Tractor for the Sugar Woods

[Cedar Eater]

Rim Guard is molasses based...not environmentally friendly...get it in water with fish and it will coak them out in seconds. It wraps around the oxygen in the water.

Calcium chloride is preferred by all the tire guys I know in our area. Simple to mix and is way cheaper now that India is the worlds largest exporter of molasses rather than the largest exporter. They make ethanol out of the molasses. Our mills molasses cost went from $20 per ton to now over $245 in just over 20 years. from 180 in the last 4 years.

Either is fine until you have a flat and you need to repair it. Molasses hits warm moist air and it will have a bacterial reaction and foam like crazy. Big mess!

Most tire guys only replace with cal chloride as they have the bags on the truck and you have water.

If a valve is leaking spin the rim to get the valve on top and change it.

Never had a problem going down hill pulling logs only up and with the small tractor,

Not even going to get into the center of balance and how a persons 200 or so pounds is not going to change the center of gravity much on a 3000# tractor. on a pedal tractor it will but even our old Kubota 245 DT with 4' bucket it didn't make a bit of difference unless you were hanging from the ROPS bar. That was a joke. lol

Safety First...we all have had hairy experiences...those alive will share the stories and we should learn from those that didn't also.

My tractor only weighs about 2000# and only has a 5' stance. I could widen the stance to 7' by reversing the rears, but I like small trails through the woods. Unless I add weight to the bucket and hold it and the mower low, I can get into trouble quite easily on sidehills and my 200+ lbs. above the CG can make a big difference. I have gotten off and walked along on the high side of the tractor, steering and pushing the foot pedal with my hand to get the tractor out of a hole that the downslope rear dropped into. I've towed some very big oak logs with it and I've been pushed sideways going downhill on slick wet leaves. I didn't roll, but I won't do it again without the bushhog on the back. I'm offering these "hairy experiences" with small tractors so the OP can decide whether the risks are acceptable.

And glycol is basically antifreeze. It is neither molasses nor calcium chloride. It mixes well with water and it doesn't eat rubber. It comes from beet sugar refining and biodiesel processing, and not everybody can get it in bulk for as cheaply as Michiganders.

[Geroldn]

Another reason for a light tractor. I visited the sugar woods of a local county forester and he pointed out that maples have shallow root systems, that can be damaged by ground compression from heavy equipment. He wouldn't even remove cull trees for firewood from near his crop trees. He would drop the culls and let them decompose there (he was also trying to build up forest soil). According to him root damage is cumulative and doesn't show up immediately, but will show up in reduced tree health and slower growth years down the road.

[blucoondawg]

Rim Guard is molasses based...not environmentally friendly...get it in water with fish and it will coak them out in seconds. It wraps around the oxygen in the water.

Calcium chloride is preferred by all the tire guys I know in our area. Simple to mix and is way cheaper now that India is the worlds largest exporter of molasses rather than the largest exporter. They make ethanol out of the molasses. Our mills molasses cost went from $20 per ton to now over $245 in just over 20 years. from 180 in the last 4 years.

Either is fine until you have a flat and you need to repair it. Molasses hits warm moist air and it will have a bacterial reaction and foam like crazy. Big mess!

Most tire guys only replace with cal chloride as they have the bags on the truck and you have water.

Everyone around here pushes rim guard and it isn't very expensive, we can load the rears on my tractor for just over 200 bucks. To each their own but I won't be putting the corrosive stuff in any more of my equipment. Most anything will kill fish if enough is dumped in the water with them, but overall rim guard is more environmentally friendly than calcium chloride.

[BreezyHill]

Everyone around here pushes rim guard and it isn't very expensive, we can load the rears on my tractor for just over 200 bucks. To each their own but I won't be putting the corrosive stuff in any more of my equipment. Most anything will kill fish if enough is dumped in the water with them, but overall rim guard is more environmentally friendly than calcium chloride.

I hear what you are saying but I don't think you realize qhat you are dealing with. Molasses is a sugar and sugar molds and makes acid, plus the acid that is used to limit the acid production is Phosphoric Acid. Nasty stuff...that is why molasses is only stored in poly or stainless tanks. I can only get 2 years out of cast iron pumps and our molasses for our mill is fat fortified to provide calories and to protect the equipment from the acids.

I have a total of 5 tractors all with loaded tires. I live on a dirt road that gets chloride every year. I totally understand what this stuff does and have even used it in our indoor horse arena and on the driveway in drought years. I have a 35 gallon tank on an atv and a 2000 gallon pump truck from molasses delivery business. It is far easier for me to take the atv to the field and wash a rim off of chloride when there is a flat than to wash off molasses.

Well I had a brain storm. With Maple at low prices for commercial $0.90/# why are we not using maple in our tires. We can add so RO acid to kill bacteria and be good to go...Just send me a penny for every pound used for this great idea and I can retire.

[Maplesapper]

Great feed back CE;

I have decided to go bigger than smaller.
And then just fell dead in my tracks after watching a few auctions and then attending the Ritchie Bros auction.
Pricing; big or small tractors in Ontario , Canada is crazy at the moment.
Spring must the high season to buy- so I keep watching the local paper; and am getting the word out with some mechanics that I am looking for a good unit.

[BAP]

Breezyhill, you should try reading the MDS sheet for Rimguard before spouting off how "environmentally Bad" it is. It is not molasses, but Beet juice and is not acidic, but has a PH of 10. Just because the town uses it for dust control doesn't make calcium chloride safe to use. What do you think kills all the roadside trees? It is the calcium chloride and road salt.

[BreezyHill]

Another reason for a light tractor. I visited the sugar woods of a local county forester and he pointed out that maples have shallow root systems, that can be damaged by ground compression from heavy equipment. He wouldn't even remove cull trees for firewood from near his crop trees. He would drop the culls and let them decompose there (he was also trying to build up forest soil). According to him root damage is cumulative and doesn't show up immediately, but will show up in reduced tree health and slower growth years down the road.

So who has the less compaction rate the 165# girl in size 7 shoes or the big farmer of 200# in his size 12 double EE work boots.

Small does not mean less compaction.

My JD 1050 3200# tractor cuts in far worse than my 80 horse 7500 Kubota. over 600% more foot print on the big machine than on the small machine and only 2.5 times the weight.

Harvest when the ground is frozen and compaction is not an issue. Also frost action in soil removes compaction layers very affectively as long is there is enough soil moisture and the frost gets deep enough. We had over 8' of frost measured this year.

You do realize you can get tracks for tracotrs...check out the track kits that tractor groomers are using. You can burry an egg 1" below the ground surface and not damage it with a14000# tracked tractor driving over top of it with a track.

Great in mud and the snow we are getting right now.

[mellondome]

So who has the less compaction rate the 165# girl in size 7 shoes or the big farmer of 200# in his size 12 double EE work boots.

Depends on how cute she is..

[Maplesapper]

Anyone know of an upcoming Tractor Farm Show in Ontario to go view many manufacturers at once?
Or is that a fall thing....