ballast box for Deere 855 CUT

[Mechanos]

I also have a JD855 with a 52 FEL.
I have my turfs set wide. Filled with 22 1/2 gallon of anti freeze and ww fluid. (each holds 5 gal anti freeze 17+ of ww fluid that will stay liquid to -30 F)
Filling the tires only took $10.oo of equipment and 1/2 days time total. Cheapest alternative for my weather zone.

If I need more than that I put my 300lb cultivator on the 3pt hitch. It is about the same weight but a lot shorter than the 5' back blade. Unless I need the back blade also..............

Good luck

Curious how much you had to pay per gallon for the anti-freeze and WW fluid. When I was looking to fill my rears, anti-freeze was close to $5 per gallon. Ended up having them filled with RimGaurd for $2.25 per gallon... installed. The tire shop also mounted the tires on the wheels for me and installed new valve stems at no additional charge.

 

[WinterDeere]

Interesting idea, Wyobuckaroo. Where can I read up on the particulars of how to do this? Equipment needed, antifreeze / ww fluid ratio, etc.?

Still got one tractor nut here at work (he owns about 35 tractors) telling me he'd just do wheel weights and ballast box / not fill the tires.

Mechanos, how difficult is it moving the filled tires and wheels from your pickup to the tractor? Seems like a tricky job, when my only front end loader is on said tractor. Had a nice overhead hoist at my last place, but haven't yet set up anything similar at the new house.

 

[Mechanos]

...Mechanos, how difficult is it moving the filled tires and wheels from your pickup to the tractor? Seems like a tricky job, when my only front end loader is on said tractor. Had a nice overhead hoist at my last place, but haven't yet set up anything similar at the new house.

Not hard at all with a loader. :laughing: I have another set of wheels/tires for the rear of the tractor. I put them on the tractor and used the loader to unload the filled tires. Then I swapped out the tires. But you don't necessarily need a loader... how about a come-along and a tree?

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

Curious how much you had to pay per gallon for the anti-freeze and WW fluid. When I was looking to fill my rears, anti-freeze was close to $5 per gallon. Ended up having them filled with RimGaurd for $2.25 per gallon... installed. The tire shop also mounted the tires on the wheels for me and installed new valve stems at no additional charge.

-------------------
Luckily, as I was contemplating this project I found a chart in a post on a web forum that listed tire sizes and capacities.
Like said my size 33x12.5-15 (tubeless) should hold 22 1/2 gallon each.
I have since looked for this chart again and can't find it. You may have better luck.

I experimented with different mixtures of anti freeze and ww fluid. As it was 5 oz anti freeze and 17 oz (22oz total) ww fluid in a 2L plastic bottle and a very cold freezer proved the best combo for my worst winter weather. Chloride is available in this area, but not an option I considered. Rim Guard would be a minimum 70 mile one way drive, and I was told it was about $8 a gallon at that time.

The equipment I used consisted of a floor jack to hold the weight of the tractor. About an $8 valve stem to garden hose adapter. I used an old 12v boat bilge pump in a bucket set up on the fender. And a pair of hot and cold water hoses from an old washer.

If you can get other products for that price that sounds like a good score.

Good luck

 

[Mechanos]

-------------------
Luckily, as I was contemplating this project I found a chart in a post on a web forum that listed tire sizes and capacities.
Like said my size 33x12.5-15 (tubeless) should hold 22 1/2 gallon each.
I have since looked for this chart again and can't find it. You may have better luck.

I experimented with different mixtures of anti freeze and ww fluid. As it was 5 oz anti freeze and 17 oz (22oz total) ww fluid in a 2L plastic bottle and a very cold freezer proved the best combo for my worst winter weather. Chloride is available in this area, but not an option I considered. Rim Guard would be a minimum 70 mile one way drive, and I was told it was about $8 a gallon at that time.

The equipment I used consisted of a floor jack to hold the weight of the tractor. About an $8 valve stem to garden hose adapter. I used an old 12v boat bilge pump in a bucket set up on the fender. And a pair of hot and cold water hoses from an old washer.

If you can get other products for that price that sounds like a good score.

Good luck

I'm familiar with how it's done... I have one of those valve adapters too. I'm just curious how much the washer fluid and anti-freeze cost to fill your tires?

 

[WinterDeere]

Stopped by the local Deere dealer today, and the three guys there all had the same advice: Try just running with just the ballast box, first. Only look at wheel weights or filled tires if I am not getting satisfaction with the ballast box.

 

[WinterDeere]

Picked up a new ballast box on Friday, and a free set of wheel weights over the weekend. I'm on my way.

 

[Mechanos]

Those weights for the x55 series are not easy to find. Can't believe someone gave them to you free.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yep... I atually tried paying him for them, and he refused. I took down a big ash in his back yard with two 32" trunks joined near the ground. He was afraid to do it, and knew a tree service would cost him dearly, so he was happy to give me the wood for free (and then some) for taking it down for him.

 

[Mechanos]

How many weights total did you get? Just two?