Filling tires with ballast at home.

[Crank Shaft]

This horse was beat to death decades ago. It's been shown over countless years and examples, that tractors can carry very substantial weight in their tires, with little or no impact on wear or failure of the running gear.


... the same torque to which those components would be subjected, whenever not on a slippery surface? Those components were already sized and selected to handle the maximum torque your machine can deliver.

And I totally agree with you if we are talking about well built tractors. I am not sure they same would apply to a tractor made in China or Russia, especially the older ones.

 

[WinterDeere]

And I totally agree with you if we are talking about well built tractors. I am not sure they same would apply to a tractor made in China or Russia, especially the older ones.

Fair enough. We could say adding ballast will help to reveal the deficiencies in a bad design.

Another reason to buy Deere, Kubota, Massey, Case...

 

[hayden]

I also just used a drill pump and WW fluid and bought a burp valve

View attachment 4239756. Worked great.

How much fluid burped out each time? That's what I wanted to contain, but maybe I was overly concerned about it.

 

[hayden]

Does ballast affect the handling of the tractor?

I definitely feel the weight, and it improves stability significantly. It's hard for me to say regarding ride since I've always had filled tires, so it's difficult to compare.

 

[hayden]

I am pretty sure that post was the answer that was given by AI, which doesn't surprise me. Some things AI just can't figure out. While there is a certain amount of added load to the bearings, it is so small that it isn't even considered. Now hang that same amount of weight on the pto or the front bumper and that will make a serious difference!
David from jax

I agree. What makes a difference is where the weight is added. But I think most/all tractor manufacturers require ballast if you have a loader. i think a lot of people ignore it, but it's there required, so presumably doesn't harm the tractor. Just for context, I'm supposed to have 2000 lbs in the wheels, and another 3300 on the 3PH to be fully ballasted as required by Deere for my tractor and loader.

 

[hayden]

When I wanted to fill the tires on my tractor, I just took the tire off the tractor, laid it on its side and broke the bead on the top. Then I just poured the fluid in from the jug by making a small gap between the tire and the rim. Trying to pump gallons of fluid into the tire through the tiny valve stem just seemed like a huge waste of time.

That's fine if the tire is small enough to handle once full. Mine are about 2500 lbs each.

 

[hayden]

The tractor manufacturer info I have seen all calls for filling to 75%. And if you google, there are plenty of charts that will tell you what the 75% volume is for various size tires. This apparently corresponds to the level of the valve at the 12 o'clock position, or close enough. Charts said mine are between 100 and 110 gal each. I put in 82.5 because that's how it worked out with three drums of antifreeze. Plus I like to only draw air with the valve at 12 o'clock. It's easier on me and on my tire gauges.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Something I just found out about RV anti freeze which I assume is the same as plumbing anti freeze just different description?
There are two different types, for plastic pipes only and for metal and plastic. The plastic only is corrosive to metal. I was wondering why the almost 50% more in cost for different brands until I noticed the description on one that noted "For plastic pipes only" I thought wth ohhhh crap.
Sure enough, it's what I use to winterize my pressure washer once I blow the water out of it. I just opened a new jug month or so ago and poured some thru the pump and I have a clear hose on the outlet so I can see the pump is full.I went out and looked, sure 'nuff the inch or so of fluid in the clear hose had turned brown with rust.
View attachment 4239957 View attachment 4239980


View attachment 4239981 View attachment 4239982

Ya, you definitely want the stuff with the rust inhibitors, which is the only reason I added some in with the WWF.

 

[Crank Shaft]

How much fluid burped out each time? That's what I wanted to contain, but maybe I was overly concerned about it.

Almost nothing for me. I shut the pump off, hit the burp valve and maybe lost half a teaspoon with each burp. You can see the burp valve button right next to the valve stem in the attached photo.

 

[Hay Dude]

Here's another example of filling tires with liquid ballast at home. I wanted to do this at home mostly because taking the tractor (or even just the wheels) to a shop to have them fill them is expensive and time consuming. Spoiler alert - I was able to fill them at home in about 3 hrs which is less than my drive time to the closest tire dealer.

First was the selection of the ballast liquid. I considered three alternatives, all of which cost about the same $$/lb for the material:

- Beet juice, which I have in my other tractor. But it's just too messy, and I couldn't find a source to buy it for home installation. It's a little heavier per gal, so more total weight, but not enough to overcome the down sides.

- Windshield washer fluid: In small quantities, this is inexpensive ($1/gal),But buying 165 gal jugs is just not practical. In 55 gal drums the cost is more like $4 per gal, the same at beet juice or RV antifreeze. Also, windshield washer fluid is toxic, and I really want something that is non toxic. Weight is the same as water.

- RV antifreeze: Weight is the same as water, and it's non toxic, so this worked the best for me. I bought 3 55 gal drums from NAPA in a fall sale.

Next is the pump/transfer setup. I started with one of the readily available adapters to connect a garden hose to a tire valve. But after that I did things a bit differently. I didn't want to use the little push button valve on the adapter to bleed out air because some amount of liquid would also come out and make a mess. I also wanted to be able to monitor the pressure in the tire so I'd know when to stop pumping and let some air out. The result was this assembly of hose fittings. The branch and hose that goes to the tire adapter is also connected to the pressure gauge to monitor tire pressure. Then there are two hose connections with valves. One is liquid coming from the pump, and the other is a drain back to the drum. To fill, you close the drain valve and open the pump valve. Then after 10-15 minutes, close the pump valve and open the drain valve. That lets the air our of the tire, and any fluid pushed out just goes right back into the drum.

This also allowed the connection to the tire to just be a single hose so there isn't a lot of weight hanging off the valve. It also moves all the controls for filling and bleeding to a comfortable location rather than crammed between the wheel and rear end of the tractor.

For a suction pickup in the drum, I cobbled together a piece of copper tube and fittings to a hose that connects to the pump.

Then it was just a matter of sitting around while running the pump, and pausing to occasionally bleed out the air.

You also need to jack up the tractor to take the weight of the machine, then let all the air out of the tire. Then fill it, and top off with air to the final operating pressure. I put 82.5 gal in each tire, which is 680 lbs per wheel. Total time about 3 hrs.

Other than the tire valve adapter, I had all this stuff lying around, so my cost was just the cost of the antifreeze, and my time.

Hope it works out for you. I never liked filling tires with liquid.
It works in terms of improving stability and traction, but it can be a real mess when the poop hits the fan.