Tipping a tractor

[W5FL]

Guess Guy was as close as you are going to get.

Jack up the wheel, put valve stem at top, bleed off pressure, remove valve stem, put vinyl tubing over stem, put end of tubing in bucket, rotate tire until bucket is full. Bring a book to read. Dispose of fluid properly. I would really be surprised if you can tell any difference in compaction on the lawn with or without, however, the stability is much better with the water. I would prefer wheel weights, but the weights for my tractor run over $1000, and the water looks better now. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Del - Wen described the process in considerable detail, including the book, even! If you keep the stem at the bottom, you'll get almost all of it out.

Usually, when the tire is deflated, if it has a tube in it, you can push the stem back into the wheel, whereas, if it's tubeless, you can't push it back in.

Mark

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Wen, thanks for the tips. I'm not so concerned about ground compaction as tractor sinking into ground, and having or not having the ability to get it out with the Jeep, it will be alone at the other property. Adding a permanent 200 pounds to a 1300 pound tractor seems a bit steep. For all I know it has calcium inside it rotting away the wheels without a tube. Not to mention the fact that with turfs and chance of a flat I'd have to pay $$$ everytime I have to deal with these tires. The turfs are pretty soft. I would think they'd have a better chance of not puncturing with low air pressure and NO fluid in them.

As for ballast I seem to remember seeing a wheel weight setup on a tractor at a farm show some years ago, the weights were put on and then something was shoved over stud like a quick release hydraulic coupling, no wrenches required to change weights. Does anyone know what I could have been looking at? (Should have paid more attention!)

thanks again.

Del at
[email]oldcarparts@mygarage.com [/email]

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Is there a way to tell what is in it if I drain a little out? Automotive antifreeze used to be always green, now the long term (GM) looks red, just like the RV non toxic antifreeze. I guess I could see if my Chevy Truck and my RV "house" antifreeze have different smells! What does the calcium chloride mix look like? I'm assuming that if it has the CC mix and no tube I'd have to still strip off the tire to clean it out to prevent corrosion of the wheel. If I could drain it though, it would at least be easier to deal with taking to the tire store.

I hope to God these things don't have 15 gallons of toxic antifreeze in them.

 

[W5FL]

Ask the dealer what he put in them and let him clean them out. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I would probably use a hygrometer and see what the Specific Gravity of the fluid was. If pretty close to 1.0, it is water or water/antifreeze. Most antifreeze solutions also feel slick. Water a cheap pot plant with it. If it dies, it is calcium chloride. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Put a little in the freeze. If it freezes, it probably was not satisfactory for your climate anyway. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Remember to protect the solution from kids and pets. If antifreeze, it tastes real sweet and is deadly - crystalize in the kidneys. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Del - You could ask the dealer; if he put it in there, he ought to know what it is.

Calcium chloride is always white, as far as I know, but it's very obvious because it's thicker than water. Antifreeze has that "sickly sweet" smell to it. Methanol has an obvious "gassy" smell to it.

Mark

 

[Mike H]

Like much of what I've noticed lately, there may (still?) be a regional flavor to the ballast issue. I know that my TC was filled w/ CaCl2 but what might be significant is that as I was finalizing my decision on what tractor to by, every dealer (NH, Kubota, Deere) recommended the CaCl2. I hope that if the rims do end up w/ a problem, it shows up during the warranty period! And I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I don't know if the tires were tubed. I'll be real embarrassed if the rims corrode out of warranty because you guys certainly warned me via this board!

 

[jyoutz]

Del, if you go to the Compact Tractor Board, there's a link to a site called Mike's Kubota Homepage (or something like that). It has photos and a description on how to make a really simple set of removeable wheel weights using iron weightlifting doughnut weights. Seemed fairly cheap and easy to do. I am thinking about making some of these when I get the time.

 

[roysallis]

pdxman,
You may want to invest in a tiltmeter. I just ordered mine yesterday. Rick, at R&B Mfg. called me after I sent an email and was very helpful in making my decision on which model to buy. The web site is http://www.tiltmeter.com

 

[MJB]

Del.. If your tractor has calcium cloride in the wheels it would have to have tubes or your rims would already be see through. To say that the calcuim is corrosive is an extreme understatement. I know a guy who runs a tire shop and regularly sevices tractor tires. He used to drain the calcium into a steel 55 gallon drum while he fixed the tire and then pumped it back in to the wheel. He said that the drums would not last more than a few weeks before they were rusted through even if he rinsed them out between uses./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif He now has a few plastic drums to hold the calcium. I would never use calcium for weight because of this. If you get even the slightest leak in your tires with calcium in them you have to get it fixed like NOW or you will also be buying a new wheel rim. I would personally prefer to use wheel weights or non toxic anti-freeze for weight. It sure makes it easier to sleep at night. Good Luck MJB