Posted by Chris on March 04, 1998 at 17:26:03:
In Reply to: Questions re 'antifreeze' in tires posted by Bob Petrey on March 03, 1998 at 18:09:32:
I work at an airport, we use aircraft di-icing fluid to load all the tires in our equipment. It is on of two types, either ethlyen or propylene based. It is true that propolyne is more environmentaly "friendly" then ethylene, but I'm not sure why that should be a concern unless your tires leak very bad. The glycol is certainly no worse than the gas,oil, or hydraulic fluids used. These glycol products are not a concern at all as far as corrosion is conmcerned or they would never be approved to be applied to aircraft in the huge amounts thay are (it is not uncommon to spray 1000 gallons on a icy Boing 727!) I also have been told that loaded tires are much less strain on older drive trains trhan wheel weights due to the smooth weight transfer as the fluid moves inside the tire. You might try to an operator an an airport that conducts di-icing, thay should be willing to sell you fluid in bulk quatities much cheaper than the per gallon price of the automotive stuff.