Calcium Chloride Corrosive?

[brokenknee]

There has been much talk on the corrosiveness of calcium chloride on this forum. My tire on my mower went flat over the winter. Since it had been sitting flat for a while I could see the tire was shot. I used my log splitter to break the bead to remove the tire. My tire was filled with calcium chloride when I purchased the mower about 7 or 8 years ago. (at the time I had a lake place that had some pretty steep hills, as already stated for tractors it added tremendously to the stability)

I though I would take some pictures to show what I found after removing the tire. These photos are what it looked like once the tire was off.

These are the photos after a "quick" clean up with a rag and some mineral spirits.

Here is a picture of the valve stem

And here is the danger of using your log splitter to break the bead.

Your mileage may vary, a friend of mine said the calcium chloride corroded his valve stem and leaked. I am not sure what caused my leak, but after doing a quick clean up the rim appears sound.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I have to agree with you...Looks like just some paint damage...

 

[crazyal]

I'd be curious to see how much longer that wheel would last. Looking at it I would say that 7 years is the amount of time that CaCl takes to eat through the powder coat. I wonder if anyone has any pictures of a similar wheel after 7 years of beet juice?

 

[brokenknee]

I have to agree with you...Looks like just some paint damage...

I will finish cleaning the rim and then repaint. I do not plan on adding CaCl back in the tire. The property I have now is pretty level so I do not need it for stability.

I'd be curious to see how much longer that wheel would last. Looking at it I would say that 7 years is the amount of time that CaCl takes to eat through the powder coat. I wonder if anyone has any pictures of a similar wheel after 7 years of beet juice?

I would also like to see a picture of a rim after 7 years with beet juice.

The part were the paint was gone was on the top of the flat. I just wonder if the paint damage didn't happen just this winter when the tire went flat and leaking some of the CaCl out not covering the top of the rim. It is just a thought, not sure why it would have affected only a portion of the rim.

 

[k0ua]

I will finish cleaning the rim and then repaint. I do not plan on adding CaCl back in the tire. The property I have now is pretty level so I do not need it for stability.



I would also like to see a picture of a rim after 7 years with beet juice.

The part were the paint was gone was on the top of the flat. I just wonder if the paint damage didn't happen just this winter when the tire went flat and leaking some of the CaCl out not covering the top of the rim. It is just a thought, not sure why it would have affected only a portion of the rim.

Air?

James K0UA

 

[brokenknee]

Air?

James K0UA

That is my thought, not sure if any damage would have been done had it not leaked out and allowed air to hit the top portion of the rim. I should have dealt with it this winter, but then hind site is always 20/20.

 

[Bird]

A friend of mine bought a tractor that was about 25 years old. The tractor came from Minnesota. He had no idea it had calcium chloride in the rear tires until he punched a pencil sized hole in one mowing the borrow ditch near my house. So he drove up to my shop door with that stuff still running out. It was two years before any grass came back where it leaked onto the grass. And a year or so later, he had to buy two new wheels and they weren't cheap for that big Oliver.

I guess it would take a good bit of time before the corrosion gets you, but there's just no way in the world I'd allow that stuff in one of my tires.

 

[powerpace]

Back in the Sixty's my Uncle managed an 800 acre row crop farm and the owner had a 4000 acre ranch that shared the equipment. Almost all of the tractors had CC and I don't remember any problems with rust or rim failure. These were tractors that had a near complete rebuild every three years. I believe there was 12 wheeled tractors and pickers. Most tire problems were wear and tear from corn stalks and contracted fields with metal junk in them.

 

[whistlepig]

It takes decades for calcium chloride to eat a rim. But when the rim finally does go it's just not a little pinhole. Hunks the size of golf balls start popping through the rim.

 

[Smallplot]

I can attest to the CC eating through rims. We have a 1970's 1066 International and the CC has about eaten through both rims. This tractor has been shedded 99% of it's downtime life. First place to usually begin to get weak is around the valve stems. It is corrosive, takes a while to eat through, and is unfriendly to environment.

Adding weight is good and Rim Guard, aka beet juice, weighs almost as much per gallon as CC without the corrosion problem.

 

[Red Horse]

I can attest to the CC eating through rims. We have a 1970's 1066 International and the CC has about eaten through both rims. This tractor has been shedded 99% of it's downtime life. First place to usually begin to get weak is around the valve stems. It is corrosive, takes a while to eat through, and is unfriendly to environment.

Adding weight is good and Rim Guard, aka beet juice, weighs almost as much per gallon as CC without the corrosion problem.

A "70's 1066"-so that means best case it's 33 years old and worst case it's 42 years old! For what Rimguard costs, I think the economics say use Calcium and put the cash difference in the bank-what is Rimguard 3 bucks plus a gallon?

I've been told by more than one commercial tire guy that corrosion is a non issue with calcium as long as the tires are properly filled-that means the beads have to be always in solution-that means 80% filled???

 

[whistlepig]

If you want to buy a new rim 33 or 42 years from now. If you can even find one. I have done this calcium chloride rim thing on a 1964 MF135. I'll not do that ever again.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

CCL is fine in contact with steel as long as you use a corrosion prevention additive, check it once in awhile to ensure it is still active, replace when it becomes corrosive. I did industrial refrigeration in my younger day and CCL was used extensively for fast freezing products and keeping ice off low temp fan coils by spraying. It was a mess when the additive was not used, everything corroded. It is worse when in contact with air also. We opened pipes that had had CCL in them for 30 years and they were as clean as new and others that were corroded almost through. From what I here around here CCL filling is hard to find, everyone wants to sell the high profit new stuff. CCL is cheap as well as the additive. If you use a lot for a large fleet look into doing your own filling.

Ron

 

[Smallplot]

CCL is fine in contact with steel as long as you use a corrosion prevention additive, check it once in awhile to ensure it is still active, replace when it becomes corrosive. I did industrial refrigeration in my younger day and CCL was used extensively for fast freezing products and keeping ice off low temp fan coils by spraying. It was a mess when the additive was not used, everything corroded. It is worse when in contact with air also. We opened pipes that had had CCL in them for 30 years and they were as clean as new and others that were corroded almost through. From what I here around here CCL filling is hard to find, everyone wants to sell the high profit new stuff. CCL is cheap as well as the additive. If you use a lot for a large fleet look into doing your own filling.

Ron

Sounds good but many owners on here will not be able to check their CC in their tires. They would have to have someone come in and check it.

As far as my other post on this subject. Considering that the IH 1066 was a field tractor and the rims are considerably thicker than any of the small tractors usually discussed on this forum. Another thing is the steel. Don't know about you but the way I see it steel lasted a whole lot longer back then than it does now. I have seen some posts on here with tractors already getting body rust after a very short time. While our old IH has some surface rust all the metal is still sound except for the rear rims and their CC filling.

 

[Kessler Farms]

We've used cc for 40+ years in the same wheels, but it beginning to take it's toll. Still have 3 tractors with cc, but the two newest ones have 20% methanol.