Tires Molasses filled tires

Jnasystems · Nov 22, 2010

Anyone heard of this? My dealer said they had the rear tires of every tractor sold with a loader filled with a molasses based product for ballast, including my BX. I have joked with friends that I have the sweetest tractor around, but now I am looking at having the tires on my AC WD filled and wanted to get the opinions of those here.

My dilemma has the additional wrinkle in that my preferred dealer is 250 miles away and when I contacted Pomp's tire service (a tire company that deals with every type of tire - from hand dollies to mining equipment) they wouldn't talk about filling tires with anything but calcium chloride. The guy was very adamant that it was the best product and the only thing they would put in.

In doing some research on-line it seems there are some advantages to using molasses as ballast, but it also seems to be a relatively new idea. What do you think?

beenthere · Nov 22, 2010

Sounds like a sticky mess to me.

Have heard of beet "juice" which is a by-product of sugar beet processing. But not molasses. Maybe the juice is referred to as molasses ??

Here is a previous thread about it too.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/154619-tires-loaded-molasses.html

Add this definition of molasses.
Molasses is a thick, brown to deep black, honey-like substance made when cane or beet sugar is processed. It is enjoyed as a sweetener in many countries, and most particularly in England where it is called treacle. For hundreds of years, molasses and sulfur, or treacle and brimstone were thought to have healthful benefits, and children were frequently given doses of the product.

nybirdman · Nov 22, 2010

Beet Juice........aka RIM GUARD....non corrosive,non-freeze..cal/choride is old school..rots your rims...not very enviromentaly friendly..find some one else.

flusher · Nov 22, 2010

nybirdman said:
Beet Juice........aka RIM GUARD....non corrosive,non-freeze..cal/choride is old school..rots your rims...not very enviromentaly friendly..find some one else.

Yep, RG is about 25-30% denser than straight water.

Gary Fowler · Nov 22, 2010

I am sure that you are not getting molasses. HECK that is so thick at room temperature, it will hardly move and at freezing temp it would be like concrete in your tires. I am sure he meant RimGuard which is slightly sweet I am told.

HiTechTed · Nov 22, 2010

Man if you had tires filled with molasses and somebody had to remove a tire, I'm sure they would be very angry about it. I've been thinking about how to mix up sugar water for tires but it would take a lot of sugar and the expense would probably be higher than RG.

Carykong · Nov 22, 2010

water,sugar (molassas), hummmm a little yeast, makes alchohol and CO2. Your tires will be very happy.

whistlepig · Nov 22, 2010

There was a similar post like this a while back. One of the members lives in bear country and was afraid the bears would eat his tires if he filled them with molasses.

rd_macgregor · Nov 22, 2010

Carykong said:
water,sugar (molassas), hummmm a little yeast, makes alchohol and CO2. Your tires will be very happy.

And self-inflating!

gauthier · Nov 22, 2010

Used to help make molasses,[after we growed the cane],,,got methinal and water in mine.

Jnasystems · Nov 22, 2010

Well, I called my dealer back and he said it was rimguard. That is kinda a let down that maybe my tractor isn't as sweet as I thought. He said he just likes to call it molasses because that is what it is like to him. I asked him how much to fill my 13.6x28 tires on the AC WD - $3.25 per gallon and he said I could put in as much or as little as I wanted - is there a reason not to put in the full 86 gallons besides cost? It would seem to me that the more weight the better. I am wanting to use the tractor to pull a 3 bottom plow, a 9 ft disk, a 2 row planter and a hay wagon. There may be times I want to trailer it to a show, but I don't have a trailer yet, so I would get one capable of hauling it and any attachments I may want to take.

gauthier · Nov 22, 2010

Well bring him a jar of molasses so he can remember the differences.

gsdavis1 · Nov 22, 2010

I was thinking of filling my tires with waste motor oil. Anyone ever try this? I can usually find it for free and I think it would be a little heavier than water, dont think it will freeze either.

I know a spill would be a mess though.

Carykong · Nov 23, 2010

oil is less dense than water

ccsial · Nov 23, 2010

Carykong said:
oil is less dense than water

That's right. Maybe your tractor would just float over the snow and never get stuck.

Eagleview · Nov 23, 2010

You gotta laugh how things are taken literally sometimes , we call WD40 Cats piss so I'm glad he didn't say that you should put some of that on the wheel nuts .

banjodunn · Nov 23, 2010

gsdavis1 said:
I was thinking of filling my tires with waste motor oil. Anyone ever try this? I can usually find it for free and I think it would be a little heavier than water, dont think it will freeze either.

I know a spill would be a mess though.

G'day not only a mess but will destroy your tyres/tubes if fitted if you want to see for yourself get an old bit of tube and soak it in oil for a month and see what is left

Jon

JasG · Nov 23, 2010

gsdavis1 said:
I was thinking of filling my tires with waste motor oil. Anyone ever try this? I can usually find it for free and I think it would be a little heavier than water, dont think it will freeze either.

I know a spill would be a mess though.

This would be a very bad idea. It would rot your tires off and if someone wanted to make trouble for you and you did have a leak they could call the DEC. Spilled oil in the amount you are talking would be considered a toxic spill and the clean up would need to go to a hazmat land fill.

Oil once it has been used in an engine is considered to be a carcinogen.

You would be better off using waste cooking oil, but it would still rot the tires.

jlsmith · Nov 23, 2010

i just use water and antifreeze. I fill mine full cuz if not ull get a slugish feel with the water sloshing around.

Don87 · Nov 23, 2010

Jnasystems said:
Well, I called my dealer back and he said it was rimguard. That is kinda a let down that maybe my tractor isn't as sweet as I thought. He said he just likes to call it molasses because that is what it is like to him. I asked him how much to fill my 13.6x28 tires on the AC WD - $3.25 per gallon and he said I could put in as much or as little as I wanted - is there a reason not to put in the full 86 gallons besides cost? It would seem to me that the more weight the better. I am wanting to use the tractor to pull a 3 bottom plow, a 9 ft disk, a 2 row planter and a hay wagon. There may be times I want to trailer it to a show, but I don't have a trailer yet, so I would get one capable of hauling it and any attachments I may want to take.

Fill the tires so that the 'rimguard' covers the rims, when the tire is standing up...........he can judge this if he's done it for a while.

And.........if you can get past the smell, please taste the 'rimguard to see if it is sweet.:thumbsup: