Beet juice as ballast

Stewardculture

New member

Equipment
L2501
Feb 1, 2020
2
0
0
Kearney, Missouri
My 'bota dealer offered to fill my back tires with beet juice as ballast/weight since I also had the FEL. I admit, that I have had a few loads in the bucket that made my L2501 a bit squirly to handle and I could feel the tractor want to roll on a couple of occasions.

My question is, I opted out on buying the beet juice for ballast in the back tires but I'm wondering if I made a mistake and should I have them add it when I take it in for a 50-hour check up?

I know having the extra weight gives better traction (I have ag tires) and I am sure it would counter balance a heavy FEL bucketful.
 

JWool

Member

Equipment
B2650HSDC FEL & Front Snow Blower, ZT-Z421, GL11000 Generator
Dec 29, 2013
97
17
8
Northern MI
Unless you want to hook a ballast box to the 3 point it's almost a must in my opinion.
I have AG tires on my B2650 loaded and still have been in situtions with the loader I could use a little more weight.
I did because I didn't want to have to hook a ballast box up every time I used the loader plus I may need to work in tighter areas from time to time.
 

Bmyers

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Grand L3560 with LA805 loader, EA 55" Wicked Grapple, SBX72 BB, LP 1272 mower
May 27, 2019
3,151
3,628
113
Southern Illinois
I have my tires filled with beet juice and I also put an implement on the 3pt. Otherwise the rear gets awful light.
 

Tim Horton

Active member
Mar 22, 2018
245
41
28
Lake Superior
If you can get beet juice in your tires at a reasonable price, I'd recommend you go for it.

Our tractor came with salt water. It hasn't been a problem, but I wish I could have had anything but that at the time we got the tractor..

In this area, beet juice is not widely known and expensive. On an older tractor we had, I did a home fill job with auto antifreeze, and washer fluid mix. This mix may not be the best, but was cheap and easy to DIY...
 

BigG

Well-known member

Equipment
l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
Sep 14, 2018
1,950
774
113
West Central,FL
if you do not need to worry about freezing you could just add water to the rear tires and save a lot of money. What ever you do add the weight and hang an implement on the three point hitch when you are using the FEL.
 

Nicfin36

Well-known member

Equipment
L2501 HST, BH77 Backhoe, SSQA Loader ZD1011 Mower
Jun 19, 2019
1,014
457
83
Decatur, AL
My L2501 came with filled tires. Plus, I have a backhoe on it. It has felt stable when using the bucket, but I have not done anything crazy with it and even slight inclines make me nervous, so I avoid them.

I have been curious about what they are filled with, and I forget to ask the dealer every time I have stopped in since purchasing the tractor.
 

Stewardculture

New member

Equipment
L2501
Feb 1, 2020
2
0
0
Kearney, Missouri
Thanks for the replies and I guess the beet juice is worth the squeeze ... ahahaha. Alright, I appreciate everyone's thoughts. I'll likely get my back tires filled. It might be nice not to feel that pucker factor when I have a heavy FEL load.
 

SidecarFlip

Banned

Equipment
M9000HDCC3, M9000HD, Kubota GS850 Sidekick
Oct 28, 2018
7,197
546
83
USA
No 'juice' of any kind in my tires, none needed. I spec cast centers instead. Having said that I would want tubes in ANY tire with liquid ballast added. No exceptions.
 

RCW

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
8,284
3,876
113
Chenango County, NY
Friday I saw a tanker tractor-trailer labeled Rim Guard.
Thought that would fill a lot of tires.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,679
3,933
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
interesting , as water will rust out a rim....yeah, might take a few days.....
just thought it'd be good ,cheap protection
 

ccoon520

Active member

Equipment
L2501 w/ FEL
Apr 15, 2019
360
106
43
IA
interesting , as water will rust out a rim....yeah, might take a few days.....
just thought it'd be good ,cheap protection
The inside of the rim is painted. Fresh Water is fairly nonabrasive and the wheels rotate at such a slow speed that it won't wear through the paint quickly. Also, it would take longer than a few days to rust out the rims anyway. The tires are filled to 75% capacity with water so the actual air contact is minimal reducing the surface area for oxidation to occur. Also since the tire is Air Tight if rust does start to occur it will stop once the oxygen is all used because there is no further oxygen for the reaction and there is not sufficient energy to split the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.
 

ccoon520

Active member

Equipment
L2501 w/ FEL
Apr 15, 2019
360
106
43
IA
The inside of the rim is painted. Fresh Water is fairly nonabrasive and the wheels rotate at such a slow speed that it won't wear through the paint quickly. Also, it would take longer than a few days to rust out the rims anyway. The tires are filled to 75% capacity with water so the actual air contact is minimal reducing the surface area for oxidation to occur. Also since the tire is Air Tight if rust does start to occur it will stop once the oxygen is all used because there is no further oxygen for the reaction and there is not sufficient energy to split the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.
I should also mention that iron or steel engine blocks also have water jackets for cooling (yes there is antifreeze and other additives but is a much more open system than a tire), and they mostly only run into rust issues when the jacket is drained and the block has sat for an extended period of time.