The Benefits of Adding Liquid Ballast to Tractor Tires

Tractor tires are essential for providing traction, reducing wear and tear on machinery, and improving ballast. Calcium chloride solutions are a popular choice for adding ballast to tractor tires, as they can add up to 30% more weight than water and lower the freezing point of the solution. Other liquid ballast options include antifreeze, polyurethane foam, and beet juice. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to consider the local climate and the type of tractor you're using before making a decision.

Adding liquid ballast to tractor tires has many benefits. It reduces the center of gravity of the tractor, allowing for safer operation and greater traction. It also helps to maintain tire pressure and increase traction. This is especially important for farmers who drive their tractors on roads at higher speeds.

When choosing a solid calcium chloride product for weighing tires, use a calculator to determine the amount that must be mixed with water to achieve solutions of varying concentrations. A 31 percent calcium chloride blend is freeze-resistant to minus 58 F. Calcium chloride weighs 11.3 pounds per gallon, making it a good choice for getting the most weight out of your tractor. If a tire breaks and causes liquid ballast to leak, the salt is not toxic to animals, but it can damage any plant that grows on the affected soil.

When filling

tractor tires

with polyurethane foam, the tire is not punctured, but it is not possible to make future tire pressure adjustments. As you can see, there's always more to learn about ballasting and other aspects to get the most out of your investment in tractors. Farmers, highway departments, lawnmowers and property maintenance providers have long recognized the benefits of adding liquid ballast to tires. Driving quality is more affected at higher speeds, so the farmer who drives a Tractors often on the road will want to think more about driving quality than about someone who primarily keeps their tractor in the field. Filling your tractor tires with water is a great way to maintain their pressure and increase traction. Like the calcium chloride option, it is better at adding weight to the tractor than many other liquid ballast options.

However, it is important to note that water weighs just 8.3 pounds per gallon, which will limit the amount of weight you can add to the tractor compared to other liquid ballast options. Given the disadvantages of these other forms of

ballast for tractor tires

, it may be worth considering beet juice for tire ballast. Beet juice has been used as a liquid ballast for tractors ever since tractors began using tires. It is non-toxic and does not corrode steel wheels like calcium chloride does. Tractor dealers are often best placed to advise you on the exact amount of ballast your tractor needs, the right formula for the local climate, and the best way to protect the life of your tractor's wheels and tires. Liquid ballasting on tires pays dividends at a lower center of gravity, allowing for safe operation and greater traction, helping you convert greater tractor power into useful work.

Jaclyn Svrcek
Jaclyn Svrcek

Freelance coffee ninja. Incurable tv scholar. Extreme music fan. Avid beer aficionado. Wannabe coffee fanatic.

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