Liquid ballast in CK rear tires

tman1020 · Sep 24, 2014

How many of you CK guys are running ballast in the rear tires? And in what areas if any did you notice a big difference from the extra weight? I'm yet to add any weight to my rear tires on my CT 225. My cab adds about 400 pounds and as long as I have a attachment on the back so far I've been okay. I'm just a little concerned about having my weight up high because of the cab in the event I was on unlevel ground.

oldpilgrim · Sep 24, 2014

I can't speak to kioti, but I loaded the tires on my Mahindra 3016 after a few hours use without the loaded tires.

It makes a big difference in handling. It feels more solid and stable.it's hard to describe really. It pushes like a bulldozer, and just feels more stable to me as I go thru the woods over low stumps and high roots.

I took my bh off and have been using it without it's weight. I have filled the bucket with dirt and rocks and have no trouble lifting it and the rear doesn't feel like it's going to lift. I didn't have loaded tires on my prev tractor and the rear wheels would lift with a full bucket. I was expecting that with this one but it doesnt happen.

I'm glad it did it.

rmorey · Sep 24, 2014

I think you will notice a big difference with loaded tires. For one, the concern about the cab weight being too high will go away. :thumbsup: Definitely worth it!

vtsnowedin · Sep 25, 2014

The gravity option works the same for all brands so I'll chime in here.

Tractors work best when properly ballasted so that they can transmit the tractive force to the ground instead of just spinning. Liquid ballast is a very good option ,arguably better then the same amount of cast iron wheel weights as it's center of gravity is below the axle hub instead of being centered on it. It is also out of the way and doesn't collect dirt between the weight and the rim. The only down sides are the possible loss of the beet juice if you get a flat and the extra trailer weight if you move your tractor from site to work site regularly. I would never have a tractor without loaded rear tires and absolutely would not if the tractor had a loader mounted on it.

lockhaven · Sep 25, 2014

I have the beet juice in my CK30 and would not want it any other way. As mentioned it holds the tractor to the ground. I have no other weight on the back and never have had the back end lift up even when the loader struggles with the load.

vtsnowedin · Sep 25, 2014

lockhaven said:
I have the beet juice in my CK30 and would not want it any other way. As mentioned it holds the tractor to the ground. I have no other weight on the back and never have had the back end lift up even when the loader struggles with the load.

A tip for new tractor owners and new members: Though liquid ballast seems like enough weight if you are doing a lot of loader work with full buckets it is usually recommended to have weight on the 3PH as well as loaded tires. That weight being out past the rear axle counter balances the load in the bucket and greatly reduces the load on the front axle and tires. Your loaders owner's manual will tell you how much weight for your tractor, loader combination.

tman1020 · Sep 25, 2014

I haven't had very much tire slippage as long as I have an implement on the back that has some weight to it like a box blade. And so far have not had any real issues with the back end raising up. My trailer is kind of at its max for moving this tractor plus I was worried about compacting the soil in my yard so have been holding off so far. I was just thinking that snow will be coming soon and it seems like it would probably make quite a difference to have those tires filled. I think most of the yard compaction comes from the front tires anyway when I have weight in the bucket not so much from the rears.

Gittyup · Sep 27, 2014

Loaded CK25 here. Only way to go. I've moved over a 1000 tons of dirt and rock on a steep slope. Tractor always stays planted to the ground.

buickanddeere · Sep 27, 2014

calcium Chloride is a very aggressive alkali solution. It will continuously attack any and all materials until it can escape. it's not a matter of if but when. Go with diluted windshield washer fluid. In an ideal world all tires would be operated dry and external bolt on cast weight would be used.

Gary Fowler · Sep 27, 2014

tman1020 said:
I haven't had very much tire slippage as long as I have an implement on the back that has some weight to it like a box blade. And so far have not had any real issues with the back end raising up. My trailer is kind of at its max for moving this tractor plus I was worried about compacting the soil in my yard so have been holding off so far. I was just thinking that snow will be coming soon and it seems like it would probably make quite a difference to have those tires filled. I think most of the yard compaction comes from the front tires anyway when I have weight in the bucket not so much from the rears.

If you are really worried about soil compaction in your yard, do you not walk on it for fear of compaction. A 200 pound human puts more PSI to the ground than most tractors and lets not even talk about large dogs and their small foot print vs weight.
Just stay out of your yard when it is wet and don't concern yourself too much with compaction. Adding ballast to the tires is a minor additional PSI loading anyway. Really the only negative concern for adding ballast would be trailering weight and all other issues would be positive ones.