Weight of a BN

[T-Mo]

Not my video, but for anyone who is wondering what a BN weighs, this one comes in at 2206 lbs on the scales. The guy has it on the scales at about 2:14 of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si3xkyPRiqI

[Stanton]

I heard Steve Kline say his BN came in at 2220 lbs (he repeats this weight at the 3:10 point in the video). He admits that he's "about 150 lbs wet", so subtract that from the 2220 lbs and you get 2070 lbs.

TractorData.com has the BN weight at 1800 lbs. (http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/005/1/2/5121-farmall-bn.html)

Wonder what the 270 lb difference is? Inaccurate scales at Kline's elevator or misinformation provided to TractorData.com? Who knows. I think for loading/trailering purposes, I'd go with the heavier weight just to be safe.

[Jim Becker]

Tractordata isn't the most reliable source. It covers a lot of tractors so errors are likely. You have the question of how a tractor was equipped at the quoted weight. Weight varies some due to tire size and the tractor in the video appears to have 9.5 tires. At any rate, 1,800 is about right for a BN with standard equipment. Options that can be seen in the video include:
Starter/lights 115#
Swinging drawbar 56#
PTO/pulley 73#
Muffler 3#
That all adds up to 247 pounds. Add it to the tractor and you are at 2,047 pounds. Add the 150# operator and you are at 2,197 pounds.
Shipping weight would be with an empty or nearly empty fuel tank. A full tank holds 10 gallons or about 60 pounds. Simply allowing for a full gas tank would be enough to throw it from one side to the other of the measured weight.

No mysteries here.

[Dusty B]

What about balance front vs rear??

[T-Mo]

For balance, I believe those might be broke down a bit on the Nebraska tests. Most of the tests are online now, at Digital Commons website. Here is the one for a 1939 B with gas engine:

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/view ... rmuseumlit

The Nebraska tests were done on specifically equip tractors, i.e. gas or kerosene, weights or no weights, etc. So while they give you some useful information, it might not be specific to all tractors of that model, based on how the tractor is equipped.

[Jim Becker]

The Nebraska test for the B shows total weight. Later on, they started reporting weight on front/rear. This test of the 140 (1958) shows F/R and would be fairly close to the distribution of a B.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/view ... rmuseumlit
A little later (about 1959) they added a center of gravity measurement to the tests.

By the way, there are some other items of interest on the Nebraska site, like this one:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/view ... rmuseumlit

[SamsFarm]

Another thing to consider, is the rear wheel centers.

I dont know if it was optional or whether someone changed them for some reason, but I have a BN with pressed steel wheel centers on both sides.

And......

I have a BN with both heavy cast wheel centers.
Which I think is standard!

[Jim Becker]

Other way around. Stamped steel was standard and cast was an option. By the way, they used different axles with the cast wheels.

[SamsFarm]

Anybody know the weight difference of the cast and stamped wheel centers?

My guess is 20# for the stamped.
And, 120# for the cast.

But I am just guessing!

[Jim Becker]

Cast is about 140 to 150# heavier than stamped, each. I've been told one heavy wheel weighs 190#, but never confirmed it.