How Much Wheel Weight

Just got 600 pounds of wheel weight for an 826 (8- 75 pounders, 2-piece style). To avoid compaction, I like to go as light as possible but realize I need weight for traction. I know the weight will help with my cultimulcher, which is the outfit I have trouble with sometimes, and disc. A mounted 9-shank chisel... I don't know... may be not so much. It seems to have a lot of weight and pull-down on it's own.

My question is this: My "guesstimate" was that the 600 pounds would be about right to leave on all the time. Not too much-not too little. Do you agree or disagree? I also have a full rack of 100 pounders for the front available when needed (never had more than 500 pounds on). Tires (16.9-34s) are at about 60 percent right now.

I'd use the two sets on the rear and also throw on a set of duals for the flotation/traction.

The only time ya need front end weights is if you have a heavy load on the 3-point. Otherwise, leave 'em off as they are VERY hard on the front end.

Allan

Allan, I ALWAYS enjoy your replies and pictures... You seem to lead an interesting life.

Charles

Well here is may take on this (1) 16.9x34's are not enough tire on a 706 let lone a 826 that could be set at stock Hp, on up to and i have seen them at over 120 . (2) even if ya did have all of them on it is not enough weight for tillage , maybe with a set of direct axle mount duals it would be fine . On that size and hp. tractor myself i shy away from clamp on duals as fist off ya have to run the duals at no more the 12 lbs. pressure or ya stand a vary good chance of breaking the axle bolts on the wheels . Where as withdirect axle mounts ya run all the rear tires at the same air pressure and transmit all usesable power to the ground and reduce compaction and add traction. Plus the added weight to the tractor then the 600 lbs would help some BUT not like having 18.4x34 on it would along with the same size in the duals . You would have a larger foot print and a little less compaction with them . As for myself and i know i wall catch a lot of flak over this but for a tillage tractor We load the inboard tire with Cal. and also add wheel weights . My 806 weighs in at over 12000 and there are times she is not heavy enough when we are hauling silage wagons that weigh in at over 26000 lbs. And (3) a 9 shank chisel in my opinion is 2 shanks more then ya want behind a 826 as 7 is just about all the 806 wants and mine is shell we say tweaked just a LITTLE bit . Just my take on this.

Jim,
In my opinion, you are going the wrong way by adding weight
to avoid compaction. A good set of duals will add weight and
floatation especially needed with what I assume are loose soil
conditions for the mulcher and disc. You may need some front
weight for the chisel, but only enough to keep the front end
from getting light. Use the 16.9s for duals (ours are 40-50%)
and get 18.4 or 20.8s for the drivers(radials if you can stand the
$).

Jim: You don't have enough tire to carry the present weight. Walk the rubber to er bye.

In 1975 I purchased a new 1066, really not that much heavier on rear without added weights than your 826. The tractor was delivered with 20.8x38 singles and full of chloride. I also purchased a 24 ft cultivator and an 88 blade, 20" blade disk. What I noticed I did not have enough traction to pull the disk if disking deep. On the cultivator used mainly for final tillage the tractor was leaving wheel tracks the cultivator wouldn't cover. Very annoying if you hit those wheel tracks diagnol drilling or corn planting. Planting depth went all to hell. By the way, I put 1,000 hours on the tractor that year and it destroyed those tires.

The next season I dumped the chloride, added axle duals and 4 new 20.8x38 bias ply tires, same breed and tread as the originals. I added no weight solid or liquid. I could pull the disk axle deep in any conditions, gone were the wheel tracks behind the cultivator. Less soil compaction is the answer, my friend, put the rubber to er. Use your weights for a boat anchor.

Interesting replies gents. Thanks!

First a correction. It's an 8-shank chisel, not a 9. I dropped it back from 11 at purchase.

