Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

Rim Guard Beet Juice is the optimal tire ballast for both new and antique farm tractors, front-end loaders, commercial back hoes, skid steers, all-terrain forklifts, road graders, compactors/rollers and all types of utility tractors. Based on a proprietary formulation that begins with a byproduct of sugar beet processing, The Original Beet Juice Ballast overcomes the drawbacks of other options.

  • Heaviest non-corrosive liquid ballast on the market
  • Costs 75% less than typical weights
  • Non-toxic, biodegradable and water soluble
  • Freeze-resistant to -35°F
  • Effective with or without tubes

COMPARISON OF WEIGHT/BALLAST OPTIONS

ProductPounds Per GallonTypical Retail Price Per PoundSafety FactorsTemp RatingCharacteristics
The Original Beet Juice Tire Ballast 10.7-11.0 $0.28 Very safe -35°F Non-corrosive, environmentally safe and non-toxic. No tubes or mixing required.
Water 8.3 $0 Very Safe +32°F Corrosive. Not an option in any climate where freezing temperatures are possible.
Weights N/A $1-$2 Safe N/A Most expensive option per pound; may place extra load demand on axles and frames depending on placement.
Calcium Chloride 10.5-12.0 $0.10-$0.20 Corrosive and Toxic -35°F Must be mixed on-site. Can destroy rim and valve stem if leaks from tube. Highly toxic; burns skin and contaminates soil.
Windshield Washer Fluid 7.8-8.3 $0.23-$0.30 Toxic -25°F Tubes required for safety. Toxic to animals and can contaminate groundwater.
Methanol <8.0 $0.20-$0.30 Highly Flammable Highly Flammable Must be mixed with water. Highly flammable and weighs approximately 30% less than Beet Juice.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

Agriculture

Avoid exposing your livestock or crops to toxic freeze-resistant ballast. Beet Juice is animal food grade safe and won’t freeze to -35°F. 

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

Construction

Beet Juice Ballast enables workers to safely and powerfully haul, lift, and excavate, while reducing the risk of tipping.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

Forestry

Logging is heavy work, and Beet Juice Ballast provides the traction and stability for equipment operators to pull, lift, and stack with confidence.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

Utility

Whether you’re operating a compact, sub-compact or residential tractor, Beet Juice Ballast can help your utility tractor work as hard as you do.

With the Original Beet Juice Tire Ballast, you’ll maximize pulling power and reduce the risk of tipping — all while protecting your rims from corrosion

Tractor-owners, especially those with subcompact models, know the value of added ballast, particularly liquid tire ballast. Rim Guard’s innovative product offers a plethora of benefits to any heavy equipment operator in need of tire ballast, all the while negating any possible effects of corrosion. Whether an ag-producer, construction operator, forester, utilities worker, or a homeowner with a compact or subcompact tractor for snow removal, Rim Guard’s Original Beet Juice Tire Ballast isn’t what your grandpa used, but he probably would’ve if he could’ve.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires
Image courtesy of Rim Guard

Beet Juice Tire Ballast is tough to beat

Any operator who’s ever slipped about the slop with a tractor’s wheels spinning knows the importance of having some weight in those tires. And whereas weight-plates loaded on the front or rear can offer too much weight too high, liquid tire ballast takes the weight directly to the lowest point and maintains that center of gravity while in motion.

Beet Juice Tire Ballast is an American-made product that is formulated using a byproduct of the sugar beet manufacturing process, which offers the heaviest non-corrosive liquid ballast on the market today. Non-toxic, biodegradable, and water soluble, producers don’t have to worry if they spill the material around livestock or plants. Freeze-resistant to -35 degrees Fahrenheit, the product is effective with or without tubes.

