Tires Ballasting tires with saline (not calcium chloride)

[6sunset6]

My dealer put in something called CitraStar..Found the MSDS Looks like Calcium Cloride with corrosion inhibitors of some kind. Cannot find anyother info on it. Anybody know anything about it?

 

[IslandTractor]

Wheel weights, if available for your tractor, are not exactly cheap. They cost at least $1/lb these days. I still checked to see if Kioti made them and the answer is no.

So, I am back to the question of which liquid. WWF is least messy and therefore easiest but costs at least $1.30/gallon unless I can figure out how to buy bulk. I need about 100 gallons so maybe two 55 gallon drums would work. Buying -20F rated WWF by the gallon would cost $130 from Home Depot. The deicer version rated to about -35F would cost almost double.

RV antifreeze (propylene glycol, non toxic) would cost more than RimGuard at about $4-5 per gallon.

CaCl is time tested and most common but my inquiries into cost of doing it myself have been kinda disappointing. I'd need a 3.5lb/gallon solution for -35F and that means 350lbs of CaCl2 flake at between $25-40 per 50lb bag in this area retail. Maybe I can find it cheaper but no luck so far at local retail places. That would work out to between $175 and 280 for materials.

RimGuard installed by a local tractor shop is out of the question at over $700 including transport. Self installed RimGuard is possible but at $3/gallon is no bargain. It is the best stuff however.

Although I am still waffling one direction and then the next, WWF in gallons is starting to look like the least hassle especially if I can buy it on sale. I won't need to manhandle 55gallon drums and lacking a pickup would also avoid a trailer.

 

[patrick_g]

Beach sand is cheap and essentially inert. Mix with sufficient anti-freeze or WWF to make a lose slury. You won't ever see rust inside the rims either!

Pat

 

[IslandTractor]

Beach sand is cheap and essentially inert. Mix with sufficient anti-freeze or WWF to make a lose slury. You won't ever see rust inside the rims either!

Pat

That seems like a great way to keep the inside of your tires well sanded. Slurry or not, there must be some friction with the sand particles rubbing against the tire. Has anyone actually done this?

 

[patrick_g]

That seems like a great way to keep the inside of your tires well sanded. Slurry or not, there must be some friction with the sand particles rubbing against the tire. Has anyone actually done this?

Not to my knowledge, I just made it up and out of concern for the environment I didn't mention filling tires with mercury.

Lead shot is round, rolls easy and not nearly as abrasive as sand. Depleted uranium, or other really heavy metals in small spheres would work.

Pat

 

[RexB]

... WWF in gallons is starting to look like the least hassle especially if I can buy it on sale. I won't need to manhandle 55gallon drums and lacking a pickup would also avoid a trailer.

A "what if"...this WWF concentrate cost 3$ and makes 4 gallons, or 75cents/gal. A further search might find a better deal, as long as the concentrate is an anti-freeze too, not just a soap.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=TTV&MfrPartNumber=TT32&CategoryCode=3313

 

[IslandTractor]

A "what if"...this WWF concentrate cost 3$ and makes 4 gallons, or 75cents/gal. A further search might find a better deal, as long as the concentrate is an anti-freeze too, not just a soap.

Most of the concentrates are in fact largely soap. The expensive ingredient is the methanol which costs about $5/gallon these days in 55gallon drums. A 4 fold dilution of methanol would give you just 25% which is probably OK to -20F or so (I haven't looked it up) but that is essentially $1.25/gallon which is what WWF costs anyway.

 

[bobmisi]

When I bought my Branson a few months ago, the dealer filled the tires ( 17.5X24 ) with rim guard and it cost me 200 dollars total and they are full. I'll never understand putting in anything that will rust the rims. Been there, done that but those tires were loaded when I bought the tractors. This is my fiirst new tractor. Replacing the rims is expensive today and a real hassle, it just is a no brainer.

 

[IslandTractor]

When I bought my Branson a few months ago, the dealer filled the tires ( 17.5X24 ) with rim guard and it cost me 200 dollars total and they are full. I'll never understand putting in anything that will rust the rims. Been there, done that but those tires were loaded when I bought the tractors. This is my fiirst new tractor. Replacing the rims is expensive today and a real hassle, it just is a no brainer.

That is a very good deal. Wish I had not waffled when I bought mine.

Did you really have the dealer "fill" the tires? The tire companies recommend 75% of capacity so there is still some air to absorb shock loads etc.

 

[IslandTractor]

Just an update on my research into cost effective tire loading options.

First, CaCl2 is more expensive than I originally thought and would cost about $30-35 for a 50lb bag. Need 3.5lb per gallon for -35F so that means $250 for material.

Second, the methanol mixing is a bit trickier than I originally thought. You need to mix by mass (weight) not volume. Methanol weighs 6.6lbs/gallon while water weighs 8.3lbs/gal. That means that to get a 40% mix of methanol and water by mass, you need, by volume, 50% methanol and 50% water. A 40% by mass methanol/water mix freezes at -40F. If you dilute methanol even a little further, to a 30% by mass mix, your freezing point is only -15F.

Third, generic WWF is often rated at -20F freeze point but they don't really state the composition. Methanol is the expensive component so I wonder if these companies are scrimping. They don't need to add much additional water to leave you with a fluid that will freeze pretty easily.

Fourth, it is obvious that 75% tire fill with RimGuard or CaCl2 will add considerably more ballast weight than adding 40% methanol. I haven't calculated the difference exactly but it is about 30%.

Fifth, I have found methanol in 55 gallon drums for only $149. Shop around.

Conclusions to date: 1) best solution: have the dealer load with RimGuard before delivery, 2) CaCl ain't cheap but there is a good reason it is still the most popular Ag use ballast and the corrosion problem is often overstated. 3) Generic WWF is iffy for anyone in an area where -20F is a realistic possibility. 4) 50/50 methanol/water by volume looks like a pretty safe way to get a real -40F solution but the weight it adds is only about 7.5lbs/gallon which is less than water and much less than CaCl or RimGuard.

I'm leaning towards the 50/50 methanol/water solution but haven't done it yet.