Loading tires with Propylene Glycol

[IslandTractor]

Free pro/glycol is just a good idea.. IE..less toxic effects on animals. Plenty of logic in that.. If you don't agree.. post why you think you should use the poisonus kind vs the free non poisonus kind he is getting?????

I never commented ont he de-ionized water..

the nitrogen charge.. that's a take or leave.. if it's free.. might as well take.

soundguy

I don't think I ever advocated ethylene glycol if that is what you are referring to as the poisonous kind. I agree that is bad stuff as it has a sweet taste and animals might ingest it if it leaks. The alternative I would use (if I had to pay) would be simple windshield washer fluid (-20). Propylene glycol is great as a freebie but it is more expensive to buy than WWF and has no particular advantage I can see. I don't think methanol is what you are referring to when you mention toxicity but in any case it seems pretty minimal unless ingested. I'm not aware that anyone thinks it does environmental damage when/if it leaks. It would also tend to penetrate the ground like water and disappear more quickly than the more viscous ethylene glycol.

 

[Soundguy]

I don't think I ever advocated ethylene glycol if that is what you are referring to as the poisonous kind. I agree that is bad stuff as it has a sweet taste and animals might ingest it if it leaks. The alternative I would use (if I had to pay) would be simple windshield washer fluid (-20). Propylene glycol is great as a freebie but it is more expensive to buy than WWF and has no particular advantage I can see. I don't think methanol is what you are referring to when you mention toxicity but in any case it seems pretty minimal unless ingested. I'm not aware that anyone thinks it does environmental damage when/if it leaks. It would also tend to penetrate the ground like water and disappear more quickly than the more viscous ethylene glycol.

I thought you were saying to not use the free prop/glyc, vs buying the other.. and I couldn't figure out why you would want to buy something else, vs using free.. and if you did buy, that ethyl/glyc would be a bad choice, vs WW fluid.. which isn' t particularly a bad choice.. but it is not free.

As for logic.. I'm trying to figure out why it's logical to not use the free stuff.. vs buying anything else?

Soundguy

 

[IslandTractor]

As for logic.. I'm trying to figure out why it's logical to not use the free stuff.. vs buying anything else?

Soundguy

Agree that if it is free it's a no brainer. The original poster has it for free. The rest of the comments only apply to the rest of us who need to go buy the stuff. WWF costs less than PG to provide antifreeze protection.

 

[Harry c]

Just a little note of irony here.., Many seem to agonize over using anything different than the manufacturer's recommended oil viscosity, hydraulic fluid,on,on. My Kubota manual says Calcium Chloride in the tires! Use whatever you want. Goes for oil, hyd fluid, antifreeze, fuel or whatever else goes in your tractor.

 

[fonman_4859]

One reason for using nitrogen is that it will not allow rust to form as "air" will. The telephone companies use it to run air tools on their construction and repair trucks because they don't have to worry about the tools going bad from rust. It also makes the tires run cooler. And if its free why not use it. Just my opinion.

 

[IslandTractor]

One reason for using nitrogen is that it will not allow rust to form as "air" will. The telephone companies use it to run air tools on their construction and repair trucks because they don't have to worry about the tools going bad from rust. It also makes the tires run cooler. And if its free why not use it. Just my opinion.

In a fluid loaded tire (to 75% of volume being fluid) there is barely any oxygen available to form rust anyway. I don't disagree with the principle that nitrogen would be an advantage but in practice it is a trivial difference and certainly not worth the hassle of taking your tractor to a nitrogen source.

Since when have tractor tires been overheating? That might well be an issue with NASCAR tractors but for the average CUT that is simply a non issue.

Theory is fine but in practice this nitrogen thing as applied to tractors just seem silly.

 

[larso1]

At 20 psi average tire (gage) pressure, that's about 35 psi absolute pressure. So, that being 2 1/2 x std. atmospheric pressure/air (and oxygen)density....might make a difference in its "rustability"?

 

[IslandTractor]

That is still, in absolute terms, very little oxygen available for purposes of oxidization.

 

[larso1]

How much oxygen? How much does it take to initiate corrosion? Do you know? Pure speculation on my part and yours. But I'm not curious enough to research it.

 

[IslandTractor]

Pure speculation? Maybe on your part. I would say that the many years experience with WWF and RimGuard etc in tires/wheels with compressed air that do not result in rusting would be pretty convincing evidence that the amount of oxygen in a sealed tire is trivial with regard to rust potential. Additionally, it is pretty well documented that even highly corrosive fluids such as CaCl do not rust wheels so long as the only oxygen is that contained in the sealed tire. People report wheels rusting near the rubber valve insert which is a source of leakage and therefore exposure to the more than adequate oxygen outside the tire. The major tire companies talk about being careful to rinse wheels quickly once exposed to air. None of them that I can find suggest using nitrogen to fill loaded tractor tires. Have I seen these points written up in an engineering journal...no. But try to find some evidence to the contrary.

This business of speculating on nitrogen for filling tractor tires is indeed just that...speculation. There is not a shred of evidence or experience that anyone has brought to the discussion suggesting it is a prudent thing to consider doing. NASCAR has good reasons to use nitrogen related to tire temperature. Maybe with compressed "air" tools that do not have adequate water filtration it might make sense to use nitrogen given the amount of air that goes through the tools each day. But to fill tractor tires....please, give me evidence to support the suggestion.