Tires Puddle on the floor from the tires.

RalphVa · Dec 28, 2004

My wife reported that I had a puddle on the floor around my tractor when she went into the basement of the carriage house to the freezer there.

Sure enough, there was maybe a half gallon of water (no smell) there. Mopped it up and moved the tractor back but positioned the rear wheels about a 1/4 turn up from where they were sitting. No leakage whatsever now.

Anyone experienced this? Pretty sure it came from one of the liquid-filled rear tires on my new JD 4010. Could have possibly gotten a locust thorn in one of them from a little bit of bush hogging a few days before that. A lawn maintenance guy was cutting the neighbor's wild area between there and my property. There were a bunch of locusts in there. I cut some of the grass on my side of the line. May have been some locust branches lying in wait.

The maintenance guy said he had his machine tires all slimed.

Can't slime liquid-filled tires according to the slime site.

How to keep thorns from causing problems? I've had several flats on my Gravely tires with them. The Gravely ones are easy to fix. These big buggers aren't unless I just plug them. Some locust punctures would require some quite small plug equipment. They're hard to find, particularly externally. On the Gravely tires, I could generally only find them by feeling around the inside of the tire. Often I'd have to find the thorn first to locate where the leak would be in the tube.

Experiences? I did a search and found out a bunch of info. No real solid info on exactly how to locate and to plug thorns holes in filled tires though. This COULD possibly be a good reason to remove the filling and add weight on the back, maybe on a KK carryall that I plan to get. Then I could slime the rear tires.

Ralph

texbaylea · Dec 28, 2004

Could it have been condensation? If you parked it after operating in the cold there is a pretty large thermal mass working there with filled tires.

Zork · Dec 28, 2004

Hi, try rolling the tire back to its original position, 1/4 turn and look for the weeping of fluid. Im opting for rear wheel weights myself. Could it be ice that has melted? I wonder since you say it has no smell. I keep my tractor covered up with a tarp and the bucket got ice in it, dumped it out and its been there for a week. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Bird · Dec 28, 2004

Ralph, the first time I found my tractor sitting it puddles and the tires wet, it worried me, too. But it was just condensation in an uninsulated metal building with a concrete floor; no leaks. Like texbaylea said.

Zork · Dec 28, 2004

Wouldn't his whole tractor cause condensation then? Making a large pool of water?

Bird · Dec 28, 2004

( Wouldn't his whole tractor cause condensation then?

I'm not well enough qualified to attempt a scientific explanation, but in my case, at least, there was a tiny bit of moisture on a spot or two on the bottom of the tractor; none visible on the top, sides, etc. of the metal, but the tires were sure wet. It definitely surprised me. I was under that thing looking for the leak. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Now for somebody with more knowledge than I; my rear tires were completely soaked, but not so much on the front tires. And my rear tires were filled to about 75% with water and antifreeze. Is that what caused the difference? That's what I suspect anyway.

btolle · Dec 28, 2004

Buy a good tire plug kit, the kind with the T handles and get used to using it.

When you turned the tires you probably just moved the leak to where it is above the water level.

You can use a squirt bottle with some diswashing liquid and water in it to find the leak pretty easily.

Bill Tolle

Zork · Dec 28, 2004

It'll be interesting to see. A half gallon is alot of water for condensation. By the way, your in texas, right. (Im getting ready to show my ignorance here. Wisdom says to clear out of this and forget it all) Does it get cold enough down there to make tractors condensate? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I know you get the ocasional freak storm and all.

Bird · Dec 28, 2004

Yep, Franz, when it happened to me, I was living 60 miles south of Dallas. We sometimes have some pretty high humidity and I don't remember just how cold it was when it happened. I think I only had it happen 3 or 4 times in 7 years. We don't have a lot of really cold weather, but I know it got down to 10F at least once, and several mornings the rabbits' water bottles would all be frozen and I'd take them in the house to thaw them and refill them.

Zork · Dec 28, 2004

Thanks Bird. When I think of Texas I see vast areas or warm land and a winter doesnt fit my mind, so its hard for me to imagine it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

frank_f15 · Dec 28, 2004

seems to me if it was leaking water, it will leak air, and after a few days you should notice if that tire is low or spongy. please let us know what you find.

LBrown59 · Dec 28, 2004

( Thanks Bird. When I think of Texas I see vast areas or warm land and a winter doesnt fit my mind, so its hard for me to imagine it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
TEXAS IS A BIG STATE so you have to ask yourself which part of winter is Texas in?

texbaylea · Dec 28, 2004

Bird
The heat capacity of the mass of water and antifreeze in those tires is substantial and will take a long time to warm up. Meantime with the high humidities we get, you will condense a lot of water.

The tire will stay colder than the balance of the tractor for a long time. This all very normal.

Vernon

keeney · Dec 28, 2004

Instead of liquid filling, there are dense foam fillings that can be used in tractor tires. They combine the functionality of addng weight and making the tire flat-proof. My understanding is that its somewhat spendy. Also, some people complain of the tire getting too hard with accompanying rough ride. The foam also leaves you with no ability to air-down and soften the tire for better traction on hard surfaces or lower ground pressure when desired.

If you mostly use the tractor for field mowing and loader work where the harder tires are not a problem, then foam-filling might be a good choice.

A squirt bottle of Windex is great for finding air leaks. With the fluid filling, you will need to rotate the tire so its leaking air instead of fluid to find it.

- Rick

texbaylea · Dec 28, 2004

fjb2c

Its not uncommon for it to be in the teens in Amarillo in the North and mid 70s in Brownsville in the South.

RalphVa · Dec 29, 2004

Hmm. Hadn't thought of condensation.

Think before this was when I had it up top in the sunshine siphoning the tank contents out to find and remove the 2nd of the little cups I dropped in there. It was warm that day, enough for me to be up there very bare.

Been bone dry down there since.

Ralph

djradz · Dec 29, 2004

Ralph, although not necessarily very sanitary, a quick little touch of the liquid to the tongue will tell you if it's calcium-chloride filling from the tires or condensation. Chloride is VERY salty. Also, as others have said, it it's not doing it now, and the tire's back in the same position, it likely was condensation. I've never seen it that significant though and yes, you probably should have seen some evidence of it under the tractor also as there plenty of mass (and liquid in the form of transmission fluid) in the tractor. Let us know what you find.

chucko · Dec 29, 2004

( a quick little touch of the liquid to the tongue )

not so sure I would do that

johnday · Dec 29, 2004

Ralph; Uh, do you have cats. In that case I wouldn't taste it either. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif On the other hand, you know what male cats do. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif