Water in Tires?

[dieseleric]

find a local shop that might have a waste antifreeze barrel. I work for a construction company and at any given time can get 250 gallon of used antifreeze for free. My boss has a john deere compact tractor with his rears filled with the used antifreeze.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

Most outfits around here fill with methanol and water.....I've filled one before with windshield washer fluid (good to -20degrees)....BobG in VA

 

[pat32rf]

I used to have all my tires filled, now I have none of them filled. While we don't plan on having leaks or punctures, they happen. Then you have a mess. Depending on what's in the tires, you could end up with little dead spots whenever the tire rotated around. Don't forget to buy that special pressure gauge too, or that fluid will soon ruin the one you have. And when you do need to add a little air, don't overfill by a pound, or you might be letting some of that fluid out. Yes, some of these problems can be alleviated by making sure the valve stem is rotated to the top of the wheel. Yeah, that's handy, NOT.

In the real world, how often do you get a rear wheel puncture, or even have to check the pressure? My JD has almost 6000 hours in a little over ten years of bush use, trail building, firewood hauling and snow plowing. I had the valve knocked loose once. As far as checking the pressure, either the tire looks soft or not. Doesn't really matter if it has 10psi or 14psi, as long as they are the same side to side. Once filled, they will stay the same unless there is a leak which will show as a wet spot.
My vote is windshield washer antifreeze, just in case......

 

[Old Junk Man]

I fill my own and use water & rubbing alcohol. Ive fornd that many times a tire that will not hold air will hold water. Ive inflated the flat tires on old vehicles with air and they immediately went flat. fill them up with water and the quit leaking around the beads. Bounced like the dickens at highway speed.

 

[FTG-05]

In the real world, how often do you get a rear wheel puncture, or even have to check the pressure? My JD has almost 6000 hours in a little over ten years of bush use, trail building, firewood hauling and snow plowing. I had the valve knocked loose once. As far as checking the pressure, either the tire looks soft or not. Doesn't really matter if it has 10psi or 14psi, as long as they are the same side to side. Once filled, they will stay the same unless there is a leak which will show as a wet spot.
My vote is windshield washer antifreeze, just in case......

This. I checked my front and rear tires (all filled) months ago. What leaks?

Here in SC TN, I used 2-4 gallons of RV antifreeze (the kind that doesn't kill little kids and puppies from 2000 miles away type) per tire. Can't get rimguard, the closest place available is north of the TN/KY border.

 

[Whatswrong]

Firstly this thread has been deader than a fly in DDT but for the life of me when you are all so afraid of rusting and antifreeze why aren't you putting on wheel weights instead?
I have only had one tractor rust out ,an 8N and almost every tractor I have had was weighted.

 

[Fawken]

Firstly this thread has been deader than a fly in DDT but for the life of me when you are all so afraid of rusting and antifreeze why aren't you putting on wheel weights instead?
I have only had one tractor rust out ,an 8N and almost every tractor I have had was weighted.

I try to avoid these "water in the tires" threads for that reason. Water (solution) in all four tires on my Ford for 32 years and counting. Only rusting I had was on the front left when I let a small leak go for about a year. The corrosion on that one was swift and pretty gnarly. If the tubes are good no water will ever touch the rim.

 

[tcreeley]

Antifreeze is toxic to the environment and wildlife. If you don'y think so, let your dog have his fill while you dig a hole. Calcium chloride rusts the rims. I hate calcium chloride. We are in snow country and they use it on the roads. And do we ever have a rust problem.

The answer is beet juice. The tires on my tractor are filled with it. No rust, no freeze up Great stuff. Non toxic - just beets they use for sugar.
It is sold under the name Rimguard. Rim Guard - Liquid Tire Ballast

Good luck.

 

[Whatswrong]

Again I say put on wheel weights ,3 or 4 sets make a tractor look cool ,give traction and a good counter weight for a front end loader.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Again I say put on wheel weights ,3 or 4 sets make a tractor look cool ,give traction and a good counter weight for a front end loader.

While they may look cool, steel weights, water/beet juice etc. in the tires is not a counter weight. They are useful for traction on the rear only. I say this because it doesn't remove any load from the front tires when using the FEL. In order to counter the weight of the FEL and load, the counterweight has to be behind the rear wheels. The further the counter weight sticks out behind the rear tires the better it works, to the extent that it doesn't start to be a maneuvering problem. A heavy 1000+ pound bush hog or disk makes a good counter weight. A 1000# tiller, box blade or ballast box that sets close to the tires wont be nearly as much use due to the shorter lever of the weight.

Oh yeah regarding use of steel weights. Weights are expensive to buy at around $2 per pound so that is why most folks use liquid ballast. 3 or 4 sets of 100# weights could set you back $1500 if bought new and at least $800 used if you can find any that will fit your tractor.