Ballast Water in tires

[LouNY]

When a tractor is used with frozen liquid ballast there are 3 major issues;
1) if tubed the ice will rip and destroy the tube,
2) if tubeless the ice can and will tear and pull on the tire casing causing damage,
3) the frozen mass will create an immense unbalanced flywheel effect on your tractor
4) there have been a few instances of sidewalls being sliced and chewed up by ice.

If it gets froze don't even think about moving the tractor until you can rock it by hand and feel the liquid slosh

 

[kthompson]

chiefcook, I did not say it but my area never heard of any issue with plain tire in tires as long as you did not move the tractor when had ice in them. However, here the temp seldom gets low enough and long enough you had major or thick ice in a tire. The tire itself is fair insulation. I would think your tires are fine but anti freeze is too low a price for prevention not to use it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

In Ark I wouldn't worry about water rusting the rims or hurting the tires, but I would be concerned about busting a valve stem from freezing.

I have over 60 years of experience using straight water in tractor tires for ballast and never had any issue with freezing valve stem damage.

The only con to using pure water in tires is that you cant use the tractor during long periods of below freezing conditions which freeze the water in the tires. As long as the tire is "sweating" after it is frozen, you shouldn't move it. The sweating indicates that the water in the tire is still frozen. With full winter sun shining on the tires, they will thaw pretty fast when temps get back above freezing.

 

[Gary Fowler]

chiefcook, I did not say it but my area never heard of any issue with plain tire in tires as long as you did not move the tractor when had ice in them. However, here the temp seldom gets low enough and long enough you had major or thick ice in a tire. The tire itself is fair insulation. I would think your tires are fine but anti freeze is too low a price for prevention not to use it.

Adding enough antifreeze to a large tractor tire (like utility tractors) can be a bit costly. Even at a 25% mix of antifreeze/water and $10 per gallon of antifreeze, it can get expensive. I calculated the cost once for my LS P7010 and it worked out to be cheaper to use pure windshield washer fluid rather than antifreeze.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I just did a re-calc on cost to do my LS tires which hold 73 gallons of fluid @75% capacity. I would need 18 gallons of antifreeze for a 75/25 mix so about $180 per tire. Way too much for me to spend. If you could buy WWF for $1 per gallon and pump it in it would only cost $73 per tire. Since I don't really need my LS in the winter, I can afford to let the tire freeze and then thaw before use and my water is almost free.

 

[chiefcook]

I filled tires yesterday with 10% antifreeze. If it gets cold enough here to freeze, I just won't use it.

It really made a difference in how it handles. Don't need cutter for ballast now which makes moving dirt easier.