Tire fluid

Ok, I'll probably get laughed off the forum, but here goes. I want to replace the rim eating calcium in the rear tires of my loader tractor. I know beet juice has been used, but none around here. SO - my question is can RV antifreeze or windshield washer fluid be used in its place? And, are they going to eat the rims like calcium? Thank you for your input.

Yes they can, no they won't eat the rims like calcium chloride. They also are not as dense so you don't get as much weight in the tire and weight gives you traction. This is especially true for 2WD loader tractors where you need all the traction you can get.

It can be used in place of CACL, just lighter in weight per gallon. It won't react with your rims if you have a leak.

The discussion of this usually entails the comparison to the alternatives, like you are thinking about, and as I see it, CACL, is certainly corrosive or alkaline, which ever, and if you have a leak, it will corrode steel. However you have time, don't let it go for too long, wash everything down but good, make necessary repairs etc. CACL is fine, being contained in the tube, but it can be a maintenance item, its suggested to change valve cores after so long, and if you get a leak, worse a puncture. Knowing that, one has to decide. Many will question the logic of CACL useage, based on the negative side of it, but I've used it long enough to know, its fine within the parameters of its use, which includes timely repair. Even the bags of CACL flake is getting more expensive, it was the cheap tire ballast that provides significant weight, won't freeze if mixed per the loading chart for the specific tire. We have 4 tractors with loaded tires, 3 with CACL, one with RimGuard. None have been much trouble in many years, my old 850 ford with CACL loaded tires, look the same as when they were loaded, both done by me.

Now in stark contrast, the one repair I inherited with the tractor I recently bought, was rear tires, loaded with CACL, and leaky valves. The previous owner did NOT make any repairs and let it go for quite some time, the tractor was unused at least a year, stored in a building. Expensive rims with some flaking of rust, valve holes appear ok and I've had to roll the dice by letting it go a little further, I will be breaking these tires down, assessing the rims, hopefully repairable, new tubes, and as much as I like the performance of CACL loaded tires, given it has fwd, and the implements/loads are heavy enough, I may elect to omit the CACL, or use one of the alternatives, as the weight reduction more than likely will not be any issue.

CACL can be a matter of preference, need or what have you. I don't mind it all that much because I can do tire work whenever its needed, so if there is a problem, its not going to be ignored, like the tractor mentioned above, that is just stupidity, given tires of this size, 14.9x28, are still within my ability to work on, and would be for most others if they were to learn the simple tasks involved with their repair, more so if they cannot afford the tire repair hired out.

Find used antifreeze & use that (not environment friendly).

I needed more weight on the front of my JD4020. My BIG tractor was down so was using it to plow a field. Anyway it needed more weight and no cast around for it, so I filled both front tires with antifreeze. Got the job done.

Trade name for beet juice is Rim Guard. They are based out of Wyoming MI (Grand Rapids). Web site www.rimguard.biz they can point you to the nearest dealer, and if there isn't one close might be an opportunity for you.

Someone from Canada will probably be along shortly to explain to you the pitfalls of fluid ballast in tractor tires. I have fluid with AF in the rear tires of my FEL tractor.

I have been using winter grade wiper fluid for years now. If you catch it on sale it will cost close to a buck a gal

Around my area of Ohio most all tire shops use some form of windshield washer type fluid. The beet juice stuff is really expensive from the few that do it. Most don't use it because of not being able to pump it in cold weather. I had washer type fluid put into my tubeless tires on my loader. Too soon to know what if any disaster it may make ?
Just this last weekend I spotted Dad's 4020 seeping cal at rear stem. I jacked it up and changed out both sides and touched up the rims. These have been in awhile but the cores were not what I'd call tight. I never checked them from when we had new tubes installed many years ago.

Make your own" washer fluid". Find some methanol and dilute it with water. It's used in geo thermal systems all the time and is a cheap mixture.

Forgot to say this but if you send me an e-mail I can send you a page that explains how to put fluid in your tires and one way shows how you can do it and walk away and do other things while it does it on it own

I looked into doing that about a year ago. Needed 120 gals of mix. I found that buying methanol was more expensive than buying WWF if you caught it on sale.

You may want to consider a 55 gallon drum on the 3 point filled with concrete. The barrel could be filled with other heavy stuff like scrap steel as well. This moves the fulcrum to somewhere between the front and rear axle. If you make a barrel for the 3 point for the counter-weight move the lower link attachments about half way between the center and the front of the barrel. For me that eliminates having to shorten the drawbar every time I want to attach the concrete barrel. Fabricate a hitch out the rear of the barrel for hooking up to a wagon or anything else you want to move around the farm. I have weights on the rear wheels and the concrete barrel for counter-weight and, within reason, the tractor becomes a mini-bulldozer. It works for me anyway.

I have a Massey 135 that my Dad bought new in 1965 and it has had fluid since new and still has the original rims with no rust. Whenever it had a leak we had it repaired and washed it good. You can't let them set around and leak.

I agree with Billy NY. If the tires are equally full you just have to keep an eye on it and do a little preventive maintenance. I put Rim Guard it my tire, because I don't use my tractors every day like most people do, so if a leak in an old valve occurs I may not notice it until it's too late. Rim Guard is just my little piece of mind. BTW, when you make the switch from calcium chloride you have to put in new tubes. Calcium chloride doesn't react well with the beet juice. So keep that in mind when comparing cost.

I don't know of any place around that would work on a tire with washer fluid. Only Calcium or beet juice.

This part of the country that is ALL the new tractor dealers are using, a mixture of 1/3 methanol and water. Does give up just a little weight to the CC but sure is easy to work with.

Ultimately the best thing you could use would be something like Johney Walker Black Label.
It doesn't freeze. It adds weight. Doesn't rot your rims.
And the best part is if you break down in the field you have something to sip on while you are waiting for parts.

(quoted from post at 20:08:05 11/18/15) I don't know of any place around that would work on a tire with washer fluid. Only Calcium or beet juice.

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Around here the tire dealers only want to deal with alcohol/water or beet juice. Calcium is too much trouble.

Rim eating calcium??? This issue has been going on since, forever. CaCl does not eat rims instantly. It eats them over time, when owners don"t do proper maintenance...ie, they don"t fix the tube, they just let it leak out, etc. CaCl has been used for decades, it"s the cheapest source of added weight per pound to a tractor, compared to beet juice, skunk urine, cast iron, or any other product.

I have the 41 Farmall B that my dad had. It had calcium in the rears for most of its life. I put new tires on a few years ago & the rims were just fine, no rust. I left the fluid out as is doesn't get used much anymore.

Ultimately the best thing you could use would be something like Johnny Walker Black Label.
It doesn't freeze. It adds weight. Doesn't rot your rims.
And the best part is if you break down in the field you have something to sip on while you are waiting for parts.

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Nah. If I was going to put booze in a tire, it would be the cheapest rot-gut possible, because it would be tough to tell right from the bottle whether it tasted like poor whiskey or tire tube. If Johnny was going to the field with me, he would go in a hip pocket.

I just replaced a rim on a tractor that had new tires and rims put on about 3 years ago. Seems the valve stem got fractured within it's rubber boot (off the tube) shortly after mounting making for a very slow leak on a tractor that wasn't used much, and the calcium scaled up and ate a softball size hole around the stem.

Calcium Chloride is not just bad on steel parts, but kills vegetation. Wiper fluid is a methanol mixture, and used anti-freeze is ethylene glycol (and a slew of additives), both of which are also substantially environmentally toxic. Beet juice is about as environmentally friendly as it could possibly get.