Tire ballest question

[EdKing]

When I purchased my tractor, my dealer had the tires loaded. I assumed it was with calcium chloride. I had an innertube go bad yesterday, must have been defective as it had a split about 4 inches long in it with no marks what so ever on the tire. I took it to the local tire shop to get it fixed, and he loaded it with washer fluid. With the very reasonable prices he charged I was debating getting the CaCl drained from the other tire and having it replaced with the washer fluid. When I talked to my dealer today, he told me he had them filled with brine (sea-water) that had a corrosion inhibitor added to it. I now have 2 questions,

1. Has anyone heard of using brine to ballest tires, and while corrosion inhibitors work with it ?

2. Will the weight difference between the 2 wheels (one brine, one washer fluid) cause any problems ?

I am trying to determine if it is worth the effort to remove the other tire and have the fluid changed. After the workout I had today putting the wheel back on I am wondering if I should wait till I have to get the other tire fixed or replaced. Cost is not an issue as the cost of replacing the tube and loading the one tire was only $65, and he said he would replace the ballast in the other tire for $35

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Tire ballast question

<font color=blue>... Will the weight difference between the 2 wheels (one brine, one washer fluid) cause any problems ?...</font color=blue>

Windshield washer fluid = 8 lbs. / gallon

Sea Water = 8.3 lbs. /gallon

Calcium Chloride = 11.5 lbs. /gallon (avg...varies depending on installer)

I would leave things as they are... or spend $35. if it will make you sleep better... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Carl_NH]

Re: Tire ballast question

John,

Water = 8.364 lbs/gal - hard water weighs more
Milk = 8.6 Lbs/gal
Sea Water - Pending where u are - concentration varies 8.5-10lbs
CaCl2 10.7 Lbs/gal pending concentration mixed

Average operator needs only to put a favorite beverage (or lean) to one side of the tractor or the other to make any difference as you noted.

Also where in Greene Cty Pa do they get seawater? No wonder it's $$, gotta truck the stuff at least 400Mi

 

[EdKing]

Re: Tire ballast question

Thanks John,
If the diference is only 0.3 lbs per gallon I'm not going to worry about it. I was under the impression the difference would be greater. To me it's not worth the hassle of removing the tire.

 

[JohnMiller3]

Re: Tire ballast question

<font color=blue>...Milk = 8.6 Lbs/gal...</font color=blue>

That settles it Carl... I'm using milk... it weighs more... /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I checked his profile and though maybe he lived on one of the coasts for the sea water... but PA...? What do they do truck it in... to fill tractor tires...? /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

What other uses are there for "used" sea water...? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Carl_NH]

Re: Tire ballast question

John,

Milk in a can with some ice mounted on the rear tire will make ice cream, which is esp good when mixed with a few wild blueberries found on the traverse through the woods.

Used seawater speeds the reaction (heat conversion) for good ice cream.

enuf fun,

Carl

 

[EdKing]

Re: Tire ballast question

Thats why I was asking, I wondered if someone was jerking my chain. I had never heard of using seawater as ballest. I do know that we used brine as a coolent while doing thermo/vac testing of satilitte electronic components.

 

[Slamfire]

Re: Tire ballast question

Sounds like them merchant seamen are pretty sharp. Sellin' bilge water that they ain't allowed to pump into a Great Lake.

 

[TonyC]

Hmmm...I'm confused. I never heard of brine or sea water being used as a ballast. With all of the non-corrosive chemicals available today, why in the world would someone use salt water???

 

[Keoke]

Re: Tire ballast question

John, for working on hills, would it be better to fill rear tires to the center line of the rear axle or to the top of the rim?
For traction, no question about about going to the top of the rim. But, for hill work, I sure would like to get the boards opinion on filling only to the axle center line.

cheers,
george

 

[John_Mc]

Re: Tire ballast question

<font color=blue>for working on hills, would it be better to fill rear tires to the center line of the rear axle or to the top of the rim?</font color=blue>

If you are going to do a partial fill, then you do NOT want to use Calcium Chloride. It's corrosive, as I'm sure you know. If the rim is completely submerged (75% full), the corrosion is greatly slowed, since air cannot get to the metal rim. A partial fill regularly douses the rim in the corrosive solution, then exposes it to air; the result is serious corrosion in a fairly short time. This is why it is very important to take care of leaks quickly and refill a CaCl-filled tire.

If you want to do a partial fill, look at something non-corrosive, like Rim Guard (it actually inhibits corrosion, and at 11#/gal, weighs about as much as CaCl). I have contact info for the manufacturer of Rim Guard if you want to dig up a dealer in your area.

John Mc

 

[Carl_NH]

Re: Tire ballast question

John,

Good feedback wrt fill level, as air and clcl2 create gas esp when mixed with steel rims. I used to change tractor tires never used anything but tubes - this was back in the days of farmalls and IH 786-986 - late 70s. I forgot most of this in 30 yrs - which I guess typical - probably will be clear as day in another 30 yrs.

Carl

 

[dropbear]

Re: Tire ballast question

This page <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorsmart.com/Farm_Tractor_Liquid_Tire_Ballast.htm>http://www.tractorsmart.com/Farm_Tractor_Liquid_Tire_Ballast.htm</A> lists the quantities of liquid required for different tyre sizes and also the weight of water for that quantity.

might be usefull.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Tire ballast question

<font color=blue>...If you are going to do a partial fill, then you do NOT want to use Calcium Chloride. It's corrosive, as I'm sure you know. If the rim is completely submerged (75% full), the corrosion is greatly slowed, since air cannot get to the metal rim. A partial fill regularly douses the rim in the corrosive solution, then exposes it to air; the result is serious corrosion in a fairly short time...</font color=blue>

Yes, yes, yes... (Sorry George, just saw your question and you already have the correct answer.../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif) {Sometimes, I feel like this is one of those quiz shows on tv... Uh oh... gave Muhammad another idea for the future TBN TV network... Tractor Quiz Time....../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Anyhow George, probably the most bang for the buck would be windshield washer fluid for sub-zero temp area's of the US... unless you absolutely need every extra ounce and pound of ballast... then you'd go with Calcium Chloride, Rimguard, or the Super Foam stuff at an added expense...

 

[Quaffer]

Water = 8.364 lbs/gal - hard water weighs more
Milk = 8.6 Lbs/gal
Sea Water - Pending where u are - concentration varies 8.5-10lbs
CaCl2 10.7 Lbs/gal pending concentration mixed

Average operator needs only to put a favorite beverage (or lean) to one side of the tractor or the other to make any difference as you noted.

Do people really use different fluid to make a tractor tip a certain way? Never heard of this?

 

[oosik]

I had Cacl & water in the rear tires on my first tractor. What a PITA. There was a galvanic reaction between the steel and brass on the filler valve. It leaked constantly - I was replacing the guts of the filler valve constantly.

On my 2009 Kubota M6040 I have 755 pounds of RimGuard in each rear tire. Going on 16 years now. No leaks - no corrosion - all smiles.

 

[Hughman]

Wow, 22 year old thread back from the dead.

 

[dstig1]

Yeah this has to be a likely record for oldest living zombie thread on TBN!