Tire Ballast
- Thread starter Spectre66
- Start date
- Views: 3265
A friend of mine suggested that I not put fluid back in mine when I put new tires on. He said that dealing with leaks is harder when the tires are loaded. The guy that works on my tires said that they see some customers bring tractors up from the south that do not have some form of antifreeze added to the fluid. When they get north the tires freeze. This may not be an issue for you.
gordyy
Gold Member
look for a dealer near by that sells rimguard a sugerbeet by product here its about the same money as calcium cloride and a lead doesnt steralize the ground it fertilizes it
heavier too
course you could get by there with a few gallons of antifreeze in each tire (use the green stuff ) of should I say the envirroment safe stuff wont kill the kitties if you get a leak
heavier too
course you could get by there with a few gallons of antifreeze in each tire (use the green stuff ) of should I say the envirroment safe stuff wont kill the kitties if you get a leak
Opti-Mist
Platinum Member
Depends, on what you're going to be using it for. Mowing your lawn - don't do it. Light chores - don't. Just about everything else - do it. There really is no downside if the first two comments don't apply. If you decide to fill them, use something other than CaCl, you will be better off in the long run.
whistlepig
Elite Member
If you have a loader ballast is pretty important. Loaded tires make a tractor stick to the ground better on hills. Makes the tractor safer to operate in my opinion. Calcium chloride will eat through your rims. It will take a while but it will happen. Rimguard (beet pulp) is the best thing going now. It won't hurt your rims and is about the same price as calcium chloride.
flusher
Super Member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2005
- Messages
- 7,555
- Location
- Sacramento
- Tractor
- Getting old. Sold the ranch. Sold the tractors. Moved back to the city.
Where are you located?
You may have a Rimguard dealer in your area. It's heavy, non-toxic, non-corrosive and costs about 30 cents a gallon. I'd use it but there are no Rimguard dealers in my part of CA.
If you use water, add RV type antifreeze (propylene glycol, non-toxic, drinkable) instead of auto antifreeze (ethylene glycol, toxic).
If you want to use calcium chloride (heavy, cheap), you'll need tubes in your tires unless you don't care if your metal rims corrode.
whistlepig
Elite Member
Calcium chloride will eat the metal valve stem out of the tube first. Then the stem will seep and this stuff will start eating the metal around the valve stem hole in the rim. Calcium chloride is nasty stuff. If it was the only thing available when I bought the tractor I have now I wouldn't have had my tires filled at all. Filled tires is a big plus for me on a tractor. I was glad Rimguard was available when I bought my tractor.
WH401
Platinum Member
SideHillBill
Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 30
If you need to add weight for traction or to balance off a loader, then loading tires is the way to go. This positions the extra weight low for more stability on steep ground.
Downside is that the wheels are a lot heavier to handle if you need to remove one and if you get a leak and lose your liquid, you'll have to deal w/the time & expense of that plus repairing the flat.
If you're going to have a backhoe on it most of the time, don't bother. Most other scenarios IMHO load 'em up.
Downside is that the wheels are a lot heavier to handle if you need to remove one and if you get a leak and lose your liquid, you'll have to deal w/the time & expense of that plus repairing the flat.
If you're going to have a backhoe on it most of the time, don't bother. Most other scenarios IMHO load 'em up.
