Ballast Level of calcium chloride

[martin rock]

Hi all

I have put too much pressure in my rear tires and want to lower the pressure but the level of the fluid is above the stem at 12oclock, can I remove some fluid until no fluid gets out of the valve, that will permit me to lower the pressure, My concern is that If I expose the inner wheel to the air, it will be prone to corrosion, I beleive There is no tube but not sure.

Thanks

Martin

 

[5030]

Hi all

I have put too much pressure in my rear tires and want to lower the pressure but the level of the fluid is above the stem at 12oclock, can I remove some fluid until no fluid gets out of the valve, that will permit me to lower the pressure, My concern is that If I expose the inner wheel to the air, it will be prone to corrosion, I beleive There is no tube but not sure.

Thanks

Martin

My 2 cents is.. There is already air in there so if there are no tubes, the CACL is eating your rims up anyway. I think I'd pull the CACL, pull the tires, check the rims and install tubes and then put the CACL back in. I don't use that crap. In fact the last tractor I bought had loaded rears and I called my tire man and had him pull it and I checked the rims myself. Mine had tubes but I had both tubes replaced and filled with air. CACL is terrible on steel rims and wicked on crops if a tire ruptures in the field. If you must load, use washer fluid or beet juice.

CACL was fine 30 years ago but much better alternatives out there now.

 

[oosik]

I had CaCl in my first tractor. What a NIGHTMARE. At first I was replacing valve stems every other year - it ended up being 2X annually. I would recommend you DITCH the CaCl and use - windshield washer fluid, RV antifreeze or Rim Guard. I have no idea what the inside of the rims looked like on my first tractor and I don't want to know. After 27 years of fighting CaCl - I'm glad to be using Rim Guard.

 

[fried1765]

I had CaCl in my first tractor. What a NIGHTMARE. At first I was replacing valve stems every other year - it ended up being 2X annually. I would recommend you DITCH the CaCl and use - windshield washer fluid, RV antifreeze or Rim Guard. I have no idea what the inside of the rims looked like on my first tractor and I don't want to know. After 27 years of fighting CaCl - I'm glad to be using Rim Guard.

Agreed!
ANYTHING BUT CaCl !!!!
I only bought one set of new rims, before I wised up!

 

[Deere Dude]

Hi all

I have put too much pressure in my rear tires and want to lower the pressure but the level of the fluid is above the stem at 12oclock, can I remove some fluid until no fluid gets out of the valve, that will permit me to lower the pressure, My concern is that If I expose the inner wheel to the air, it will be prone to corrosion, I beleive There is no tube but not sure.

Thanks

Martin

Should work. At the 12 o'clock position, bleed it out until liquid leaves and adjust to correct pressure.

 

[Ford850]

Are you sure your tires aren't under inflated? If they are, then the fluid will be higher in the tire and over the stems since the tires are squatting. You can add air when the stem's are at 12:00. If the tires are inflated properly, I would remove some fluid. You can jack up the rear axle to take weight off the tire and the fluid will be at a lower level, then start with just air at the stem (hopefully). It will make it easier to start the drain process if you aren't fighting a stream of liquid as soon as you remove the inner valve.

 

[5030]

One thing, make sure that 'stream' don't go anywhere anything is green or it will turn brown and croak.

 

[martin rock]

Ok , I jacked the tractor and got the fluid level down to the stem, then adjusted the pressure to 15 psi. I wish there was a way to tell if there is a tube in there. I removed close to 25 litres of fluid, the fluid was kind of transparent and whiteish at first but the last few litres were rust color, so it makes me think that corrosion is happening. I am afraid there is no tube in there. I will check for another anti freeze product
Thanks

 

[oosik]

Take a quick taste of the fluid. If it tastes salty - you know what you have.

 

[5030]

Take a quick taste of the fluid. If it tastes salty - you know what you have.

Not much or you will have the runs like no one's business....................

 

[5030]

Ok , I jacked the tractor and got the fluid level down to the stem, then adjusted the pressure to 15 psi. I wish there was a way to tell if there is a tube in there. I removed close to 25 litres of fluid, the fluid was kind of transparent and whiteish at first but the last few litres were rust color, so it makes me think that corrosion is happening. I am afraid there is no tube in there. I will check for another anti freeze product
Thanks

If you have rust in the solution, just changing fluid won't do anything, will keep right on corroding until there is holes in the rim. You need to drain all the CaCl out, pull the tire and wash the rim carefully, let dry and seal with a good quality oil based paint and then install a new tube and put the tire back on and fill with something that isn't corrosive.

They usually go around the valve stem hole first but sometimes elsewhere too.

 

[sandyc]

One to try is to take the tire off the tractor and lay it flat on the ground to minimize the fluid spill. If you have cacl2 you might want to consider beet juice. If you leak that stuff it is just a sugar solution... shouldn't be a big environmental problem.