Tire ballast

[cridertj]

I am putting new tires on my 55 ferguson. I was told the tires should take around 30 to 35 gal ballast. Because I lost some fluid witch i think is calcium i only was able to save about 17 or 18 gal on the leaking tire . I have no way to haul it to get it toped off when I am done so do you think it would be ok to top off with washer fluid or antifreeze and water ?

 

[rustred]

not enough info here. u have to know if it is indeed calcium. you cant be mixing all kind of concoctions. and if the calcium is strong it can be topped off with water. plus your climate temperatures plays a factor also. taste it... if its salty it calcium. be careful on the taste test.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Certain brands of ice melt pellets are calcium chloride. Just read the label before you buy. Now's a good time to get it because some places are putting it on clearance to make way for the spring items.

From what I can tell you mix it up just shy of 1/2lb of calcium chloride to water. Google says .434lbs of calcium chloride per gallon of water is a saturated solution, but also says a gallon of saturated calcium chloride tire ballast weighs 11.3lbs, but water only weighs 8.34lbs per gallon... 8.34 + .434 != 11.3, so color me confused. In my mind, you'd need to add almost 3lbs of calcium chloride to a gallon of water.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

not enough info here. u have to know if it is indeed calcium. you cant be mixing all kind of concoctions. and if the calcium is strong it can be topped off with water. plus your climate temperatures plays a factor also. taste it... if its salty it calcium. be careful on the taste test.

I agree. It is perfectly safe to wet your fingertip and touch it to your tongue. It is not like you're drinking a gallon of it.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I am putting new tires on my 55 ferguson. I was told the tires should take around 30 to 35 gal ballast. Because I lost some fluid witch i think is calcium i only was able to save about 17 or 18 gal on the leaking tire . I have no way to haul it to get it toped off when I am done so do you think it would be ok to top off with washer fluid or antifreeze and water ?

My tractor tire place uses washer fluid. I would use a loader to put the tires in my truck and haul them to a tire shop.
30 gallons at 8 pounds/gallon = about 240 #.
I've thought about making wheel weights out of concrete. Never did. Used wheel weights average over a $1 a pound.
I made a 900 pound rear ballast out of part of a 55 gallon drum and concrete for my Kubota
Also made a 1200 pound ballast for my neighbour out of 55 gallon drum and concrete. He needed rear ballast to move hay in his muddy lot.

I made a 600 pound ballast for my terramite. And sometimes I use a log to lift a log onto my dump trailer.
I used plastic Barbie Jeep wheels to make the terramite ballast at 150# each.
If you have a loader, my money is on rear ballast vs wheel weights.
If you just want traction tire ballast is the cheapest way to go.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Certain brands of ice melt pellets are calcium chloride. Just read the label before you buy. Now's a good time to get it because some places are putting it on clearance to make way for the spring items.

From what I can tell you mix it up just shy of 1/2lb of calcium chloride to water. Google says .434lbs of calcium chloride per gallon of water is a saturated solution, but also says a gallon of saturated calcium chloride tire ballast weighs 11.3lbs, but water only weighs 8.34lbs per gallon... 8.34 + .434 != 11.3, so color me confused. In my mind, you'd need to add almost 3lbs of calcium chloride to a gallon of water.

We use to mix three bags (150#) in a barrel of water. (Probably about 50 gal) That would get you right close to the 11.3 pounds total weight per gallon of mix. I have a chart here in a JD notebook from 1987 which shows two mixes. One is 2# per gallon, the other is 3.5# per gallon.

 

[cridertj]

OK thanks for the advice . I guess since I am farly certain it is calcium just going by looks . Don't think I will try to taste it . Probably been in there several years now . I will just have to see what my local Tire shop uses and would do . It gets plenty cold here in indiana some winters . This one is one of them so I don't want to mess any thing up. Thanks for the advice.

 

[ss55]

There are many tire ballast charts available. Most use 3.5 or 5.0 pounds of CaCL2 per gallon of water. Note, water does expand as it absorbs the calcium chloride.

Tractor Tire Water Ballast Weight Chart

Source: GoodyearAg.com, 2003. That site no longer exists. This Google search should find related info: tractor tire ballast chart. In this chart 75% is described as filled just above the rim with the valve stem at the top, and 40% fill (half the weight of a 75% fill) is with the valve stem at...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[cridertj]

There are many tire ballast charts available. Most use 3.5 or 5.0 pounds of CaCL2 per gallon of water. Note, water does expand as it absorbs the calcium chloride.

