Re: Calcium chloride eating my rims!

Posted by Tyler(WA) on February 13, 2002 at 09:49:52 from (12.13.226.14):

In Reply to: Calcium chloride eating my rims! posted by Scott from New York on February 12, 2002 at 13:59:23:

Scott,

This discussion will come in right along with which tractor is best.

A lot of the free advice here is worth twice what you pay for it. There is a reason farmer tractors and construction equipment still uses CaCl for ballast. It has not found a satisfactory replacement though I have heard some good things about a beet pulp product but only in beet growing areas.

The reason tires are filled is to add weight. CaCl adds weight to water as well as preventing it from freezing. CaCl mixed with water at a saturated level will weigh 11 to 13 pounds per gallon. Alcohol doesn't weigh even 8#/gal. and any of the antifreeze solutions also weigh less than straight water.

My 14.9 x 24 tires take about 50 gal./tire and every pound/gal. means a hundred pounds of ballast. That's 800# if I use straight water, about 600# if I use antifreeze and about 1300# if I use CaCl. Calcium weighs twice as much as antifreeze.

If you have bladders (tubes) in good condition, you shouldn't have trouble with leaks. To be on the safe side, I've painted the inside of my rims with a product called Hammerrite. It's a rust eating paint that looks and acts like a ceramic coating. I've never seen anything eat through it.

If you only need a little extra ballast and want to use anti-freeze, that's fine. Just don't buy any line that CaCl is antiquated and not used by serious farmers or construction workers. It's still the best for what it's used for and safe when used in good tires with good bladders. I've seen plenty of submerged iron ships corroded beyond recognition and they don't have any surfaces exposed to air. I wouldn't put CaCl in a tire without a tube and expect the rims to last.

My MF-2135 has had CaCl since it was bought in the 60's and the rims look like new inside. I only just painted them with Hammerrite this past summer so that's not the secret.

Use what works for you. But if you want the most ballast per gallon, you can't beat CaCl.

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