Dexta and Loader

[Brian]

MikeR
Not Quite Blue Yet


Joined: 23 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
Location: South Devon
Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 10:55 am Post subject: Rear Weights for use with loader

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Hi
I use a horndraulic loader (made in 1958 ser no 1220 - a bit earlier than the tractor but i belive an original fitting) with my dexta without any weights on traction can be very poor even the slightest slope just spins wheels.
my thoughts are what about ballast/ water in the rear tyres - mentioned in the manuals etc but i don't know anyone who has done it - so reciepes, amounts and comments on practicality would be appreciated.
The other thought is the concrete block on the reral linkage which seems more practical - any one got any info on sizes etc recommended/

Also anyone ever seen a manual instruction booklet for Horndraulic stuff - or know where i could get a copy.
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Mike

Mike, moved this to a new topic. Hope it will generate some replies. I had missed it too.

[Brian]

Mike,

I would go with the concrete block rather than the water ballast. An oil drum filled with concrete with a rod through it to attach the arm is the best way.

I built one for my TE20 by using an old water tank, putting a piece of plastic pipe through it and filled it with concrete. The plastic pipe gives me a hole through which goes my linkage drawbar. The drawbar can be removed and used normally or used as a weigh mounting. I have used this weight for 25 years, the only thing I would say is get the hole low enough down to give you a good clearance.

For light loader work I have an old engine flywheel mounted on the same linkage drawbar. It came from a Ford industrial engine and weight around 1cwt. I loaded muck with this over the weekend with no problems.

Water in the rear wheels is usually a mixture of calcium chloride with !/2cwt dissolved in around 30gal per wheel. Very heavy if you have to take the wheel off and a real pain if you get a puncture.

As a lad in the dealership I spent many happy hours belasting rear tyres and repairing punctures in them.

[Mike Kuscher]

MikeR,

Now that Brian has created this a a new topic, hopefully you will get some replies.

Here is my contribution, to start it off.
NOTE: This is what I was told by a 'professional', I've not done it myself.

Ballast Mixture = 2 heaped table spoons of salt to 1 pint of water. Heat the water first, to help the salt dissolve fully BUT wait until it has fully cooled again, before you use it.

Move the tractor until each rear wheel has the valve horizontal (half way round, at the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock position.)
Jack the tractor up on that side.
Remove the valve from the inner tube and let all of the air out.
Fit a rubber pipe, with a funnel on one end, over the valve fitting.
Gradually pour the salt/water mixture in until the tyre is half full.
(that's why the valve is at 3 o'clock.)
Now refit the valve to the inner tube and re-inflate the tyre to normal pressure.
Then do the other side.

Warnings i was given:
1) always use salt in the water, without it rots the inner tube and freezes.
2) NEVER try and remove the wheel without draining the solution back out first, or you'll probably kill yourself with the weight.

OK, that's what i was told.
Brian, anybody, know better?

Mike

[JC]

Mike,
I've never heard of anyone using salt water here, but I think it would rust the rims, just like calcium chloride does. We mostly use anti-freeze around here. It's not as heavy as calcium chloride, but its non-corrosive, and it has rust inhibitors in it.
JC

[Brian]

JC,

I read a lot about calcium chloride and salt rusting the rims over there, and am a bit mystified. How does it do that when it is in the tube? or do they mean leaks around the valve or when you get punctures.

I have seen both of these additives used for many years without rust problems.

Or do you have a lot of tubeless tyres when I could understand the problem?

[Lesfen]

The rims on our tractors with ballast also rust.
Often wondered how or why given that some never had a puncture or even, ever appeared to be leaking at the valve stem!
Almost like the ballast was wicking through the inner tube!

Are there better inner tubes in Britain?
.. or maybe the tyre people are neater there and don't spill any!

We use calcium chloride here in Canada as it's freezing point is ~-45C compared to sodium chloride at ~-20C. CaCl2 is also a bit heavier.
Mostly, we fill tires to around 70% ballast as less will tend to slosh around more, especially on a loader tractor.

Cheers,
Les

[Mark]

Brian,
I've had calcium chloride in my back tires since 1983, and I have had no problems. If you have a flat then the calcium chloride will spill out on the rim. I've found all you have to do when this happens is clean it good, then give it a good rinse. I've heard of using antifreeze, but that would be very expensive compared to calcium chloride.

[JC]

I was going to ask the same question that Les did. Do you have better quality tubes in England? It seems that the calcium chloride leaks out of the tube for no reason and eventually finds its way out through the valve stem hole in the rim. People think that its leaking out of the valve core, but its usually not.
Antifreeze is more expensive, but you don't have to use a 50/50 mix like you would in the radiator. It doesn't matter if the water in the tires gets slushy, as long as it doesn't get solid.

[Brian]

Good Grief, It must be leaking from the tubes then because, sometimes the first time you knew you had a ballasted wheel was when you took it off It is very rare to see wheels like that over here. I can now see why you are concerned about Calcium Chloride.

We used to dissolve 1 cwt in 50 gal of water and pump it in with an engine driven pump straight from the barrel. When we did a tyre repair or fitted new tyres we used to pump it out with the same pump and this used to suck the tyre off the rim too! When I was learning the trade, my first jobs that I was allowed to do on my own was tyre fitting on the farm. I used to go out in a big old Commer ex-bus full of 11x36 tyres and the ballasting pump then spend around a week on a certain farm changing tyres and ballasting them on DM4 Nuffields.

[Mark]

JC,
I see why you don't like calcium chloride, I've had ballast in mine for years without this problem. Was the tube put on a new rim or and old one with rust on it. Sometimes rust will cause a little pin hole in the tube making it seep for long periods of time. It only takes a dab of calcium chloride to start it to rust. I've only seen a few tractors in my neck of the woods do that, and it was because they failed to clean the rim properly.
Although I have seen the front tires, when I take them off after they are completely worn out, they will be rusted to the rim, and these didn't have calcium chloride in them. Do you think maybe that after a period of time water leaked in under the tube and caused rust to form, making the tube seep calcium chloride? Makes me wonder if we shouldn't put what they call "seam sealer" around the rim while we are in the process of changing the tires, thus keeping the water out.

[MikeR]

wellthanks for moving my post - stirred up things a bit.
I think i will go the concrete weight route given comments.

with regard to the ballast leakage i wonder if its some weird Shark of inner tube rubbers in that its somehow gas impermeable but fluid permable - not what you would expect given that gas molecules are smaller than liquid for the most part if i remember correctly