Tires Easy way to drain tires?

[4310]

Just wondering if there was an easy way to drain all of the fluid out of the rear tires (15x19.5 R-4's) without taking the wheels off of the tractor and breaking the bead, etc.

Thanks

 

[murphy1244]

Just wondering if there was an easy way to drain all of the fluid out of the rear tires (15x19.5 R-4's) without taking the wheels off of the tractor and breaking the bead, etc.

Thanks

What's in them?

 

[john_bud]

If there is one, i sure haven't found it! Maybe some sort of vacuum to a tiny hose inserted in the valve stem? Might work, but would be slooooow. Why do you need to drain them? (just curious)

 

[jenkinsph]

Other than drilling holes in the tires, no magic I can think of. Take it to a tire shop, life is short

 

[Tx Jim]

Jack rear wheel up turn valve stem to 12 O'clock remove large valve core then attach liquid filler adapter with hose then aim hose in 55 gallon barrel then rotate valve stem to 6 O'clock,lower wheel. To get 100% liquid out you'll have to pump out what gravity doesn't get out and there will be some liquid that will require pumping even if tube is removed from wheel.

 

[jenkinsph]

Jack rear wheel up turn valve stem to 12 O'clock remove large valve core then attach liquid filler adapter with hose then aim hose in 55 gallon barrel then rotate valve stem to 6 O'clock,lower wheel. To get 100% liquid out you'll have to pump out what gravity doesn't get out.

Jum,
I can see getting most of the liquid out by removing the core as you mentioned but not "all" of it. Really, breaking down the tire is the easy solution imo.

 

[4310]

They are not tubed and are just filled with water. I have to either empty or add some antifreeze to them now that the tractor is back up here (Indiana).

Last night I drained the majority of the water through the valve stem but I couldnt get what was below the stem.

I have thought about using a small tube to siphon most of it out and have kicked around the idea of drilling a hole. These tires arent in the best shape anyway and I could probably just drill through one of the repair plugs that are in it already. Anyone tried that route?

I have also never fooled around with taking the valve stem off the rim and I'm not sure how those are put together. These are metal. If I unscrew them is there something that will fall back inside the tire?

 

[Tx Jim]

Jum,
I can see getting most of the liquid out by removing the core as you mentioned but not "all" of it. Really, breaking down the tire is the easy solution imo.

Good luck trying to remove tube and getting ALL the liquid out without the aid of a pump. BTDT or tried to do it.

 

[Tx Jim]

1st photo is the center that screws out of the part that fits in the rim. 2nd photo is complete tubeless valve stem.

 

[SPYDERLK]

They are not tubed and are just filled with water. I have to either empty or add some antifreeze to them now that the tractor is back up here (Indiana).

Last night I drained the majority of the water through the valve stem but I couldnt get what was below the stem.

I have thought about using a small tube to siphon most of it out and have kicked around the idea of drilling a hole. These tires arent in the best shape anyway and I could probably just drill through one of the repair plugs that are in it already. Anyone tried that route?

I have also never fooled around with taking the valve stem off the rim and I'm not sure how those are put together. These are metal. If I unscrew them is there something that will fall back inside the tire?

To get the last out find a piece of tubing that fits pretty close in the valve and will extend all the way to the tire. Blow some air in thru the tube and then let water escape. Repeat.
larry

 

[RoMad]

If you just want to add antifreeze why do you need all of the water out? Why not just remove as much water as you plan on putting in antifreeze.

 

[BHD]

put the valve core down air it up and take out The core, it will may take a few airing up to blow out the liquid, if there is a tube one can use tube deflator on the stem (with the core out), it will vacuum the air and liquid out, but if no tube, one can unset the tire and vacuum it out with a shop vacuum,


tube deflator
https://www.google.com/search?q=Mil...9A4W0ygG92oCYBQ&ved=0CCsQsxg&biw=1280&bih=800

 

[jenkinsph]

If you just want to add antifreeze why do you need all of the water out? Why not just remove as much water as you plan on putting in antifreeze.

I agree with this since the OP explains why he is trying to get the water out, that wasn't clear in the first post.

 

[4310]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Yes they are tubeless and I have drained what I could by turning the rim so the valve stem was at the bottom and then drain, fill with air, drain and so on. What I have left is just the water that is in the bottom 25% or so of the tire. I'm guessing around 5 gallons or so in each tire.

I would prefer to drain ALL of the water out and that is why I am tapping into the collective knowledge to find out if anyone else has ever done this. The reason I mentioned filling with antifreeze was because If I could not find a way to drain the remaining water I would just fill the tires back up with antifreeze or wiper fluid so the water did not freeze and cause problems.

My main goal here is to get the water out of the tires so it doesn't freeze. Also I am trying to get as smooth a ride as I can while mowing. That being said, I don't really think that it matters if these R-4 tires are filled or not. They are STIFF!!! I let the tractor down off the jack yesterday with NO air pressure in the tires and you could not see any bulge in the sidewall. If I had a flat I don't know that I would even notice.

I will probably look for a small tube that will fit down into the bottom of the tire through the valve stem like someone mentioned earlier. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm not even sure what the diameter inside the valve stem is.

Thanks again

 

[SPYDERLK]

If you just want to add antifreeze why do you need all of the water out? Why not just remove as much water as you plan on putting in antifreeze.

I agree with this since the OP explains why he is trying to get the water out, that wasn't clear in the first post.

......Nope. He wants to get the water out :

They are not tubed and are just filled with water. I have to either empty or add some antifreeze to them now that the tractor is back up here (Indiana).

Last night I drained the majority of the water through the valve stem but I couldnt get what was below the stem.

I have thought about using a small tube to siphon most of it out and have kicked around the idea of drilling a hole. These tires arent in the best shape anyway and I could probably just drill through one of the repair plugs that are in it already. Anyone tried that route?

I have also never fooled around with taking the valve stem off the rim and I'm not sure how those are put together. These are metal. If I unscrew them is there something that will fall back inside the tire?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I will probably look for a small tube that will fit down into the bottom of the tire through the valve stem like someone mentioned earlier. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm not even sure what the diameter inside the valve stem is.

Thanks again

You could find one close, somewhat stiff, and then wrap electrical tape to shim it. You want as little air leak as possible so you dont have to air it too many times.

 

[4310]

Thats what I was thinking. The only thing that comes to mind is a loooong coffee stirrer stick/straw thing.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Hardware store would probably have 1/4" OD semi rigid tubing.

 

[4310]

Well here's what I ended up doing (if the picture shows up). I found some rigid aquarium tubing about 15" long or so and attached some regular aquarium tubing onto that.

I was hoping to just let it siphon out but air bubbles kept forming to the inside of the tubing which slowed the already slow flow. I ended up putting tape over the end of my shop vac hose and sticking the tubing through that. It sped things up but still took about half an hour per tire to do.

If I had found some slightly bigger tubing I'm sure it would have made things even quicker but that's what I had lying around. I did try using a heavy plastic straw like thing that fit perfectly inside the tire valve thing but I noticed that when I hooked it to the shop vac it created negative pressure inside the tire. I was afraid that it would suck the bead off the rim.

Also I found that the valve is a two piece thing. I took my pliers and unscrewed it from the piece attached to the rim.