A (better?) alternate to Rim Guard tire ballast- (Edit -really bad idea!)

[Otis H.]

Edit: looking a bit deeper into the notion described below, I concluded that there is really no way to use preservatives to prevent spontaneous fermentation of simple sugars, wnich you definitely don’t want happening in your tractor tires! Chalk one up for Rim Guard, which I’ll be making the drive and paying the price for now.

I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis

 

[kubotafreak]

Cast weight if you ask me. I dont like rotted rims. Plus no loss from a tire puncture, and easier to work on… but for the weight you cant beat it. Rims are pretty much not powder coated in the drop center.

 

[Otis H.]

Cast weight if you ask me. I dont like rotted rims. Plus no loss from a tire puncture, and easier to work on… but for the weight you cant beat it. Rims are pretty much not powder coated in the drop center.

Agreed, but sugar water is really not corrosive in this context. That is why they call the beet juice product Rim Guard. salt solutions used in the past did have this problem. As an extra safeguard, I have a method insuring that the non-liquid space is either 100%Nitrogen or 100%Argon, both of which I have on hand as a wine maker. Oxygen is required for corrosion even with the salts, but this is overkill protection with the sugars.

 

[mcfarmall]

How much did you pay for the new MX5400? I'm guessing north of $30k. My favorite analogy is the guy who bought a new Nikon SLR camera outfit and then complained about paying $3 a roll for film (back in the late 1900's when cameras used stuff called 'film').

 

[fried1765]

I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis

"Beet Juice" will not freeze in cold climates.
Sugar water will freeze.
I do understand that freezing is not likely in Placerville CA.

 

[old and tired]

I'll just say that I had a front tire on a lawn mower explode - best guess was it started to ferment or bacteria started to grow in the green Slime. I saw the tire earlier in the day and noted that it was over pressurized - was going to look at it the next day.

Middle of the night, VERY LOUD explosion.... the wall and underside of the deck looked like a version of Ghost Busters' slime.

 

[Otis H.]

"Beet Juice" will not freeze in cold climates.
Sugar water will freeze.
I do understand that freezing is not likely in Placerville CA.

you’ve got a point for really cold climates. this solution would have a freezing point well below that of plain water, probably in the low 20’s°F. A bit of methanol would take it lower. Most tractors around here in Sonoma County, including my current 45hp LS, have plain water in the wheels. It is just 8#/gallon though.

 

[Otis H.]

How much did you pay for the new MX5400? I'm guessing north of $30k. My favorite analogy is the guy who bought a new Nikon SLR camera outfit and then complained about paying $3 a roll for film (back in the late 1900's when cameras used stuff called 'film').

Touché! I’ve not made a firm decision yet and may still go for the Rim Guard. It is a combination of hassle and cost that’s got me looking for alternatives. I do prefer liquid ballast to wheel weights, though, partly for the lower center of gravity effect and, in the 11#/gallon range, twice the weight of a triple set of Kabota weights.

 

[fried1765]

you’ve got a point for really cold climates. this solution would have a freezing point well below that of plain water, probably in the low 20’s°F. A bit of methanol would take it lower. Most tractors around here in Sonoma County, including my current 45hp LS, have plain water in the wheels. It is just 8#/gallon though.

8.33 lbs/gal. to be exact.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

so.. curious... haw many beets does a farmer have to harvest to make 600# of juice ??
also since water is 2/3rd the weight of beet juice, that'd be 400# of water, install 1 or 2 wheel weights to make up the difference ??

 

[old and tired]

...a farmer have to harvest to make 600# of juice...

I don't know for sure but if it's like sweet potatoes, there is hundreds of pounds left behind in the field to rot because they are not marketable. Only Grade A are sold.

 

[OntheRidge]

At Miller Tire, we use windshield washer fluid.

Also what my dealer installed in my tires.

 

[fried1765]

At Miller Tire, we use windshield washer fluid.

WW fluid is the most cost effective freeze protected ballast.

 

[Otis H.]

I'll just say that I had a front tire on a lawn mower explode - best guess was it started to ferment or bacteria started to grow in the green Slime. I saw the tire earlier in the day and noted that it was over pressurized - was going to look at it the next day.

Middle of the night, VERY LOUD explosion.... the wall and underside of the deck looked like a version of Ghost Busters' slime.

BINGO! See edit of my original post.

 

[jyoutz]

Touché! I’ve not made a firm decision yet and may still go for the Rim Guard. It is a combination of hassle and cost that’s got me looking for alternatives. I do prefer liquid ballast to wheel weights, though, partly for the lower center of gravity effect and, in the 11#/gallon range, twice the weight of a triple set of Kabota weights.

Check into bio-ballast. Non corrosive, doesn’t freeze, and less messy than rim guard.

 

[Henry E]

Edit: looking a bit deeper into the notion described below, I concluded that there is really no way to use preservatives to prevent spontaneous fermentation of simple sugars, wnich you definitely don’t want happening in your tractor tires! Chalk one up for Rim Guard, which I’ll be making the drive and paying the price for now.

I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis

Who in Placerville does the rim guard?

 

[jyoutz]

Who in Placerville does the rim guard?

Check with a truck and construction equipment tire shop.

 

[Staggerlee1976]

BINGO! See edit of my original post.

I realize this thread is old, Otis, but what did the local Kubota dealer propose filling them with? I'm just over the hill from you in Bloomfield/West Petaluma, and I was planning on approaching them about options. Like you, I am loathe to haul the tractor two plus hours for beet juice, and I don't think dealers here in CA are going to want to/ be able to dispose of that much alcohol solution or windshield washer fluid when the time eventually comes.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I 'dispose' of used WW fluid in my truck. Use is year round. Still have gallons of it on the shelf...probably a lifetime supply. Used 3-4 gallons of it when cleaning out the fuel tank of the BX years ago...

 

[mikester]

Fermentation should be a consideration as well