Cheap way to ballast tractor?

Just price checking on Amazon, a 55 gallon barrel of RV antifreeze is $380, and a 55 gallon barrel of windshield washer fluid for -20 degrees is $224.88.  If I remember correctly a 18.4x38 holds around 110 gallon of fluid.  Best bet for filling is if you can find a local Bio-tire, or rim guard dealer to buy the non-corrosive fluid from and have them fill the tires.  People have rigged equipment to fill lawnmower tires, but when putting 20 or 30 gallon in two tires, it is easier than trying to put 110 gallon in one tire.

I was in the same boat last Spring. I ended up buying the fill fitting at Tractor Supply and filled them with water. Last Fall I emptied them back out before I put it away for the winter.

I'm not sure what I'll do this Spring. I've heard of some using used anti-freeze. That's cheap and easy but there are concerns if you ever get a flat.

I used washer fluid and mixed it 50/50 with water and bought a bilge pump at harbor freight to pump it in. then found out local tire place would fill a 14.9x26 for $65 each and went that route. was methel alcohol. have wackey weather here. was 40 one day and 80 the next so was easy to see sweat line on tires I had filled

Hang a Massey underneath? LOL

Calcium in a (good) tube is no more of a problem to a rim than your neighbor having a drum of it in his barn.  I filled my tractor tires/tubes myself with a plastic fluid pump driven with a 3/8" electric drill to changed weight. You can buy a fill valve to place on the tube cheap.    When I bought new tires on my bigger Olivers I had the tire shop come out and empty and refill.

Talked about here all the time. From my experience, fluid filled rims last about 40 years. Seems just now most of our 70's tractors rims are getting shot. New rims every 40 years isn't too bad, especially if they're common to find rims like most of the spin outs. It's almost impossible to farm and not get a flat every once in a while and leak fluid everywhere.

Gerald J. wrote: A tube will not guarantee a complete lack of calcium chloride damage in the long run. I had added CC to the rears of my MF-135 for trying to haul round bales with the loader. One day while running about 15 miles of road with my Long 1099 back hoe on the rear hitch to a welding shop for repairs, a crack in the inside sidewall of the right rear tire pinched the tube. CC sprayed out and the tractor drive train rusted instantly though it had a decent coat of original paint. My jeans stood up on their own when I got home that evening. I won't use calcium chloride in tires again. Gerald J. You have a creative imagination. Off farm I have more experience than you ever will with CaCl2. On farm I have 4 tractors exposed after proper cleaning I have zero damage.

Gerald J. wrote: I did not imagine what I reported, it really happened. No way I will ever use calcium chloride again. Gerald J.

Is it common practice for you to handle chemicals without understanding how handle them properly?   Amazing part is you don't know how to properly clean it up but whine it ruined your tractor. Look in a mirror the reason your tractor rusted will be looking back at you.

DennisA (IL) wrote: Gary Burnett wrote: Expecting tractor owners to constantly moniter their rims and then have any leaking tire/tube replaced immediately just doesn't happen in the real world apparently.   You are correct about real world. Most of the old tractor just sit around and are forgotten about in the corner of a shed and they start there slow decay.   Unless the tube gets punctured all you do is change the core every two years. No constant monitoring needed. Don't people change oil, grease bearings and change filters on tractors? It's just simple maintenance.  I have 10 tractors that get this done every two years no issues.

You're the exception I've seen plenty of old  tractors that never had the oil filter changed
and I'd say less than 1% ever changes a valve stem.

Gerald J do you realize CaCl2 is safe enough that is has a food grade version with exactly the same chemical composition? Ever have a marrishino cherry? Commercially processed pickle? Beer? Guess what you ate calcium chloride.

The transmission and clutch housing turned brown facing the split tire in a few minutes after the tire split while I was about 15 miles from the farm and 5 miles from the welding shop. No way I could wash it and the aluminum paint didn't completely cover those iron castings. I did wash it when I got to the welding shop but it had already rusted.

I haven't had any beer for at least 40 years. The pickles that I eat daily do say calcium chloride in the brew, I'm sure no where near the concentration used in tires. My Merck Chemical Index says lethal dose in rats is 4 g per kg. It lists many uses from speeding up concrete setting to melting ice and snow and for adding weight to tractor tires.

If it doesn't rust the rims or the tractor the main advantage of calcium chloride solution in tires is that its a lot heavier than water or alcohol based antifreezes or windshield washer solution.

Gerald J.

I agree with you Gerald J, I've had to put rims on my: WD-45D, D-17D, and 190XT-III due to valve stem hole corrosion.  I figured up what the rims cost and by putting the non-corrosive in it paid for the next set of rims that would have potentially rotted too.  I don't care what anyone else uses for ballast, but I will spend the money to go the non-corrosive route and not worry when I have leak and need to try and prevent the rust.  I realize that everyone's situation is different, but my equipment gets used regularly all year round and haven't seen service plan that prevents punctures or internal pinching that will cause leaks that can cause corrosion (I've had both over the years, from nails and a ripple inside the tire that couldn't be seen from the outside).  I still don't understand Victory Allis though, one time treating everyone like they don't understand how dangerous a chemical is, and the next saying how its food grade.  Table salt will rust metal just like calcium chloride will, last time I checked corrosion was corrosion regardless of what chemical did the damage.  I have friends that have done the windshield washer route, and I've heard of several people using the RV antifreeze or regular engine antifreeze for tire ballast and have nothing against any of those products, but for me cost and availability made it easier and more cost effective to use the commercially available bio tire product.  I have the bio tire in my: D-17D, 7050, and the rear tires of my R50 (to offset the weight of a 10 row 20" corn head) all my other tires are dry and the D-21 has cast weights.  The only piece of equipment I have that has the corrosive fluid in it (only 1 rear tire though) is my 7060 which I'm selling and will the purchaser decide if they are going dry, changing fluids, or filing the dry tire with calcium chloride.