Liquid filled tires ????

CC is not toxic - it's just salt. While it's hard on metal if you neglect it, the EPA doesn't come after you when it laks out....

Antifreeze concoctions are toxic, and any spill over a couple gallons is _supposed_ to be reported to the athourities - bad for the enviornment. Also it is lighter than water, while the CC is good weight at being heavier than water.

My coop would read me the riot act if I called them out for a repair & they pumped antifreeze out of my tires and contaminating their CC reserves.

For me from my tire coop, CC is far cheaper than antifreeze. Man,150 gallons of antifreeze per tractor? Yikes!

Rim guard seems like a good alternative if you don't like CC.

This is just my opinion on it, what ever works for others. CC is far & away the best choice - in my area.

A loader tractor needs weight on the back, and tires 3/4 fll of fluid (it needs an air pocket yet, should never be plumb full) is a real good start. For heavy use, you'll need a bit more, wheel weights maybe. Something hanging off the rear is very good, that acts like a teeter totter & picks a tiny bit of weight off the front end axle, which gets overloaded with a loader.

You just don't wantto run aloader without any weight on the rear of a tractor, it is very dangerous when you have a full bucket lifted up high.

For some tillage operations, you want the added traction as well. For others, it would be a waste tho...

--->Paul

I don't have any love for CACL. I have never used Rimguard so I can't comment on it. If I was loading a set of tires, I would probably find some used antifreeze. Construction or trucking companies should have quite a surplus that they would be glad to give away. The only problem is if (when!)you have a flat, glycol is toxic and can create some issues for you. Rims with CACL will last 20 to 30 years or even longer if taken care of. Rimguard can be quite expensive enough so that replacing rims down the road could be worth the risk. Glycol is a toxic pollutant that could require extensive cleanup if leaked in quantity. As much as I hate it, I still believe that CACL may be the most economical long term solution.

Calcium will damage nothing if it doesn't touch it. Replace the derned stems once in awhile. Geeeze!

Allan

Pros: Traction

Cons:

The 485.00 per rim the tractor's owner has
to spend on new rear rims for his JD M all because his uncle wanted that "cheap" extra
traction many years ago.

God bless,

--old fashioned farmer

SO....Here's my $.02 worth.

Tractors need weight for traction or stability. Liquid is cheaper (in most cases) than cast iron weights, as well as providing that weight at a lower center of gravity. In some cases, that tractor may be OVER weighted with the rear (or front) wheels full of fluid.

There are several choices for filling tires. One is Calcium Chloride mixed with water. This is a very corosive solution. Quite possibly, that is what is in your tires. (Or at least once was, causing the rusting of your rims) Cal. Chlor. makes water heavier than straight water. It ends up at about 10 pounds per gallon. (as opposed to roughly 8 PPG for pure water)

Another choice used quite frequently is Methyl Alcohol. (Windshield washer solution) That is what I use. It is non-corosive, and will end up costing roughly the same ammount as cal/chlor if bought in bulk.

There are several other options too. "Rim-Guard", a by-product of sugar beet production is becoming popular. Old anti-freeze, or even new anti-freeze is being used. A better choice would be the environmentaly friendly non glycol anti-freeze available nowdays.

Some people even use straight water. That would need to be removed COMPLETELY for winter, if you live in an area where it freezes. (Who doesn't?)

Tires need to be filled untill the fluid is just above the top of the rim.

Now the fight starts..... ..John

'Cause I agree with yas..... .

Allan

CONS 1 it does not take 40yrs to rust out a rim.. 2 checking air in the tire takes a special tire gauge from then on

3 if you do not change the valve core every year you will have a leak AND possible to be stuck in the tube---oh and some tires in the 70's and 80's were mounted tubeless with fluid.-- ours lasted 3yrs before it rotted out.

4 if you dont want all that weight all the time... too bad your stuck.

5 flat tires in the field resault in a dead spot in the field and cost of replacing the lost fluid (cast wieghts are a one time expence)

I farm on the fringes of a metro area. I have to deal with trash and junk in the fields. People throw all sorts of stuff off the roads and into my crops. I get (way too many) flats on a regular basis. I had to find something that wasn't so corosive. Also, when I was filling tires with cal. chlor., I ended up with more weight than I actually needed. The Methlyl Alcohol gives me more than I need too, but on a typical 20.8x38 rear tire, using Methyl alcohol cuts that weight by some 190 lbs per wheel.

On my loader tractor, I run cal. chlor and a stack of weights on each wheel. I need all the weight I can get there.

Point is, We can tailor the weight, and deal with special circumstances with various kinds of fluid in the tires. John