tire volume

pcmem · Oct 8, 2001

This may be a dumb question but I couldn't find it in any
searches. Anyone know or have a chart showing how many
gallons of fluid (water, antifreeze, washer fluid, rim
guard, ect.) it would take to fill a tire to 75%. In
this case say the rear BX turf tires, sized 26x12.00-12?

I've found references to pounds of CaCl to water to make
a specific mix for weight or freeze temp but nothing to
determine how many gallons of volume there are to fill up.
Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Michael

HalseyGreen · Oct 8, 2001

I had the same problem when I decided to fill my tires (John Deere 790 with R4's), took a 5 gallon bucket and compared size to tire, I guessed 30 gallons to fill to 75%, it actually took just over 33 gallons in each tire. Since my lawn tractor has 24x12x12, I'd guess it at round 7 or 8 gallons in each tire, since yours are a little larger, maybe 10 gallons each. You would think that some place here on the web would have the data, I spent 2 weeks about 2 hours a day searching the web to no avail.

Mike_Dumond · Oct 8, 2001

Check out this site. Good info on filling. More is not always better.

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/esb/afmrc/725.html

Keep the greasy side down.
Mike

glennmac · Oct 8, 2001

According to the Goodyear Farm Tire Handbook, which has 75% liquid fill charts for all their farm tires, their 26x12-12 tire, without salt, holds 10 gallons of water at 75% fill. The 10 gallons of water would weigh 83 lbs. without salt. You can mix CaCl at different strengths for lower freezing temperatures, which also gives greater mixture weights. At a mixture strength of 3 1/2 lbs. CaCl per gallon of water, which remains slush free to -12 deg. F, the tire would take 9 gallons of water and 31 lbs of CaCl, for a total weight of 106 lbs. At a mixture strength of 5 lbs per gallon, which remains slush free to -52 deg. F, the tire would take 8 gallons of water and 40 lbs of CaCl, for a total weight of 107 lbs.

You might want to consider Arnco Superflex foam fill, which would permanently flatproof the tire and add 144 lbs per tire, according to the Arnco charts. This would add the most weight, which the BX needs for ground engaging chores, would make a stable tractor even more stable, would give 288 lbs of intrinsic rear weight for fel chores, obviating the need for a rear counterweight for everything except the heaviest lifting work, and would be reasonably affordable given the low volume capacity of the BX tires. It also avoids the issue of salt corrosion and poisoning pets. You may want to consider Superflexing the front tires, too, for flatproofing and rear mower counterweighting.

JATO_RaT · Oct 8, 2001

I don't like the lack of traction with foam filled tires. SkidSteers with foamed tires have horrible traction. A friend/farmer of mine foamed his front tires on a Ford orchard tractor with 4WD. The brand new tires had a fraction of the traction of the old worn tires he replaced. For flat work, the traction may not be an issue and foaming definitely has some very good applications. Perhaps to the Arnco Superflex is better then what he used, Rat...

glennmac · Oct 9, 2001

I dont understand why foam would affect traction. It doesnt change the tread pattern. It adds the most weight of any tire fill, and weight will inherently increase traction. It doesnt affect the air pressure, except to keep it absolutely stable. In the Arnco process you air the tire to its proper load inflation, and then after the rubber cures, the tire permanently stays at that inflation. (So pressurize it properly; ie, not overinflated like most tractor tires.) As to "cushion", Arnco claims the deflection characteristics of the Superflex fill (as opposed to the higher durometer foam fills fills on larger machine tires) is equivalent to air-filled tires. Their site shows graphs on this. Finally, they claim that foam fill makes tires last 2 to 5 times longer than unfilled tires. Arnco is a patented process and, yes, there are other cheaper processes available that ride very stiff.

pcmem · Oct 9, 2001

Thanks for the info guys. I too searched all over, including the Goodyear site but I suspect their online guide
is not as complete as their actual book./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Thanks Glennmac for looking that up for me. Your suggestion for the foam fill sounds like just the ticket for the BX. I was trying to find some info on the new Rim Guard product but I'll have to see if I can find a dealer in the area for Arnco. If the
Superflex works as advertized and has the same flex as air then the only downside would be the cost but if the tire life is extended it would be worth it in the long run (and
that fits my plans for the BX /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif ).

Thanks,
Michael

pcmem · Oct 9, 2001

Regarding the thought of foaming the front tires as well.... I can see the usefullness of this but note that the manual says <font color=red>not to liquid fill</font color=red> the front tires. I suspect this is due to wear on the MWFD components but since
the foam would be solid of sorts I think that would work ok.
This too requires more research.

Thanks,
Michael

pcmem · Oct 9, 2001

FYI

http://www.arnconet.com/products/flatindex.html

is (hopefull) a hyperlink to the Arnco company's website.

Michael

accordionman · Oct 9, 2001

i visited the website for the foam filled tires, however i could not find any
price information. does anybody know how much this cost to fill the tires?
also do they have dealers around the country that does this? i have never
heard of this process.
accordionman
william l. brown