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What To Do; Sweating fluid-filled tires

R

Richard Aliff

New User
I just bought a lightly used M5100 Kubota tractor , with loader. I read in one of the past tractor Talk comments," Tractor tires filled with fluid will sweat like a cold glass of water on a summer day ".This happens when the fluid temperature is different from outside temperatures. So this sweating will rust out the rims and valve stems? I have two Massey Ferguson tractors, 325 and 150, diesels, with filled tires and I have never seen this sweating. I was told at the dealer where I get parts that all fluid-filled tires sweat and over time you will see rust on rims, valve stems and side parts. So I was told to use spray 401 and keep all exposed parts wiped down with oily rags and to use touch-up paint on rims. What times of the year will sweating happen to tires? Has anyone else seen this " sweating",have ideas and solutions to this problem? Just check the tires each day and see spots? How do other tractor owners handle this sweating? Another farmer friend said he keeps his tractors sprayed off just so he can see any leaks, or "sweating", on tractor tires.
 
The cleaner you keep things, the better off you will be. Always keep a check on the valve cores of the tires that are filled with cacl3, it eats the brass inside the valve. The cores are replaceable, and cost less than $5 each. If you see a leak, replace the core, and monitor, for further leaks.
 
Take a summer's humid day. Make yourself a glass of iced tea. Set it on the table. Wait 30 minutes. Run your finger over the outside of the glass. You have your answer.

Humidity, aka moisture in the atmosphere condenses on cold surfaces when the surrounding temperature is warmer. It's also called condensation.

Mark
 
Sweating and leaks are not the same - loaded tires sweat on humid days after cold nights because they are still cold due to the large mass. Clean water from the air settles on them.

This isn't a problem unless there is calcium left on the rims. If you ever get cacl on the rims wash wash wash and oil them, paint up bad scrapes and as long as you don't get leaks inside you'll be fine
 
On worrying about your rims it's not like having them filled with CaCl. They will skin rust in metallic exposed areas, but not that big of a deal. I have been running filled tires here in N. TX. that gets it's share of humid days from the Gulf of Mexico for 35 years and never found it to be anything of a concern.

Mark
 
Richard, ever here the phrase, 'don't sweat the small stuff"? or don't make a moutain out of a mole hill?
All fluid filled tires will sweat when the surronding air temp goes from well below freezing to much warmer. I have never seen a painted rim that is harmed much by this action. Go ahead and wipe chemicals on your rim if you like but I suspect that that will harm the paint worse that the little water that the temp changes cause.

Most of us use our tractors in all kinds of weather and even in the mud sometimes and the rims get much wetter then and we do not worry about it. In fact if they get muddy we just hose them off and let them air dry.
 
Richard You have heard the old saying " You are making a mountain out of a mole hill" First there is a great possibility your tires are filled with something other than calcium choloride as lots of dealers use other products. Second the sweating is external not the calcium and third it takes forever for the problems to surface. Doubt that you will have a problem. Enjoy your KUBOTA.
 
(quoted from post at 05:35:56 12/31/13)
Most of us use our tractors in all kinds of weather and even in the mud sometimes and the rims get much wetter then and we do not worry about it. In fact if they get muddy we just hose them off and let them air dry.
Click to expand...


A lot of us don't hose the mud off or wash our tractors- ever! If it's a using tractor it's going to get dirty. If you can wash it, fine. If not, you'll be like at least 95% of the tractors owners near me.
 
like said, if they don't leak, it's only condensation water, nice and clean.
run out there a little earlier on those weather condition days,
and you will see the same condensation on every metal part of the tractor. The metal just warms faster than the more noticed filled tires.
new tractor?
wax the rims, makes hosing the dirt off easier too.
Those days are handy, I go out and write on the inside of the rim
how full each tire is, when I can see it exactly.
(also helps when a dealer says they filled the tires and condensation shows them only a third full :evil: )
 

Richard, you really do have much more important things to worry about, like perhaps bird poop on the hood, that will some damage. It is true that a tire loaded with CaCl if it gets a slow leak that is not repaired will ruin a rim, but that is an entirely different issue from condensation.
 
Yes, your loaded tires will sweat as conditions change. So will the cast iron engine, transmission, etc.

Aside from storing your tractor in a controlled environment (and not using it), there is little you can do to control the sweating.

Fortunately, the condensed water will do little damage to your tractor.

Leaking CaCl is an entirely different matter.

Dean
 
When you see that and have the engine running you can sometimes see the carb get frost all over because of temp and moisture content of the air.
 
It will frost too if it gets cold enough and you pull it in where it is warm.

Nothing you can do about it.
 
Well if the rims are painted like they should be it will take years to rust so bad that you have to replace the rims so if you clean them up when you have a flay and repaint them you have no worries. Shoot any metal on the tractor is let sit out side will sweat
 
The sweating happens every day the temperature is warmer than the tire and it's contents. The cast iron of the tractor sweats also. Maybe that 401 oil is a good idea!? What is 401 oil?
 
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