And the numbers really do tell the tale. At 10.7-11.0 pounds per gallon, Beet Juice Tire Ballast’s closest rival is calcium chloride at 10.5-12.0. Meanwhile, water weighs in at 8.3 pounds per gallon, with windshield water fluid at 7.8-8.3, and methanol under 8 pounds per gallon. In terms of cost, Beet Juice Tire Ballast retails at about $0.28 per pound, with calcium chloride coming in between $0.10-$.20, windshield washer fluid at $0.23-$0.30, and methanol at $0.20-$0.30. But keep in mind the substantive difference in weight per-gallon between the products, as it takes a lot less Beet Juice to do the same job.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires

One of the biggest advantages of the Rim Guard’s product however is in terms of safety, as it’s ranked most safe among all the competitors. Calcium chloride is both corrosive and toxic even at lower doses, with windshield washer fluid rated toxic, and methanol highly flammable. Another big plus is in the temperature rating, with the Beet Juice Tire Ballast rating a -35 degrees Fahrenheit, water at +32 degrees Fahrenheit, calcium chloride about -35 degrees Fahrenheit, windshield washer fluid -25 degrees Fahrenheit, and methanol simply flammable. As you can see, Beet Juice Tire Ballast performs well in the extreme cold.

The Beet Juice product is both non-corrosive and non-toxic, and no tubes or mixing is required. Meanwhile, water is corrosive and simply not a realistic option where freezing temperatures are a possibility, while calcium chloride must be mixed on-site and can destroy rims and valve stems if leaked from the tube. Highly toxic, calcium chloride can burn skin and contaminate soil. Windshield wiper fluid is not only toxic to animals if spilled, but tubes are required for safety. Likewise, methanol must be mixed with water and weighs so much less per gallon that the Beet Juice the price could wind up being higher down the road.

The other alternative to ballasting is weight plates, which come at a cost of between $1 and $2 per pound. The struggle with using weights it that they place too much a strain on the axles and are prone to damage, just as any other piece of external equipment. Meanwhile, it takes a bit of strategic thinking to figure out where on the tractor’s frame to place them, and in the end, it’s just clear that liquid tire ballast takes the weight to the lowest point of gravity where it’s needed most.

Bulk beet juice for tractor tires
Image by Chekyravaa, Shutterstock

Why ballast at all?

Experienced operators already know the answer, of course, but some just starting out may not fully understand the problem until they attempt plowing snow on a sheet of ice. Or, if they get stuck in a swampy mud. The fact is, tractors, combines, bulldozers, and just about any piece of commercial equipment has significantly more power than their frame weight can utilize. By adding weight to the tires or the frame, one can heighten the machine’s traction and prevent wheel slippage. This doesn’t just maximize power and efficiency, but it also prevents damage to the tires. Properly ballasting the tires can significantly increase machine efficiency both in terms of performance and time in field.

Every machine has a slightly different set of weight requirements, and before adding liquid ballast to the tires it’s wise to check the specifications and find that sweet spot between too little and too much. And with a little due diligence it may become clear, that the sweet spot in question tastes a lot like sugar beets.

Brian Boyce is an award-winning writer living on a farm in west-central Indiana. You can see more of his work at www.boycegroupinc.com. This article was published on behalf of Rim Guard.

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How much weight does beet juice Add to tractor tires?

Beet juice tire ballast weighs 10.7 to 11.0 lbs. per gallon. Usually, tires are filled to the 12:00 rim position or about 75% full. The actual weight is a function of tire size.

How much is beet juice for tires?

Pros: Inexpensive beet juice mixture costs approximately $0.28/lb. Weighs 10.7 – 11.0 lbs per gallon (about the same as calcium chloride). It is non-corrosive and non-toxic. If spilled it will not contaminate the soil or kill your pets.

What is best to fill tractor tires with?

Calcium Chloride You must add inner tubes to the tractor's wheels & tires, otherwise the steel wheels will corrode away quickly. A 31 percent mixture of calcium chloride is freeze resistant down to minus 58 F. Calcium chloride weighs 11.3 pounds per gallon making it a good option to get the most weight on your tractor.