Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong?

/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #1  

General Lee

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Oct 13, 2009
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Mid-Atlantic
Tractor
Kubota L4400, B2401
I positioned the tires so the valve stem is at 12 o'clock. Took my handy dandy pressure gauge for ballasted tires and the fluid poured out of the stem as I applied the gauge, and couldn't get a reading. Are my tires filled to much? Or am I doing something wrong?
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #2  
Sounds like your dealer overfilled them a mite. It wont hurt, just tough to check pressure.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #3  
Try giving the valve stem a shot of air to clear the fluid out of it before putting on the gauge.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #4  
Poke the valve with the tip of your little finger to let out some fluid. It should blow air through very quickly. Then stick the gauge on.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #5  
Also make sure you are not parked on a slope, side to side. You need to be level.. I always take the air chuck and shoot a little shot of air in first then then put the gauge on.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Great tips guys, I give them a try when I get on the tractor again. Possibly tomorrow.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #7  
Great tips guys, I give them a try when I get on the tractor again. Possibly tomorrow.

You could still be overfull of course, but I mentioned the tilt angle in case that could have been an issue.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #8  
Assuming they're not chloride filled milton makes a gauge for filled tires just make sure to rinse it out when done. My tires are filled about 1-2" above the top of the rim
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #9  
I just use a cheap air chuck with gauge from Harbor Freight. About $6. Give it a shot of air then read the gauge (with only air coming back at it). Or just use a cheap gauge, capable of showing very low pressure, and replace it occasionally. Either should be verified occasionally by comparison to a quality gauge.

image_14014.jpg
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Assuming they're not chloride filled milton makes a gauge for filled tires just make sure to rinse it out when done. My tires are filled about 1-2" above the top of the rim

I believe they are filled w/ chloride. I still haven't had a chance to re-check them........
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #11  
If the tires are completely full of fluid you should have noticed them being very stiff without the ability to absorb much of anything.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #12  
I believe they are filled w/ chloride. I still haven't had a chance to re-check them........

I checked mine yesterday, and they all were down a couple of pounds, I guess from the cold weather
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #13  
I checked mine yesterday, and they all were down a couple of pounds, I guess from the cold weather

What PSI do you use James?
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #15  
I believe they are filled w/ chloride. I still haven't had a chance to re-check them........

Give the valve a little burp and then taste the liquid that comes out. IF it is chloride, then it will taste salty. If Rim Guard then it will be sweet.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #16  
Give the valve a little burp and then taste the liquid that comes out. IF it is chloride, then it will taste salty. If Rim Guard then it will be sweet.

Sweet thats funny, definetly not how I would describe how rim guard taste. I got sprayed with Rim guard in the face one time as it shot out the valve stem. It does look like molasses though very dark brown.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #17  
Sweet thats funny, definetly not how I would describe how rim guard taste. I got sprayed with Rim guard in the face one time as it shot out the valve stem. It does look like molasses though very dark brown.

What's it taste like?
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #19  
Even if you are getting fluid out of the stem, if you seat the gauge on the valve stem, you will still get an accurate pressure reading. You can always bleed off the fluid till air/liquid mix starts coming out and then reinsert the valve core. There is practically no way to completely fill a tire unless you put some kind of upturned tubing into the stem to allow any air above the core to be forced out AND who in their right mind would do something like that. Once you bleed the air out so you are getting water from the stem, one could pressure the tire up to 20 PSI with additional liquid and perhaps fill 1/3 of the air cavity with liquid before the pressure build up would force you to stop filling.

I fill my own with pure water from my hose (not to much danger of freezing here). I listen for the sound of the water to change indicating that the stem is under water, remove the hose, bleed off the water till it starts to sprit out mostly air and then install the valve. Then adjust the pressure with additional air as required. One could do the same way by pumping in a proper amount of pure anti-freeze first, then hooking up a hose to finish filling with water.
Perhaps a bit off topic: But, my calculation of cost is about equal for using anti-freeze at $10 per gallon and methanol/water mix and might be a bit cheaper for using rim-guard if you are looking at -40 protection. For this temp you need 50/50 mix so a tire that holds 100 gallons would be $500 in antifreeze. Somewhere I heard that rim guard could be had for $3.50 per gallon so that would make it much cheaper than antifreeze solution for max low temp. At higher freezing temps one would find a break even point in cost between the 3.
 
/ Checking air in loaded tires......Am I doing something wrong? #20  
Depending on how many gallons of AF one wants to install in a dry tire one can locate valve stem at 6 o'clock with tire jacked up and with the aid of a funnel just pour AF in then rotate tire so valve stem is at 12 o'clock attach water hose to continue filling. BTDT many times
 
 
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