is screwed into the bottom hole with a valve at the outlet. Open the valve and drive away, gravity does the rest. A hydraulic top-link and the valve setting together allows for flow control if desired.

This setup also makes for REALLY easy application of CaCl on gravel drives too.

Best of luck. ....

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