Tires Calcium Loaded Tires

[BoylermanCT]

My tractor has tires loaded with Calcium Chloride. A friend who is a mechanic at the local John Deere dealer was helping me replace a blown hydraulic hose and commented that I should consider replacing the calcium with beet juice. He said my rims will rot out with the calcium, and they use beet juice now as weight in tires. Is calcium corrosive enough that I should get it removed and replaced with something else?

 

[k0ua]

Well here is the thinking on that. Yes Calcium is very corrosive. and if it leaks out of the inner tube and into the rim, it will rot the rims.. if it was put into a tubeless tire, yes, it will eventually rot it out from the inside. Some have reported it eating the vulcanization of the valve stem and causing some leaking into the rim that you may not notice, (until it is too late) If you pick up a hole all the way thru the tire carcass and the tube, it will squirt this salty water all over your tractor as the tire rotates until you notice it. You will then fight rust on your tractor parts for some time. Ask me how I know that... The plus side of Calcium Chloride is that it is cheap and is heavier than water. Thats about it. Oh, don't get any on your shoes either, it ruins the leather. Bottom line Calcium Chloride is old school and it sucks.

Beet juice product. AKA Rimguard. More expensive by far, is only dealer applied, weighs more even then the calcium chloride solution and has non of the nasty features of calcium. It is non toxic, but it does stink. Of course it does not stink inside of the tire. You can safely put it inside of a tubeless tire. Don't let the air pressure get down too low though as it is a bit slimy and if the air pressure is too low it can result in the rim spinning inside the tire. This doesn't happen much, but it has occurred when the pressure was very very low. Overall Rim Guard is the premium preferred product to put in your tires if you can afford it.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Well here is the thinking on that. Yes Calcium is very corrosive. and if it leaks out of the inner tube and into the rim, it will rot the rims.. if it was put into a tubeless tire, yes, it will eventually rot it out from the inside. Some have reported it eating the vulcanization of the valve stem and causing some leaking into the rim that you may not notice, (until it is too late) If you pick up a hole all the way thru the tire carcass and the tube, it will squirt this salty water all over your tractor as the tire rotates until you notice it. You will then fight rust on your tractor parts for some time. Ask me how I know that... The plus side of Calcium Chloride is that it is cheap and is heavier than water. Thats about it. Oh, don't get any on your shoes either, it ruins the leather. Bottom line Calcium Chloride is old school and it sucks.

Beet juice product. AKA Rimguard. More expensive by far, is only dealer applied, weighs more even then the calcium chloride solution and has non of the nasty features of calcium. It is non toxic, but it does stink. Of course it does not stink inside of the tire. You can safely put it inside of a tubeless tire. Don't let the air pressure get down too low though as it is a bit slimy and if the air pressure is too low it can result in the rim spinning inside the tire. This doesn't happen much, but it has occurred when the pressure was very very low. Overall Rim Guard is the premium preferred product to put in your tires if you can afford it.

That is great information and very well detailed. All of it can be backed up with fact except the report of calcium chloride eating rubber, or (vulcanization) as it is written.What it can do is corrode the brass around it's insertion and result in a failed joint. This may be what k0ua meant, but I wanted to ad that for clarity. Vulcanization is a one way process of curing rubber that can not be reversed or undone at this point in time.

Heed k0ua's advice and especially reread and understand the part about getting it on your tractor as the tire rotates before you notice it. It can make a real mess of you tractor's finish.

 

[k0ua]

That is great information and very well detailed. All of it can be backed up with fact except the report of calcium chloride eating rubber, or (vulcanization) as it is written.What it can do is corrode the brass around it's insertion and result in a failed joint. This may be what k0ua meant, but I wanted to ad that for clarity. Vulcanization is a one way process of curing rubber that can not be reversed or undone at this point in time.

Heed k0ua's advice and especially reread and understand the part about getting it on your tractor as the tire rotates before you notice it. It can make a real mess of you tractor's finish.

yeah, I had that happen on my Long 2360. I had a thorn punch a hole in my rear tire and sprayed the tractor down pretty good. I had rust start forming really quick. It took a lot of work to keep it from eating the fender up. I decided then, no more Calcium Chloride for me.

 

[buickanddeere]

Calcium Chloride is a power alkaline corrosive that never stops breaking down everything it touches . It's not a matter of if but when it will rot something to bits.

 

[oosik]

I had CaCl in my previous tractor and it was a constant battle. It would DIGEST the valve stems and start leaking. I had to go thru the "valve stem replacement" scenario at least annually. New tractor has rimguard and I'm very happy with this product. No leaks, no rips, no tears - just the added weight.

 

[ovrszd]

Let's also talk a bit about weight. Especially the difference in weight of Calcium Chloride, Rimguard and Water antifreeze solutions such as Windshield Washer Fluid.

I used WWF in my Kubota. Added 180 gallons to the rear tires for a cost of $212 (memory). This added 1,500 lbs to my tractor. Cost me .14 cents per pound of ballast.

I know Rimguard weighs 11lb per gallon. Not sure about CaCl solution. And I have no idea what the costs are. With that said, I could have added another 480lbs to my setup by using Rimguard.

I'll let someone else post their data in regards to Rimguard or CaCl because I don't know what they might have paid.

I concede that you gain more weight with Rimguard or CaCl. I'm just making a point that if the weight difference gain isn't significant or critically important it might be much more cost effective to go for WWF or something similar. Some guys even home brew their own non corrosive solution that doesn't freeze.

James' statement about air pressure with Rimguard is worthy of mention as well. My Brother filled the front tires on his Kubota L3240 with Rimguard. Within a couple months he had lost both due to running manufacturer recommended air pressure and having the slimy Rimguard start seeping out between tire and wheel until they finally broke down and dumped the ballast.

 

[k0ua]

I believe that RimGuard will typically cost about twice what Calcium Chloride will cost, and weight nearly the same.

 

[Quebecguy]

Hello BoylermanCT,
I don't doubt any of the horror stories that the other posters have recounted but on the other hand Calcium Chloride can do the job well for many years. Although my International is on its second pair of tires it has had Calcium Chloride since day one back in the early seventies without problems. How old is your tractor and has it shown any sign of a problem with the Calcium Chloride? How old are you and how much cash are you willing to spend? You might well be able to put off making any changes and let your heirs worry about any eventual problems. That being said I do admit that I had the beet juice installed when I bought my John Deere!
Regards, Chris

 

[ovrszd]

Hello BoylermanCT,
I don't doubt any of the horror stories that the other posters have recounted but on the other hand Calcium Chloride can do the job well for many years. Although my International is on its second pair of tires it has had Calcium Chloride since day one back in the early seventies without problems. How old is your tractor and has it shown any sign of a problem with the Calcium Chloride? How old are you and how much cash are you willing to spend? You might well be able to put off making any changes and let your heirs worry about any eventual problems. That being said I do admit that I had the beet juice installed when I bought my John Deere!
Regards, Chris

So you paid twice as much for equivalent ballast for the Deere. Why didn't you use CaCl which has proven itself to you?