Tire Ballast

I am needing to get some ballast for the rear tires on one of my tractors and don't want to use the calcium chloride because it eats the rims up. I cant do water because it will freeze and cause the tractor to tip over. Oil will eat the tires up. And Rim Guard is avalible but it is over 100 miles away. How about an antifreeze and water mix? What do you guys use that won't eat the rims or tires up and yet provide a good amount of weight besides water???

I use used antifreeze. Ask around your local garages, most recycle the stuff, but occationally you will find someone to give it to you. You may need to set up a way to filter some of the crap out of it, but, still the best solution (no pun intended) I've found

You might check with M E Miller Tire, also I have seen a product called Rim Guard advertised.
info@rimguard.biz

Amen Tuck.

I agree with you guy's I have cloride in mine I leave the caps off as soon as I see them start to leak I change the valve core that' why you most always see the rims rusted around the valve stem ,from a leaking valve core 

We put sugar beet juice in our loader tractor tires 16.9 X 34. Didn't use any tubes and the sugar beet juice was about same price as the tubes. The juice won't freeze and will nor rust the rims. It is about 2 lbs. per gallon less than calcium.

This reminds me of a tractor I seen on a farm one day while I was out reading electric meters. It was a D17 with a 3 pt hay sphere on the back with a huge round bale on it. On the front was 2 heads off of a 350 Chevy dangling from a chain... it worked for him. LOL

Remember the load on the bearings is also important and if you hang weights off tractor the bearings have to carry it.

Edited by Coke-in-MN - 23 Dec 2010 at 11:33am

The farm now uses magnesium chloride. It comes in a bag and you mix it with water in a 55 gallon drum then pump it in. It's supposed to be used for dust/ice control but it works I guess for the tires too.

http://www.meltsnow.com/products-dry-magnesium-chloride.htm

IMHO, weight in the tires is the best place for it. My Dad and I rebuilt a WD back in '58/'59 and installed new wheels, tire and tubes filled with CaCl.  In the past 20 years since I've had the tractor, I have had two flats (both on the same tire) and I fixed them immediately. Before I remounted the tire, I wire brushed the inside of the rim and painted it with Rust-O-Leum Damp-Proof primer. When I installed new tires a few years ago, I gave the same treatment to the other wheel. As long as you fix any leaks immediately and maintain the valve stem and core, you will not have problems with the CaCl. Having said that, every single WD, WD-45 as well as my D-17 have real nasty looking wheels from past leaks. One of my WD-45s had brand new tires on it but the rim was so bad that the tire blew the side of the rim out shortly after I bought the tractor. From what I understand, the "beet juice" product adds nearly as much extra weight as the CaCl. So.......I may consider it when install the new wheels on my D-17.

USED DRILLING MUD ONCE

How much did you put in your front tires Mike?  Needing some weight up there on my 17 also

Sitesstables wrote: How much did you put in your front tires Mike?  Needing some weight up there on my 17 also

5 gallons for 5.50 X 16
6 gallons for 6.00 X 16 (mine)
7 gallons for 6.50 X 16
9 gallons for 7.50 X 16

Mike

CTuckerNWIL wrote: I put calcium chloride back in mine cause it took 50 years to eat through the first rim. Figure I won't be around or care about a rusty rim at age 107. It has to get on the rim to eat it, so if you change out the valve cores every couple years and don't poke any holes in the tire, it will be good for as long as the tire is on the tractor.

amen that is what i have been thinking, also it helps to know how to properly check the air pressure, with the valve stem at 12 oclock, so you dont start a slow seep, i have seen several people try and check the pressure in there tires and cause a leak