Tractor Tire Water Ballast Weight Chart

Source: GoodyearAg.com, 2003. That site no longer exists. This Google search should find related info: tractor tire ballast chart. In this chart 75% is described as filled just above the rim with the valve stem at the top, and 40% fill (half the weight of a 75% fill) is with the valve stem at...

www.tractorbynet.com

Thanks , I was just kind of wondering about topping off the calcium with the -20 washer fluid ? I think it would mix ok but was hopping some one would know for sure before I did it

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Thanks , I was just kind of wondering about topping off the calcium with the -20 washer fluid ? I think it would mix ok but was hopping some one would know for sure before I did it

My gut reaction is that I doubt anything crazy would happen, but washer fluid is lighter than plain water. Plus it sounds like you've got the capability to mix and pump your own, and you plan on re-using what you have. It's not that big of a deal to mix up your own.

You might luck out and the tire shop will have some "used" fluid that they pumped out of another customer's tire.

 

[urbancase]

Odd ball here, I am in the process of replacing fluid ballast with wheel weights as I replace tires. I am over the mess of having fluid in tires.

 

[farmersamm]

Calcium is the way to rusty ruin. The stuff sucks!! It costs moola to replace rims when they corrode.

 

[John in MD]

Calcium is the way to go. 35 gallons of calcium will weigh 395 pounds verses 280 pounds for windshield wiper fluid. But make sure your tubes are in good shape, so you don't get rusty rims. Tractor tire shops are usually looking for a place to get rid of old calcium fluid. Another place to check would be a tractor recycler (used parts dealers) and it's usually free.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Odd ball here, I am in the process of replacing fluid ballast with wheel weights as I replace tires. I am over the mess of having fluid in tires.

Nothing odd about that. I have gotten rid of all the calcium. One tractor has liquid, and that's beet juice.

 

[Ray,IN]

I am putting new tires on my 55 ferguson. I was told the tires should take around 30 to 35 gal ballast. Because I lost some fluid witch i think is calcium i only was able to save about 17 or 18 gal on the leaking tire . I have no way to haul it to get it toped off when I am done so do you think it would be ok to top off with washer fluid or antifreeze and water ?

This should be helpful: https://tech-outdoors.com/misc/calcium-chloride-how-much-per-gallon-of-water-for-tractor-tires.html
This is the mixture tables for Calcium Chloride:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/f...4-1_calcium-water_table_for_tractor_tires.pdf

 

[rustred]

Calcium is the way to rusty ruin. The stuff sucks!! It costs moola to replace rims when they corrode.

Not true at all. The only time it rusts the rims if you don’t keep up with the valve stem maintenance. I have tractors here that have calcium in them for 50 -60
Years and no sign or rust.

 

[Tony in SD]

Why dont you just load it up on a trailer and take it to the tire shop and let them top it off or have the service truck come to your place to do it. By the time you get what ever concoction made up, buy a pump, pumped it in the tires, clean the pump and spilled concoction, it will probably be cheaper to hire it done.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I'm with Rustred if you keep the leaks fixed they don't rust. We also have tires with chloride in them since time began and no rust or very little from changing tires. the original rims are still on the H since 1953 been loaded since new far as I know. Got other tractors with similar time frame on them. 574 with the loader has been loaded since it came on the yard in 1972 same original rims on that with a couple tire changes. Dow used to give a mix rate for Chloride solutions and it weighted in the 12 LBS range per gallon when done. It will heat up while mixing so let it cool off some before adding to the tires. We use a barrel and drain it in no pump to it. fill barrel with hose connected. We use an old washing machine hose for the connectio not much juice in ther line that way and enough hose to lift a barrel up to drain in. I do use a plastic barrel.

 

[glennster]

Certain brands of ice melt pellets are calcium chloride. Just read the label before you buy. Now's a good time to get it because some places are putting it on clearance to make way for the spring items.

From what I can tell you mix it up just shy of 1/2lb of calcium chloride to water. Google says .434lbs of calcium chloride per gallon of water is a saturated solution, but also says a gallon of saturated calcium chloride tire ballast weighs 11.3lbs, but water only weighs 8.34lbs per gallon... 8.34 + .434 != 11.3, so color me confused. In my mind, you'd need to add almost 3lbs of calcium chloride to a gallon of water.

i run 5 lb per gallon of calcium chloride flakes. i get it from farm service in 50 lb bags. i mix in an old 100 gallon sprayer tank. when mixed the solution gets VERY hot. let it cool for a few hours before pumping it in tire.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Forgot to ad those counter balance weights are fine, but do get in the way when using in tight areas. And are a pain to always put on and take off unless you have a quick hitch for the 3pt. We have one dad made out of an old press gear my other brother brought home one time that was junk. We figure it weights about 1500 hanging on the back of it. Does ad a lot of weight and makes it so we can ull a lot more but still in thee way a lot.