I will NEVER install clamp-on duals. My current wheels have the rings for them and there are witness marks on them showing they were used in the past. That may be why I broke two studs on the left rear and lost the wheel in the field that first season with the tractor (some of you may remember my rendition of the incident). Two of the studs (one on each clamp) snapped (sounded like a rifle shot!) and the wheel slid off the axle and dropped the tractor on it's side. My undies had to be discarded but there was no other serious damage to anything.

Let me put some conditions on this. Money is an issue here. I have yet to find a set of hub duals (hub and flanged wheel) that were reasonable. I'll jump if and when I find the right deal. Until then....

While the weights were cheap, I get the feeling from you guys that money would have been better applied to a good set of 18.4-34s, even if only to run them single. And then with another pair of them, I would be primo. Frankly, the weights were an "impulse buy"' done without much thought.

Hugh there is a lot more weight built into a 1066 just about a ton . Now with the 20.8 ya had on yours wright off the get go over a 18.4x38 there is a bunch of weight difference between the two . As to why your tire were gone in just one year here i can not say why could have been just a bad batch of rubber . As like i said my 806 has loaded 18.3x34 rubber on her and they are loaded along with 4 sets of donuts and the 806 gets a lot of road travel up to 15 miles on a signal round trip going over after round bales and i load 8 on the bale wagon and one on the spear on the fast hitch and have to drag that load up hills that put me down in high 2nd to pull up them i try maken three to four rounds a day hauling bales back to the farm . Now i have had that 806 for 9 years now and between all that road running and all the road running pulling silage wagons three miles round trip from the fields at a nother farm those tire are just now getting down to around 40 % tread . The 1066 does a tone of road miles and that tractor has Firestone 151 field and road on it loaded in a 18.4x38 and they have been on there now since 1999 when i sold Eugene that tractor and they are about 60% .and i can tell ya this that even with the direct axle mount 18.4 x38 duals that have 40% thread that if the inside or base tire were not loaded you would never pull the 470 18 foot disc in our ground and at times on the first pass you need a couple more thousand pounds added plus the ft rack full to keep in on the ground . Putting 20's on a 1066 will plum KILL the pony power of that tractor in my country BTDT you can just figure a whole gear loss just about the same on a 806 on up thru the 8 line up when ya go from 34's to 38 . The advantages of the 38 over the 34 is ya got a couple extra inches of ground clearance under the belly . Having the radials is nice to a point they will ride nice and do a good job pulling BUT around here a radial will not back up a load on a hill it will spin out every time don't care how much weight ya have on it and on the hill side they want to walk down hill on ya . Where i live i am only about 12-13 miles from the Firestone ag tire test center and have seen alot and use to be able to get some of the test tire years back talked to some of the guys that use to work there. Saw them test different tire behind the monster mobile dyno pulled by different tractors and believe me that thing can bring anything on wheels or track to her knees .

Vet: Oh I firmly believe the original tires were poor quality. They weren't worn badly but had bulges bad enough one could feel it in cab on tilled soil. You couldn't drive more than 8-10 mph on a hard road. Well, you might but you'd want a hard hat to protect you head from cab posts. Good Year replaced the tires free of charge, so I bought the second set and dualed her up.

The weight difference between 826 with 34" and 1066 with 38" is probably greater than I suggested, I wont argue that. Those cast wheels alone make huge difference I guess it's an opinion whether 20% is a lot or not much. Probably a greater difference than you suggest as I had the ROPS cab. Cat III hitch and bull gears will weight more on 1066. I've forgotten the axle size, it's probably larger on 1066.

My point was, Jim is not going to get great traction from those 16.9x34 no matter how much weight he uses. Even if he had single 18.4x38 he'd make a huge difference in rubber on the ground, flotation and would get much better utilization of his wheel weights.

When I dualed my 1066, I decided no point in adding weight unless I needed it. It lugged that 22' Bush hog disk with 20" discs, axle deep anywhere, it didn't leave wheel trackes. My other works was mainly heavy PTO.