flat tires or dead batteries

deere755 · Jan 4, 2011

I swear around here its either bad batteries or flat tires. It seemed like last spring everything I had needed a new battery, which is better to find out before you start using it. This coming spring I can all ready tell it is going to be flat tires. I walked in the shed the other day down the road and noticed that the planter, disk and field cultivator all had at least one flat tire on them. Tonight I walked in the shed at home here and noticed that the 2 tractors sitting inside both had a flat and both riding lawn mowers had flat tires. I cant figure out how they can stay up all year and when you quit using them they go flat. If you are not using them you couldn't have ran over anything. Does anyone else have my kind of luck or am I the only one so lucky LOL.

rocknrod · Jan 4, 2011

I always use a battery tender. And use green slime in the tires.

D7E · Jan 5, 2011

Definateley batteries ....I was blaming cheaper batteries but dealer and exide have been no better I don't know if it's due to the colder winters last few years or not but batteries used to last 10 years or so but i find they struggle to make 3 years these days. I changed 7 last year !

I dont like tubeless tyres either as they can give problems in winter !

MoKelly · Jan 5, 2011

My theory on the flat tires is that something happens when it gets so cold out vs. when it is relatively warm and we are using the equipment often. The cold lets the air escape. I am guessing the contraction caused by the cold is the culprit.

What gets me most upset is when the tires go flat andthe tire loses the seal on the rim.

Then, instead of just filing up the tire, I many times have to take the tire off to get the compressor to shoot air into the tire enough to re-seal.

Oh well.

MoKelly

alchemysa · Jan 5, 2011

Don't let flat tyres sit for too long. Jack them up to get the weight off the tyre or the walls will soon start to split. This is especially true in ride-on mower tyres. They have very thin walls and seem to be made of poor quality rubber. (And ride-on mower tyres are ridiculously expensive.)

rjkobbeman · Jan 5, 2011

rocknrod said:
I always use a battery tender. And use green slime in the tires.

Me too!

I was a little hesitant to use slime on my new tractor. It just didn't seem right. But after tearing down locust trees in my pasture, I soon learned to get over it! BTW, that slime works great!

My dealer said the tire shop hates the slime... so I went to the tire shop that my dealer uses and asked them. They basically said you didn't have a choice but to use the slime. You can't run to the tire shop and patch a tire every time you get a hole from a thorn.

So I started using it... and am amazed how good it works.

deere755 · Jan 6, 2011

K7LN said:
Maybe too many toys?

Everything I mentioned in my post is used in my farming operation. It would be hard to get rid of them and farm.

Soundguy · Jan 7, 2011

this thread got me thinking.. I use tubes in everything I can.. so that if I do get a flat i don't have to worry about the bead breaking loose. now. follow me for a moment. ever see the palces that sell helium baloons shoot in a couple pumps of a thick clear looking polymer and squish it around the baloon before blowing up. i asked once and was told this seals the pores int he rubber so they seld deflate ( leak ) less.

i wounder if there is a coating you could put inside a tire or tube to do that.

I know slime is full of fibery stuff for leaks.. but wounder if it seals pores or anything?

soundguy