Why not sugar water in tires instead of beet juice?

[Cougsfan]

Where are the chemical engineers when you need them? Without luck, I have been trying to find exactly what is in Rim guard. I know it is "beet juice", but what is the sugar content? It appears that Rim Guard has been 'de-sugarfied' as it is a by product of sugar beet processing. I don't know what chemical components are in Rim guard that provide its weight and antifreeze characteristics. I am guessing that comparing Rim Guard's characteristics to sugar water is probably not even in the ballpark. Rim Guard is advertised as being non-corrosive.
On the other hand, I have seen 180 degree (hot) fully saturated sugar water solidify when it cools to room temperature. Based on that, I would think it would make a poor antifreeze. I also know that sugar water can be quite corrosive. Unlike pure water, I could see oxygen disassociating from the hydrocarbon molecules of sugar in a closed environment (like inside tubeless tire) and resulting in conditions to allow serious corrosion to occur.

 

[SF82]

Think of it like the beet version of blackstrap molasses where its just that sugarless thick sticky liquid at the very end of refining sugar

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Think of it like the beet version of blackstrap molasses where its just that sugarless thick sticky liquid at the very end of refining sugar

Probably with something added which is more soluble than the sugar, to drive teh sugar out of the solution. Possibly sulphur, which is what they add to cane molasses.

 

[copytmpmzl]

You would have to dissolve seven pound of sugar in a gallon of water to get fifteen pounds per gallon. that is a lot. Not sure you could do it at room temperature. Guess I could take a gallon of water, and a ten pound bag of sugar, and put it in a five gallon cooler with my sou vide heater run it over night, and then run it through a filter to remove the sugar crystals and see how much a gallon of the solution weighs. If you had saturated a liquid solution at 50-F, you would have crystals forming at anything lower than 50-F.

But, if the crystals were small, I would expect them to go back in solution as you run the tractor, and agitate the liquid in the tire. And, I don’t think the sugar crystals would ablade the interior of the tire.

But I have a kind of memory, that sugar solutions are corrosive. metallic epoxy flooring las vegas

thank you so much for your response and suggestion

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Maple syrup doesn't freeze even at 0 degrees in a freezer, so if you made a syrup out of your sugar mixture, you should be pretty well protected. That, of course, would require heating the water and adding more sugar than a simple solution would take. Don't know if sugar syrup would protect you 20 or 30 below.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Where are the chemical engineers when you need them? Without luck, I have been trying to find exactly what is in Rim guard. I know it is "beet juice", but what is the sugar content? It appears that Rim Guard has been 'de-sugarfied' as it is a by product of sugar beet processing. I don't know what chemical components are in Rim guard that provide its weight and antifreeze characteristics. I am guessing that comparing Rim Guard's characteristics to sugar water is probably not even in the ballpark. Rim Guard is advertised as being non-corrosive.
On the other hand, I have seen 180 degree (hot) fully saturated sugar water solidify when it cools to room temperature. Based on that, I would think it would make a poor antifreeze. I also know that sugar water can be quite corrosive. Unlike pure water, I could see oxygen disassociating from the hydrocarbon molecules of sugar in a closed environment (like inside tubeless tire) and resulting in conditions to allow serious corrosion to occur.

I think the crystalization of the supersaturated sugar isn't "freezing," but just the natural transition from a melted to solid state. That's different, so yes, if you were to make a syrup for antifreeze, you would have to avoid that saturation level. There is a temperature, I think at about 219 degrees at sea level, less with altitude, that creates a syrup of the consistency of pure maple syrup that will remain (thicker) syrup but won't freeze until it hits some point below 0 degrees farenheit. If you cook your solution to the point where enough water boils off that you are well over that temperature (adjusted for altitude) then you can get a solid product when it gets back to room temperature. Boiling temperature is an accurate guide for that, or you could use a refractometer, or even a specific gravity tool. I'm sure the "beet juice" is processed in a similar way to reach a very low freezing point.
Perhaps with some big ag equipment there might be good reasons not to fill tires, but I would never operate any CUT without filled tires. Filled tires provide part of the ballast needed for the FEL, and also, importantly, make the tractor less likely to roll at any given side angle short of pure crazy. If you put spacers to widen the rear tires' stance, this effect is multiplied, as is, of course, the downside extra strain on your axle. Using a FEL without sufficient ballast is dangerous from a rollover risk, but even short of that, adds a lot of stress to your front axle and bearings. If your rear wheels aren't getting enough traction, it's a clear sign that you don't have enough ballast and are beating up on your front axle components.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Years ago I knew a guy who filled tractor tires with just water. In winter his son went down their steep driveway. He was fine...but talk about a wild ride!