How to fill the tires with ballast

[squirm]

I have a B2320.
I recently received my wheel spacers. Next item to do is to fill all the tires with ballast. The local dealer said I can just use water (before filling the tires, I will install the spacers).

What is the procedure to fill the tires? I am on slopes so I would like to also fill the front tires too. I have not read of it being detrimental, unless I'm mistaken?

 

[Billdog350]

Squirm, I know there is a special process/machine for filling the tires at more tire shops. I honestly am not sure how you would do it without making a special tank which you can fill with water and have a air hose come out the bottom, then seal and pressurize so it forces the liquid out the hose and into the tire. I guess you could rig something up with an air hose, remove the schrader valve and slide the hose over the valve and funnel the liquid in....but the tire would be sealed and not allow air to escape...so not sure how well that would work.

I would suggest you have your tires filled with RimGuard (a biodegradable product that also won't freeze or rust your rims). It will cost a bit to start but will be worth it in the long run compared to a rusted rim....

 

[85Hokie]

I have a B2320.
I recently received my wheel spacers. Next item to do is to fill all the tires with ballast. The local dealer said I can just use water (before filling the tires, I will install the spacers).

What is the procedure to fill the tires? I am on slopes so I would like to also fill the front tires too. I have not read of it being detrimental, unless I'm mistaken?

There are several ways to do it ......I am with BillDog....I would NOT use straight water........NO salt water .......I take it that freezing is not a problem???
here is a link to a device

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

IF you do it yourself, place the stem at 12 oclock....fill tire ONLY to the top of the rim.....which is gonna be about 75%-80% full, no more, you need an amount of air in there for cushion, your tires ARE the only shocks you have!!!

If you got some windshield washer fluid and used water with it, you would have a nice mixture! This is a slow process, so have plenty of time, the valve needs to be "burped" you see when you look at the link

 

[skeets]

OK I ll chime in here.. I use 50/50 anti freeze and if you do some looking around you might be able to pit that up used from salvage yards for next to nothing, a bud got all he needed for a buck a gallon,, What I did was take an old pump up sprayer removed the valve on the sprayer end and put in a well it looks like a needle valve for blowing up balls,,,, jacked the tractor up and jack stands then turned the wheels so the valve stem was at 12:00 or if dark where you are 24:00.. ok bad joke,, and removed the tire valve let all the air out,, remember TO JACK IT UP FIRST, then fill the sprayer tank and insert the needle into the valve body and pump away,,, Now what will happen is that as the fluid fills the tire it will displace any air that's in it, so you will feel air coming out of the valve stem. Now after several adult beverages and tanks of what ever your putting in the tires you will notice that the fluid is coming out of the valve stem. You now have enough in the tire, this will leave about 20% air space which you will need to keep the flexible ,, put the valve back in the stem, pump it up to the required pressure for that tire and start on the other side,,, orr just call your dealer and have them do it...
Simple

 

[alansz400]

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12327&page=2

About half way down the page is how I filled mine. If you pay the shipping both ways you can use my pump and hoses. It works great.

 

[gpreuss]

If your valve stem looks like this - it can be tube or tubeless - you can unscrew the end of it, and have a larger hole to fill the tire/tube. On ebay you can buy the air-water tire valve adapter, that lets you just hook up a water hose to the tire valve (about $10). The adapter screws on to the larger male thread of the valve stem. There is a pressure release button on the side of the adapter.
I connected a cheap electric drill pump to a couple of short pieces of water hose, put my solution in a 5 gal bucket, and pumped it right in. Every once in a while I'd stop pumping and relieve the built up pressure.

 

[squirm]

Everyone thank you for your reply. I filled the rear tires with water today as you guys described, no problem very easy (the local Kubota dealer said just use water - no freezing here). Made the tractor more stable and felt more solid on the ground.

 

[Skip44]

So what is the purpose for filling the tires with water anyway?

Skip

 

[aeblank]

Weight!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[85Hokie]

So what is the purpose for filling the tires with water anyway?

Skip

Skip,

When you add weight to the drive wheels, the wheels "bite" more, dig down more into the ground, you would think that this would be a bad thing in wet soils, but the opposite is true. In a muddy situation, wide tires can "float" on the wet soil, where as weight helps it get a grip.

