how to add air to tractor rear tires with ballast

bfknouse · Nov 20, 2019

mikester said:
Its easier to do when the valves are at the 12 o’clock position.

Thanks it worked

ovrszd · Nov 20, 2019

CobyRupert said:
Some say to give the tire valve a blast of air to clear it of juice before using a tire gauge so that gauge doesn't get contaminated.

That's how I do it. With valve at top.

If tire is overfull, rotate valve stem to however full you want the tire and release fluid until air comes.

CobyRupert · Nov 20, 2019

MF RED in MT said:
Everyone, thanks for the tips as I have been sprayed with "beet juice" a few times (pretty sticky).

Does it help any to jack up the tire off of the ground or is that a waste of time and effort?

KC

The only advantage I can see to that would be so you can turn the tire to 12:00 position without starting & moving tractor.

ovrszd · Nov 20, 2019

CobyRupert said:
The only advantage I can see to that would be so you can turn the tire to 12:00 position without starting & moving tractor.

Several years ago, kinda bored in the shop one day, I got to thinking about tire air pressure. I checked my tractor tire. 14 psi. I then put a jack under the axle and took the weight off that tire. Still had 14 psi. I thought about that off and on the rest of the day. Beyond my comprehension...….

CobyRupert · Nov 20, 2019

ovrszd said:
Several years ago, kinda bored in the shop one day, I got to thinking about tire air pressure. I checked my tractor tire. 14 psi. I then put a jack under the axle and took the weight off that tire. Still had 14 psi. I thought about that off and on the rest of the day. Beyond my comprehension...….

That always made me scratch my head too...
Especially when tons (!) are added to a (truck) tire that has a less than a 1/2 sq. ft contact patch with the ground....but the math HAS TO work! (I think the ground contact area has little to do with it)
Consider a "soft tire" at (say) 25psi. It looks ok, so you load the truck and you see it squatting and looking flat. But (I think?) it still has 25psi even though its getting loaded & compressed. (???)

I'm guessing it has to do to the interior surface area of the tire. Lets say this is 6 square feet (or 864 sq. inches). Basically a 6' long (circumference) by 1' wide* (including side walls) piece of rubber - a small tire. If the tire pressure is 30 pounds per square inch then .....what? (864 sq. in x 30 pounds/ sq. in = 25,920 lbs...but so what?) Is this the force pushing back on the couple of tons you load the tire? So tire supporting, or not supporting, a few tons makes no difference?
Hard to wrap my mind around.

*: edit: Should of included width of rim too as this is part of interior surface area.