4 ms·
Hmm, why water filled? I can't think of any advantages, but can think of downsides such as a massive increase in unsprung weight.
by xxpor 5y ago
Hmm, why water filled? I can't think of any advantages, but can think of downsides such as a massive increase in unsprung weight.
- kazinator 5y agoA disadvantage is that only the rubber absorbs impacts, since the fluid is incompressible for all intents and purposes.
- cat199 5y ago... but for 'intensive purposes' on the other hand the story is less clear
- robocat 5y agoThe tyre is only partially filled (for example 40%) with water - so the tyre is not “incompressible”. https://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tractors/2006/feature/ballasting_and_optimizing_performance/7020lf/7020lf_ballast_liquid.html https://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tracto...
- kazinator 5y agoI see. Furthermore, there is an admonishment: IMPORTANT: Never fill any tire to more than 90% full. More solution could damage tire.
- erik_landerholm 5y agohttps://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/ https://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/ Beet juice is interesting! lol
- LeifCarrotson 5y agoIt's a lot better than the calcium chloride that they used to use, when a telehandler blew out a tire and drained hundreds of pounds of saltwater into my parents' lawn a few years ago it did a lot of damage.
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoBeet juice is soooooooo much better for the environment than the salts it is replacing. Unfortunately it is slightly more expensive so we get to continue poisoning our waterways with salts.
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoBallast for increased traction and tipping capacity with the positive side effect of lower COG.
- xxpor 5y agoAh! That's a good idea.
- fergbrain 5y agoSounds like it’s used as ballast: https://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/ https://tractoraddict.com/tractor-tires-filled-with-water/
- handrous 5y agoWater's basically incompressible, if some Michael Crichton book I read like 25 years ago is to be believed. My guess would be one or more of: the above; greater heat capacity; or, something to do with surface area vs. volume meaning that at a large enough size water in a tire is far lower-pressure and easier to contain than air at a high enough pressure to keep it inflated, and/or, relatedly, something to do with heat dissipation from compressing gasses being really hard to deal with once you hit a certain surface-to-volume ratio. [EDIT] LOL, guess all these were wrong and it's just for the extra weight.
- 1-more 5y agoThe book was Sphere. It rocked. I too remember this fact just from that.
- xmcqdpt2 5y agowhich was made into a movie https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_(1998_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_(1998_film) that is confusingly similar to The Abyss, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abyss https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abyss I always get the two confused.
- jet_32951 5y agoThe only springs on most tractors - ancient or modern - are between the seat and the frame to which it is affixed. IOW the vast majority of the tractor's total weight is unsprung.
- bluGill 5y agoThe only time they move fast enough to worry about unspung weight is when they are on a trailer. That isn't strictly true, but in general such equipment spends most of it time moving very slowly it it moves at all. Transports speeds do become a problem, but that is only done for a short time (or you have it on a trailer so you can go faster) so nobody worries about the issue.
- beauzero 5y agoIts easier to let the water out of a tractor tire than to take a 500lb wheel plate off...when changing a tire. ...added weight is for better traction. Almost all 2WD tractors will have their back tires filled with a water/radiator fluid mixture (ice doesn't work well if you want to keep the tire on the rim).
- dboreham 5y agoNothing is sprung on a wheel loader or a scaper.
- dboreham 5y agoSometimes foam is used rather than water.