Re: Tire ballast choice?

[GoldenCityMuse]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

For reference, here are a couple links to charts with tire volume in gallons.

http://www.counterweightblue.com/uploads/English_Tire_Fill_Chart_Counterweight_Blue.pdf
http://www.rimguard.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Hydro-Flation-tables-2014-PDF.pdf
Liquid Tire Ballast Chart
http://www.ballaststar.com/Hydroflation-guide.html

My Rear tires 16.9-24 Industrial.
counterweightblue chart 16.9-24 24" Diameter wheels; 15.00" rim width; 60.1 Gal; 547 lbs.
Messicks chart came up w 61 gal & 509 lbs for plain water.
ballaststar.com; 16.9 - 24 ; 61 gal; 652.7 lbs w/ their product

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

Remember, the mix ratio for tire protection can be less than engine.. A slushy in a tire is ok.. You just don't want it solid..

 

[IslandTractor]

Windshield washer fluid (or ~30% methanol) would be cheaper if budget is a consideration.

 

[clemsonfor]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

I have windshield washer fluid. Unless you have LOTS of gallons the difference and water and antifreeze is not that much. Even a pound and a half a gallon in my cause would only be like 24 pounds. Hardly noticeable.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

Just there gore freeze Prot.

 

[IslandTractor]

Just there gore freeze Prot.

I love spellcheck puzzles.

 

[GregP27]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

Regarding post # 44, that is incorrect.

If you remove the tire and rim from the tractor, and if they both weigh the same (iron and fluid), then the wheels weigh the same, either way. If you insert an axle from, say, a 5000 pound tractor, the rim/tire doesn't load the axle at all. The axle load comes from the weight of the tractor only.

The iron will have a slightly higher center of gravity than the fluid, but will not affect the axle stress at all. Look at it like this. Suppose you remove the rear tires from your favorite tractor and support it with jack stands. One set of jack stands weight 10,000 pounds and one set weights 100 pounds.

If you lower the axle onto either set of jack stands, the weight on them will be exactly the same, assuming they are both the same height. If you are on a slope, you might prefer the fluid since it sits lower and so has a slightly lower center of gravity, but it doesn't affect axle weight/stress at all.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

I love spellcheck puzzles.

It picks on words, for like the some

It loves to change things

 

[JerryK]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

I like cast wheel weights or old tractor suitcase weights. I have had several flat tires before, and I have also swapped my rear wheels for more or less wheel width. Not a good thing with fluid. Plus, fluid just puts weight on the axle, does not act like a tee-totter and take weight off anything. Why I like suitcase weights, while they are no longer very cheap [ now about $1 a pound ], is that once you eventually get a big set of them you can make brackets for different tractors throughout your lifetime. Me, I have an assortment of old 100 pound AllisC weights... Use them on everything.

 

[IslandTractor]

Re: Tire ballast choice?

I wish cast iron wheel weights were more readily available. I'd use them on my rears if they were. Suitcase weights for the front don't help much with traction on rear wheels and can sometimes interfere with FEL on modern CUTs that weren't designed with suitcase weights in mind.