Tire Fluid question

[pemad]

I have 12-16.5 rear tires on my 7510 and was wondering how many gallons of fluid I will need to fill them up.

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[DieselPower]

Check this link for fill volume. They may not have your exact tire size listed but you can get a general idea by finding a tire that is close to the same size. There are links to different fill charts on the left side of the screen.

Ballast Star - Charts

 

[Billy_S]

A 12-16.5 will hold 15 gallons of water. If you live in an area where freezing is a problem, I assume you know not to use straight water.

 

[pemad]

Thank you for the replies.
I was planning on using either winshield washer fluid or the RV/marine fluid.

 

[escavader]

They arent suppose to be full ,2/3 full am i correct guys?
ALAN

 

[pemad]

They arent suppose to be full ,2/3 full am i correct guys?
ALAN

Correct, 75% full per owners manual.

 

[simonmeridew]

Get either the old standby Calcium Chloride or the newer Beet sugar juice. These disolve in the water, fit into the intermolecular spaces of the water molecules, and thus you get a denser (heavier) than plain water mix. Plus no worry about freezing.
When you fill the tire, (actually the tube) roll the wheel so that the valve is at the top, fill to this level and it is the proper max amount for the tire.
simonmeridew

 

[Mark]

The most improved and latest technology tire ballast fluid I've seen is canola oil based. It is the raw canola oil produced as a by product from the bio-diesel industry. It is an improvement on Rim-Guard (beet juice/pulp) which tends to settle in the tire after extended periods of time which can lead to imbalance, and which contains beet particulate which is very difficult to pump at lower temps and plugs and damages tire fluid pumps.

According to the data sheets shown to me by the tire folks, the canola oil pumps as easily as calcium chloride and weighs only slighly less (9.5 lbs per gallon) than Rim-Guard (11 lbs per gallon). It costs about the same per gallon, does not require tubes, lubricates both tire/wheel, is recommended by the tire industry, and has a slush temp of -35 degrees.

I have it in my new L5030 HST R4 rear tires and expect it to be the last fluid I ever need.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I hadn't heard of the canola based fluid, that sounds pretty good. I have rimguard in my tires and am totally happy with it. Personally I would stay far away from calcium chloride - I would try hard to get either rimguard or this canola-based stuff, because you really don't want gallons of toxic, corrosive chemicals sitting somewhere on your property where it might someday leak (or eat through your wheels).

 

[4cylinder]

I think there is little to worry about in terms of the toxicity of Calcium Chloride. Here is a short exerpt from Wikipedia:

Unlike the more-common sodium chloride (rock salt or halite), it is relatively harmless to plants and soil. It is also more effective at lower temperatures than sodium chloride.

It is used in concrete mixes to help speed up the initial setting. However, chloride ion leads to corrosion of steel rebars, so it should not be used in reinforced concrete.

It is used for dust control on some highways, as its hygroscopic nature keeps a liquid layer on the surface of the roadway, which holds dust down.

Calcium chloride tastes extremely salty and is used as an ingredient in some foods, especially pickles, to give a salty taste while not increasing the food's sodium content. It's also used as an ingredient in canned vegetables to maintain firmness.

Used as an additive in plastics.

Used as an ingredient in the Cadbury Caramilk chocolate bar (reason unknown)

Used as a drainage aid for wastewater treatment.

Tire ballast

 

[Catman1]

Is the canola based fluid in common use yet. I have not heard about here in Colorado.

Does anyone have a source finder for it or what its' trad ename is?

 

[Mark]

The information on the new canola oil tire ballast product was given to me by a chain store tire shop manager in our west coast area (Les Schwabs). He showed me a company service directive detailing the company's switch to the new canola oil based tire ballast. It stated that the company's previous use of Rim-Guard (beet pulp/juice) was being discontinued as of December 2006 due to its poor cold weather characteristics, poor pump speed, and pulp settling/imbalance issues. The shop manager stated that they also previously used calcium chloride prior to the beet pulp/juice, but that was discontinued several years ago due to its corrosive damage to wheels and its environmentally unsafe characteristics.

The service directive (service code: 06-959-37) labeled the canola oil fluid "Bio-Tire Ballast" but the shop manager did not know the actual company name producing the product.

 

[Catman1]

Thanks Mark. I will start asking around to see if anyone is using it here as of yet.

 

[Z-Michigan]

It stated that the company's previous use of Rim-Guard (beet pulp/juice) was being discontinued as of December 2006 due to its poor cold weather characteristics, poor pump speed, and pulp settling/imbalance issues.

I'm curious about this because last I checked Washington state didn't get as cold as Michigan, and we use rimguard here with no cold weather problems. I have it in my rears and used the tractor in 20 degree temps without noticing any imbalance. I wonder if there was a bad batch or it's being somehow installed wrong.