I have a bad feeling about this

[SylvainG]

I'm getting a quote from a place about 40 minutes from here. Just need to send them the tire size, which I don't have with me (at home, tractor is at the cottage). TBC

 

[JRH02]

Tractor is 11 years old and I believe they were filled (Calcium Chloride) by the original owner at purchase. How scr*wed am I? Both rear tires are like that. I doubt it's the valve because on the other side, the valve is not even at the bottom. It has a salty taste.

View attachment 716205

It's not a happy picture. If the tire fill is indeed Calcium well darn and I'd be as careful of that as I would antifreeze or dumping drain oil on the road for dust. It just doesn't happen here.

At the same time I have my toy tractor and big bertha filled with CC. I do that for a reason: it was what the vendor supplied, it was economical, and the ballast has saved me more times than I deserve. Safety is 1st.

So you have a leaking tire on a small tractor. If you dismount it do you not have another way of getting it (both) into your pickup? No neighbor with a loader?

Whether you do CC or something else I am a true believer in ballast. After these years you are also used to it and you probably don't want to run without or you will be learning new lessons and still calling your neighbors - hopefully you survive the problem.

I like the earlier suggestion of a tube. Yup. Frankly I like tubes anyway. I wish you health and safety.

 

[IndyJay]

Better be methanol mixed in water..... like windshield washer fluid

I used RV antifreeze, non-toxic.

 

[MHarryE]

First is a bulletin from Firestone. Side note on this - Firestone had no problem with us factory filling tires tubeless. Their statement was that free air for oxidation is quickly used up and reaches an equilibrium at which there will be no rust. However they do have this bulletin and date. We were filling all drive tires on our machines at the factory when I retired in 2008.

Date: FEBRUARY, 1998

Field performance of liquid ballasted tubeless rear tractor tires is revealing certain concerns of end users:

• Liquid seepage between tire bead and rim
• Rim rust
• Potential for rim to tire slip
• Wide knurling on some older rim bead seats, which are more conducive to tube-type tires, allows air and water to leak between rim and tire

The Firestone Agricultural Tire Company recommends that a natural rubber innertube be installed prior to adding liquid ballast to the tire. The innertube will protect the rim from rusting, will stop leakage of air and water between tire and rim, and will keep the beads dry to resist rim to tire slip. It is the responsibility of the end user to purchase an innertube prior to adding liquid ballast. NOTE: Firestone's warranty does not cover a tire that has failed due to a rust rim.

Titan's handbook is actually the Goodyear tire handbook. Page 104 covers hydro-inflation showing the prescribed method - for tubeless and tube type.

https://www.titan-intl.com/-/media/Files/Volume_19_Ag_Databook_Web.ashx

We used Firestone tires in USA and Goodyear tires in Europe. An important thing was to follow the Goodyear method - inflate to 35 psi with the tire suspended, let out the air, then install the liquid ballast. One of our plants deflated the tire with the machine resting on the ground. That resulted in fluid streaks down the tire and rim. Following the Goodyear fill method took care of the problem.

My largest tractor is filled with beet juice. I have not yet had a puncture. I have heard that it can create quite a sticky mess if the puncture is such that it sprays the beet juice on the tractor, like onto an open operator platform. CaCl is also a problem but washes off easier.

As for getting it on the ground, all of our gravel roads are sprayed with the same CaCl solution during the summer, and the concrete & asphalt roads are sprayed in winter. Yes, it creates corrosion, but the highway department says better than people crashing. Can't remember all the vehicle recalls I have had due to component corrosion in snow belt states - and that doesn't include body rust.

 

[Hay Dude]

The thing about a tire puncture with ballast is you may not notice it until quite a lot has escaped. This was the case both times for me. I was bush hogging both times. Driving forward and with fenders over the back tires, I didn't notice the leak until a LOT of fluid escaped and the tractor began listing to one side. I'm guessing because the ballast supports the tire more than air.

 

[oosik]

I had CaCl in my first tractor. I bought this first tractor new in 1982. After about twenty years I had problems with the valve stems. Corroding and leaking. I was replacing them 2x annually.

My current tractor was bought new in 2009. It has Rim Guard in the rear tires. It's heavier than CaCl and, so far, no corrosion problems.

 

[Jchonline]

Valve cores used with calcium need to be changed out every 2 or 3 years. Easy to do. Just jack that side up, rotate the valve stem to the top, let the air out and change it. There are better alternatives to calcium now, but it's been used for 75 years. Nothing to panic about. Likely nothing wrong with the rim, but it's time to fix the leak or change it out for Rimguard.

How could there be nothing wrong with the rim if it is leaking? Just trying to learn.

 

[KWentling]

How could there be nothing wrong with the rim if it is leaking? Just trying to learn.

I was referring to the rusting issues calcium causes. His apparently has no tubes and the calcium is leaking from the beads. I've never been around calcium used without a tube. Looks like a bad idea. I've seen rims that have had calcium in them for 50 years and still going. But they had tubes in them.

 

[Mudfarmer]

Old tires do that particularly when carrying a lot of weight on the three point. Cost me $1500 for new R1 tires with beet juice on the Kubota B2710 at Les Schwab a couple of years ago. Probably more now.

 

[Looking4new]

The difference in weight between calcium chloride and Rimgard is 1 pound per gallon. 35% Cal weighs 13.51 pounds/gallon.
Personally, I have R-G in mine.
I do NOT ever use my tractor in temps below -20°F, so no worries about frozen tires.

Canadian Tire has Multi-Seal. Might be worth a shot.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/multi-seal-multi-purpose-tire-sealant-946-ml-2997197p.html#srp