[AT] Tire ballast - antifreeze wins

[charlie hill]

Carl,  thanks for the idea of getting used antifreeze from the junk yard.  I 
never even thought of that.  However, I am slightly concerned about how you 
are installing it.  5 psi on a 55 gal drum might not seem like much but it 
could make a heck of a bang if the drum ruptures.  I think the reason you 
are having to presurize the drum is because you don't have one of those 
valves designed to put fluid in tractor tires (do you have one?)  It screws 
on the tube valve stem and has a button to push to bleed off air from the 
tire.  With that you can just elevate the drum and let it gravity feed into 
the tire with an occasional bleed off of air.  Also, you can speed the 
process by using a jack to raise and lower the tire off the ground.  Down 
flattens the tirs and pushes air out.  Up raises the tire, the weight of the 
tire and it's contents pulls the tire back down to orriginal shape.  This 
creates a vacuum in the tire and sucks the fluid it.

You can buy one of those fluid valves at most tractor supply type stores for 
a few bucks or I guess you could make one with a small pipe tee and a small 
valve on the 3rd leg of the tee.  If you keep the valve stem turned up to 
about the level where you want the top of the fluid to be in the tire you 
can run fluid in and air out with no problems.  When you get to the point 
that fluid comes back out you are full.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "carl gogol" <cgogol at twcny.rr.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 8:12 PM
Subject: [AT] Tire ballast - antifreeze wins


> Last winter I solicited opinions from the list concerning tire ballast.  I
> finally took the plunge yesterday and decided that I had enough time to do
> the job.  I called up a local junkyard, er recycler, and asked him how 
> much
> for 90 gallons of old antifreeze solution.  He asked me what it was for 
> and
> when I told him he commented that, "you don't need good stuff - come and 
> get
> it - for free"!   I noticed quite a bit of oil on the surface of the mix, 
> so
> I made up a simple extraction / separation tool with a 3/4" pipe tee, 
> using
> both a Schrader valve for pressurizing the barrel and a tube from 1/2" 
> CPVC,
> boring the normal male pipe adapter so the tube could pass through the TEE
> to within about 4" of the bottom of the drum.  This way I could pump the 
> AF
> from under the oil by slightly pressuring the 55 gallon drum.  I found the
> drums could take at least 5 PSI and then pushed the AF into the tubes.  I
> had to disconnect and let the air out of the tractor's tube 4-5 times to 
> get
> the level to 80% full.  A bit time consuming, but got them both full in
> about 3 hours.  Got a system down and the second one took half as long as
> the first.
>
> Tried the tractor using the loader and it easily pushed the 6' blade into 
> a
> pile of rocks and sod, digging a good bucket load that it just wouldn't 
> have
> been able to do before.  I'm sure Calcium would have done a little more, 
> but
> this is a huge improvement.  I may go get another 2 drums and fill the 
> other
> D-14 and then take the steel wheel weights and put them on the loader
> tractor too.  I think that will result in a very satisfactory loader
> tractor.
>
> Only one bit of excitement, when I repressurized the first tire, I was 
> sure
> the valve stem was leaking.  After  putting some air in, there was a 
> hissing
> sound.  At first it was very depressing as I thought I would have to take 
> it
> all out and get a new tube.  I put some more air in and again it all 
> leaked
> out.  I put some more in and it too hissed out!  I put 11 PSI in and it
> stopped leaking --- It was just air trapped between the tube and the rim
> pushing out through the valve stem hole in the rim!  The second tire did
> exactly the same thing - it didn't panic me this time.
> Carl Gogol
> Manlius, NY
> (2) AC D-14, AC 914H
> Simplicity 3112 & 7116
> Kubota F-2400
> Carl Gogol
> Manlius, NY
> (2) AC D-14, AC 914H
> Simplicity 3112 & 7116
> Kubota F-2400
>
>
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