Liquid in tires

[cat fever]

Having used my tractor for years without the rears being filled, then getting them filled (Rim Guard) I would not hesitate to fill them. Best thing I ever did along with bucket hooks and a Piranha tooth bar.

 

[ScottHam]

Is your Deere 5055e equipped with a Front End Loader?

If you are concerned with the stability of your tractor, first consider spreading the rear wheels farther apart. Then consider filling your rear tires 50% with liquid to lower the tractor's center-of-gravity.

If your Deere 5055e is 2-WD you may have very limited braking going downhill, as tractors only have brakes on the rear wheels. Going downhill tractor weight shifts to the front wheels, so rear wheels are only in light contact with the ground.

If your Deere 5055e is 4-WD, and 4-WD is engaged, you will have something resembling four wheel braking.

If your tractor is barn stored when not in use it is unlikely water will freeze in your tires. However, you may wish to add some windshield washer fluid, which contains alcohol, to the tire fill liquid to lower the freezing point two or three degrees. You know your Texas winter weather better than I.

Your recommendation re: 50% filled with water to keep the center of gravity lower makes a lot of sense to me. I have heard others indicate that the water should be filled above the rim level to prevent rust, but I'm not convinced that rusting out rims due to water-filled tires is a significant issue that outweighs the stability gained via your 50% suggestion. I appreciate any thoughts you have regarding this. Thanks.

 

[M59]

Your recommendation re: 50% filled with water to keep the center of gravity lower makes a lot of sense to me. I have heard others indicate that the water should be filled above the rim level to prevent rust, but I'm not convinced that rusting out rims due to water-filled tires is a significant issue that outweighs the stability gained via your 50% suggestion. I appreciate any thoughts you have regarding this. Thanks.

ScottHam,

Standard practice is orient the valve stem at top of tire. Fill tire with ballast until liquid has reached valve stem stem level. Fill remainder of tire with air to proper OEM indicated air pressure.

When checking tire for proper air pressure, place valve stem at high point and use pressure gauge.

My personal preference is RimGard of all the ways to add liquid tire ballast since it has the highest specific gravity, is non corrosive, and doesn't kill animals or poison the ground if it leaks out of tire. I can also add more weight, on my M59, per tire with RimGard ( 589 Lbs ) than I can per Kubota's allowance of 3 weights per tire for total of 317 Lbs and Wholegoods cost of $507 for weight set per tire.

It also cost me nothing to add since it was part of the tractor when I bought it used.

Putting liquid in tires and hanging weights on the rim is a tossup and your choice is matter of cost. Weights

 

[M59]

fusel oils. They are two carbon alcohols formed when distilling and are eliminated by filtering the liquor through charcoal.

Raul-02,

All alcohols contain carbon. Ethyl is C₂H₆O. Methyl, the stuff you don't want and is in window washer fluid, is CH₃OH.

Better to divert the heads and tails than try to filter them out with activated charcoal due to load up and pass thru.

 

[M59]

Are you certain it isn’t actually a molasses? De-sugared extract of the beet pulp, sure sounds like Molasses to me.

jigs_n_fixtures,

Yes, essentially it is molasses but it probably has more of the sugar beet slurry it in than molasses.

I leave the cookin and kitchen stuff to the wife so I never really thought of RimGard as mollasses.

 

[John_Mc]

450 pounds of ballast windshield washer fluid at $1 per gallon would cost 450 lbs/8.5 lbs/gal = 53 gallons, or about $53 per tire. I think that is much cheaper than the Beet Juice product. Dan C.

Straight water is 8.3 lbs/gal. Straight methanol is 6.6 lbs/gal. Windshield washer fluid is a mix of water and methanol and generally weighs about 7.6 lbs/gallon

Some tire places will not work on tires filled with methanol.

 

[Raul-02]

All alcohols contain carbon.

I said two carbon alcohols.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

What is "barda grease"?

That the little bit you have to filter off. That is what causes poisoning, blindness, and cripples you.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Straight water is 8.3 lbs/gal. Straight methanol is 6.6 lbs/gal. Windshield washer fluid is a mix of water and methanol and generally weighs about 7.6 lbs/gallon

Some tire places will not work on tires filled with methanol.

Why would you tell them. Just say you have a flat.

 

[LouNY]

Depends on which formulation you get. Here in Onondaga County the -20 degree mid-winter stuff might freeze as a thin layer on a cold windshield, but if the washer sprayed it it didn't freeze in the reservoir, and it won't be freezing inside a tire. I'm not sure my old IH 424 would start if it got cold enough to freeze the fluid in the tires, anyway.

About the same temps here but I've had the lines freeze with the blue stuff in the system well before -20, I don't think it had even gotten to zero.
Now I do know that some of the blue stuff does list a lower freeze point then others that don't even list a freeze point.
Myself I use the Preston De-icer fluid in the winter and it will still skim ice a windshield at times.
And I wouldn't put any of them in my tires.