I gave up but I didn't throw in the towel....yet

[PineRidge]

I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

Since I started using liquid tire sealers in my tractor tires some years ago I have so far eliminated the need to repair flats on all of my tractor tires. But my finish mower is another story altogether and since I have never used any sealant in the small 9 X 3.50 pneumatic tires on my mower deck I have had flats on a more than regular basis.

And this year seems to have been especially bad as I have picked up thorns and even an occasional nail or two while mowing our property and that of my neighbors.

I remembered some time back reading a post made by Henro mentioning that his front tires on his BX were foam filled so I decided to give the foam a try for myself.

Today I started calling tire dealers to see who in my area was capable of filling a small tire with urethane foam. Many dealers said that they farmed the tires out for this service and the quotes all ran between $90. And $120.00 for the set of four. I figured if I could find the source I might be able to cut out the middle man on the deal. I finally found a local dealer that claims he does the filling himself, and by his quote of $10.00 each I would tend to believe him. Tubes are 6 bucks apiece for these tires so the 10 dollars per tire for foam the money is well spent in my opinion.

I dropped off the 4 tires just today and they will be filled Tuesday, I should have them back by the middle of this week so I’ll let you all know how they work out once I have had a chance to put them back into service.

One things for sure, there will be no more flats on these little tires.

 

[SPIKER]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

hey PR:

I been having the same problem, and was told that only 2 places around did them, so I contacted them both said 15.00 each. for same 3.5x10 utility cart type tires on my finish mower... so I can buy NEW tires & rims at harbor freight for 7 bucks a piece so I haven't done it, and the rims/tires I have on now started to break the rims... so iven filled foamed would have been a waste I broke 2 factory tires so far and one cracked that was one of the HF ones. (Homier has same tires and are actually CASTERS with same tire / tube size. I do have to change out the cheap bearings with old ones fomr my wheels, and I bought 2 extra sets of bearings to boot from local supplier for 3.50 each.

anyhow I Welded up the 2 broken chepos, and one has a good tube in it other one has blown tube that I'll probalby have foam filled. not untill I have 4 welded up & ready though! lol I figure that SHOULD solve the last of the cheap parts problem on my import mower.!?> /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Who did you're? some place in canton/akron? I got my quote form Smetzer in Ashland and Lodi place. they been doing ag & big truck tires new & used and foaming for years, other place does work on forlifts and bob cats but I didn't get a quote from them on phone, guy was out and they never called back. anyhow since I'm up in akron all time I might as well ask, since it would be a 20.00 total saveings.

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
forgot to say that last blow out was 2 wheels at once while mowing the tree line... so I put in the tire seal stuff, for tube tires green yucky stuff, went in easy and have not had a problem since, usually have one flat for 4 or 5 mows, so far I think I'm on about 5 mows... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Markm

 

[Darren]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

I've never regreted having the tires on my L3710 foam filled. The dealer arranged it before the tractor was delivered. I use that tractor anywhere I think I may have a potential tire problem. Working in an area with semi-buried scrap metal is of no concern. Running over pipes sticking up out of the ground, no problem. The extra weight also makes a difference in loader operation and general feel.

Keep on keeping on.

 

[MicroPilot]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

How much weight will foam add to a typical CUT rear wheel? What is the cost to fill a rear tire on a tractor?

 

[Soundguy]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

At work, the tires on our rolling gate sections are about wheel barrow size. They were always picking up nails. Our mechanic went tot he store and bouhgt a couple cans of that foam insulation.. has the applicator tube.. etc. He removed the valve cores and filled those suckers up. He made one small hole in the opposite side for gas to escape. filled them up and let them set a few minutes.. the foam expanded nicely and made the tire look and feel just like it was air filled on the rim. ( these tires had tubes byt the way.. ).

cost was? 10 bucks?

Soundguy

 

[PineRidge]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

Spiker my biggest problem was that after a tire on the RFM would go flat I was not immediately aware that it had so naturally I would continue to mow. That would quickly dull the blade that was closest to the flat tire. So it was a regular routine to repair the flat and resharpen and re-balance the blade itself. I'm hoping with the foam filled tires to break this cycle.

