Tire of calcium

Northvale PA · Mar 25, 2018

I am sick of calcium chloride ballast. It?s time to try something else, like windshield fluid,etc. Saturday, I noticed the 4020 rear tires were a little low. Inflated the first one, no problem. BUT the rim on that one has a 12? long rust spot that has now cracked about 1? open. Obviously, time to do the complete tire removal thing and get the rim welded up. So, went to put air in the other tire. Unscrew the cap on the valve stem. Calcium fluid squirts out. The inner valve is gone. I do have a new replacement. BUT the stem base was rotten and split getting the core out. The core was half rotted off too. I checked my records. The tube is just 4 years old. Unbelievable.

DeltaRed · Mar 25, 2018

That is from poor maintenance. Yu had a leak that didn't get fixed. the last guy who replaced/fixed tires neglected to clean the rims.

Royse · Mar 25, 2018

"That is from poor maintenance. Yu had a leak that didn't get fixed."

Nailed it! My JD 50 had CaCl loaded tires when my dad bought
it with the farm in 1970. Tires have been replaced and re-loaded.
New tubes of course. Rims look like new inside and out today.
If they don't leak, they don't rust.

SVcummins · Mar 25, 2018

I?ve yet to ever see a tire man that washes the rim before he puts a tire back on after fixing it and even soap and water won?t kill calcium anyway I?ve got rims here that I?ve washed sanded and ground to bare metal and the calcium tail keeps eating the rims

grizz02 · Mar 25, 2018

what royse said if it does not leak there should be no problems 🤣

SVcummins · Mar 25, 2018

If the rims are that bad it might be cheaper to just find a used rim that hasn?t been exposed to liquid death ive got the duals and the inner rims on the tractor I?ve sanded washed and painted them and the calcium keeps eating through and popping the tubes . The one rim was so bad I finally just got a used one it was the best 250$ I ever spent . As far as keeping the leaks fixed it?s pretty hard that stuff eats through the valve stems pretty fast and soap and water won?t kill it anyway

SVcummins · Mar 25, 2018

How do you keep it from eating the tubes and how do you stop the rust after the calcium isn?t even in the tire ?

Traditional Farmer · Mar 26, 2018

Most all the places in my area that change tractor tires are using methanol/water mix for fluid,a couple I know won't use Calcium anymore.

jon f mn · Mar 26, 2018

My dc has had calcium chloride in it since new in 1953, rims are still on and good. Buy quality tubes, not cheap tubes, and you won't have issues.

Moonlite37 · Mar 26, 2018

I have had a bit of trouble with calcium chloride eating away the valve core. I have been using automotive valve cores and have heard that there are some specifically used for use with calcium chloride

steve19438 · Mar 26, 2018

my grandfather lived on Texter Mountain way back when.

showcrop · Mar 26, 2018

(quoted from post at 20:32:51 03/25/18) How do you keep it from eating the tubes and how do you stop the rust after the calcium isn?t even in the tire ?

SVcummins, As I said last week, I, like you have plenty of steel around that is rusted that has NEVER been in contact with CaCl. The way to stop the rust is the same. Just remove the rust. If I don't get it all before painting the rust will grow under the paint. The same for you. To remove the rust requires aggressive means like sandblasting grinding etc. but the job needs to be finished with phosphoric acid if you want to get all of it right down into the pits.

BarnyardEngineering · Mar 26, 2018

(quoted from post at 03:16:55 03/26/18) I have been using automotive valve cores and have heard that there are some specifically used for use with calcium chloride

Well there's your problem! You need to get ones rated for air/liquid from a tire shop that deals with tractor tires. All else fails Tractor Supply should have them back with the tire stuff.

Northvale PA · Mar 26, 2018

Just to be clear, I had an Ag Tire Service guy here 4 years ago to dis-mount and remount the tire so I could get that rim welded up. He put a new tube in it. Both the inner core and the outer threaded part corroded. So, apparently the ?pro? bought and sold me a low quality tube. It is expensive to have these guys show up. Then, last just 4 years is BS. Obviously the answer is do it myself, buy non corrosive liquid, save money and aggravation in the long run.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 26, 2018

Theory--Calcium will never hurt your rim if handled 'right'
Reality---I've seen hundreds of rims rotted thru because of Calcium.

johnofnewhaven · Mar 26, 2018

I had new tubes put in, rims cleaned and the valves rotted out in 1 year!!! The tire company did replace the tubes for free and did not charge me labor or a service call. They said the valve stems and where they attach to the tunes are not as good as they use to be. Said they have been having lots of problems. They were Firestone tubes. They also adjusted the calcium mix. I asked what if the rot out in another year. They said they would be back out and replace them for free again.

