Ballast Filling tires

[TomOfTarsus]

Thanks, all. SPYDERLK, thanks for the weights.

Now I'm just ticked with myself. If I'd just taken my time to post here, I could've gone to TSC & got a fitting & filled the things with WW fluid or Rim Guard and saved myself a lot of money and aggravation.

That's assuming the fitting from TSC allows you to fill using a normal air compressor.

In my defense, I've been busier than a two-tailed cat in a rocking chair test center, but sheesh! Lesson learned...

And they did discount the cost.

Beautiful day, I'll bust out of the office at noon and get some mowing done so I can take it out tomorrow.

Later,

Tom

 

[wedge40]

Ya know it would be great if you could buy rimgurad off the shelf. Last time I checked there was no one within a 150 mile radius who carried rimguard.
If I had the tires filled could I remove and save the fluid during the summer months then put back in the fall winter?


Wedge

 

[tawilson]

Thanks, all. SPYDERLK, thanks for the weights.
That's assuming the fitting from TSC allows you to fill using a normal air compressor.

Tom

You still need a pump. I used one of the cheapy things that run off a drill when I replaced my tires. I tied the trigger back and came by and checked once in a while. And I used cc as I had it originally and only needed it in the tire that I had poked a hole in.

 

[Reg]

I didn't use a pump.
I just bought the RimGuard, they pumped it into 55 gallon plastic drums that I brought.
Took it home, unloaded the drums with my FEL, tied them in the bucket tight.
Jacked one rear wheel just off the ground to get the weight off it.
Rotated the wheel to get the valve at the top.
Removed the valve core.
Hooked up the $10 fill tool and started a siphon.
Raised the bucket as high as I could to speed up the process, it was still very slow.
Plan to do something else while this happens, the passage through the fill tool is very small, but it isn't worth buying a pump for a one time fill.
Replaced the valve core and aired up the tire when it was all done, THEN lowered that side off the jack.
Repeated on the other side.

RimGuard is easy to clean up, just flush it off with a garden hose, doesn't stink either (-:

I bought 100 gallons at exactly $3 a gallon.
YES I DID get more than $300 worth of added traction, without worries about the environment, rim corrosion or the "weight of the mix".

BTW, I have a set of turf tires and rims too, so I can run those in the summer for mowing and loaded R4s the other 3 seasons for ground work and snow removal.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Some times some of us don't realize how lucky we are when it comes to parts and service.

Recently had to take a rear tire in for repair, leaking tube filled with CC. Seems like the leak was due to damage at the steam and what a pain to drain the CC but they finally got it done. They took a power wire brush to the rim and cleaned it up as best they could, applied a coat of paint to the bare metal. New Tube and 24gal of Rim Gard.

Shop stocked 3 kinds of fluid, they were in 1000# totes.

Cost, labor was free, tube was $45 and fluid was $78.

All done through Les Schwab tire shop, largest chain of tire shops in the PNW. Never a charge for fixing flats.

Sometime we see posts about weighing a rig and where it can be done. I have half doz public scales within 5-6 mils and most are free.

Have a LARGE feed & Fert Co in town and living in the heart of grass seed production, I can buy small qty's of seed for not much more than a buck a pound.

In some areas, I am very fortunate.

 

[Bird]

All done through Les Schwab tire shop, largest chain of tire shops in the PNW. Never a charge for fixing flats

I think the closest store they have to me is a little over 900 miles in Utah, but one of my brothers who spends the summer in Washington State has had good things to say about them.

 

[Ryan03]

I have calcium in my tubed R-4s. Both rears are comepletely filled. They are 12-80-18's, and to fill them both was around $120.00 including tubes. This setup was trouble free until I got stuck in the mud a couple months ago and tore the valve stem off of the tube on the left rear, talk about a mess, but at least I wont have to weed wack around the mudhole for a few years.

 

[skipro3]

I use Les Schwab too, but are you saying they fixed the flat for free? I took my tubless tractor rear tire in, they charged me a little over $50 to do the job. Worth it, IMO.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Sad to say that since Les Schwab died our local store has started charging for alot more things and are even charging for mounting the tires after putting a new tube in them.

David Kb7uns

 

[Lunk]

Farm & Fleet has Zecol "Blast" WW Fluid on sale right now for $1.39 / gal.

Good down to -25 degrees.

Anyone have a clue what a 43x16x20 R-4 would take in terms of gallons?

Also - A lot of folks use WW Fluid in their tires. Anything bad we should know about it in terms of harm to the tire itself?

Thanks,

Lunk