Are calcium filled tires a horror show?

[JasperFrank]

I'm not getting the air valves to work any more on the rear tires of my '87 Ford 1220 with Firestone R1 9.5-16 / F-51 tires. These are Calcium filled. My compressor, even at 150 psi, will not add air. I am hesitant to attempt to replace the air valves, if I can't get the old ones out or the new ones will no longer thread. Any one with experience on this - been there done that -, I seek your wisdom.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I'm not getting the air valves to work any more on the rear tires of my '87 Ford 1220 with Firestone R1 9.5-16 / F-51 tires. These are Calcium filled. My compressor, even at 150 psi, will not add air. I am hesitant to attempt to replace the air valves, if I can't get the old ones out or the new ones will no longer thread. Any one with experience on this - been there done that -, I seek your wisdom.

Same on my old Ford 3400. The stem inserts (valves) are replaceable and solved the problem. Few bucks at the auto store for the nickel ones. Make sure the stems are at the top (12 o'clock), and jack the tractor up just enough to take some of the load off the tires (too high and you risk the bead popping and leaking. You want just a bit of weight on the jack so the tire doesn't collapse). Unscrew the valves, replace and air the tire back up.

 

[JasperFrank]

Thank you, Mid, this is exactly the info I was seeking.

 

[Midniteoyl]

If you do get some spillage, just rinse it off with a hose. Good luck!

 

[nyone]

Put the valve at the top. How ever I have never had a calcium tire not take air. In fact I have hardly ever had to add air to calcium tires because a leak is prety easy to find and you will have tubes.

I have tires so rotted on my old for that I think the tire chains and tube is the only thing keeping them together.

 

[Hay Dude]

I'm not getting the air valves to work any more on the rear tires of my '87 Ford 1220 with Firestone R1 9.5-16 / F-51 tires. These are Calcium filled. My compressor, even at 150 psi, will not add air. I am hesitant to attempt to replace the air valves, if I can't get the old ones out or the new ones will no longer thread. Any one with experience on this - been there done that -, I seek your wisdom.

I would think the valves are shot from the calcium but could be clogged with dirt on the outside.
I went to add air to a tedder tire yesterday and it had just enough mud dried around the valve pin to not allow air to be added.

 

[Jims1025R]

When I bought my previous tractor (JD650) it came with calcium loaded tires. I occasionally topped the air as described above, but it always seemed a bit of a fussy affair. It always worked, but never well. When I replaced the tires, I took the rims to sandblast and paint them. They were pretty rusted out, particularly around the valve stem hole. I ended up welding in washers to rebuild the valve stem holes, which worked. I did not reload them, simply carrying ballast as needed instead. I was more satisfied with the latter arrangement.

 

[Hay Dude]

When I bought my previous tractor (JD650) it came with calcium loaded tires. I occasionally topped the air as described above, but it always seemed a bit of a fussy affair. It always worked, but never well. When I replaced the tires, I took the rims to sandblast and paint them. They were pretty rusted out, particularly around the valve stem hole. I ended up welding in washers to rebuild the valve stem holes, which worked. I did not reload them, simply carrying ballast as needed instead. I was more satisfied with the latter arrangement.

I have never understood the use of filled tires. Just buy cast rims and/or cast wheel weights. Too many drawbacks to filling rims/tires, both mechanical and environmental

 

[Working on Rust]

Calcium filled tires are an extreme pain to deal with after the first few years. Valve cores corroding and sticking is only the beginning of the problems, tubes or no tubes it always ruins the wheel after enough years. Tire bead rusted solid to the rim, rims rusted right through after a while and if you get a flat then the fun really begins.
We had a rim rusted very badly to the point the tire was about to come off the side it was so rusted from the calcium loading. The tire was seized solid to the rim and was extremely hard to remove, then needed a angle grinder with wire brush and hammer and cold chisel to remove the rust chunks from the tire bead. Washed and washed the tire before putting it on a better rim with a new tube, so far so good, did I say loaded tires are a pain?

 

[oldballs]

There are many die-hard loaded tire fans on TBN. Maybe the daily functions on those users is helped by loaded tires. In my short 12 years of CUT home ownership, I've found that ballast has provided sufficient traction.....summer chores and winter (chains). I do have cast wheel weights on my Case 448 however.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I have never understood the use of filled tires. Just buy cast rims and/or cast wheel weights. Too many drawbacks to filling rims/tires, both mechanical and environmental

What's not to understand? No one uses calcium anymore. Beet juice (Rimguard) is the fluid of choice now. Nothing "environmental" to it. $ per pound it beats wheel weights all to heck and back.

