old antifreeze as weight in lawn tractor

SDE · Jul 3, 2017

I have some gallon jugs with old antifreeze in them. Is there any reason why I could or should not store it in the rear tires of my Lawn tractor. I need some weight added to this mower.
TY
SDE

rustyfarmall · Jul 3, 2017

Won't hurt a thing, but unless it is a BIG lawn tractor, with BIG tires, the amount of anti-freeze added won't add a lot of weight.

SDE · Jul 3, 2017

I understand that, but I feel that it may be better than adding a weight box to the back of the machine. I might look for scrap material at work that may work for wheel weights, if this doesn't improve things for me.
TY
SDE

RedMF40 · Jul 3, 2017

(quoted from post at 06:51:12 07/03/17) I have some gallon jugs with old antifreeze in them. Is there any reason why I could or should not store it in the rear tires of my Lawn tractor. I need some weight added to this mower.
TY
SDE

I like the idea of using the old antifreeze for some other purpose, but I wouldn't do it. It will eventually leak at some point and you'll have a messy cleanup and additional problems if you have animals around.

rustyfarmall · Jul 3, 2017

(quoted from post at 07:47:01 07/03/17) I understand that, but I feel that it may be better than adding a weight box to the back of the machine. I might look for scrap material at work that may work for wheel weights, if this doesn't improve things for me.
TY
SDE

Easiest way I've found to add weight to a tractor is by eating more potatos.

jeffcat · Jul 3, 2017

I have two garden and one lawn tractors that I have put used anti freeze in the rears. Most junk yards will give it to you free. As long as you have good tires and NO leaks and you keep an eye on them you should be fine. Now first go to NAPA and buy two bottles of antifreeze booster. Big yellow bottle. Put one in each tire and it helps protect against any kind of rust or corrosion. Only fill them 3/4 full. That is where you put the valve stem at the 12 o'clock position and only fill that high. You will be very surprised how much those maybe 20 gallons of fluid will lower the center of gravity on your machine. FAR less tippy. Well worth the trouble. Jack the rear up, pull the valve core, use a little plastic tube and funnel. Pour till the funnel is about 1/2 full. Gently push on the tire with your shoe and the air will burp out. KEEP your face away!!! Keep going till full.

old · Jul 3, 2017

A number of years ago I worked mowing lawns at a couple places and had to provide my own mowers. Had one place where I could not drive up a hill I needed to with the mower I had. I put tubes in the tires and then pumped them full of antifreeze. It helped a whole lot and after I did that I could go up the hill with no problems. Tires are still holding it and that was over 15 years ago. The old mower no longer has a deck or engine but other wise it still complete and could be put back in service. It was an old Wizard mower sold my OK. tire and supply

jeffcat · Jul 3, 2017

Anything up higher like a weight box will keep the center of gravity up high. With water in the tires almost all of the weight is BELOW the axle. Makes a fantastic difference in how your machine handles. As I said it is well worth the trouble to fill them. If you need even more weight then the box is your next step. Tires are first and easy.

Geo-TH,In · Jul 3, 2017

I have an old craftsman lawn mower I removed the mower deck, removed the turf tires, installed bar type tires like on a tractor. I use this tractor to pull a 3 ft disk and a special mower I made that 6 inches off the ground. I have bar tires on my old JD275 garden tractor. It has a 30 inch tiller.
If you want traction bar tires are the way to go. I think the bar tires give a smoother ride too.

If you need more weight make some concrete wheel weights or buy metal weights. Antifreeze won't add that much weight.

IaLeo · Jul 3, 2017

I have fluid in my X534 AWS to give me half a chance to back out a low spot with the front mounted snowblower (chains on tires). Works fine. Using it all year around and feels more stable on road banks than I am able to hang/sit on! BUT....made the rough yard worse..come to a divot (hole) and the rear plops down violently! Guess where the seat is located, lol. JD folks do not like the xtra stress?? on the funky steering linkage, though. Leo

Steve@Advance · Jul 3, 2017

It depends on how big your tires are. Small tires won't hold much, may not be worth the trouble. And you'll have to watch for leaks, it not only kills animals, but grass too. Also, if you are having any trouble with air loss now, remember you will be cutting the air volume down to about 1/3 to 1/4 of what you had before, so any loss of air will be much more noticeable.

Still, it is better to weight the wheels, not the body. Some garden tractors have minimal axles and bearings. Any added weight above the axle will raise the center of gravity and stress the axles and bearings (or bushings in some cases).

showcrop · Jul 3, 2017

When I got my Ferris it had loaded tires, but one soon developed a leak and I never reloaded. The difference between the two is very noticeable.

old antifreeze as weight in lawn tractor

SDE

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rustyfarmall

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SDE

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RedMF40

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rustyfarmall

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jeffcat

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old

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jeffcat

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Geo-TH,In

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IaLeo

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Steve@Advance

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showcrop

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