VERY expensive beet juice!

[canoetrpr]

I have finally bit the bullet and my new Kubota M7040 HDC will be delivered in the second week of October.

The tractor has cast iron rims which the dealer estimates add 700 lb to the rear (both wheels). No one here has heard of ballasting with anything other that Calcium Chloride and I've decided not to do that this time around.

I'm going to be adding some sort of ballast to the wheels / tires - either weights or Rim Guard. I haven't found a source for WWF yet. I guess RV antifreeze might be an option.

Weights price out at $1750 and they will give me about 1000 lb in addition to the cast iron wheels - so 1700 lb total.

Through TBN I have found a supplier of an equivalent beet juice product here. They will sell for $0.95 per liter ($3.6 per gallon!) + $120 for poly drums I have to purchase + $ 170 for transportation. With the 16.9-30 tires I will need ~150 gallons. I would probably order more (180 perhaps) to have some around in case I lose some due to a leak in the future.

That is $1058 for the beet juice (including taxes) and a service call from a tire guy to fill it up. I'm estimating $1150 total . It is expected to add ~1500-1600 lb so a total of 2200-2300 lb.

What would you do if you were me?

Beet juice: $1150, Weights: $1750
Beet juice: 2200 lb, Weights: 1700 lb
Beet juice: lower CoG - I don't have any hills but do mow in the ditch.
Weights: Better ride perhaps?

I'm leaning towards the weights at this point but I'm not quite sure.

 

[k0ua]

I could not find any RV anti-freeze less than $4 per gallon. That was last summer in Arkansas. I saw some today for $5.62. Perhaps if you bought in bulk from a petro chemical supplier?. One thing you might want to check out is Methanol in bulk 55 gal drums and mix your own "WW fluid" it won't weigh as much as the beet juice of course, but might be a lot cheaper.

James K0UA

 

[Patches]

I have finally bit the bullet and my new Kubota M7040 HDC will be delivered in the second week of October.

The tractor has cast iron rims which the dealer estimates add 700 lb to the rear (both wheels). No one here has heard of ballasting with anything other that Calcium Chloride and I've decided not to do that this time around.

I'm going to be adding some sort of ballast to the wheels / tires - either weights or Rim Guard. I haven't found a source for WWF yet. I guess RV antifreeze might be an option.

Weights price out at $1750 and they will give me about 1000 lb in addition to the cast iron wheels - so 1700 lb total.

Through TBN I have found a supplier of an equivalent beet juice product here. They will sell for $0.95 per liter ($3.6 per gallon!) + $120 for poly drums I have to purchase + $ 170 for transportation. With the 16.9-30 tires I will need ~150 gallons. I would probably order more (180 perhaps) to have some around in case I lose some due to a leak in the future.

That is $1058 for the beet juice (including taxes) and a service call from a tire guy to fill it up. I'm estimating $1150 total . It is expected to add ~1500-1600 lb so a total of 2200-2300 lb.

What would you do if you were me?

Beet juice: $1150, Weights: $1750
Beet juice: 2200 lb, Weights: 1700 lb
Beet juice: lower CoG - I don't have any hills but do mow in the ditch.
Weights: Better ride perhaps?

I'm leaning towards the weights at this point but I'm not quite sure.

Were it me, I'd go with the loaded tires, as the weight is not being carried by the tractor, but is on the ground. If, for some reason you may need to move the weight around, go with the weights

 

[leonz]

I would get the name of the manufacturer of
the windshield washer fluid you use and call
them and ask about buying it in bulk as you
will be spending less money on it rather than
buying "RIM GUARD"

Buying WWF in bulk is not a problem
as it is available but may have to be bought
in a pallet tote which is 250 gallons.

Even with trucking I think you will be well ahead
of things buying windshield washer fluid
as the rim guard retailer has to have
1,000 gallons of storage as I think 1,000 gallons
is the minimum drop for a load.:thumbsup:

 

[Don87]

I would go with the loaded tires, and as a matter of fact........I did:laughing:

I have Rimguard in mine. I never even gave a second thought to wheel weights, nor did I want to use windshield washer fluid again.

I can't comment on the exact product you are using, but Rimguard, when exposed to air, will dry relatively fast, and hard.........so I believe their claims that it can seal small punctures on it's own.

 

[Elkins45]

One plus for weights is that they won't ever pour out onto the ground if you puncture a tire.

I've been thinking about what makes beet juice better at resisting freezing and have come to the conclusion that it is probably a colligative property resulting from the sugar content. Wonder if mixing up a syrup of plain old cane sugar and water would behave the same?

I've just assigned myself a new experiment for the winter...I'm going to mix up a saturated gallon of sugar water and leave it setting on the deck. If it doesn't freeze then I've just invented my new tire fluid!

 

[Don87]

I would get the name of the manufacturer of
the windshield washer fluid you use and call
them and ask about buying it in bulk as you
will be spending less money on it rather than
buying "RIM GUARD"
Buying WWF in bulk is not a problem
as it is available but may have to be bought
in a pallet tote which is 250 gallons.

Even with trucking I think you will be well ahead
of things buying windshield washer fluid
as the rim guard retailer has to have
1,000 gallons of storage as I think 1,000 gallons
is the minimum drop for a load.:thumbsup:

" Rim Guard"...........and "Rimguard", are two totally different products.

And windshield washer fluid leaked into a field used for crops, and/or livestock........could cause a problem.

 

[Soundguy]

I have finally bit the bullet and my new Kubota M7040 HDC will be delivered in the second week of October.

What would you do if you were me?

Beet juice: $1150, Weights: $1750
Beet juice: 2200 lb, Weights: 1700 lb
Beet juice: lower CoG - I don't have any hills but do mow in the ditch.
Weights: Better ride perhaps?

I'm leaning towards the weights at this point but I'm not quite sure.

water ( free ) and rv antifreeze is what I'd do...

16.9 x 30 at 75% fill will take about 73 gallons per side... calculating water weight alone, that's about 609 pounds PER side. add in the antifreeze as ballast and the number will go up slightly.

thus at a minimum you are looking at adding about at least 1300# for just the cost of a few gallons of RV antifreeze. napa here has it at 5$ per gallon. burp adapters go for 5-9$ depending on where you get them.

soundguy

 

[Don87]

One plus for weights is that they won't ever pour out onto the ground if you puncture a tire.

I've been thinking about what makes beet juice better at resisting freezing and have come to the conclusion that it is probably a colligative property resulting from the sugar content. Wonder if mixing up a syrup of plain old cane sugar and water would behave the same?

I've just assigned myself a new experiment for the winter...I'm going to mix up a saturated gallon of sugar water and leave it setting on the deck. If it doesn't freeze then I've just invented my new tire fluid!

Be sure to let us know how your experiment turns out.

 

[Don87]

What you have so far is:

1750 for wheel weights

1300 'ish for RV antifreeze, installed yourself

1150 for the Canadian version of 'Beet Juice' , installed by someone else.