VERY expensive beet juice!

[IslandTractor]

Someone messing with pure methanol, needs to take proper precautions. It is flammable and highly toxic , and is easily absorbed into a persons body.

As I noted, there were virtually zero deaths or injuries reported in the USA over the past several years at least that have been related to handling of methanol. There is no reason to believe that a reasonable person using methanol as an antifreeze would have anything more than incidental and trivial skin contact or inhalation of fumes. If you wear gloves and masks or other personal protective devices when refueling your lawn mower then do the same when dispensing methanol.

Of course applicants for a Darwin Award might still manage to hurt themselves. Compare the risks with methanol to handling of gasoline, paint thinner, PTO shafts, tractor rollovers etc to put this into perspective. There is no reason to avoid use of methanol as an antifreeze if you are not a complete idiot.

 

[SPYDERLK]

You apparently have been drinking Don87s koolaid too.

Can you believe that millions of ignorant people buy methanol poison at their local gas stations or supermarkets and pour it into their car WWF tank? And they don't even wear gloves. Can you believe they allow a poison to be sold in a supermarket? Why there must be thousands of deaths each year due to ingestions and spills. And it is so flammable that hundreds of cars just blow up every year in WWF explosions. As you note, gasoline would be safer. And methanol is so corrosive to metal, plastic and rubber that there is a huge WWF reservoir replacement industry. And think of all those cars with melted tires by the side of the road after every snowstorm.

Reality test: all joking aside, do a little investigation and look up methanol related deaths in the USA. The poison centers deal with a dozen or two each year. Nearly all are intentional suicidal ingestions or accidental ingestions by alcoholics. Occasionally there is an industrial accident due to inhalation, typically someone using a methanol solvent in a closed space for prolonged periods. I don't know when the last transcutaneous poisoning was reported but there haven't been any for a few years anyway based on my review of the annual reports of the poison centers. Sure, methanol, like many chemicals used in modern life, can be dangerous, but deaths or serious injury due to methanol toxicity should be automatic qualification for a Darwin Award.

I think you have given a balanced view. ... Nevertheless, the sky keeps teetering.
larry

 

[Don87]

As I noted, there were virtually zero deaths or injuries reported in the USA over the past several years at least that have been related to handling of methanol. There is no reason to believe that a reasonable person using methanol as an antifreeze would have anything more than incidental and trivial skin contact or inhalation of fumes. If you wear gloves and masks or other personal protective devices when refueling your lawn mower then do the same when dispensing methanol.

Of course applicants for a Darwin Award might still manage to hurt themselves. Compare the risks with methanol to handling of gasoline, paint thinner, PTO shafts, tractor rollovers etc to put this into perspective. There is no reason to avoid use of methanol as an antifreeze if you are not a complete idiot.

Accidents happen, and if the person involved doesn't know of the toxicity of the product, bad things can happen rather quickly.

I could list a few scenarios, but it shouldn't be necessary. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt, by not having knowledge of the product being used or inaccurate info being given about said pruducts.

 

[Soundguy]

I dunno, anything is possible.
The Rimguard rep told me on the phone that they only ship to dealers in 1,500 gallon tanks.

i didn't do an exhaustive search, but on the 1st page of hits I found a dealer iniowa that claims he will ship anywher einthe CONUS.. My take is he gets it in the 1500g bulk, then repackages into 55g, 35, or 5g quantities and sells.. either truck freight or ups for the 5g pails.

soundguy

 

[Don87]

i didn't do an exhaustive search, but on the 1st page of hits I found a dealer iniowa that claims he will ship anywher einthe CONUS.. My take is he gets it in the 1500g bulk, then repackages into 55g, 35, or 5g quantities and sells.. either truck freight or ups for the 5g pails.

soundguy

That's great, then a person could fill their tires without transporting.

My hope is that Rimguard will eventually sell the beet juice to individuals so that people have more options, and a possible saving on price.

 

[Soundguy]

on the other hand.. a manufacturer, selling to a distribuitor, then out to dealers, and from dealers to the public is the normal way of things. current guy selling the 1500g bulks seems liek the distribuitor, with the individual service shops the dealers. like the one I found in iowa.

but yeah.. better than transporting if it's a pain.. etc. on the other hand if the dealer is local.. transporting in might be cheaper than paying shipping on a 55g drum of the stuff.

soundguy

 

[Don87]

on the other hand.. a manufacturer, selling to a distribuitor, then out to dealers, and from dealers to the public is the normal way of things. current guy selling the 1500g bulks seems liek the distribuitor, with the individual service shops the dealers. like the one I found in iowa.

but yeah.. better than transporting if it's a pain.. etc. on the other hand if the dealer is local.. transporting in might be cheaper than paying shipping on a 55g drum of the stuff.

soundguy

Ya know.......the thing that has puzzled me the most...............

Why is it so expensive...it is after all a by-product(IE: waste)Virtually all sugar content is gone, the product actually has no net value other than it won't freeze til temps get below -30F, and the fact that it is heavy. :confused3::confused3:

 

[chrisser]

I've wondered the same thing, Don.

IMHO, it isn't so much that the retail price of beet juice is out of line with the retail prices of it's competition in this specialized market.

It's that all the alternatives are all available at significant discounts where beet juice is restricted to the retail/service chain.

More power to them if they can make money that way. I think they're pricing themselves out of some otherwise promising markets with that strategy, but it's they're business to run the way they like.

Or at least until someone else figures out the incredibly complicated process of packaging waste beet juice and makes it available for less through alternative channels...

 

[EMB5530]

OK a little off the beaten path of the subject but how do I figure how much fluid a tire will hold.
I will have 16.9x24 rears and12.5/80x18 fronts

Thanks for the assistance:thumbsup:

 

[SPYDERLK]

Ya know.......the thing that has puzzled me the most...............

Why is it so expensive...it is after all a by-product(IE: waste)Virtually all sugar content is gone, the product actually has no net value other than it won't freeze til temps get below -30F, and the fact that it is heavy. :confused3::confused3:

Its used with salts for more effective road treatment.
Snow removal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

larry