Leroy · Mar 26, 2018

and ones that I know will NOT use that methanol stuff, only will use calcium or possibly rim guard. Just had to in last few years replace rims but that was after 60+ years with calcium And first I had to replace I know did not get wahed up good after flat because had to have tire repairman do it in unheated barn in middle of blizard. And the snow plow tractor so not the option of wating for optium time and cleaning and painting rim. And the new rims have calcium in them.

Leroy · Mar 26, 2018

In my 74 years have NEVER HEARD of calcium eating a tube. And only had 2 tractors since WW2 that have not had calcium out of 10 tractors. One was a 38 model bought in 57 and traded off in 60, other was a 46 model bought in 63 and gotten rid of in 69 with orignal closed center tread tires. I would use NOTHING BUT calcium. If I would find a tractor I was looking to buy had anything in but calcium it would KILL the deal.

ss55 · Mar 26, 2018

It's a trade off: spend $0.50 to $1 per pound now for 1500 or more pounds of cast iron weights; or spend $200 now for liquid ballast and plan to replace the rims twenty to fifty or more years in the future for $500 at that time. The odds are very high that someone else will own the tractor by the time the rims need to be replaced. Why not just discount any tractor with calcium ballast by $500 to cover the potential cost to replace the rims.

The newest 4020's (1972) are now 46 years old and the oldest ones (1964) are now 54 years old. Almost all have had an engine overhaul, several sets of tires, injection pump rebuilt, injectors replaced, new clutches, rebuilt starters, and other normal maintenance that each cost $500 or more. Why is replacing rusted rims a big deal or even a surprise?

jeffcat · Mar 26, 2018

Well here is a tip for all of the knotted undies out there. On my tractor I lift her up with the draw bar, put some blocks under her, and put the stem at the top. Then I change the core. YEARLY! !!!!!!. I have yet to see a modern core stand up to that stuff. All of my Garden tractors that I have put fluid in I first put a whole bottle of NAPA antifreeze boster ,MAC 1300, in each tire and then fill them with -35? Used antifreeze from the junk yard. I don't give a cr### about the nancy boys who cry about leaks and animals. I monitor my equipment and in over 30 years NOTHING has leaked NOT ONE SINGLE drop. NOW that calcium HAS LEAKED but not the antifreeze. That is that. Wheel guard beet juice or water and methanol works too.

jm. · Mar 26, 2018

You know I am glad to see you say that. Not ONE new tractor dealer within 200 miles of me will install anything but methanol water mix. Ever time I say that I get the cry about how much weight you give up. I know one thing we do not see rusted rims and the customers seem to be satisfied.

jdv · Mar 26, 2018

Always a nice surprise when fluid starts leaking, went to check stuff in the Quonset the last weekend open the door to a nice surprise, the 4520 was leaning there sitting in a big puddle of calcium Chloride. I had parked it and the stem was down of course. This is what I found.

Mike M · Mar 26, 2018

I had NEW tubes put into the 4020 several years back. Well a year or so ago one side looked like the stem was weeping. So I changed it. Still weeped ? Called tire guy out to put in new tube as I thought maybe it had a hole and was filling up between rim and tube and leaking out ? Turned out that one tube where the stem is inserted to the tube it failed and leaked there. It did not leak to the inside. I had to pay for it all. The guy who did the work before sold out to this other fellow.

Deere Scotty · Mar 26, 2018

I made the Switch to "Rim Guard" a few years ago. Calcium out!

Dean · Mar 26, 2018

I still change all of my own tires so never use any liquid ballast.

Cast iron is expensive but works well and does not damage rims.

Dean

Mike M · Mar 26, 2018

Very few in my area of Ohio will put rim guard in anymore. Many tried it but quit because it is such a pain to deal with in cold weather pumping it in and out to do any repairs. I found most will only use a windshield washer type and some will still do the calcium chloride.

SVcummins · Mar 26, 2018

Costs 275$ a time to have em come to my place I would look into cast weights if I were you I have 2 sets per side on my 4020 and it will pull or lifft anything I need to . Pulling a 20 foot airway . Next pic carrying 2 1700 pound bales

Traditional Farmer · Mar 26, 2018

Plus if you have a flat you don't loose all your cast weights and have to buy more.And cast weights don't spray all over a tractor and cause everything to rust up.

SVcummins · Mar 26, 2018

Those old tubes are probably ten times the quality of the Chinese junk they sell today. Thanks to free trade we will keep getting cheap junk

Leroy · Mar 26, 2018

And I had calcium and 3 sets of cast weights on so how many weights would you have to put on to equal that? 10 sets? And make tractor 3 foot wider? Don't need the extra width.

SVcummins · Mar 28, 2018

All the tractor tubes I've seen have the liquid type valve stems and they are not interchangeable with the automotive style valve guts

buickanddeere · Mar 28, 2018

Hang the weights on the tractor of the rim instead of on the outside .

Tire of calcium

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