Liquid Ballast

[DaveM]

Hi Steve,

I can't speak from first hand experience here but my dealer said the same thing as your's. Said he'd seen more damaged rims caused by condensation between the tube and rim and small leaks than by having calcium solution in direct contact. My tires are filled with windshield washer fluid which is not corrosive and won't contaminate or kill the soil if I ever get a leak or blowout. But it's not as heavy as calcium solutions can be or antifreeze (I believe?). That works out well for me though because I don't really need/want more weight when I'm mowing the yard.

Dave

 

[MossRoad]

So in his case, the tires would weigh about 50 pounds more each with calcium, correct?

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>

 

[MikeBurr]

Just a quick question, why not use something like sand or other heavy dry subtance for weight?

TC33D

 

[beenthere]

Yes, MossRoad, about 50 pounds for the 17 gallons 'skent' was working with for his tires.

MikeBurr - don't know for sure why, but suspect if dry (sand) would work, we would see it being used. I would think there would be tremendous internal tire wear from sand. Someone not too long ago posted he thought that lead was used a long time (?) ago, but I don't hear of anything like that anymore. If the tire gets going at road speed, I would imagine dry fill would start to roll over the top, and cause some wild girations to the stability of the tractor - as can happen with fluid in the tire if the tractor is allowed to get a lot of speed, like coasting down a long steep hill (have heard that happening to farm tractors with disastrous results). Still, I used to enjoy puttin her in neutral and letting her roll down hill. Had to let it come to a stop to get the thing back into a gear, which took some (most!) of the fun out of it.

 

[HR_Mutt]

beenthere
You might be referring to my post/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif. A B7100 w/ all 4 tires loaded w/ #8 high antimony shot and some kind of slippery stuff my dad concocted. It's been in there since approx. 1990, no handling problems and no adverse effects observed yet. Don't recall even adding air to 'em. New tractor has all 4 loaded w/ Rimguard. Notewners manual says not to load the front wheels, but I'll stick w/ it.
regards
Mutt

 

[skent]

Where did you buy your rim guard ?

Steve

 

[RobS]

Just a couple of watch-out-fors that haven't yet been mentioned in this thread:

New/used anti-freeze can be an environmental hazard if you spring a leak. Animals are attracted to the stuff and can die with after ingesting fairly small amounts.

RV anti-freeze will kill your grass if spilled/leaked. I know this first-hand as I have managed to spill some each of the last two years winterizing our camper. It works better than Round-Up!

I've been toying with the idea of Rimguard myself. I understand one of our local Farm Bureau Co-ops fills tires with it. You might check your co-ops /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Roughly how much weight does one gain with liquid-filled tires? I have a 4300 with R4s, and might need to go with chains or weight this winter. Haven't had a chance to see how it is for snow pushing yet. How much do they charge to fill the tires?

Thanks,
Bob

Bob Trevithick

 

[HalseyGreen]

Bob - I beleive the 4300 has the 15.9 x 19 Titans, the same as my 790, I filled the tires on mine early fall, added 5 gallons of methanol and about 28 gallons of water each. This adds up to about 260 pounds per tire. This was to just over the valve stem. Have to park with the valve stem uphill to check the air pressure. I did it myself, purchased the methanol from local farm equipment fix-it shop for $4 per gallon, and the adapter to hook a garden hose to the valve stem for $14 at NAPA, already had a small drill operated pump. Put the methanol in first and added water. Did it by pumping it from 5 gallon buckets to be sure I didn't exceed the 6 to 1 ratio recommended to give good freeze protection. Hope this helps.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, according to the last few messages, about 8 to 11 pounds per gallon, depending on choice of liquid. The tractor I have weighs about 1500 pounds more than the advertised weight. I can only assume it is because of the weight of the cab and the liquid in the tires. I can't recall off hand the size of my tires, but they come up to my armpits, so I'll guess at about 54".

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>