Water in rear tires may have frozen? Is this bad??

[Carykong]

My loaded tires show a sweat line about 3/4 the way up when the weather sequences right. Cool night followed by warmer am and moisture in the air. I agree with earlier post. I would be surprised if your dealer loaded your tires with pure water.

 

[shane]

Even though you are in FL, I doubt your dealer put water only in your tires. If he did, he is also the sort that would put saw dust in a used transmission, roll back hours, etc.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

If he were here in NH, his tires would be frozen solid if they didn't have antifreeze added.

I notice his tag says he's from northern Florida, so he probably wouldn't have more than a thin skim on the top at most.

 

[Bird]

My dealer filled my rear tires with water prior to delivery without even asking me, which I thought was fine, I guess, except I would've preferred something that wouldn't freeze or rust the wheel. But it was done, so whatever.

So, although my tractor lives under cover, it's an open barn with roof & 2 sides only, & our recent low-20-degrees weather may have frozen the water in the rear tires. I noticed today that the bottom 3rd of both rear tires are soaking wet (sweating?) & sitting in a puddle of water, like maybe they're just now thawing out after about a week of way above freezing days.

So ... Is this bad??

In my part of the country, it's always been pretty common for farmers who leave their tractors outdoors to fill tires with plain water. I never heard of any damage from the water freezing, but I've been told you just don't want to use the tractor while the water in the tires are frozen.

Personally, I put water and antifreeze in the rear tires of my B2710 and it was always parked inside the shop on a concrete floor and yet one morning I went out and found the tractor sitting in a puddle and thought at first I had a bad leak, but then finally found it was just the tires "sweating". It really startled me. I didn't make any pictures that day, but you can see where it was parked.

 

[beppington]

Dealer confirmed it is pure water, & doesn't seem to see any problem if it freezes somewhat. Still gonna be cautious backing out today.

 

[beenthere]

beppington
You have a number of things going for you that would not add up to any ice in the tire (or no more than a skim of ice).

Your ground isn't below freezing, you are under a roof, and the volume of water won't freeze with only the night temps below freezing. I think you are pretty safe.

 

[Bird]

Dealer confirmed it is pure water, & doesn't seem to see any problem if it freezes somewhat. Still gonna be cautious backing out today.

I don't think I was clear enough, but what I was always told was that a little "slushy" ice wouldn't hurt anything, but if the water in the tire should be frozen solid (I'd say very unlikely in your area) then it would not only be a rough ride, but might possibly damage a tire, but if you just wait until it thaws before using it, even a hard freeze shouldn't hurt the tire.

 

[stravis]

My wife called me last week and told me I had a bad leak in both tires. I left the office early to go home and see what I could do. It was just "sweating" as well. I wondered the same thing about whether or not it could do damage.

 

[jimmer2880]

In my opinion, it would take about a week of mid-20's, 24 hours a day to freeze rear tractor tires solid. I'd say 3 days before the slush starts.

I don't have any scientific data to prove that, other than the bucket of water I keep in my garage as a gauge

 

[beppington]

Used the tractor this afternoon. Found no sweating or puddles of water today. Everything seemed fine. No signs of ice. I guess it was just condensation last night.