Authored by: Tractor tyre expert | 22 March 2024
Your tractor tyre model determines your load capacity. Agricultural tyres are solid, but not sufficiently so to cope with any level of load and you must take this into account when it comes to choosing your ballast.
Adding too much weight to your combination vehicle can effectively be counterproductive, so you need to choose the additional weights necessary carefully to improve the efficiency of your tractor. You have several options; water ballast, wheel weights or adding additional ballast masses to the front or rear lift.
All these operations can be combined and result in you obtaining the right balance for your vehicle. If you leave the role of balancing the weight of the rear implement to ballast on the front lift, you can focus on the wheels and try to define what will be most effective between liquid ballast or the use of additional wheel weights.
The main aim is to establish balance between weight and tractor power. Depending on your tractor’s power and the implement used, it may be necessary to complete the weight of the front lift by adding additional masses to the wheels.
It is important to find the best possible balance by spreading the weight over the whole tractor as far as possible.
When you have obtained stability, the tractor can use its power efficiently on the ground with the same effort from the 4 drive wheels, without overloading the tyres or the transmission system.
Having the best ballasting possible ensues the most efficient use of your agricultural equipment and improves your safety. Below are the main advantages when working:
On the other hand, unsuitable ballasting leads to major problems: reduced work efficiency, soil damage and increased fuel consumption.
If there is too much ballast, the tractor sinks into the ground, rolling resistance increases, leading to excess fuel consumption. The tyres are placed under too much strain, are crushed by the weight of the machine and will deteriorate rapidly as their casing becomes misshapen.
If there is not enough ballast, the front axle does not grip the soil sufficiently, due to insufficient weight the steering is not very responsive and the tyres are likely to wear very rapidly. For example, in the image below, this badly ballasted tractor is not getting enough grip. As the weight of the machine is insufficient compared to the weight of the implement, the tractor is making no headway.
Water ballasting consists in filling up the tyres with water to add weight to improve the tractor’s grip on the ground and its stability.
| TYRE SIZE | RIM SIZE | QUANTITY OF WATER 75% OF THE VOLUME |
| 480/70 R28 | W15L | 250 liters |
| 540/65 R28 | DW16L | 300 liters |
| 600/65 R28 | DW18L | 380 liters |
| 650/65 R38 | DW23B | 630 liters |
| 710/70 R42 | DW25B | 800 liters |
| 750/75 R46 | DW25B | 1100 liters |
| 900/65 R46 | DW30B | 1400 liters |
There are also drawbacks which are rarely taken into account because the objective of economical ballasting takes precedence over all the other problems. However, it is not always the best solution. Here’s why:
Another ballasting technique consists in adding metallic weights to the tractor wheels. This methods improves the adherence to the ground for each axle as well as traction and the overall stability of the agricultural vehicle, especially with heavy loads or when working on rough terrain.
Ballasting with additional wheel weights leads to better overall efficiency due to its precision. It allows for a very precise distribution of weight to the wheels, improving adherence and traction depending on the implements used on different types of agricultural land.
Additional wheel weights can be removed and are adaptable. This means that you can easily adjust the quantity of ballast depending on your implements, the work to be done or the weather conditions. This adaptability optimises the operational efficiency of your tractor throughout the year, ensuring top performance levels in all conditions.
Despite many advantages, there are several drawbacks to ballasting with additional wheel weights.
When you look closely at water ballasting of tractor tyres versus use of additional wheel weights, you must take into account the pros and cons of each method.
Ballasting front tyres with water may seem a practical solution, but in reality it is not very efficient due to the small volume of water that can be added.
Using ballast masses on the front wheels is much more effective because it allows you to add more weight. This method effectively allows the weight to be distributed more precisely, which improves traction and the overall stability of the tractor.
In addition, it offers greater flexibility in terms of adjustment of the weight to lighten the load when ballasting is unnecessary.
Ballasting rear tyres is always very effective in improving productivity. With this in mind, ballasting with additional wheel weights emerges as the most interesting option.
Because you can add the exact additional weight required without your tyres becoming rigid, unlike water ballasting which represents 75% of the volume of the tyre.
Ballasting with wheel weights also has the advantage of the weights being removable and easy to adjust and being used in combination with ballast masses fixed to the front lift. The ballast can be added or removed in line with your needs or the weight of your implements, which contributes to better overall tractor performance.
This is not possible with water ballasting which requires on average 2 to 3 hours to fill up your tyres if you have a specific ballasting pump and the same time for emptying.
As ballasting using wheel weights is better adapted to the real mass of your combination vehicle, it leads to better traction in the fields, a greater reduction in slip and an improvement in work efficiency.
Opting for the right ballast helps you improve your productivity while protecting your tyres’ useful life. Although water ballasting may seem like a simple, economical option, ballasting using wheel weights brings more in terms of performance, adaptability and flexibility. This second option is a better and more precise way of optimising tractor performance. In any case, the choice between the different ballasting techniques depends on the specific needs of each farmer and the conditions in which they work.
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