Tire fluid options

Yooper Farmall · Jan 28, 2011

I purchased an H this summer that had calcium chloride in the tires. We suspected they did as soon as we saw the rims and my brother could feel the additonal weight as soon as we started trailering it down the road. I assumed when I replaced the tires and rims that I would do without, but have been amazed at how much snow I can pull with the 3pt blade without chains.
It has been suggested to me that I put windshield washer fluid in the new tires/rims/tubes. He said it won"t be as heavy as chloride, but won"t freeze or damage the rims.
I"ve heard of a product called Beet Juice? but that it is expensive. Thoughts?

glennster · Jan 28, 2011

beet juice is a lot spendier than calcium. washer fluid works well, but isnt as heavy as a 5lb/gallon chloride mix. on a 12.4 38 a 5lb gal chloride mix will give you 494 lbs ballast per tire. with calcuim, you need to repair any leaks immediately, the others are more forgiving. iron wheel weights are another option too. depends on your budget and what you want to accomplish.

sflem849 · Jan 28, 2011

I think chains would be the cheaper and easier option. I wouldn't put saltwater in anything I was going to restore.

old · Jan 28, 2011

I have a Ford 841 that has one tire filled with CACL and water and the other tire filled with WWF 36 gals. of it. I use it to push snow in the winter and also to move big round bales of hay. I can not tell which tire is which and I can only figure it out if I where to check. If you watch close you can buy WWF for around $1 a gal and if you know how to fast talk and you know your going to be buying for tires that size probably 14-16 cases you can dicker with them some and get the price a good bit lower

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

Try some glycerin from a biodiesel plant

mkirsch · Jan 28, 2011

On a 12.4x38, three sets of iron weights is about the same as fluid. You won't have quite the same effective traction, but possibly close enough for your purposes.

CaCl solution is only corrosive if a leak is not immediately identified and fixed. New tubes in new tires on new rims shouldn't leak.

Consider the rims are probably ORIGINAL on that tractor. It's roughly 65 years old. It took 65 years for the calcium to eat out the first set of rims... How long will the second set last? Probably longer than you'll need 'em.

Zachary Hoyt · Jan 28, 2011

I got a set of tires on a parts H that I put on mine. They are loaded 14.9/38s and they give exceptional traction, in my opinion. Had to get a new tube put in one and it was expensive at the tire shop, so if I had it to do again I'd do it myself somehow. They're very heavy to handle if you dismount them while loaded. I respectfully disagree with mkirsch about a set of weights being as heavy as a loaded 12.4. According to glennster's figure it would take 3 sets, and that seems more believable to me.
Zach

glennster · Jan 28, 2011

zach, mkirsch is correct about the 3 sets of weights. they weigh about 140 lbs per weight, so 3 weights would give you about 420lbs, 3 pairs 860 between 2 rear tires. all 3 of my loader tractors run fluid and weights. my cub, b, 240u and w-9 also are loaded. its not a real issue to pump the fluid out yourself, a 12v sprayer pump works fine. you need the fill adapter for the valve stem. i have an old 100 gallon poly chemical tank that i use for mixing/storing the liquid chloride.

old · Jan 28, 2011

There has been a debate about fluid and weights ever since I started posting on here 10 plus years ago. To me I have found fluid does more for traction then weights do but can I prove it nope. Fluid puts the weigh right on the surface of the tire where it meats the ground but weights put the weigh on a cushion of air and air in turn will not hold the surface of the tire on the ground like fluid does

Zachary Hoyt · Jan 28, 2011

I'm sorry, I misread mkirsch's post. I shall be more careful. I apologize for causing confusion. I thought at the time about trying to change the tube myself but with a 6 ply tire in the winter I thought it would be pretty stiff. When I took it to the tire shop it cost $120 for 2 hours labor in addition to the tube, so I thought it was pretty expensive and if I had to do it again I would at least try to do it myself.
Zach

S2710 · Jan 28, 2011

Sflem I beg to differ with you. Chains are good but I will push more snow with a tractor with loaded tires then I will with the same tractor with unloaded tires and chains. I know that first hand because I had a M with no fluid and chains and all I did was spin. I had the Coop come up and load the tires and you almost could not stop it then. The next year I did not put the chains on and pushed snow all winter. As far as using as you say salt water I put the salt water in that M 35 years ago and the rims look as good today as when I put it in. I ran a nail in one tire a couple of years after I put the fluid in and had it repaired and before we put it back together we washed the rim tire and tube. As far as I am concerened the only way that the fluid will rust a rim is from negelect.
Bob

