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Re: (ET) ET parts
I chose RV antifreeze, which is nontoxic, to load my rear tires (24x12x12
ag lug tires). Each tire took about 8 gallons if I recall correctly.
Antifreeze is heavier than water at around 9.4lbs/gallon, so each tire has
about 75lbs in it. Knock on wood, it's never leaked. The RV antifreeze
won't corrode the wheels and if it ever does spill, it won't poison the
ground. A nice side-effect of the loaded tires is they never go flat.
Well, there's little to no air pressure left in them, but there's so
little headspace that they don't deform due to lack of air pressure.
Regarding weight boxes, I built a rear weight box with a frame of 1/4"
angle iron and sides of 3/4" plywood. The box has 3/8" thick "prongs" that
go into the rear stab holes. The box weighs about 100lbs by itself, and
has a hinged lid. I got buckets of used lead wheel weights from a tire
shop for free, and loaded them all into the gallon jugs the RV antifreeze
came in. I built the weightbox to fit 12 of the gallon jugs, and they
weigh around 32lbs apiece. All told, the box and lead-filled jugs add
about 485 pounds if I load it up fully. I only use this much weight if I'm
using the loader to maximum capacity and need the counterweight to lighten
the front end so it's possible to steer. Otherwise, I use about half the
weight, distributed towards the sides for a greater moment of intertia.
It's not too bad to install and remove the box, as each jug is easily
moved by itself and it's not too bad to slide the box out of the stab
holes and onto the ground, or vice-versa.
Regards,Ben
On Monday, July 22, 2024 at 05:26:03 PM EDT, Jim Coate <lists
freerangeelectric com> wrote:
Ballast fluid inside tractor tires is common for farm use, sometimes
showing up in garden tractors. Calcium chloride solution has often been
used but destroys the steel wheel over time. This web site lists several
options including beet juice(!):
https://www.iamcountryside.com/tractors-farm-equipment/tractor-tire-fluids-rundown/
One of the various large-frame tractors I've come across had ONE rear
tire filled for extra weight. I was vaguely aware the tractor was a bit
heavy to roll around. When I went to take off the rear tires I did a
cartoon-worthy move as I suddenly felt the full weight of that
particular tire :-)
On 07/20/2024 5:23 pm, David Roden wrote:
>
> I've also heard of putting weights *inside* the tires. Maybe someone
> else
> has experience with that.
>
--
Jim Coate
www.FreeRangeElectric.com
Home of The Electric Tractor Store
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