Calcium Choride and Tubes

[BadDog]

With the help of a forum member, I recently got a good deal on a set of ~90% R1 tires complete with wheels to fit my B2150D. They are from the N Mid-West area, but we were both surprised to find out the rears had been loaded with Calcium Chloride in tubes. It added a lot of weight for shipping, and didn't want CC in Phoenix, so at my request he drained them before shipping. However, the tubes still have a fair bit of CC in them. I'm left with either diluting it and moving on with life, trying to flush them out, or just buying new tubes.

I thought the latter would be the best bet, but local dealer wants nearly $50 per tube. To begin with, I think I can get tubes cheaper, but don't know where to look. I found emergency trail repair tubes for my 42 x 17 IROKs on my rock-crawler for $10 each from military surplus. I was expecting something in the range of $20 or so for tractor tubes. Am I out of my mind, or just looking in the wrong place.

I really don't want to deal with the corrosion issues for CC in Phoenix. I could fill them with water and it would be fine here. I know CC has more mass per volume, but I plan to run RV antifreeze so any leaks (mesquite or cactus thorns and rocks) aren't toxic for my dogs. With decent flushing and dilution, will am I being too concerned with the CC? I expect even with CC in it, the wheels will outlast my interest in the tractor, but putting something that corrosive in the tires (already showing some corrosion around the valve stems) just isn't something I am happy with. I hate oil leaks and rust in any noticeable quantity. But in realistic terms, how much will diluted CC cause corrosion, or is this a case where little or lot is no real difference?

And I think these are intended to be tubeless, so I also thought about removing the tubes and running them tubeless. Is that my best option?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[BadDog]

Oh, I should have added, the rear R1 tires in question are 12.4 x 16.

 

[Bulldog]

BadDog, this is what I would do if it was me. I would fill them back up with water and run them. If at some point in time you stick a hole in a tire then drain and remove the tubes. If you stick a hole in one you will need to remove it to repair it so why do the work 2 times. As long as the tubes aren't leaking it shouldn't cause you any problem having CC in there. Just my $.02

 

[lsmurphy]

With the help of a forum member, I recently got a good deal on a set of ~90% R1 tires complete with wheels to fit my B2150D. They are from the N Mid-West area, but we were both surprised to find out the rears had been loaded with Calcium Chloride in tubes. It added a lot of weight for shipping, and didn't want CC in Phoenix, so at my request he drained them before shipping. However, the tubes still have a fair bit of CC in them. I'm left with either diluting it and moving on with life, trying to flush them out, or just buying new tubes.

I thought the latter would be the best bet, but local dealer wants nearly $50 per tube. To begin with, I think I can get tubes cheaper, but don't know where to look. I found emergency trail repair tubes for my 42 x 17 IROKs on my rock-crawler for $10 each from military surplus. I was expecting something in the range of $20 or so for tractor tubes. Am I out of my mind, or just looking in the wrong place.

I really don't want to deal with the corrosion issues for CC in Phoenix. I could fill them with water and it would be fine here. I know CC has more mass per volume, but I plan to run RV antifreeze so any leaks (mesquite or cactus thorns and rocks) aren't toxic for my dogs. With decent flushing and dilution, will am I being too concerned with the CC? I expect even with CC in it, the wheels will outlast my interest in the tractor, but putting something that corrosive in the tires (already showing some corrosion around the valve stems) just isn't something I am happy with. I hate oil leaks and rust in any noticeable quantity. But in realistic terms, how much will diluted CC cause corrosion, or is this a case where little or lot is no real difference?

And I think these are intended to be tubeless, so I also thought about removing the tubes and running them tubeless. Is that my best option?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Yeah, way too concerned.

 

[skeets]

Dog I have to go along with these guys

 

[Kingcreek]

Differnt slant. Ditch the tubes and the cc in them. Start fresh and save a headache later. Cc is an evil rim eating demon. Sooner or later you'll get a puncture and the evil meets the steel. Bad
Chances are if you start now with new tubes, you'll never have to worry about it. Try an independent tire shop for new tubes or shop around.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Ok my 2 cents...

With the amount of CC that is left in the tube if you fill with strait water you'll be fine, It will thin down the CC enough not to be much of a worry.
What little is left in there will just make sure the next time Phoenix get a light freeze your tires won't freeze and you'll be able to go right to work with your tractor!

 

[BadDog]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to offer your suggestions. Seems like the overwhelming consensus is to just fill them and run 'em. I had a feeling that would be the case, and after all, folks run full CC loads all the time. But I must say, my tendency is toward the "CC is evil" side as posted by Kingcreek.

And just my luck, this weekend I had to add a little air and broke a (dry rotted) valve stem on a tire just in time to take he tractor out of commission before I needed to use it to unload a new Syncro 351 and had to use the gantry with chain-fall. Just my luck, and the gantry was easier than a quick tire change under the circumstances. My fluid filler will be in from Amazon next week, and I think I'll just do one fill and flush just to further dilute, then run the darn things. I'll then keep my eyes open for a good deal on clean tubes and swap at my convenience. I don't put much stock at all in pain, but I find grease gunk and rust intolerable, so I'll probably do something about it eventually.

Thanks again for your contribution. As always, much appreciated. If you have more comments to add, please feel free to continue.