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mike paulson 07-25-2012 18:12:49 98.15.187.200 Report to Moderator	im thinking about making a rear 3 point hitch counter weight for my MF50 out of a 35 gallon drum filled with cement and a steel rod thru it to mount to my lift arms. whats a good way to support this weight when elevated so its not putting a constant stain on my hydraulic unit. [Reply]   [No Email]
samn40 07-26-2012 05:39:17 86.132.160.109 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to mike paulson, 07-25-2012 18:12:49   All you need is two heavy weight chains from the bottom links up to the dead or hinged pin. fit the chains over the bottom links before attaching the arms then lift the weight up and fit to the top pin then let the load hang on the chains. Another idea would be to fit a piece of hollow/box section through the barrel so the old Ferguson 9 hole bar could slide through to fit on your lower links, any two pieces of flat bar with suitable holes in will do for the top link. [Reply]  [No Email]
Roy in UK 07-25-2012 23:53:40 86.162.10.179 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to mike paulson, 07-25-2012 18:12:49   Probably not much use to you as I think this is a "British" thing. My uncle made one for our 165 by creating a concrete block with 2 inverted steel hooks in the top of it which hung on to the Tee piece of The pick up hitch. The central locking pin of the hitch not only held up the block but it also held the arms in the 'up' position all the time so the arms would not try and travel up and down while the loader was being used ( Therefore the tractor did not need an hydraulic isolator). BTW looking at that PUH for sale on Ebay £405.29 ( about $627 US ) + carriage. Eeh gods it must be gold plated at that price! Pick up hitch [Reply]  [No Email]
DavidP, South Wales 07-26-2012 09:40:47 2.101.130.54 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to Roy in UK, 07-25-2012 23:53:40   Hi Roy, It is damn expensive isn't it!!! It is of course new. It's not even one with the 'mushroom' button. I agree that the hook type concrete block does seem to be a 'British thing'. MF made the hook assembly from 1" square bar with retainers to prevent it jumping off the Tee bar. We made our own but did not have the retainers. I've 'lost' one side of the block quite a few times over the years. It is necessary to fit the stays down to the hook or the block will swing back and forth....a real pain with it banging away! The 45 gallon drum filled with concrete is a suitable alternative but you have to be careful where you insert the rod or 9-hole bar. If its in the centre there is a chance rhat it might turn rpund easily. If you insert the rod above centre you may lose ground clearance even at full lift. It is worth incorporating a bracket for the top link before filling with concrete. That way you will have it under control at all times. Sam's suggestion of the chains to the hinge pin lugs is good. It will never drop but ideally the chains should be crossed so that the RH chain will go to the LH side of the tractor etc.. DavidP, South Wales [Reply]  [No Email]
Roy in UK 07-26-2012 11:10:29 86.128.12.218 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to DavidP, South Wales, 07-26-2012 09:40:47   When we bought our Howard Bigbaler in 1975 the package included the baler itself, the gripper to fit on our MF65s industrial tractor for picking up the loaves ( er I mean bales )and a weight box which was a steel box that could be filled with sand for example that fitted on the linkage, a stand to stand the weight box on when you were not using it. All for less than 5000 pounds! [Reply]  [No Email]
old 07-25-2012 20:57:35 209.86.226.11 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to mike paulson, 07-25-2012 18:12:49   How many of them do you want????????? I have both a 35 and a 55 one that I never use and never will use. I learned years ago a back blade with suit case weights do a better job and you have something you can use instead of some dead weight that does nothing more then hang there [Reply]  [No Email]
Roy in UK 07-25-2012 23:37:55 86.162.10.179 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to old, 07-25-2012 20:57:35   That"s alright until you are concentrating looking to see that your bucket does not hit anything as you reverse out of the shed and you then you back that into a wall. [Reply]  [No Email]
old 07-26-2012 09:06:57 209.86.226.27 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to Roy in UK, 07-25-2012 23:37:55   That is why you always have one eye forward one eye back. Learned that back when running heavy equipment and was common to work a job where you spent as much time going forwards as you did going back wards [Reply]  [No Email]
Phil Tibbetts 07-25-2012 20:15:39 208.93.14.38 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to mike paulson, 07-25-2012 18:12:49   Should not be a problem. I had a 55 gallon drum of cement and it weighed between 1000 and 1100 lbs. So it should only weigh 700 lbs. [Reply]  [No Email]
supergrumpy 07-25-2012 18:26:25 72.226.49.106 Report to Moderator	Re: homemade counter weight.. in reply to mike paulson, 07-25-2012 18:12:49   set it down on your drawbar [Reply]  [No Email]