Reasons to Use Fluid Ballast
Tractor ballast can increase stability and lower the center of gravity on 4×4 tractors, as well as improve traction, which saves time and increases productivity, especially if you frequently work on grade or if bucket loaders and other attachments pull tires off the ground.
Reasons Not to Use Fluid Ballast
For a farmer driving a tractor on the highway, tractor ride quality is an important consideration; ride quality is most affected at higher speeds, so take extra caution when driving along country roads.
Ballast Options
To improve tire performance and cut costs, a variety of ballasts can be used, including water, beet juice, calcium chloride, antifreeze, and polyurethane foam.
Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is a relatively inexpensive salt compound that prevents water from freezing at extremely low temperatures, but it can cause rust and/or corrosion problems. A calcium chloride solution is up to 40% heavier than water, and water’s freezing point is -58 degrees F.
Polyurethane Foam
When you fill tractor tires with polyurethane foam, you get a no-flat tire; when it wears out, you have to cut it off the rim or buy a new tire/wheel assembly. The main benefit is that it increases ballast weight by 50% over plain water.
How to Put Fluid in Tractor Tires
Limit ballast to 40 percent to 75 percent of tire capacity; Michelin recommends a maximum of 75 percent, while John Deere recommends 90 percent. Here’s a step-by-step guide to adding tire ballast, complete with fluid instructions.
Contact Bobby Ford Tractor & Equipment Today
If you are looking for new or pre-owned Kubota tractors, parts, or service, contact Bobby Ford Kubota, a family-owned Kubota dealership in Angleton, Texas, at 979-282-3142.
What is the best fluid for tractor tires?
Rim Guard Beet Juice is the best tire ballast for all types of utility tractors, including new and antique farm tractors, front-end loaders, commercial back hoes, skid steers, all-terrain forklifts, road graders, compactors/rollers, and road graders.
What should I fill my tractor tires with?
Although water is the most common liquid ballast to fill a tire with, you can also use antifreeze, calcium chloride, or polyurethane foam to keep your tractor’s tire pressure and traction up.
What liquid is in tractor tires?
Calcium chloride is a heavy liquid that does not freeze, so it was used in tire tubes to add weight. In recent years, however, manufacturers have shifted to another type of tire ballast, using iron wheel and suitcase weights instead of liquid ballast in tractor tires and frames.
Do I need fluid in my tractor tires?
Filling tractor tires with fluids, such as water, has three main benefits: it improves rear tire traction, lowers the center of gravity, and prevents the rear tires from lifting off the ground when lifting heavy objects or adding bucket loaders and other accessories to the front-end of the tractor.
How do you load tractor tires with fluid?
How to Fill Tractor Tires with Fluid
- Remove the weight from the tire with axle supports, then deflate it.
- Place a barrel of ballast fluid in the tractor bucket.
- Connect the barrel to the tire with a hose and a tractor tire fluid fill kit.
- Raise the bucket to create a gravity-feed.
What can I fill my tractor tires with for Weight?
A 31% mixture of calcium chloride is freeze resistant down to minus 58 F and weighs 11.3 pounds per gallon, making it a good option for getting the most weight on your tractor.
Can you fill tractor tires with foam?
Foam fill is not recommended for highway use, and it cannot be used in passenger or motorcycle tires unless the vehicle is only used for local travel and not for highway travel.
Why do they put beet juice in tires?
The rim will be protected from rusting with any amount of beet juice, but filling the tire 75-80% will optimize pulling power and, more importantly, lower the center of gravity and increase overall stability of the piece of equipment.
Can you put water in front tractor tires?
When should you use water to ballast your tractor tyres? If your tractor is too light for the work you want to do, water ballasting must be used in the same way as permanent ballasting, but it does not allow you to rebalance the weight between the front and rear of your tractor.
What happens if you fill your tires with helium?
It’s a high-tech balloon.u201d If helium-filled balloons are lighter than air, won’t helium-filled tires save weight? Not exactly. Helium molecules are small and won’t be contained for long, so the gas will leak out of the tires faster than air.
How much fluid goes in a tractor tire?
IMPORTANT: For better tractor performance, a maximum liquid fill of 40% is recommended in rear tires, rather than the previous recommendation of 75%. Fill tube-type or tubeless tires up to valve level (40 percent full) with valve (A) in the 4 o’clock position.
Why tractor Tyres are filled with water?
When your rear mounted implement is heavy or requires a lot of tractive force, water ballasting is used to improve tractor stability and provide efficient traction. If this is the case, your tyres are suitable for water ballasting.
How much is beet juice for tractor tires?
Pros: Inexpensive beet juice mixture costs approximately $0.28/lb. Weighs 10.7u201311.0 lbs per gallon (about the same as calcium chloride). It is highly toxic, even to rubber, and will attack tires and rims over time.