Firestone Hydro-Flator

[Darrin88]

Found this in an old Vintage dealership with lots of old tools. Looks to be in great shape. Any current use or value info including how it works would be awesome. Thx

 

[RStewart]

Gee Darrin, what have you stumbled upon, a museum thats closing?

 

[Darrin88]

I can't find any info on this unit anywhere??? Wth. Is it the only one ever made

 

[thehorse13]

Not to be snarky but the photo shows, "Instructions for use". lol

It's just a fancy tire inflating device. They are not common but this is one of those cases where rarity does not translate into valuable.

The last one I saw was sitting at a yard sale around 5 years ago and nobody wanted it. It had a 20 dollar price tag hanging off the handle.

That said, if you got it at a good price and you can use it, you did well.

 

[Bdgjr215]

Uh,I just google searched it and got a whole bunch of hits.
Newspaper ads as early as 1946 and as late as 1971
They were used to add liquid ballast to farm tractor tires for better traction
Google is your friend

 

[Milton Shaw]

Tractors din't use to weigh enough to fully load the tires for the best traction. I don't know about current 8 wheel tractors I have seen is that they can't weigh enough to load the tires so they must still use some type of ballast to keep the tires from slipping. It might still have a use. Check with some farmers with big equipment and see what they are using for weight.

 

[Darrin88]

Thanks. I read the instructions for use but still didn't quite understand the need. Thank you for the clarification

 

[Bdgjr215]

Most farmers have switched over to beet juice or rim guard so that there rims don't corrode
The standard for many years was calcium chloride which is highly corrosive.

 

[MShaw]

I used to service tractor tires in the calcium chloride era. It was a nasty, slippery, slimy mess. Would burn your hands working with it. don't miss that job at all.

 

[Darrin88]

Guess it's a piece of shop art

 

[davethorik]

I used to service tractor tires in the calcium chloride era. It was a nasty, slippery, slimy mess. Would burn your hands working with it. don't miss that job at all.

I helped my dad restore his Farmall M, he had to purchase new rims because they were basically held together by paint. From what I recall, that was not cheap.

 

[Farmer J.]

This wonderful device you have stumbled upon I regard as a 'secret weapon'.. My little John Deere 2wd rear tractor tyres are 2/3 full of water and anti freeze and the weight gives it great traction.. People are sometimes surprised to see it pulling something much heavier than they expect, and don't see how it manages to keep traction until I explain that there's water in the tyres. The ballast weight gets the tyre lugs to bite in, and it keeps it stable on hillsides too as the weight is as low as it can be, also it counterbalances the front loader. Water is much cheaper than cast iron ballast weights, it's not popular with tyre fitters as it's a horrible mess when it gets out so mostly just used by annoying old fashioned folk like me! I used to use calcium chloride but it did destroy the tractor rims just like dave says..

 

[2oolhound]

A lot of guys use water in skidder tires for logging on slopes to lower the centre of gravity also. A skidder with a full turn usually has all the weight it needs.

 

[Tireman88]

It's used to pump calcium chloride into ag tires for weight it weighs more than water or antifreeze and doesn't freeze.. Only problem is it eats rims into Swiss cheese I'm surprised it isn't rusted out must not have been used a whole lot I'm a sucker for old Firestone stuff

 

[Virgil Tech]

Buffered calcium chloride has very little steel eating characteristic.
It's been in use on ice cream and frozen food trucks as a thermal battery since 1950, and also is used in steel pipe to freeze ice rinks since it remains liquid and pumpable to -40°f.

The problem with calcium in tires is either failure to use a tube, or failure to buffer the solution.

 

[Tireman88]

calcium chloride for ag tire use must not be buffered typically, because it would eat tractor and implement rims pretty quick. If we didn't clean our tools afterward it would rust them in a day or two..pretty nasty stuff and rough on boots as well

 

[Virgil Tech]

calcium chloride for ag tire use must not be buffered typically, because it would eat tractor and implement rims pretty quick. If we didn't clean our tools afterward it would rust them in a day or two..pretty nasty stuff and rough on boots as well

It's been my experience most tire shops servicing Ag tires go with the well known We Can Buy It Cheap from a salt supplier, and nobody will know the difference.

In solution with water it has a broad range of uses, many of which are destructive since it tends to be a rapid penetrent. Neutralizing with acid can prevent damage to steel, if you can get the reaction going fast enough. Even soaking in water or flushing with a lake of water won't stop Calcium Chloride though.

 

[Farmall 1066]

Where does one obtain buffered calcium chloride?

 

[Virgil Tech]

Where does one obtain buffered calcium chloride?

http://www.chemtexlimited.com/brine-corrosion-inhibitor.html
This will give you a good start on obtaining the buffering agent.

I suggest studying up on Propylene Glycol on that site and comparing what they offer to the same chemical offered by Walmart.
http://www.chemtexlimited.com/brine-corrosion-inhibitor.html

Amazon may sell Propylene Glycol as well

Might be well served by comparing the information to the PG content of cheap automotive antifreeze as well.

 

[Farmer J.]

It's been my experience most tire shops servicing Ag tires go with the well known We Can Buy It Cheap from a salt supplier, and nobody will know the difference.

I was one of those who never knew the difference...
It's amazing what you learn on Garage Journal! Thanks for the info Virgil.
It's just over 20 years since my John Deere dealer filled my new tyres using glycol anti freeze solution, using one of those devices, and I've had no corrosion problems since. I do remember him saying something I didn't understand about the chemistry, then he told me something i did understand "this anti freeze is only slightly more expensive than the stuff I need to mix with the salt, I can get a good deal on it and it won't rot your tractor, so we just use anti freeze now". I've been a loyal customer of his for years..

 

[Farmer J.]

calcium chloride for ag tire use must not be buffered typically, because it would eat tractor and implement rims pretty quick. If we didn't clean our tools afterward it would rust them in a day or two..pretty nasty stuff and rough on boots as well

Yup, that's just what it used to be like. Thanks Tireman! I reckon the tyre company never used to buffer the salt in my tyres in years gone by.. A few days after doing the job the pliers we had used on the valve seized rusty solid, my boots fell to pieces and the IH tractor rims began to rust.. I actually still use the same pliers in my tractor tool box and gave them yet another soak in diesel recently to free them up yet again and rust still comes out of the joint 30 yrs later!!