A (better?) alternate to Rim Guard tire ballast- (Edit -really bad idea!)

Otis H.

New member

Equipment
MX5400
Mar 30, 2023
9
8
3
Sebastopol, CA
Edit: looking a bit deeper into the notion described below, I concluded that there is really no way to use preservatives to prevent spontaneous fermentation of simple sugars, wnich you definitely don’t want happening in your tractor tires! Chalk one up for Rim Guard, which I’ll be making the drive and paying the price for now;).

I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users

kubotafreak

Well-known member

Equipment
GRAND l6060, L3560, B6100, gr2100, tg 1860, g1800, g1900, g2160
Sep 20, 2018
1,019
372
83
Arkansas, US
Cast weight if you ask me. I dont like rotted rims. Plus no loss from a tire puncture, and easier to work on… but for the weight you cant beat it. Rims are pretty much not powder coated in the drop center.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Otis H.

New member

Equipment
MX5400
Mar 30, 2023
9
8
3
Sebastopol, CA
Cast weight if you ask me. I dont like rotted rims. Plus no loss from a tire puncture, and easier to work on… but for the weight you cant beat it. Rims are pretty much not powder coated in the drop center.
Agreed, but sugar water is really not corrosive in this context. That is why they call the beet juice product Rim Guard. salt solutions used in the past did have this problem. As an extra safeguard, I have a method insuring that the non-liquid space is either 100%Nitrogen or 100%Argon, both of which I have on hand as a wine maker. Oxygen is required for corrosion even with the salts, but this is overkill protection with the sugars.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcfarmall

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota M5660SUHD, Farmall C
Sep 11, 2013
1,377
1,648
113
Kalamazoo, MI
How much did you pay for the new MX5400? I'm guessing north of $30k. My favorite analogy is the guy who bought a new Nikon SLR camera outfit and then complained about paying $3 a roll for film (back in the late 1900's when cameras used stuff called 'film').
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 users

fried1765

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
6,316
4,003
113
Eastham, Ma
I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis
"Beet Juice" will not freeze in cold climates.
Sugar water will freeze.
I do understand that freezing is not likely in Placerville CA.
 

old and tired

Well-known member

Equipment
L2800 HST; 2005; R4
I'll just say that I had a front tire on a lawn mower explode - best guess was it started to ferment or bacteria started to grow in the green Slime. I saw the tire earlier in the day and noted that it was over pressurized - was going to look at it the next day.

Middle of the night, VERY LOUD explosion.... the wall and underside of the deck looked like a version of Ghost Busters' slime.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: 2 users

Otis H.

New member

Equipment
MX5400
Mar 30, 2023
9
8
3
Sebastopol, CA
"Beet Juice" will not freeze in cold climates.
Sugar water will freeze.
I do understand that freezing is not likely in Placerville CA.
you’ve got a point for really cold climates. this solution would have a freezing point well below that of plain water, probably in the low 20’s°F. A bit of methanol would take it lower. Most tractors around here in Sonoma County, including my current 45hp LS, have plain water in the wheels. It is just 8#/gallon though.
 

Otis H.

New member

Equipment
MX5400
Mar 30, 2023
9
8
3
Sebastopol, CA
How much did you pay for the new MX5400? I'm guessing north of $30k. My favorite analogy is the guy who bought a new Nikon SLR camera outfit and then complained about paying $3 a roll for film (back in the late 1900's when cameras used stuff called 'film').
Touché! I’ve not made a firm decision yet and may still go for the Rim Guard. It is a combination of hassle and cost that’s got me looking for alternatives. I do prefer liquid ballast to wheel weights, though, partly for the lower center of gravity effect and, in the 11#/gallon range, twice the weight of a triple set of Kabota weights.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

fried1765

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
6,316
4,003
113
Eastham, Ma
you’ve got a point for really cold climates. this solution would have a freezing point well below that of plain water, probably in the low 20’s°F. A bit of methanol would take it lower. Most tractors around here in Sonoma County, including my current 45hp LS, have plain water in the wheels. It is just 8#/gallon though.
8.33 lbs/gal. to be exact.
 

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
so.. curious... haw many beets does a farmer have to harvest to make 600# of juice ??
also since water is 2/3rd the weight of beet juice, that'd be 400# of water, install 1 or 2 wheel weights to make up the difference ??
 

Otis H.

New member

Equipment
MX5400
Mar 30, 2023
9
8
3
Sebastopol, CA
I'll just say that I had a front tire on a lawn mower explode - best guess was it started to ferment or bacteria started to grow in the green Slime. I saw the tire earlier in the day and noted that it was over pressurized - was going to look at it the next day.

Middle of the night, VERY LOUD explosion.... the wall and underside of the deck looked like a version of Ghost Busters' slime.
BINGO! See edit of my original post.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

jyoutz

Well-known member

Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
Jan 14, 2019
2,458
1,565
113
Edgewood, New Mexico
Touché! I’ve not made a firm decision yet and may still go for the Rim Guard. It is a combination of hassle and cost that’s got me looking for alternatives. I do prefer liquid ballast to wheel weights, though, partly for the lower center of gravity effect and, in the 11#/gallon range, twice the weight of a triple set of Kabota weights.
Check into bio-ballast. Non corrosive, doesn’t freeze, and less messy than rim guard.
 

Henry E

New member
Premium Member

Equipment
B2710
Mar 19, 2023
1
0
1
Grass Valley CA
Edit: looking a bit deeper into the notion described below, I concluded that there is really no way to use preservatives to prevent spontaneous fermentation of simple sugars, wnich you definitely don’t want happening in your tractor tires! Chalk one up for Rim Guard, which I’ll be making the drive and paying the price for now;).

I was intrigued by the idea of putting 600# of beet juice, an eco-friendly waste by-product of sugar beet processing, in each of the rear industrial tires on my new MX5400. That plus the 1000# 3-point ballast box I have should do the trick for balancing out a full loader. I found the nearest source to be a 5-hour round trip to Placerville , CA, and was quoted a price of $6/gallon(gulp!)

researching alternatives, I stumbled upon the water/sugar mix that beekeepers make for getting bees through the winter, which weighs exactly the same 11#/gallon as Rim Guard. I determined that the 650# of fully refined sugar from the local WalMart I’d need to make 100 gallons of that solution would result in a net cost of just $4.16/gallon, and save me the 5 hour drive to boot!- Otis
Who in Placerville does the rim guard?
 

Staggerlee1976

New member

Equipment
LX2610, LA535 w/54"QA, LP 60" Box Scraper
May 28, 2023
12
24
3
Petaluma, CA
BINGO! See edit of my original post.
I realize this thread is old, Otis, but what did the local Kubota dealer propose filling them with? I'm just over the hill from you in Bloomfield/West Petaluma, and I was planning on approaching them about options. Like you, I am loathe to haul the tractor two plus hours for beet juice, and I don't think dealers here in CA are going to want to/ be able to dispose of that much alcohol solution or windshield washer fluid when the time eventually comes.
 

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
I 'dispose' of used WW fluid in my truck. Use is year round. Still have gallons of it on the shelf...probably a lifetime supply. Used 3-4 gallons of it when cleaning out the fuel tank of the BX years ago...