Now when raw weight is added, one has to be careful how it is added. Taking a bucket full of soil and lifting it up in the air six feet will help you with grip on the front end, but the center of gravity is so high now that it will be an accident waiting to happen! When you fill your tires, you actually cheat! Adding weight TO the tractor adds control and bite, but can raise the center of gravity for the tractor, and/or it ADDS strain on all the mechanics of the tractor! BUT weight inside the tires DOES NOT add to anything but to the bite of the tires, the weight is NOT on the tractor, but only on the rim, and it allows the bucket, or 3 point to be used for anything else needed!

By adding weight BELOW the centerline of the tractor, the tractor is less likely to roll or turn over on a slanted hillside too. Tires should ONLY be filled about 75% thus making sure all weight is below, and some air is left for shock absorbing.

 

[RBA50]

Filling the tires with liquid adds weight for traction and stability. It also acts as ballast for the FEL, although you still need to add more weight on the three point hitch to help take the load off the front axle. (Think of the rear axle as the fulcrum of a teeter totter, offset the weight at one end with weight at the other end.)

Since you live in Maine, straight water is not a good option for tire ballast for you. Rim Guard, or Bio-Ballast would be better choices. Some people also run mixes of windshield washer fluid or antifreeze. Rim Guard and Bio-Ballast are the most "environmentally friendly" choice, except of course for water in warm climates. Calcium chloride has been used for years, but it is not a great choice anymore. It will rust out your rims unless you have tubes (and then it may rust them anyway). It is bad for the environment if you get a leak. The only real advantage is you can adjust the percentage to obtain different freezing points, as well as different weights per gallon. You can get up to 13# per gallon with calcium, as opposed to about 11# for Rim Guard, 9.5# for Bio- Ballast, and about 8# for water.

I just had my tires filled with Bio-Ballast. Haven't had a chance yet to really put it to the test, but I can see a difference in the way the tractor feels already. I had the tires on my previous 2wd tractor filled with Calcium chloride years ago (no other option that I knew about back then) and it made a tremendous difference in what I could do.

 

[Skip44]

Thanks, that's good info. I guess I need to check into that.

Skip

 

[nebraskaorange]

use washer fluid just in case your in cold climate, you wont them to freeze.

 

[rentthis]

Buy the tire fill adapter from your dealer, tractor supply etc. Connect the water hose. Pour antifreeze into the other end of the hose with a funnel, reconnect the hose to the faucet and turn it on. The only place the antifreeze can go is into the tire. It takes a little math to get the right solution.

 

[skeets]

Here ya go from Service Department Vic's list of articles

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/2009/01/how-to-ballast-your-kubotas-tires/

 

[Ezlife45]

As was stated before, my owners manual states to put the stem at 12:00 and fill to the stem with the tire vertical. Leaves a little air volume to go over rough spots like rocks since air is compressible and water is not.

I'm anxious to put water or a mixture in my tires but I do like the weight. I'll probably look into wheel weights personally.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Having water in your tires may extend the life of your tires as they don't suffer pressure induced dry rot. Water vapor is continually forced against the tire rubber matrix, keeping the rubber pliable.

Just wonderin....

Anyone have wet wheels for and extended time?

 

[number9]

I tried the adapter from Tractor Supply and didn't have any luck with it.

I used a hand pump sprayer. Took the nozzle off the end of the hose. Jacked the tractor tire off the ground, put the valve stem at 12 oclock and removed the valve core. Slipped the sprayer hose over the valve stem and filled the tires with washer fluid. Worked like a charm and washer fluid is a buck a gallon so it's cheap. As stated, only fill to the top of the wheel to leave air space in the tire. If not, you could bust the tires when you pick up a full bucket of material - not to mention it would ride like a go-kart.

I had the dealer fill the rears when I got the tractor but they wouldn't fill the fronts, so I did it myself.

...

 

[meanjean]

I did this a few years back.
Easy peasy, just time consuming.
That's a pump sprayer.
I used the metal connector as shown in previous posts.

 

[FTG-05]

I tried the adapter from Tractor Supply and didn't have any luck with it.

I used a hand pump sprayer. Took the nozzle off the end of the hose. Jacked the tractor tire off the ground, put the valve stem at 12 oclock and removed the valve core. Slipped the sprayer hose over the valve stem and filled the tires with washer fluid. Worked like a charm and washer fluid is a buck a gallon so it's cheap. As stated, only fill to the top of the wheel to leave air space in the tire. If not, you could bust the tires when you pick up a full bucket of material - not to mention it would ride like a go-kart.

I had the dealer fill the rears when I got the tractor but they wouldn't fill the fronts, so I did it myself.

...

My L4330 owners manual says nothing about filling the fronts with ballast. So, I take it's OK to do?

Thanks!