What is the best noncorrosive tire ballast?
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Topic: What is the best noncorrosive tire ballast?
Posted By: dfwallis
Subject: What is the best noncorrosive tire ballast?
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 8:48pm
| What is the best noncorrosive tire ballast? I find all sorts of weird stuff...like beet juice...but water is 'corrosive' also... |
Replies:
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 9:01pm
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search = Beet juice is a recent addition to liquid ballast choices. The advantages of beet juice are it is nontoxic and non-corrosive to wheels. It is freeze-resistant down to minus 35 F. Beet juice weighs about 11.0 pounds per gallon. You can also use antifreeze mixed with water... but your below 8 pounds per gallon with that... Calcium Chloride has the problem that it is a SALT and that corrodes metal when in contact. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 9:03pm
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or you can use steel wheel weights if you dont want anything INTERNAL.. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: Tracy Martin TN
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 9:46pm
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Methanol alcohol is what I use. Tracy ------------- No greater gift than healthy grandkids! |
Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 10:42pm
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Common antifreeze (Ethylene Glycol) will work, but it's toxic... so a leak will poison pets. Propylene Glycol (RV antifreeze) will work nicely, and it's non-toxic. Both are mixed 50/50 for max freeze protection, but if you're in Texas, you really don't need full strength- you could use water, and then just go to a 10% mix instead. ------------- Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest. |
Posted By: 55allis
Date Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 11:14pm
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Beet juice has been the best option I’ve tried but it’s starting to get a little pricey around here… ------------- 1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD45 |
Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 5:02am
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CaCl2 is fine as long as you maintain your tubes. Plus it’s natural. Have a leak wash it off with HOT water. I can safely say I handled more of it in my life than anyone on here and I don’t bat an eye at it. ------------- 8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760 |
Posted By: PaulB
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 6:22am
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CAST IRON, NO possibility of corrosion whatsoever. With any Calcium Chloride product it's not a question of IF but WHEN. Also as you first mentioned any water based product will rust metal. At one time powdered lead was being put in tires, Although I'd guess you can't find anyone to do that today. Anything you put inside the tire will run to the ditch when you get a flat and you'll only have to pay again to add it back. CAST IORN buy it once and you can easily remove it when not needed and put it back when you do. ------------- If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere. Real pullers don't have speed limits. If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 6:38am
| Engineering is almost always a compromise. To get one thing, you might have to give up something else. Tire fluid changes the physical width of the tractor none and gains the most weight per area. Wheel weights are often in the way or make changing wheel tread more difficult. I still say a tire with proper amounts of fluid/air ride smoother than cast iron and air. 20+ years ago, when new FWA tractors got to 25+ MPH top speeds, we always had issues with bouncing on those large front single radial tires. So bad in fact, that you seldom could use the full top speed the bounce was that bad. We tried multiple air pressure changes and even reduced front suitcase weights to try to get the bounce problem in check. Eventually, out of desperation, I had my tire man install front fluid at 50% normal fill. We also removed front suitcase weights just enough to offset the increase of fluid weight, so the tractor weight was identical. Problem SOLVED !! No more bouncing at full road speed !! |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 6:43am
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We use the beet juice, or the last fill was something made with corn, to adress what they is a valve stem issue with the beet stuff, though we didn't have much problem with that. CaCl might be natural, but so is arsenic.
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Posted By: Ed (Ont)
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 9:37am
| Probably easiest is windshield washer fluid. Drawback is it is not as heavy as some of the other stuff. If you can live with a bit less weight it is a good way to go. |
Posted By: Allis dave
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 11:23am
| RimGuard is an option but I havne't used it. Might be the same as Beet Juice, I"m not Sure. Currently I just have the old fluid in 2 of mine. |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 11:26am
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Allis dave wrote:Posted By: Randy WI
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 11:52am
| I have beet juice in my tires and it has been great would not go back to CaCl2 |
Posted By: 200Tom1
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 5:36pm
| This comes from an old tire guy, me,. Beet juice is almost impossible to pump into or out of a tire when it gets below 20°F. Been there done it. If you can find a auto service shop that catches old antifreeze from the cars/trucks they work on, sometimes they will give it to you. Me, after pumping thousands of gallons of calcium, I would put new tubes in my tires and use calcium. Keep an extra core housing or two around and replace them when the core housings/valve cores get to seaping. They actually make stainless steel core housings with stainless valve cores installed to use when you have calcium in your tires. They used to be a little hard to find unless you were a professional tire repair man. |
Posted By: Ryan Renko
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 6:20pm
| I sandblasted and repainted the rear rims on my Series IV and was pondering the same thing and decided not to put anything in the new tubes. I got extremely fortunate and found the correct pie weights for a steal so after I paint them they will be going on. Ryan |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 8:47pm
At this point, I lean towards rim guard/beet juice. I don't think it's an either/or thing though. Ballast and when needed physical weights also. I had already searched/researched and didn't like some of what I read, but you need the extra weight sometimes in a super light tractor with 24 inch rims like a CA.
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Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 8:49pm
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too bad your not closer to Illinois... I would make you a good deal on 55 gallons of glycol antifreeze ! ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: Ted in NE-OH
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 9:18pm
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I bought 100 gallons of windshield washer fluid on sale and loaded my AC I-400 tired ------------- CA, WD, C, 3 Bs, 2 Gs, WC, I-400, 914 |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 9:50pm
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Pie weights on a D-17 are 300 lbs per wheel. Full fluid (10 and 2 o'clock) is at least 500 lbs inside the tire on a 16.9 x 28.
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Posted By: PaulB
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2023 at 7:15am
Not one of the CAs I have that I use for field use needs anything more that 1 CAST Iron weigh on each side and with only air in the tires. Now if you are using a front end loader on a CAs Cast iron weight behind the wheels is what you should have to counterbalance the weight added to the steering components of front axle. A CA really doesn't really have a strong enough front end system for a front end loader. ------------- If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere. Real pullers don't have speed limits. If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY |
Posted By: dfwallis
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2023 at 7:00pm
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