New measurement method for liquid ballast tire fill percentage

[RickB]

Maybe, if you’re technology challenged. But I’ll bet you wasted more time on that last post, than I spent snapping those two photos with this small handheld thermal camera.

But only one of us cares.

 

[ovrszd]

Maybe, if youæ±*e technology challenged. But I値l bet you wasted more time on that last post, than I spent snapping those two photos with this small handheld thermal camera.

Yeah but how long have you spent trying to decide what to load your tires with, or whether to load them at all???

 

[Henro]

I guess I am missing something. But why not just put the valve stem to the 12 o'clock position and fill to that point?

That is about 75% more or less.

Guess there may be reasons to do less, but none in my neck of the woods...

 

[Gregster613]

Henro, That's how I filled mine....but whenever I try to check the air pressure of tire (having valve stem at 12:00 again) I get nothing but water out of the stem? Ruined a gauge or two before I realized it. Still at 12:00 and try to release air to clear out water and no luck, Only air/water continues to come out valve stem. Does water expand? I'm sure I stopped filling once the water reached the valve stem and began to come out. I figured that would give me about a 25% area for air and 75% weight to tire. But I never truly know how much air is in the tires as I cannot check them. Should only need 10 or 12 lbs but would be nice to be able to check without draining water back out. Am I missing something here? Thanks, Greg

 

[RickB]

Jack the tire off the ground before you try to drain the liquid down to valve level.

 

[Gregster613]

Rick, Ahhh...why didn't I think of that "simple" solution!!! Thanks for the "Great" simple suggestion!!! Now that I think far back as to filling them, I did have each tire jacked up when filling. Dah...on me! Thanks.

 

[PILOON]

LOL, I just verified my invoice and the tire shop swears that they filled to 75% and I don't care to verify unless I flip my tractor.

 

[otlski]

Yet another great use for a FLIR camera; seeing other people痴 new applications helps me envision other uses. Sometimes it is simply about continuous learning.

 

[mikester]

I was able to find a cheaper way to do the same thing:

View attachment 638133

Works for my propane tank too...too bad its weather dependent

 

[groundcover]

Throw that propane tank on the grill for a few minutes to warm it up Mikester !

 

[chevy]

I was able to find a cheaper way to do the same thing:

View attachment 638133

That is how I tell how much fuel is in my diesel fuel storage tank.

 

[CADplans]

I was able to find a cheaper way to do the same thing:

View attachment 638133

If you want to use this method in the summer,
spray the tire with the water from a garden hose, and wait a few minutes,,
the empty part of the tire will dry at a different rate than the filled part,,
showing how much ballast is in the tire, :thumbsup:

 

[WinterDeere]

I guess I am missing something. But why not just put the valve stem to the 12 o'clock position and fill to that point?

This particular machine is used for a lot of lawn care tasks, on a lawn that is very well-kept. Deere spec’s close to 1000 lb. in the rear tires for this loader on this machine, in addition to another 1100 lb. on the 3-point, but I just didn’t want that amount of weight permanently mounted for all of the non-loader lawn care tasks I do with this machine. But I needed a little weight in the rear, even when not carrying the ballast box, as this machine couldn’t even make it up a small hill without shifting to 4wd with an empty loader bucket. Hence the 400’ish lb. that a 50% fill would give me.

I can load up with enough weight on the 3-point to provide the stability I need, on those few occasions when I’m using the loader near maximum capacity, but keep the weight lower for all of the jobs I do more frequently. That was the idea, anyway.

 

[WinterDeere]

But only one of us cares.

Then why are you spending your time trolling this thread? It’s not as if you’ve added anything useful to it.

 

[ovrszd]

Then why are you spending your time trolling this thread? It’s not as if you’ve added anything useful to it.

I've never considered Rick a troll. I consider him very intelligent, logical and decisive. His offering to this thread sounds very useful

 

[FTG-05]

if you have access any thermal imaging camera, and want to know how much liquid ballast your tires contain, all you need to do is move the machine (or your liquid tank, if doing a fresh fill) from one temperature extreme to another, and wait a few minutes for the air-filled part of the tire to change temperature. In this case, I moved the tractor from a warm shop to 16F outdoors, and waited 20 minutes. You can see my dealer got my tires filled pretty close to the 50% (400 lb) I requested:

View attachment 638129View attachment 638130

Which thermal camera did you use? Cost?

 

[Tx Jim]

I've never considered Rick a troll. I consider him very intelligent, logical and decisive. His offering to this thread sounds very useful

Ditto RickB is a very knowledgeable contributor of knowledge to this forum. Very far from a troll.

 

[WinterDeere]

Which thermal camera did you use? Cost?

It's an old FLIR, purchased more than 10 years ago, I am sure they don't make that particular model anymore. I think I paid about $11k for it at the time, but they're much cheaper now. I am told you can rent them by the hour at Lowes Depot today, but I never checked on that myself, since I have several at work.

This really isn't a practical thing, if you don't already have access to the camera. But since there are tens of thousands of these cameras in the hands of everyone from scientists to mechanics to insulation contractors, I figured it would be useful to enough readers of this forum.

edit: I just checked the flir.com site, and see they now sell one as cheap as $399, which might actually find use among homeowners for various purposes, including insulation analysis. FLIR ONE Pro Thermal Imaging Camera for Smartphones | FLIR Systems

I've never considered Rick a troll. I consider him very intelligent, logical and decisive. His offering to this thread sounds very useful

In that case, I apologize, Rick. My only experience with you is your three responses to this thread:

But only one of us cares.

I have never cared enough to be more accurate than that. Life is too short.

Are the tires on that tractor loaded properly? Yes or no and move on.
But to each his own.

Maybe I just caught you in a bad mood. Either way, sorry for accusing you of trolling.

 

[ovrszd]

It's my belief that this boils down to a "new" experience or a "tried and true" experience.

First, the tires only need to be tested once. After that you know what's in them until they are dumped.

Second, buy a device to check the tires which requires education, setup, use, or just slap the tire.

User's choice.

 

[RickB]

It's an old FLIR, purchased more than 10 years ago, I am sure they don't make that particular model anymore. I think I paid about $11k for it at the time, but they're much cheaper now. I am told you can rent them by the hour at Lowes Depot today, but I never checked on that myself, since I have several at work.

This really isn't a practical thing, if you don't already have access to the camera. But since there are tens of thousands of these cameras in the hands of everyone from scientists to mechanics to insulation contractors, I figured it would be useful to enough readers of this forum.

edit: I just checked the flir.com site, and see they now sell one as cheap as $399, which might actually find use among homeowners for various purposes, including insulation analysis. FLIR ONE Pro Thermal Imaging Camera for Smartphones | FLIR Systems


In that case, I apologize, Rick. My only experience with you is your three responses to this thread:







Maybe I just caught you in a bad mood. Either way, sorry for accusing you of trolling.

Your apology is accepted and I offer mine for being less than helpful here. The responses I made here that you chose not to quote speak more accurately to what I was attempting to convey.