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Tire Ballast

D

Dude with a 300

Member
After I purchased my "55 300, the guy told me he had replaced one rear tube. When he got the tractor it had fluid in both rears. Now only one has fluid. I bought a parts tractor that has clean non-leaking fluid in it"s rear tires. Is there a way for me to transfer the fluid from the parts tractor over to mine? I"ve had several ideas going through my mind but wanted to hear about others who have done this. I really don"t want to have Goodyear or somebody have to come out to do this if I can get it done.

Bruce
 

If it were mine, and it isn't, I would remove the fluid from the other rear tire, and then add cast iron wheel weights. Much less hassle if you ever need to do any future tire repairs.

My dad farmed over 600 acres of row crops. Never had liquid ballast in any of his tractors. Never needed it.
 
If you get a reprint of the manual it will describe a few ways to do it. You can get a small pump run by a power drill, the way I did it was to drain the fluid into 15 gallon containers and carry them upstairs and run a small hose down and into the valve stem. Here is a link to the page with pictures.
Zach
Here
 
I really don't know if I need the liquid ballast at all. This tractor is just for moving snow, pulling things around the yard and lifting stuff. I have a set of wheel weights on it right now and have four of the half weights off the parts tractor I could put on. I also have some snow chains I'll be putting on for winter...if we get snow this year!

Bruce
 
Rusty do you realize how many 150 lb DO NUTs you would have to bolt on to equal one loaded tire. And a good case in point here this fall we have been a little on the damp side and field conditions were not that favourable , I was helping a friend with his corn picking and his Farmall 400 DID NOT have loaded tires but did have two 150's on each side and IT did not have enough weight to pull loaded gravity wagons up the little humps and bumps . He says we will use your S/MTA , ok my S/MTA have brand new 16.9x38 All TRAC's but no weight and only weighs in at around 56-5700 where his 400 weighs in at around 64-6500 the 400 has 14.9x38 at around 50% it had more pull then the new tires and bigger tire on a lighter tractor. Normally eugene and i use the 706 to pull the picker WHEN field conditions are good as it weights in at around 9000 Lbs, But field conditions are not good and we have the 1066 on the picker and it weights in at around 17000 lbs with loaded tires . The 706 does not have loaded tires and it got hung with a full load of corn . My 806 has loaded tires and weighs in just shy of 14000 and it is getting the job done but could stand more weight .
 
Easy way if you have a way to lift it up higher then the tire you want ti fill is lift it up with the stem of the tube at 6 o'clock and run a hose for one to the other. The one your filling jacked up and the stem at 12 o'clock and no air in the tube being filled
 
> I really don"t know if I need the liquid ballast
> at all. This tractor is just for moving snow...

An execellent reason for loaded tires. MY 544 with 900lb of CaCl in each rear tire is vastly superior to my 560 for moving snow despite the latter being a heavier machine and having wheel weights.

It does complicate tire maintenance, though.
 
Well, he didn't have our soils then. You'd be hard pressed to
find a tractor in the field without liquid ballast around here.
If the gentleman's serious about moving snow tire chains
and liquid ballast are a must.

Glenn F.
 
(quoted from post at 08:56:07 11/18/12) Rusty do you realize how many 150 lb DO NUTs you would have to bolt on to equal one loaded tire. And a good case in point here this fall we have been a little on the damp side and field conditions were not that favourable , I was helping a friend with his corn picking and his Farmall 400 DID NOT have loaded tires but did have two 150's on each side and IT did not have enough weight to pull loaded gravity wagons up the little humps and bumps . He says we will use your S/MTA , ok my S/MTA have brand new 16.9x38 All TRAC's but no weight and only weighs in at around 56-5700 where his 400 weighs in at around 64-6500 the 400 has 14.9x38 at around 50% it had more pull then the new tires and bigger tire on a lighter tractor. Normally eugene and i use the 706 to pull the picker WHEN field conditions are good as it weights in at around 9000 Lbs, But field conditions are not good and we have the 1066 on the picker and it weights in at around 17000 lbs with loaded tires . The 706 does not have loaded tires and it got hung with a full load of corn . My 806 has loaded tires and weighs in just shy of 14000 and it is getting the job done but could stand more weight .
Click to expand...

Well maybe, just maybe it worked for my dad because he never tried to do more with any given tractor than what it was intended to do. If the tractor he had wasn't quite up to the task at hand, he'd go get the bigger tractor.

My Farmall H has 2 sets of weights, but NO fluid. Just add a set of chains in the winter and that H will move all the snow I need it to move.
 
Fluid came into use because at the Nebraska tractor tests they found that it provided better traction, and rode better, especially at higher speeds. The fluid moving in the tire acts somewhat like a shock absorber.
 
The extra weight is probably most important for loader work. It does take a lot of steel to make up for the 800 pounds per tire that ballast provides.

I would recommend changing the tubes every ten years if you want to run ballast. There seems to be a point between 10-20 that they start to leak.
 
(quoted from post at 13:43:59 11/18/12)
(quoted from post at 13:34:20 11/18/12) Bring that H to NE WI. It'll have liquid ballast soon.

Glenn F.
Click to expand...

Bring yours down here. I'll show you how to get along just fine without it.
Click to expand...


my 450LP gets along just fine with only 2 sets of wheel weights on it. pulls a 412 fasthitch plow all day long without spinning in 2nd and 3rd

im not a big fan of fluid. seen lots of stuff get ruined by it over the years. i recently got a 560 diesel in with 15.5's on it that are loaded, soon they wont be
 
I bought a 350 with loaded 13.6 rears. On my way by one day I dropped in to the mobile tractor tire repair guys shop. Told him if he was going by he could have the fluid. One day he stopped and pumped, I believe 70 gals out of each of them. Whatever, they were full. I didn't realize beforehand that I was giving away about 130 dollars worth of fluid. It just went into the tanks on his service truck.
So your parts tractor is worth more than you thought. Price fluid in your area.
 
Stop at napa and get a liquid tire fill adapter. They are about 20 dollars or so. Got to a big box store and get a drill operated pump. Also a garden hose. Roll tire so valve is at 12 oclock. Valve is two piece. Unscrew it from tire and attach fill valve, garden hose, drill pump and another length of garden hose. Put end in bucket or plqastic drum. Rotate tire valve to 6 oclock position and pump fluid into container. When empty, pump fluid into new tire same way. Valve at 12 oclockmposition. There is a small air bleed valve on fill adapter that you need to press to release air pressure as tire fills with fluid.
 
I have learned that RV anti freez is excellent to add as ballast. I pump 6 gals in and fill the rest with water. the water goes in straight from water hose using tire / bleeder adapter. No corrosion problems and also find it has not froze down to 20 degrees. May even last to lower temp. I have filled 3 - 13.9 X 38.
 
(quoted from post at 16:53:27 11/18/12) I really don't know if I need the liquid ballast at all. This tractor is just for moving snow, pulling things around the yard and lifting stuff. I have a set of wheel weights on it right now and have four of the half weights off the parts tractor I could put on. I also have some snow chains I'll be putting on for winter...if we get snow this year!

Bruce
Click to expand...
I have a plow on my 41' A right now, 6 footer. I would leave the chains off. See if it will push snow without them. chains are a pain and they tear up the yard.
 
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