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Liquid in tires wheel weights and ballast

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Lanier Crawley
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Posts: 1
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2000-02-20          12997


I need advice from some of you that know alot more about tractors than I do. I have a JD790 with a loader and I want to work on my hunting land that happens to be hilly. I do not have any liquid in my tires, do not have any wheel weights and no ballst box. I will be clearing some of the small trees and brush but I do not expect to be lifting heavy loads with the loader. I need advice about putting water and antifreeze in the tires or do I need to use sodium chloride. Please make recommendations about weights that will add to stability to lessen the chances of tipovers. Thanks for any help. Lanier



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Liquid in tires wheel weights and ballast

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2000-02-21          13001


Ballast is a good idea--especially with a loader. Of course, just leaving an implement on the 3ph hitch works for some people.

Liquid tire fill ordinarily has to be done be a tire shop, and once filled, very little can be done for tire problems except take it back to the shop. There is sort of a network of places that work on ag tires. A dealer probably knows the one in your area. A fill of 75% is fairly standard. Choices of fill are CaCl, (the heaviest per volumn, least expensive and most corrosive) and anti-freeze. I think that better alternatives to ethyl-glychol are now available. Regular anti-freeze has a disposal problem.

Wheel weights are alternatives to tire fill. Wheel weights are a bit pricey (like everything from dealers), but weights mean you can fix your own tires, change ballast weight, and a tire leak doesn't leave large puddles of corrosive liquid on your land. A dealer should be able to suggest the amount ballast you need, be it tire fill or wheel weights.

I've got CaCl fill myself, the tractor came that way. Liquid fill does have some stability advantages over wheel weights, but I sure hope the tires never leak. ....


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Liquid in tires wheel weights and ballast

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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 962
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2000-02-21          13003


I first thought I didn't want liquid in my tires for reasons mentioned above (environmental concerns and leak repairs); however, I didn't like the cost of wheel weights, so I put the 75% water and antifreeze in mine. It does make a difference. Awhile back, Steve Carver posted a long, and very good, explanation on the other board about ballast. It probably is best to have it done by a tire shop with experience, and I don't know what that would cost since I have had previous experience with tire work and did my own. ....


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Liquid in tires wheel weights and ballast

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Roger L.
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 0
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2000-02-21          13009


Living in the mountains, I think about slope stability a lot. Bottom line is that you need a heavy implement carried as low as you can, as much width on the tires as you can get, and lots of weight added to the tires. I think that everyone agrees that wheel weights are preferable, but they sure are expensive. Some people have made their own....very admirable..but most folks just add fluid. Fluid is cheap, more corrosive than air no matter which fluid you use, and at anything less than 100% fill has a CG very slightly below the center of the axle. This shifted CG is good, but unfortunately it is slight. The fluid also affects road speed more than the wheel weight do...Which can make it a bit touchy to drive in road gear until you get the hang of it. Wheel weights also affect road speed travel, but to a much lesser extent. Their CG is at the centerline of the axle.
Some people have said that turf tires are more stable than Ag type on hill sides, and I think that I agree with this. On some hills I'll carry a bit of sand in the bucket and keep the bucket right on the ground as I turn uphill. And I'm real careful lifting the bucket on a hill. In spite of my caution, I've turned one over. ....


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