I'll never understand folks that DON'T fill tires for ballast. Never make sense to me. Waste of money, time, effort. Ridiculous. In four years of filled tires, I've not had one single issue. No leaks, nada, zip.

 

[Cycledude]

Rims rust out even without any kind of fluid, my 8N Ford is a pretty good example, the tractor is only about 75 years old and so far I have had to replace 3 rims because of rust, 2 fronts never had any fluid and 1 rear that did have fluid, I suppose one of these days the other rear will go flat and the rim will need replacement

 

[Hay Dude]

What's not to understand? No one uses calcium anymore. Beet juice (Rimguard) is the fluid of choice now. Nothing "environmental" to it. $ per pound it beats wheel weights all to heck and back.

I'll never understand folks that DON'T fill tires for ballast. Never make sense to me. Waste of money, time, effort. Ridiculous. In four years of filled tires, I've not had one single issue. No leaks, nada, zip.

I have. Twice.
NEVER again.
By the way, second time was beet juice. It does kill grass if it’s a hot day, it does smell like dead skunk and it does stain pavement.
Last price I got on it, it wasn’t all that cheap, either.

 

[Hay Dude]

What's not to understand? No one uses calcium anymore. Beet juice (Rimguard) is the fluid of choice now. Nothing "environmental" to it. $ per pound it beats wheel weights all to heck and back.

I'll never understand folks that DON'T fill tires for ballast. Never make sense to me. Waste of money, time, effort. Ridiculous. In four years of filled tires, I've not had one single issue. No leaks, nada, zip.

Nothing environmental? So if a 34” tire filled with calcium chloride decides to take a dump on mrs Smiths lawn, nothing environmental happened?
Might be cheaper than wheel weights, but with everything that can happen, including my 2 mishaps, I’ll never do liquid again.
When you buy a tractor, just order it the wheel weights or cast rims with it.

 

[K5lwq]

I actually would like to have both filled tires and wheel weights on the Branson but my rims are not pre drilled. One day I may get some weights and drill the rims but not anytime soon.

Every tractor we have owned has had filled tires and never been a problem. But most of them were filled with just water. In fact the Branson is the only one that has RV antifreeze in it.

 

[skipmarcy]

My tubeless rear R4s have been filled with 50/50 mix of methanol for just about 20 years now, 3063 hours of HEAVY duty use and never a leak. If one did leak, the alcohol would be evaporated away in just a little while ...

When my new tractor was delivered to me I drove it the 3 miles to our Co-op to have the tires filled. Was a combination of paved and gravel road along the way. It was a difference of night & day in the ride coming back home with that fluid in the tires - would never have unfilled rear tires on a tractor again.

 

[oldpilot]

Definitely it's hard on the wheels! My late father-in-laws 1952 Allis Chalmers's loaded wheels were so rusted that a couple of times one of them fell off when I braked too hard. He bought a 1975 Intl Harvester 284 (actually a Japanese Bison, which he discovered first time he checked the coolant level and saw the lettering on the cap) and those loaded rear wheels too were pretty rusted out by the time I gave up on it in 2019. But it lasted almost twice as long as the Allis.

But gosh, I'd like to have either one back instead of Mahindra Baba! (Rear wheels not loaded!)

 

[jdmeth]

Advantage of living in Florida, all you need is water. The tires in my 1971 JD 3020 havn't been off in 35 years, no rust that I can see.

 

[MHarryE]

Has been debated here for years. My largest tractor (M7-171) has beet juice. Before retiring from Caterpillar in 2009, we filled all soil compactor tires with CaCl as did all of our competitors. Only problem I recall was customs inspector in Australia checking to see if contraband in tires during port arrival check, pressed valve and was squirted in face. Spent several days in hospital before word got to me and I sent MSDS showing salt water - rinse with fresh water. We added that alert to Operator Manual. Rust on our tubeless tires was never a problem. Our tire suppliers, Goodyear (Europe) and Firestone (USA) assured that only free oxygen in tire is in the air. Painted rim is adequate protection but even if paint is damaged, there is only enough oxygen to create flash rust. Tube tires were a problem. Solution leaking between tube and rim is open to air. I have a 1928 Case CC sitting in front of my place. The front rims (no fluid) are rusted out. The rears with CaCl are still solid. Go figure. Compactor companies use CaCl due to cost. My own equipment beet juice because extra level of caution.

 

[CobyRupert]

My father had a 1953 Case VAC with calcium filled tires.
In 2003, I noticed one was starting to weep a little fluid when we sold it.
What a horror show!

Working on a side hill with that little narrow front end tractor, I’m glad it did have loaded tires. I want added weight down low, lowering the center of gravity. Adding wheel weights that are centered on the axle might help traction, but does nothing for stability.