Tire with bllast needs Air

[tdenny]

Hello all,

I have a question about ballasted tires. I know my JD 855 has liquid ballast in the tires (not sure what kind). I have noticed that one of the rear tires seems "low". What I'd like to know is can I just move the tractor forward so the valve stem is at the top of the rim and use my compressor to put some more pressure into that tire? Thanks for any help!!!

 

[EdKing]

That's exactly what you want to do.

 

[Boondox]

That's how you do it.

Pete

 

[rdln]

Always rinse your chuck with water afterwards. A little soap would not hurt either
Calcium cholide is very corrosive, just look at my wheels/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

Also they make a special tire gauge for filled tires, rinse that off also.

 

[GSS]

Stupid question, but I don't understand why a special guage is required for liquid-filled tires. Thanks.

 

[tdenny]

Thanks guys that's what I was hoping. I'll give it a whirl tonight.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>why a special guage is required for liquid-filled tires</font color=blue>

Moisture will damage a lot of the regular tire gauges, but you can buy an air/liquid gauge for about the same price as just an air gauge. Of course, if the liquid you use is corrosive, i.e., calcium, then I'd sure rinse it out with water after use. What I've always done is stop the tractor with the valve stem at the top (12 o'clock position), then give it a short blast of air from the air hose, whether the tire's low or not, to clear the valve stem, then put the gauge on it.

 

[GSS]

Ok, that makes sense. I was thinking that the liquid altered the way the pressure needed to be read...

Thanks!

 

[Bird]

The pressure should be the same with either gauge, but you reminded me of another difference in gauges; the air/liquid gauges I've used were spring loaded, i.e., you have to read the gauge while it's pushed on the valve stem because when you take it off, the spring retracts the stem and pushes out anything that is in it. Most (but not all) regular gauges don't have that spring.

 

[frank_f15]

you got the idea right, but why did that tire go low? or was it low when u got it?

 

[tdenny]

Frank,

I think the tire went low when I was checking to see if the tires had liquid ballast. I just wish I could tell what kind of mixture is in there. I'd like to redo them with something less likely to ruin my rims or the environment.

Although I'd like to say I received it that way - I have to blame myself. When I took off the valve stem cover and depressed the valve, water came out. I was happy to see my tires had ballast - as I've learned from this forum that this is definitely a good thing, but I couldn't stop the water from slowly running out. I quickly put the stem cover back on and this seemed to work. Unfortunately I noticed after that the tire was now lower than the other one.

 

[Soundguy]

Anyone use tubes in their ballast filled tires? Seems like this would protect the rims from corrosion.

The valve stem is another thing though.. I soppose the seat for the seal will eventually corrode.

Soundguy

 

[WVBill]

This has probably been answered somewhere else but...

Should the pressure reading on a filled tire be the same as the pressure specified for the same tractor / tire un-filled?

 

[skent]

Both my Case tractors have calcium in the rears. Five years ago I was checking the tires on the DC and when I took the valve cap off it was like there was no valve core. Had a heck of a time removing the remains of the old core. Now I replace the valve cores in all calcium loaded tires yearly. It's cheap insurance.

 

[tdenny]

Soundguy,

from what I've read around here and in other places - they won't fill your tires with Calcium Choliride without tubes as well. This is, of course, due to the fact that they know that the mixture WILL corrode out your rims in a very short time (5 years tops). When I was shopping for a new tractor and asked about having the tires filled they all told me that it was standard procedure to put tubes in - which was one of the reasons it was a fairly pricey (at least for water and Calcium Chloride) addition. I was quoted anywhere from $200.00 - $300.00 dollars. Most of the dealers I talked to simply had Les Schwab or a similar tire store do that for them.

 

[Bird]

Yes, WVBill, same pressure.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Ok, so you put a tube in. Fill it with calcium and off you go...
You are back in the woods and pick up a thorn. Now you have a flat tube and calcium in the rim and everywhere else it leaks......... Doesn't sound like a good idea to me with the alternatives available these days...... Tom

 

[tdenny]

Tom,

I agree. I just wish I could figure out what kind of mixture I currently have in my tires and I wonder how much it might cost to get something more friendly for all concerns. I have read other threads here on TBN that suggest the RV antifreeze is a really good substitute - not harmful or corosive.

 

[chrisjbell]

I've got tubes in my tires, and they are loaded. Since I live in a part of California where the minimum temp hardly ever gets to freezing (and not for long), I've actually just got water in them. There's plenty of room for expansion as long as I don't get a hard freeze, and in four years I haven't had a problem.

I poke a hole in my tires reasonably often (couple of times a year), so I've seen my rims fairly recently and they look great. Yeah, I get water in them when that happens, but so what? Its a great way to know when I've punctured a tire ("where the heck is that water coming from?" /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif).

But having said all that, when it is time to replace the tires I think I'll use foam filled. It is a bit heavier plus I really don't want to keep getting the flats...Chris

 

[Kodiak]

My dealer said they alway have tubes put in, then add the calcium chloride to the tubes.