Tires Rear ballast

[wmonroe]

Ive been doing a little reading just trying to gain some knowledge on liquid tire ballast and came across the articles from John Deere and titan tire. Not saying they are factual or anything, just interesting.

John Deere:
Using liquid ballast in tires

Quote from titan tire on Ken Jones tire blog:
Liquid Weighting of Tractor Tires | Ken Jones Tire Blog

Even with calcium they both recommend a partial fill which seems like a bad idea due to corrosion.

 

[ModMech]

One note on weight/tire types and lawns or other perishable objects....

Folks, no matter if the tractor weighs 1500# or 8000#, 5 psi of tire pressure is still only 5 pounds of pressure per square inch, there are just more square inches of ground contact if the tire is supporting more weight

Most all the tractors and implements here use 5-8 psi in their tires and you cannot see the tracks on the "lawn" even with wet ground. Now you drive a lighter CAR on the lawn with 35 psi tire inflations and you have CLEARLY visible depressions

Also, when you fill tires it is VERY important to do two things: a) Mark the tire/rim as "Liquid filled" and 2) Check/inflate ONLY with the valve stem at 12 O'clock or you WILL ruin your pressure gauge.

 

[ovrszd]

You have tubes in your tires.

I used a drill mounted pump.

I bought my WWF in 65 gallon barrels so could simply draw out of the barrels. As you said, you'll need to dump your WWF into a container of some kind.

This is a slow process so don't think you are going to do it in a few minutes. I didn't use an air release fitting so I had to pump in fluid, let out air, pump in fluid, let out air until I finished. No big deal, just time consuming.

HUGE plus side is I added 1500lbs of weight for $212.

Let us know how this goes for you!!!

 

[RoyJackson]

...2) Check/inflate ONLY with the valve stem at 12 O'clock or you WILL ruin your pressure gauge.

There are air-liquid inflation gages which are spring loaded to expel the liquid once the pressure is checked. They're available at Tractor Supply. IIRC, I bought mine at a Deere dealer.

One more suggestion is to jack the tire so it's just off the surface when checking pressure.

 

[ModMech]

There are air-liquid inflation gages which are spring loaded to expel the liquid once the pressure is checked. They're available at Tractor Supply. IIRC, I bought mine at a Deere dealer.

Most people don't have a liquid capable gauge handy and while not expensive, another thing to buy and store.

 

[Fallon]

The Schrader valve will have liquid in it no matter the position it sits. It splashes around & ends up in the valve stem even when the stem is above the liquid level. So you really need a liquid capable gauge.

 

[RoyJackson]

Most people don't have a liquid capable gauge handy and while not expensive, another thing to buy and store.

Well, the pencil type is maybe 10 or 12 bucks. Not a major investment and can be used on any type of tire (caveat: Mine is 0-20 or 30 PSI...not much good for a car or truck tire)

 

[ModMech]

The Schrader valve will have liquid in it no matter the position it sits. It splashes around & ends up in the valve stem even when the stem is above the liquid level. So you really need a liquid capable gauge.

Not more to worry about than normal, there is a LOT of moisture in air and it's getting into the tire when you air it up.

 

[wmonroe]

My 25 gallon sprayer has a fitting that I can disconnect and a garden hose will thread right on. So I'm going to use the sprayer, an old washing machine fill hose, and the adapter to the valve stem and should be good to go. Figure it will take a couple hours at least but shouldn't be too bad. The pump on the sprayer is good for 3.6 gpm.

 

[s219]

I don't use a special gauge. Instead, I put the valve stem at 12 o'clock and burp the valve to clear any fluid before checking pressure, and have never had problems or ruined any pressure gauges. Even an unfilled tire will have some moisture in it.