Filling tires with liquid weight

[coachgeo]

Wondered if I could do this myself. Have not done it yet.. but figured I'ld pass on some of the resources found to supplement what is in here already

http://www.michelinag.com/Learning-and-sharing/Ballasting-tires

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/38496-filling-tires/

http://www.gemplers.com/tech/tire-liquid.htm

http://kenjonestiresblog.com/blog/tire-tubes-which-tubes-can-be-fluid-filled/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iietkgVxoWU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB4myiGhAns


what I dont see is a fast easy way to remove liquid/weight for say.. hauling on a trailer to save fuel mileage while trailering or simply just to save wear and tear on tow vehicle.

PS- OOPs! guess maybe this should have gone into the Tires forum.

 

[CFDWheeler]

In my opinion, the hassle of removing/reinstalling the tire ballast would FAR outweigh the very minimal savings on fuel economy. Seems like a huge PITA just save a few bucks.

 

[CFDWheeler]

But to answer your question, yes you can do it yourself.

 

[OldeEnglish]

What are you planning on using for ballast? I see your in Ohio so you will have to use an antifreeze of some sort. I had my tires loaded with calcium and it made a world of a difference. My tire guy told me it would make the tractor feel completely new and he was right. I was bouncing the idea around of doing it myself but honestly the savings aren't there. Glycol and Glycerin is expensive and you don't get any extra weight within the liquid. Windshield washer fluid and automotive antifreeze is cost effective but Poison. Rim Guard or beet juice is a good choice but expensive.

Calcium can be loaded yourself if you already have tubes but I don't see where the savings are. You'll need a stainless steel, polypropylene, or titanium pump (something the salt won't eat alive). Even small chemical pumps aren't cheap. I've never pumped calcium but I'm sure the extra weight will stress a small pump to the point where the motor will burn up. I would bet a small pony pump could do the job 1 time before turning to dust but at $80 that not a throw away price.

Do yourself a favor and bring your tires to a good tire shop and let them fill it with calcium, you'll be glad you did.

I'm curious.... If you were to pump down your tires ever time you trailered your rig....wouldn't you still have to bring the ballast with you and pump it back in? Take it easy on that wild turkey egg nog, it hits ya like a brick to head

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

what I dont see is a fast easy way to remove liquid/weight for say.. hauling on a trailer to save fuel mileage while trailering or simply just to save wear and tear on tow vehicle.

You only remove it when you need to repair the tire, anytime else, like for transporting would be a waste of time and money.

 

[olthumpa]

Calcium can be loaded yourself if you already have tubes but I don't see where the savings are. You'll need a stainless steel, polypropylene, or titanium pump (something the salt won't eat alive). Even small chemical pumps aren't cheap. I've never pumped calcium but I'm sure the extra weight will stress a small pump to the point where the motor will burn up. I would bet a small pony pump could do the job 1 time before turning to dust but at $80 that not a throw away price.

Do yourself a favor and bring your tires to a good tire shop and let them fill it with calcium, you'll be glad you did.

Filling your tires can be as expensive or cheep as you choose - not including the cost of the ballast.

How I filled mine:

I used a 10 gallon barrel like the one below - use what ever size you can get, (I got it free from a restaurant - they got soap for injection into a dishwasher) - depending on where you are you can buy used ones for 5 - 10 $.
Get 2 tire valve stems put one as near the bottom of the barrel as you can - (take the core out of this one). Put the other in the cap of the barrel or on the top some place.
Get a piece of hose that will fit tightly over the valve stem and put a small hose clamp over it to keep it in place.
Get a SMALL piece of tubing - straw etc that will fit in side the tire valve stem but still allow air to escape. Secure it with a clamp -tightly taped etc to the larger tubing, how you do this will depending on what you use for the smaller tube.
Put the smaller tubing inside the valve stem and use a piece of string, tape etc to secure the tubing to the tire, (do not tape to valve because air is going to have to escape).
Fill the barrel about 3/4 with whatever you are using for ballast.
Put cap back on the barrel and add 5 - 10 psi air. If possible elevate the barrel above the tire - probably want to do this before you fill it.. You can also eliminate the valve in the cap and gravity feed this way but it is verrrry slow.
Add air as needed to keep the pressure that works best.
Refill barrel and repeat until tier is full.

I had all the parts laying around so my cost was $0. If you have to buy everything, $5 to $20.
While the tires are filling, service the tractor, clean the shop, wash the vehicle etc. do not leave it unattended in case something goes wrong because you could loose what ever is left in the barrel if something becomes unattached.
For me, 60gal- 30gal per tire took about 1 hr total - I just stayed with the tractor and refilled the barrel and kept the air at a near constant 7 psi..

Your tires should take about 20gals each so time would be lass.

 

[Lil Foot]

Presented as a theoretical eye opener only- Just heard Mercury Blues by Alan Jackson & it got me thinking. If you ignore the obvious drawbacks- toxicity, cost, viscosity, and environmental impacts of a spill, mercury would make an awesome liquid ballast. Water weighs 8.34lbs per gallon, mercury weighs 112.95lbs per gallon. That's a lot of traction!

 

[rentthis]

Use a tire fill fitting. do the math on how much anti freeze etc you need to use per tire. Using a funnel, pour the anti freeze etc into your hose. Water pressure from the hose bib will push it into the tire. Finish filling with water.

 

[skeets]

OK scrap price for Mercury is app $7.70 USD per pound,,,,soo lets see...
$7.70 x 112.95lbs per gallon = $946.71 USD per gallon x 20gallons = $18,934.30 per tire, at a weight of 20 gallons would weigh 2259 lbs. per tire,,, SOOOO 37,868 bucks total cost and total weight 4518 pounds

Hmmmm sounds like a super fund site in the making,,lol

 

[Daren Todd]

OK scrap price for Mercury is app $7.70 USD per pound,,,,soo lets see...
$7.70 x 112.95lbs per gallon = $946.71 USD per gallon x 20gallons = $18,934.30 per tire, at a weight of 20 gallons would weigh 2259 lbs. per tire,,, SOOOO 37,868 bucks total cost and total weight 4518 pounds

Hmmmm sounds like a super fund site in the making,,lol

Some how I'm thinking my little 7500 gvw trailer would seem a little light weight for my little bota after that

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

How I filled mine:

You never told us you were MacGyver!

 

[olthumpa]

You never told us you were MacGyver!

No, just cheap aaaah I mean thrifty.