Brendon-KS · Jan 28, 2011

There is an engineering explanation to what you are describing. With air-filled tires, the inflation pressure equals the average pressure exerted on the soil regardless of how much weight the tire is carrying. Adding more weight without increasing tire pressure means the tire has to bulge out to have more surface in contact with the ground. In other words, the contact area increases but even though the pressure stays the same you can carry more weight. (With really stiff-walled bias ply tires at low inflation pressures this rule breaks down but within reason it is accurate. The rule assumes the air, not the tire carcass, is carrying the weight.) However, with fluid in the tires, you gain the weight of the fluid which exerts around 1/2 psi with every foot of depth. So, if your tires are inflated to a level 4 feet above the ground, you gain 2 psi of soil contact pressure for the same inflation pressure and the same amount of tire bulge.

sflem849 · Jan 28, 2011

(quoted from post at 16:50:38 01/28/11) Sflem I beg to differ with you. Chains are good but I will push more snow with a tractor with loaded tires then I will with the same tractor with unloaded tires and chains. I know that first hand because I had a M with no fluid and chains and all I did was spin. I had the Coop come up and load the tires and you almost could not stop it then. The next year I did not put the chains on and pushed snow all winter. As far as using as you say salt water I put the salt water in that M 35 years ago and the rims look as good today as when I put it in. I ran a nail in one tire a couple of years after I put the fluid in and had it repaired and before we put it back together we washed the rim tire and tube. As far as I am concerened the only way that the fluid will rust a rim is from negelect.
Bob

I agree, but neglect is fairly common with tires leaks especially when farmers are involved. I never meant to say chains would be better, what I was going for was they would give you more options and ease of use.

Tyler Jackson · Jan 28, 2011

Our 2001 New holland has fluid in the tires and it's already rusting around the stim. It's on the todo list to get weights this summer. It's definetly a good idea to get rid of the CaCl

old · Jan 28, 2011

LOL almost sounds like Greek to me LOL. But if I read it right what you are saying is in fact what I have said all along and fluid works better then wheel weights do. CORRECT???????????

Loren in WI · Jan 28, 2011

A trick I learned from my neighbor is if you use your tractor as much as I do, take a high lift jack and everytime you are done using it lift it and roll the valve stems up. His tractor has fluid is 70 years old and has the original stems in yet with no rust showing anywhere.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 28, 2011

Anybody try used antifreeze? Dont know what it wieghts but could get it cheep from a salvage yard.

LarryT · Jan 28, 2011

http://www.rimguard.biz/ This and Polypropylene Glycol are the only 2 products I would put in my tires and I have Rim Guard in one and Polypropylene Glycol. I Find both to be heavier than most of the other options mentioned here. I refuse to use CACl as replacement wheels are too expensive and I can run both products in tubeless tires. I saw someone mention glycol from bio diesel but it's specific gravity is way too light and would displace the weight of the water or what ever the mixer would be. LarryT

charles todd · Jan 29, 2011

My Farmall 504 has had pure tap water in the 14.9x38's since they were installed before I was born and I'm 30. All of Dad's tractors also have tap water only. We can get away with this in Louisiana, 40 is cold. Also water is cheap. My water bill runs $9-13/mo, that will fill a LOT of tires.

CT

charles todd · Jan 29, 2011

Tried to edit my post but it is down. I wanted to also add I have two sets of weights on the rears too. So I have about 110 gallons of water and about 600 lbs in cast iron for a total of about 1480 lbs of ballast.

CT

Loren in MN · Jan 29, 2011

I push snow with my Farmall Super C -sometimes up to 20"s and will push it as high as the hood of the tractor with 7ft blade. When I had fluid in the tires with chains,no weights -it would still spin at times on ice but usually it just pushed and kept pushing. Two years ago I replaced the tires and removed the fluid -been in there 30yrs or more. One rim had a slight amount of rusting, the other was good. What I had most trouble with was condensation on the outside of the rim during spring and fall temps.
It seemed that once the one rim had gotten some fluid onto the rim and even though I'd wash the rim best I could, whenever the rim would have the condesation on it, it would do a little more rusting. Once I even took it in for repair as I thought I was have leaking trouble but that's when the dealer said it was just condensation and was dry on the inside with no holes.
I now use two sets of weights with chains and no fluid. The tractor seems to push just as well without the fluid. Biggest plus was no more condensation!
Picts are in the photo gallery.

holmesw · Jan 30, 2011

My opinion is to use beet juice. We have used it in the rear tires of our Kubota sub-compact tractor. Being a sub-compact, it can"t do as much work as other tractors, but the beet juice has made a big difference. I do not know what the price is on beet juice. I know that it is made from soy beans, and that it does not rust the rims out.

61-4010 · Jan 30, 2011

I use CaCl in my tires. To me, CaCl gets a bad rap mainly because people don't address a leaking tire quickly or properly. CaCl provides great ballast very inexpensively. When I get something in my tires, I get it dismounted, wash it out and neutralize the CaCl, new tube and refill. This has kept my rims in great shape....some of which are 50 years old.

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