Well Casing Rear Ballast

[Erik Graham]

Greetings, Somewhere in my internet meanderings I came across a post by someone who had made a rear ballast by filling a section of well casing with concrete and welding on the necessary parts for attaching to 3pt hitch. Wondering if any members know of someone who has done this. I have located a section of 10" casing that will work for me but would like to have another look at the configuration of the welded parts. So far it the math is telling me that the weight of the concrete and the casing is going to get me pretty close to 600 lbs which should be fine for my B2630. Thanks in advance, Erik

 

[OrangeKrush]

How long would you make the casing?

 

[Erik Graham]

Greetings, Somewhere in my internet meanderings I came across a post by someone who had made a rear ballast by filling a section of well casing with concrete and welding on the necessary parts for attaching to 3pt hitch. Wondering if any members know of someone who has done this. I have located a section of 10" casing that will work for me but would like to have another look at the configuration of the welded parts. So far it the math is telling me that the weight of the concrete and the casing is going to get me pretty close to 600 lbs which should be fine for my B2630. Thanks in advance, Erik

How long would you make the casing?

The casing is 10.25" i.d. x 10.75" o.d. and I was going to make it 60" long which is the approximate outside width of rear tires. The casing weighs 28 lbs per foot and the volume at 60" is just under 3 cu ft. Am going to add extra gravel to concrete mix.

 

[GeoHorn]

If you install/weld caps and pins on the ends... and a “bung” somewhere on it to fill it with water... it’ll also double duty as a roller and won’t need a toplink.

(I had replaced the front spindles/bearings on my Jeep Cherokee and the old ones made great end-bearings for a roller. Used from a junk yard they may be real cheap... even new from Dorman they’re only $60)

 

[OrangeKrush]

If you install/weld caps and pins on the ends... and a “bung” somewhere on it to fill it with water... it’ll also double duty as a roller and won’t need a toplink.

(I had replaced the front spindles/bearings on my Jeep Cherokee and the old ones made great end-bearings for a roller. Used from a junk yard they may be real cheap... even new from Dorman they’re only $60)

Great idea as a roller also!

 

[Bigfoot724]

GeoHorn, nice idea of making a roller.

Erik Graham, I recently made my ballast for my l2501 from a old I-beam. After fabricating the ballast/drag i strapped 8 sand bags onto it and now I've reached the perfect ballast weight (guessing) 700lbs. I love this ballast and highly recommend it.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Hellofachunkofbeam!

 

[Tioga Tim]

Greetings, Somewhere in my internet meanderings I came across a post by someone who had made a rear ballast by filling a section of well casing with concrete and welding on the necessary parts for attaching to 3pt hitch. Wondering if any members know of someone who has done this. I have located a section of 10" casing that will work for me but would like to have another look at the configuration of the welded parts. So far it the math is telling me that the weight of the concrete and the casing is going to get me pretty close to 600 lbs which should be fine for my B2630. Thanks in advance, Erik

I made my own ballast from a new 3 pt drawbar, then welded two angle irons on top of it. These were drilled at the top to accept the top link. Then I built a box out of 2x10's, two tiers high, and inserted the draw bar and the angles into the box. then filled the whole thing with concrete. I figured it weighs about 325 lbs and seems to be just right for my B2620. I can always buy a couple round farm tractor weights and throw them on top of the concrete, around the angle iron if I ever need more weight. And I also had my welder attach a length of 2" square tubing at the back, so I can put in a regular ball mount and use it as a drawbar or with a ball. That is a bit high for trailering, but it works great for skidding small logs.
Tim

 

[BobInSD]

I made my own ballast from a new 3 pt drawbar, then welded two angle irons on top of it. These were drilled at the top to accept the top link. Then I built a box out of 2x10's, two tiers high, and inserted the draw bar and the angles into the box. then filled the whole thing with concrete. I figured it weighs about 325 lbs and seems to be just right for my B2620. I can always buy a couple round farm tractor weights and throw them on top of the concrete, around the angle iron if I ever need more weight. And I also had my welder attach a length of 2" square tubing at the back, so I can put in a regular ball mount and use it as a drawbar or with a ball. That is a bit high for trailering, but it works great for skidding small logs.
Tim

I was thinking of doing something similar, only using gold plate instead of 2x10s to save some money.

Seriously I'm trying to come up with a plan. I'd like to keep it low, and around 1000 pounds. I have some cast window weights sitting around, a 55 gallon barrel, and a steel rim or two I could use. I normally have a couple of brake rotors/hubs around somewhere too. I also have one of these snowblowers that I would think would only be worth scrap prices (it "works" but there's lots of better ways to move snow-I think that seller is dreaming)

Any ideas better than tossing some cemente, then a bunch of metal in the bottom of a barrel and then topping off w/ cement?

I'm wishing I hadn't scrapped the dead tranny out of my son's old buick. I'm thinking that would have been a good start and I only got a couple of bucks for it.