Ballast Filling rear tires

[Hootie]

I did this yesterday on the L5030 using a gallon of antifreeze per tire and water. Made a substantial difference, cannot believe I waited so long to do this. I got several opinions on how to get the antifreeze in the tires and finally used my little pump sprayer, worked great. The BX 2200 is next.

 

[RFB]

Can you explain the "substantial difference", as well as your method for filling them. I have been debating the concept, and your post is timely.

Thanks

 

[fign1955]

I just did the same thing over the weekend with my B3030 and LA403 loader, and experienced the same "substantial difference" with filled tires. I have been moving approximately 400 yards of decomposed granite, of the type used for making roadbeds, and did about one third of the job without filled tires. My only rear weight was a Gearmore box scraper with 250 lbs. of suitcase weights added to it. It still felt light and unstable in the rear end with the bucket full, which was eliminated when I filled the tires. Of course, here in Southern CA we only have to use water, but I definitely recommend it to everyone for better stability and overall handling. This also greatly decreased rear wheel spin (R4 tires) when picking up the load. The increased traction gave me a lot better productivity this weekend, and I'm about 80 % done now.

 

[Goog]

What exactly are the steps and how full do you fill them? Thanks, Brian

 

[redharley]

Here in Pa. I think most people use window washer solvent,It's alot less expensive and you don't have the mess as with antifreeze.No eviromental problems either.You can fill them about 1/2 to3/4 full.Search the post here and you will find lots of info on how to do it. Gotta go Lookin for Snow

 

[fign1955]

Brian,
The dealer and the owner's manual both recommend filling them to just below the valve stem in the 12 o'clock position, then pressurizing to the recommended spec. for your tractor/tire combination, which in my case is 20 psi. The dealer gave me the adapter to fill them as they had overlooked doing it at time of purchase and it was more convenient for me to do it myself than take the tractor in for that. It took me about half an hour to complete both sides.

 

[Nick6930]

Hey just as a heads up, filling the tires with antifreeze (non pet friendly) can be a problem if you have dogs and other pets. It is very likely the antifreeze will leak out via valve stem or nail in the tire. Pets love the sweet taste of antifreeze and it is lethal to them. In most cases you don't even know they got into it until they show signs of problems a couple of days later and in most cases the kidneys are already too far gone.

 

[fign1955]

Nick:

That's a great point, everyone should appreciate the safety tip, and in this case, maybe saving the life of your favorite pet. There are quite a few areas of the country, such as where I'm at, which do not require anything except water. In these areas, it's best to stick with just water, and much easier too, especially when a tire has to come off the rim!

 

[john_bud]

HI,

Here are some other ideas of what to fill your tires with.

1) Water - will freezed and can rust out
2) Water/antifreeze - won't freeze less likely to rust - can be pet unfriendly.
3) Water CaCl2 - won't freeze - about 50% more weight than water alone - will rust out your rims.
4) Windshield washer fluid - won't freeze, less likely to rust than pure water - lighter than pure water
5) Rim Guard or "Beet Juice" - google it - heavier than CaCl2, won't freeze - pet friendly -- price ?
6) Polyurethane foam fill - solid, can be bought from soft to hard- heavier than water - can't leak - cant rust - whoa momma! $$$ Spendy.

People rave about the rim guard, wasn't around last time I filled a tire. Mine have washer fluid.

jb

 

[lsenus]

NAPA sells an adapter that you can use to put fluid in throught the valve stem. It even has a built-in "burp button" to bleed off the air as the tube fills.

The part you are looking for is NTH90234
It is labeled Tire Inflator Adapter - Air / Liquid Filling Pump.
On the botton of the pack it reads NAPA Tire Hardware.