Farmall B Tires

I just bought a B and there is water in the tires, someone added for weight, and I want to drain out as much as possible. How do I do it??
Pirkey

Easiest way is to roll the tire until the stem is at 6 O'Clock and remove the core... when it is completely flat and no water is coming out, that's about as much as you are going to get out using Mother Nature...

Then just air it back up???

That will work, but if you suspect that there may be calcium chloride in them, do it where you don't mind killing the grass and pretty much everything else wherever that solution drains out to.

I think it is just water, won't the water taste salty, if it is calcium cloride??

When you drain them add a bit more air then you would if your using it. Say around 25 psi, Then pull the core out and hook a hose like a piece of fuel line to it so as to keep the fluid away from the rim. Also that way you can direct the fluid where you want. Then when drained you just air them back up to the 10-12 psi that you would use normally
Hobby farm

Chances are that it's not plain water -- water would freeze and there's usually something in it for antifreeze. Depending on what that might be -- calcium chloride (nasty!), beet juice (pretty harmless) or something in between like windshield washer solvent or any of several other concoctions.

On the off chance that it is calcium chloride, you want to pick your spot for draining or disposing of it carefully. It will kill just about anything that grows and keep things from coming up for quite a while, so out in the garden is not the place for this. If you do happen to have a dirt driveway, it can be great for dust control and keeping the weeds out of the center line.

Also, if it is CaCl, you want to avoid as much as possible getting it on your rims or wheels.

Whatever is in it, the best way to drain it is with a tube like they use to fill it. It needs to be vented to allow air in to replace the volume of the fluid draining out, otherwise you're stuck with a glub-glub and won't be doing much in the way of actually draining things. Simply turnning your rim with the valve stem to the bottom isn't goning to do it. Maybe you know a tire guy who'd be willing to lend you what you need, other wise you might try Miller Tire or Gemplers.

That failing, you can go at it any number of ways. Get it to a place where you wouldn't mind killing weeds. Jack up the rear high enough, one side at a time if needs be, but so that you can over lift and then let it back to rest the drawbar on blocks or jackstands with the tires just off the ground. My only point in suggesting this is that without the weight of the tractor on them, the tire won't actually flatten, so that you won't have any pucker in the bead that CaCl can get into before you're done and cause rust problems after you reinflate.

You should see a larger thread on your valve stem. The stem that does the air inflation is in the fitting that is threaded over this larger thread, which is normally used for adding liquid ballast so is just as handy for removing it.

Start with the valve stem at 6 o'clock, then remove the cap. Might as well use what pressure is in the tire to start the process. Let it drain until it effectively stops.

From there, you can go at it two ways. One is to then roll the tire so the valve stem is above the level of the fluid, reinstall the cap with the air valve core in it, pump it up to about 15# and repeat the draining at 6 o'clock like you just did, repeating until the level of the fluid is below the valve stem.

Without air pressure to help you along, it will be more tedious and take MUCH longer, but you can also just rotate the tire so that the valve stem allows some venting and draining, the glug-glug thing. It is slow and it means hanging around to check every half hour so and turning it a little more. It will likely take more than a day. One thing that will speed it along, if you can do this in a sunny spot and actually have some sun to warm things up is to go out after supper and rotate the valve back down to bottom and leave it there overnight, It may drain a little, but will also draw cool air in. When the sun gets on it in the morning the warming air will build pressure and give you at least a little boost in the process before you get back to the process of slowly working the valve stem to the bottom until you get nothing more.

This will get them down to a weight that is safe and manageable to handle by hand. There will still be fluid in them up to the level of the valve stem but, from there, you can do about anything you want as far as changing tires, breaking beads to change tubes . . .

Last thing, especially if they were loaded with CaCl is to thoroughly rinse, using a brush and while turning the wheel, everything that fluid might have touched. Then follow up with one quart of vinegar in a gallon of water and scrub it all down again and follow with another good rinse. Be sure to run the brush into the bead between the tire and the edge of the rim to knwok out any bubbles and make sure everything gets rinsed. That was the whole point of not letting the tire get a flat spot, to keep anything nasy from getting to where you couldn' rinse it.

I know I've written a lot, but it's not at all hard to do as long as you have a place to do it or way to dispose of whatever comes out.

Your answer was very thorough. I am a 26 year Agri. Teacher and you deserve an A+ for your "FFA SKILLS TEAM" like description.
I appreciate the time you spent and what you did for me!!
Pirkey

Thanks, that makes sense!!
Pirkey

if you are planning on working the tractor, you may want to leave the fluid in the tires unless you have rear wheel weights. the b is pretty light in the hind end, and weights make a nite and day difference. my b has the rear tires loaded, and it will get a lot more done without getting stuck.

Do as the others say and let her fly when you pull the valve core. Then if you want to get a little more out jack it up and take the rim off the cast center, it's only four bolts, and lay the wheel down with the valve stem down toward the ground. A B's wheels aren't that big and heavy. I did it once with 18.4-38's but I had the lifting equipment to handle it. When I had the tires replaced some time later there was almost no fluid in them. Jim

Yer welcome.

My apologies for the length. It's often hard to tell what kind of experience is behind a question. Some one might ask how hard it is to swap tires and rims on an M from side to side for wheel spacing thinking it's a simple question -- which it is if the tires aren't loaded . . . You get the picture.

Is this B a school/FFA project?

"yer" a pretty cool dude...you've helped me out a number of times!

I probably will do more looking than working, that is what my wife says!!

More good info thanks!!

No but after 26 years as an Agri. teacher, everything sounds like a lesson plan.

Maybe I missed this in the long reply, but don't be concerned about the calcium chloride as a pollution hazard. They use it on roads all winter long. It's actually better for the environment than road salt.