Tires methanol in tires?

bdog · Apr 20, 2005

I read about most commerciela places putting calcium chloride in tires and most do it yourselferes using windshield washer fluoid or antifreeze. I have called to farm tire shops lately to get prices on loading tires and both of them are charging $50 a tire for my 12.4-28's which hold 30 gallons each but both of them say they are using methanol water mix. Is this good or bad? They do it to all the big tractors around here so I guess it must work but I have never heard of it so I wanted to check before I had it done.

I was going to do it myself but $1.00/gallon for WW fluid is $30 plus the pump and adapters makes $50 not that bad.

beenthere · Apr 20, 2005

""Is this good or bad? ""

Depends on where you are located, if good or bad. If you are in the cold, freezing country then the water will dilute the WW fluid and raise its freezing temperature, which may be bad. Your bio doesn't give a clue as to where you are located, so can't comment whether good or bad. At the $1 per gallon, I'd put it in straight, although the water added does weigh a bit more than the WW fluid. I use it, no problem.

bdog · Apr 21, 2005

It freezes here but does not get super cold. The coldest I ever remember it being was 3 degrees. I am in West Texas.

If I went with WW fluid I would use it undiluted, but I am considering just paying the $50 for the farm shop to put in the methanol but I want to get opinions on it before I had it done.

JerryG · Apr 21, 2005

Methanol has been used in tires for years. Some areas use calcium and others use methanol. The methanol isn't as corrosive as calcium, but it is lighter.

PhilNH5 · Apr 21, 2005

bdog,
Methanol and water are the components of winshield washer fluid. Plus a little blue dye so you can see it to pour and in your resovoir.

Phil

Henro · Apr 21, 2005

<font color="blue">I was going to do it myself but $1.00/gallon for WW fluid is $30 plus the pump and adapters makes $50 not that bad. </font>

Bdog,

I've seen the little drill pumps for anywhere between $3 and $7, and they work well for the purpose. My guess would be that the "methanol" the tractor place would put in your tires would be very similar to WW fluid, but I don't know for certain.

What I do know is that tires loaded with fluid, even WW fluid, which is lighter than calcium chloride solution, are pretty heavy. For me it would be a real hassle to take tires of that size off, to the tractor place, and then to man-handle them back home and back onto the tractor. If you have a trailer, then taking the tractor as a unit would be simpler, and I suppose workable.

For the difference in price, if I could get my tractor to the shop for them to fill the tires, and it was relatively painless doing so, that is what I would do. You could probably get it done in the same time it take to shop for the WW fluid, lug it out to your truck, from the truck to the barn/shed, etc.

If you have to remove the wheels and take them to the shop and struggle with them after they are loaded, it may be better to load them yourself. That is what I would do anyway... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

beenthere · Apr 21, 2005

In this area, there are ag tire dealers that come right to the site to do this. One might check to see if the price is competitive to hauling the tractor to the dealer (unless its going for another reason).

hudr · Apr 21, 2005

I got the adapter to fill my tires myself. I then took a 50' water hose and stretched it out and attached it to the tire. I then used a funnel to fill the hose with antifreeze from the other end. I then hooked the hose up to the hydrant. The water pressure from the hydrant pushes the antifreeze into the tire. I then unhooked the hose from the hydrant, bleed out the water and refill it w/ antifreeze for another "push". Took a couple hours to do both rear tires. Of course, the tractor has to be jacked up with the tire completely deflated and the valve stem at the top.

Boondox · Apr 21, 2005

I use methanol in my tires because it was so safe for use around my animals. I have six goldens and three mean cats and was very worried about them getting into the ethylene glycol mix in the event of a leak.

No problems at all after five years of use, and our winters go as low as 35 below zero. Pete

bdog · Apr 21, 2005

Thanks fro the replies. I guess I am going to go with the methanol. The dealer is 5 miles away and I haul my tractor around everyday so it is no big deal to take it there and save the $$ on a at the farm service call. I thought about doing it myself but for approx $70 in fluid and misc parts and a couple hours of time I will just pay the $100 and have them do it while I eat lunch or something.