Loaded tires filled with....antifreeze?

[MF243RedTop]

Yeah, once you destroy a rim or two, antifreeze will make more sense to you.

I actually use “old“ antifreeze from a local shop that keeps it separate from oil and transmission fluid because they can’t get them picked up if there is antifreeze mixed with them.

Antifreeze is used commonly down here in the south where we don't have the harsh winters folks up north have...if anything is used at all ..

 

[Smokeydog]

Don’t need as high concentration of ethylene glycol as in engine for tires. Works but is expensive. Old tractors had calcium chloride. Newer have methanol.

Have to use care with any chemical. Mechanics and people are exposed to ethylene glycol without much risk. Pets can be saved if treated promptly. Body breaks it down into methanol and high enough concentration causes cell death in kidneys. Flushing with IV fluids and ethyl alcohol to reduce concentration so it can eliminate it at lower than cell death concentration.

Ethylene glycol is one of the more expensive ingredients in paint. Best killer of rot in wood.

 

[Diesel5000]

Thanks guys. I am familiar with the two types of glycol because of my 30 years working in HVAC. I am also hoping it is P glycol and not E glycol. My worry is that they are using this as a way to dispose of old antifreeze (E type) that they have drained out of tractors during service work.

You know people wouldn’t do that now just for money would they?!

 

[mikennh]

All of my tractors have RimGuard. Earlier I had calcium chloride which over time destroyed my rims

My first tires were filled with calcium chloride.. WHAT were they thinking filling a steel rim with salt water? My tires are now filled with Flat Proof Foam Filled Tires | Polyurethane Tire Fill Never have a flat tire again, and it actually weighs more than rimguard

 

[EdGooding]

My first tires were filled with calcium chloride.. WHAT were they thinking filling a steel rim with salt water? My tires are now filled with Flat Proof Foam Filled Tires | Polyurethane Tire Fill Never have a flat tire again, and it actually weighs more than rimguard

You only filled tubed tires with CaCL, never a tubeless tire. You still have to monitor it around the valve stem - that's where you will typically find a small leak and if you do, you have to deal with it immediately.

 

[wsc9tt]

Wow. 3 pages and I didn't see the real answer. Why do people use saturated salt water in tires? It is cheap, it doesn't freeze, and it is 20% heavier than water/antifreeze/beets.

The whole point here is ballast; the saltwater approach does that job better because it is heavy. But like everything there are trade-offs. It will do damage when (not if) it leaks.

Most places push beet juice because the rimguard company makes it easy and pushes hard. The antifreeze approach would work as well, but use Propylene glycol (windshield fuild/RV antifreeze) and not Ethylene glycol (engine antifreeze).

 

[oosik]

I live in an area where it gets COLD. What I have in my rear tires, for ballast, is important. If I found a dealer using old antifreeze - I'd leave him and his business PRONTO.

My first tractor had salt water in the rear tires. I fought it for 27 years. With my new tractor - I said HELL NO. I have RimGuard in the rear tires.

I would NEVER have any type of vehicle with salt water for ballast - ever again. There are just too many alternatives and they are ALL superior products.

 

[tjandrews]

Our IH 424 had CaCl in it when we bought it, but eventually it messed up the rims. We put windshield washer fluid in them, and have never looked back. Up here you have to be sure to use mid-winter fluid, as it has a lower freezing point, but it's easy to find.
I did the job myself, bought the adapter to go from garden hose to tube, repurposed a 12V pump from a garden tractor sprayer. Bought the fluid at Lowes in the spring, marked down for clearance. Should have seen the look we got from the store minion when we asked if they had 80 gallons of the stuff. (2 13x28 tires, 40 gallons each)
Not a job for the impatient, but the labor was cheap.
The advantage came later when we punctured one tire. We pumped the fluid back out and into a plastic barrel, repaired the tire, and pumped it back in. Lost maybe a quart. Only cost was for the new tube.

 

[joea99]

Thanks guys. I am familiar with the two types of glycol because of my 30 years working in HVAC. I am also hoping it is P glycol and not E glycol. My worry is that they are using this as a way to dispose of old antifreeze (E type) that they have drained out of tractors during service work.

Ask them, see what they say.

You can always ask/tell them to drain it out, You can always replace it, or not, with your own mixture.

 

[Fields_mj]

The 2 local places for me use either windshield washer fluid (water and ethanol) or beat juice. When I got my (used) ag wheels, I had them shipped to the place that used washer fluid. One of those tires finally wore out and when I had a new one mounted, I took it to the other place that installed beat juice. Cost was within $10. I'd go with rim guard/beat juice and be done with it.

 

[BryceSteiner]

I just use maple syrup. That way when I get hungry I just pull over, cook up some pancakes, drain some of the butter from the engine, and have the syrup right with me!

 

[cbern12359]

My tire guy hates Rim Guard. He comments that Rim Guard is so thick and viscous that with a larger tractor it can take most of a day to pump a tire out to repair it and refill it. It is very sticky and difficult to handle for a repair reuse situation. I will have to ask him about using RV antifreeze or other similar materials next time I talk to him.

 

[Blue Mule]

My dealer uses windshield washer fluid. Cheap, easy to fool with, not dangerous, and won't freeze easily.

When my father does them at home he's used antifreeze for decades. Again, cheap, easy to fool with, and won't freeze easily. The risk of a tire puncture leading to a puddle that a pet goes out and drinks before it can seep into the ground is lower than the odds of me winning the lottery.

 

[Mart5130]

The place I am buying my tractor from says that they load the rear tires with antifreeze. Is this okay or should I be telling them no? My last tractor I had tubes installed and had them filled with calcium chloride.

Ask if it’s Rimguard that’s what you want.

 

[jyoutz]

My dealer said they use a "fancy windshield washer fluid" his words. Don't know what that meant but not worried about it. He said they don't use beet juice because it is too messy. I'm in Ohio, if it is too cold for windshield washer fluid, I won't be on my tractor.

There is a newer less messy, but non toxic and non corrosive product called bio-ballast that dealers are using in my area. It also has a low freezing point.

 

[jyoutz]

You only filled tubed tires with CaCL, never a tubeless tire. You still have to monitor it around the valve stem - that's where you will typically find a small leak and if you do, you have to deal with it immediately.

But why deal with it when there are better options?

 

[qualsite]

I've had anti-freeze in my tractor tires for 18 yrs, and no problems. I got it from the truck maintenance shop at the industrial plant I managed that I retired from. For the truck shop, used anti-freeze is a waste product that they have to pay to get rid of, so giving me a drum of used anti-freeze benefited both of us.

 

[Bigfootconcepts]

My dealer says he uses an Ag Lime solution as the tire ballast. Is that going to rot my rims?

 

[howardjohn]

I put glycol (anti freeze) in my tires over calcium mainly because I was afraid of rim rot. I have had them in over 10 years never had a problem.

 

[jyoutz]

My dealer says he uses an Ag Lime solution as the tire ballast. Is that going to rot my rims?

Ask him if that product is calcium carbonate. If so, then yes it will corrode your wheels.