Checking tire pressure with liquid ballast

Blue Mule · Jan 23, 2021

They say there are no dumb questions. We'll see about that.

My rear tires were filled as a part of my new purchase agreement. When I got the tractor home I wanted to verify the tire pressure to make sure it's where I want it to be, but as soon as I put my tire gauge on the valve stem the washer fluid comes spraying out. Surely this is not going to allow me to get an accurate reading. And yes, the valve stems are close to 12 o' clock when I'm doing this.

What do you guys do in this situation?

s219 · Jan 23, 2021

Put the stems at 12 o'clock and then burp the valve with a fingertip or tool to get the liquid out of the valve. Some people will instead put some air in the tire, to clear liquid out of the valve. Either way, once you do that it should be clear enough to put your gauge on.

The liquid should not be higher than the top of the rim -- it's very important for the top of the tire to have an air cushion. If you find that you can't quickly clear the valve stem of liquid, then the tires may have been overfilled, in which case you can hold the valve open (at 12 o'clock) until no liquid comes out anymore.

RickB · Jan 23, 2021

Holding the valve open at 12:00 without jacking the wheel up will result in draining too much fluid.

Peter 315 · Jan 23, 2021

You need this air/water tire gauge ..........Amazon.com: Milton (S-928 Air/Water-Filled Tire Pencil Pressure Gauge: Automotive

Blue Mule · Jan 23, 2021

Thanks I'll give this a try tomorrow after the freezing rain passes.

ericm979 · Jan 23, 2021

Peter 315 said:
You need this air/water tire gauge ..........Amazon.com: Milton (S-928 Air/Water-Filled Tire Pencil Pressure Gauge: Automotive

I have one of those. My tires are filled with Rimguard which is a dark sludgy beet juice product. I have to keep a pan of warm water handy when I check the tire pressures so I can immediately rinse the gauge out. Otherwise it clogs.

Oldpath05 · Jan 23, 2021

Last year I forgot to rinse my air gauge out and Rimguad ruined it, next time pay attention. For those that dont like Bezos, Milton (S-928 Air/Water-Filled Tire Pencil Pressure Gauge | eBay

user.69169 · Jan 24, 2021

When a tire is filled with liquid machine is off de tire, either on jack or blocks and tire bellys down as liquid fills. Proper fill of Rim Guard will put liquid over top of wheel to minimize oxidation of wheel.

Dis means you got good chance of gettin liquid squirting out when you check pressure wid machine sitting on ground. Best to take weight off tire before testing. Also real good idea to give tire short shot of air after testing. Blows contamination out of Shrader.

oosik · Jan 24, 2021

I have 775# of RimGuard in each rear tire. I've never had problems using my air gauge. I DO put a puff or two of air into the stem to clear out any RimGuard. I will run 15 to 16 psi in the rear tires. It's right at the point where I get full "bar" contact all the way across the chevrons.

Oldpath05 · Jan 24, 2021

I have Rimgard in one and Ballast Star in the other, quite sure the Rimgard is the one that messed my tire gauge up. Although not sure if Ballast Star would mess one up, if not that would be a thumps up for Ballast Star....

Oldpath05 · Jan 24, 2021

A couple weeks ago I went to check tire presure on the Jeep and with using 4 different tire gauges I had to pick the reading I thought was the closest, in the name of Heaven why cant there be a dependable accurate tire gauge.............. Best Tire Pressure Gauges in 22 - Top 6 Tire Pressure Gauge Picks - YouTube
TireTek Premium Car Tire Pressure Gauge 6 PSI - Heavy Duty Tire Gauge ANSI | eBay

the old grind · Jan 24, 2021

Ballast Star offers Citrastar, a "chloride product with a citrus-based rust inhibitor". But is it lemony fresh?

Benefit over beet juice is mentioned but not clarified in the least. If gumming up gauges is from not using them right, gopp is still goop.

The Milton gauge may be nothing more than having no components that will rust. Instructions for use are the same as with any gauge.

the old grind · Jan 24, 2021

Ballast Star offers Citrastar, a "chloride product with a citrus-based rust inhibitor". But is it lemony fresh?

Benefit over beet juice is mentioned but not clarified in the least. If gumming up gauges is from not using them correctly 'goop' is still 'goop'.

The Milton gauge may be nothing more than having no components that will rust. Instructions for use are the same as with any gauge.

SeidelRanch · Feb 1, 2021

Most cheaper tire gauges are "close" but not 100% accurate. With filled tires you can use a regular pencil style gauge, just wash it out.

And yes, there should be air coming out if the valve stem if its at the top. Too much ballast can cause issues with the tire. There needs to be some air. I was always told 80% ballast / 20% air is good.

Just put the stem at the top and let some ballast out then add air. Keep repeating this until its just air coming out the stem. Don't let too much out at one time or you will drop below the recommended level.

I just fill my tires with water, but I am in Texas (tires don't freeze). I made this video on how I do it if you want to see: Easy Way to Fill Your Tractor Tires with Water - YouTube

toukow · Feb 3, 2021

s219 said:
. ........Some people will instead put some air in the tire, to clear liquid out of the valve........

I had read this tip on the forum and used it a few weeks ago. Worked great.

RalphVa · Feb 5, 2021

Here's a picture of my most favorite air pressure gauge from Harbor Freight.

Just blow it out after measuring a tire with liquid in it.

Ralph

Blue Mule · Feb 8, 2021

So just to update this thread, I ended up jacking up the rear of the tractor while on a level concrete pad outside my garage. Then I moved the valve stems to 12 o' clock, removed the valve stem cores, and let all the excess fluid rush out. This process took 15 minutes or more. I got the fluid level to the point where there is nothing running out of the valve stem at 12 o' clock, but at 11 or 1 fluid starts to trickle out. To me this indicated that the fluid level is at the top of the wheel, but not above the wheel. Then I reinstalled the valve stem cores and inflated the tires to 15 PSI with the stems still at 12 o' clock. I was able to check the pressure with a pencil gauge with no fluid coming out of the valve stem. I got both sides to 15 PSI and then lowered the tractor back to the ground.

Manual calls for 20 PSI but I like a softer ride and better traction. We'll see how it goes. The tires should be somewhere in the ballpark of 60% full of fluid I'm guessing. I think these 43x16.00R20 tires hold 40 gallons @ 75%. So I'm thinking there should still be at least 30 gallons still remaining in each tire.

While the tractor was jacked up, I was surprised at how easy it was to spin the tires by hand. I expected them to feel very heavy with all that fluid in them. Turns out I couldn't tell there was fluid in them at all. This makes me think that the liquid ballast may not rob horsepower nearly as bad as suitcase weights or wheel weights due to how the physics all works. But that's another thread for another time.....