fluid in tire

[bruski]

The left rear tire on my b2400 looked a little low a year ago. When I tried to put air in the valve a liquid began dripping out. I put away the air compressor and forgot about it, wondering what kind of liquid was put in the rear tires. Since I've read about foam, etc. put in tires. Now, I really need to put something in that tire, it's noticably down compared to the other. Can I put air in it? What do you suppose is in there? Does it freeze? It's about 10 degress at the moment, maybe 15 degrees in the shed. Is antifreeze used? If it is I need to make sure not to get it on the ground. . . .

Bruski

 

[DavidAubke]

Maybe calcium chloride. I'm pretty sure that's what's in mine.

It's ballast. The tire is not completely filled with it. A little air space is necessary to allow some compression in the tire.

Rotate the tire 'til the valve is at the top and you will get air out of it. You can just pump air in to bring it back to pressure.

I don't know how bad it is but I probably wouldn't drink too much. It'll probably kill vegetation it lands on. It's probably not as attractive to animals as antifreeze which, it's my understanding, is quite tasty.

 

[beenthere]

Just put the air compressor hose on the valve and put air in. Not much fluid will get by, just cover the eyes from any minor amounts that will squirt out.

Or as Dave says, rotate the tire so the stem is at the top. Put air in and use a tester to check the psi.

You can taste some off your finger to see if it is sweet or salty. That should give you a clue. If just water, then you may get the clunk bump feeling when the tire goes round.

 

[bruski]

Thanks, guys.

Bruski

 

[bruski]

Yep, fluid is salty. Very little fluid came out as filled tire with air. Very little air used to bring tire up to spec. Thanks again.

Bruski

 

[ovrszd]

Yep, fluid is salty. Very little fluid came out as filled tire with air. Very little air used to bring tire up to spec. Thanks again.

Bruski

If it tastes salty, then it's corrosive. Get in the habit of rotating the stem to the top, then poke the core with a stick or something pointed to squirt out whatever fluid is trapped in the stem before attaching a gauge or your air hose connector. This will prevent getting the corrosive material into the gauge or air fitting which will eventually ruin them. I run Anti-Freeze for that reason, non corrosive.

If your tire is running a tube it'll have to eventually be disassembled to find the leak. If it's tubeless you can look for a damp spot on it somewhere and plug the hole. Another check is the valve stem. Get some spit on the end of your finger and wipe it across the stem end with cap off, look for bubbles indicating a leaking core.