Try Zigler Tire I have PMed you their phone number.

 

[Phred]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

I keep thinking this is not rocket science and I should be able to do it my self.
Let me guess the process has something to do with injecting foam into each tire /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif How hard can this be?

Anyone have a source for the raw foam? Maybe the issue is that it is very pricey stuff?

I would like to fill my tractor tires but they are 30x16 and I doubt i could get that done for $15 to say the very least.

Whan I asked the local dealer about it he said something like " I do not know what it cost for that size tire, but I can get you a quote if you like".
A quote! We are not talking about a new tractor here.....

Plus the hassel factor. I would eaither need to pull the tires off the tractor and haul them in, or haul the whole tractor in. Both non trivial tasks.
Taking the tires off in particular and putting them back on when filled with heavy foam would not be my preference.

Fred

 

[tracdoc]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

Just out of curiosity, as I am considering using tire sealer, why didn't you use tire sealer in your smaller tires?

Gempler's carries that military spec rated goo that is supposed to withstand a half-inch puncture:
ULTRASEAL, bullet-proof grade.

In their specs, they list just about every tire size known to man, and how much volume of sealer to use. This formulation is strictly off-road, less than 30 mph use.

Do any other readers have any thoughts on this for smaller tire apps?

 

[Henro]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

Two years ago I had the front tires on my B2910 Kubota foam filled. It cost $68 per tire. They are 23/8.50x14. The foam added quite a bit of weight to them.

This foam is supposed to be something special and to still flex a bit in use, I guess somewhat similar to what an air filled tire would do. I believe though that the foam-filled tires are stiffer than when they were air filled.

The place that filled my tires required that I leave the wheels there overnight so they could be sure the foam cured properly.

I doubt I would try what Soundguy's mechanic did on my tractor wheels, but it sounds like something that might work on a mower wheel, without too much lost if it didn't. My foam-filled tires also have a screw in them plugging the hole tha was drilled in the tire opposite the valve stem, to let the air escape while the foam went in and expanded.

Apparently when the tire is worn out, it is cut off the rim and the rim is reusable.

If I remember right, filling my 12.4-16 rear tires with foam would have cost about $250 each two years ago.

My guess is that a ball park cost around here is around a dollar a pound for the foam, installed. But I don't have a clue how to relate that to tire size. I know the tire dealer that I used had a list of tire sizes and how much foam they would hold. If your tire size was not on the list he would give a ball park idea of cost, but the final cost would be calculated by weighing the tire before and after, and charging by the pound for the fill...

Even if one could get the raw materials they may require some mixing/injecting equipment that makes the job difficult for the do it yourselfers like us.

I remember the place that did mine foamed tires only once per week and I got the impression that was because of the equipment/process involved.

 

[PineRidge]

Re: I gave up but I didn\'t throw in the towel....yet

As a follow up:

I did have the thought of using some liquid tire sealant in the RFM tires but I wanted to give the urethane foam a shot to see how well it held up. Henro's story about filling his front tires peaked my curiosity.

After they were fully cured I went back to pick up the tires that I had foam filled They were still stuck to the workbench that they laid them on in the filling process. Some of this foam weeps out of the tire in the process of filling and as the material cured it acted as an adhesive to glue the tires to the workbench. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

A few good whacks with a large hammer to the tires and I was on my way home. I have had the opportunity to since mount and mow with the filled tires and I am extremely pleased with the results.

First any excessive foam that had spilled on the exterior of the tires in the filling process quickly scuffed off the tires the first time that I used the deck.

The cut was as good as air filled tires. I was a bit concerned that the deck might not follow the ground as well with foam filled tires but that is not the case as there is still give to the foam filled tires they do not feel like a solid rigid hard tire.

I am also pleased with the fact that they will no longer be going flat on me midway through my 6 acre mowing routine. It was never fun to stop midpoint to repair a flat tire.

My RFM deck uses a 2 piece split rim with a hub that is bolted onto the rims. That will make easy work of changing the tires if and when they should ever wear out regardless of the fact that they are now foam filled.

I believe that for the 40 bucks that I spent to fill all four tires that I will be time and money ahead in what I will save in replacing tubes had I not filled the tires. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif