tire changing equipment under cover outside

[h20ham]

Great day
Wanting tire balancer and changer, but I would like a good set.
But, I don't have indoor space.
Most of my big wood working stuff is out, under cover. 5hp 20" thickness and 5hp cast table saw. Been fine for 20 years.
I understand the electronics in the balancer may be more susceptible.

Comments please

 

[Zewnten]

If I was getting a balancer and planning on keeping it outside I would get a bubble balancer, no electronics to rot from condensation.

 

[FloridaBoy32780]

I have both, an Atlas changer & balancer. Have both of them set up in 6' x 8' area, which is totally adequate.
Best advice I can give anyone is : there is a lot to know about using your machine and tires in general.
Every time I think I "know" what I am doing . . . . . I get a challenge. Such as "bead blaster" is a nice feature . .. . but not always useful.
Just did some 16" tires. The take offs were 7.5" between beads. The new, same size, were 5" between beads.
It was impossible to get the new tires to set the beads. Too much air was leaking out. Bead Blaster was useless.
Solution was to use an 18" bike tube as a false seal to get at least the top bead to set. After that it was business as normal.

Attached is a very good video about the basics of using a modern tire machine.
Sorry but my motto is: Rusted junk is rusted junk.
i have no respect for people who don't take care of their tools.
I'm 75 and still have the wrenches my mother bought me for my 18th birthday, in spite of having 2 sons.

 

[atikovi]

I have a Coats 5040 on my back patio for 10 years. Have a tarp on it to keep the rain off and connect it to air with a hose to my compressor in the basement when I use it, once every month or two. Put my hand crank spin Snap On balancer in the basement and wouldn't bother with a bubble balancer if I got it for free.

 

[1982fxr]

Here in Phoenix they have open air Mexican tire shops all over. They just use a large permanent canopy.

So they're outside getting nailed in dust storms but permanently shaded and out of rain.

 

[mikedodge]

I'd leave a tire changer outside but not balancer. Too much that could go wrong with it.

 

[Ricky Joe]

I have both, an Atlas changer & balancer. Have both of them set up in 6' x 8' area, which is totally adequate.
Best advice I can give anyone is : there is a lot to know about using your machine and tires in general.
Every time I think I "know" what I am doing . . . . . I get a challenge. Such as "bead blaster" is a nice feature . .. . but not always useful.
Just did some 16" tires. The take offs were 7.5" between beads. The new, same size, were 5" between beads.
It was impossible to get the new tires to set the beads. Too much air was leaking out. Bead Blaster was useless.
Solution was to use an 18" bike tube as a false seal to get at least the top bead to set. After that it was business as normal.

Attached is a very good video about the basics of using a modern tire machine.
Sorry but my motto is: Rusted junk is rusted junk.
i have no respect for people who don't take care of their tools.
I'm 75 and still have the wrenches my mother bought me for my 18th birthday, in spite of having 2 sons.

A trick I learned as a young buck is to spray starting fluid in the tire and then light it. Seats the bead every time, even on truck tires.

 

[Walkers]

Where you live might have a large bearing on what to do to protect it.

 

[FloridaBoy32780]

My equipment is well protected. It's in an insulated shop area. I just mentioned the floorplan as a garden tractor shed on a concrete slab would be more than adequate for protection. If you can afford the machines....... it only makes sense to take care of them.

 

[h20ham]

It seems I just can't afford the indoor space. So maybe I need to have a light on inside it, by the circuit board to keep the moisture out?
I am always confused as to how people don't heat/humidity control their space. Have the doors open, atmosphere comes in. If it was in my shop, the heats not on 9 months of the year.
So what's the difference (door open vs outdoor covered) is the question please?

 

[FloridaBoy32780]

Most commercial garages are not heated. One trick I learned when I had highly chromed motorcycles was to install a paddle fan running on low above them. Moving air discourages condensation.

 

[h20ham]

Thats probably enough, and computer fans are low power use. Also the motors produce heat...

 

[Showkey]

1. Moving air does NOT a change the humidity levels……….does not change the dew point.

2. if the space is not conditioned air space ………when you have no control over temperature or humidity your at the mercy of mother nature. Large swings in temperatures will create condensation When the dew point is reached. No getting around it

 

[FloridaBoy32780]

The goal is to reduce condensation, not dehumidify. Google the topic

 

[quickfarms]

Your location is very important

here in Southern California the shops are not heated and the doors are open 5 to 6 days a week during working hours

 

[h20ham]

live N of Spokane Wa, but also part of the worlds only inland temperate rainforest. So we don't get wild temp changes/swings. But winter and summer can vary 40degrees etc.

 

[IndyGarage]

Personally I would - and do - keep them inside.

The tire machine is pretty simple, but it has quite a few moving parts that are subject to rust/moisture. Also Moisture in the compressed air can cause problems.

The balancer is an even simpler machine - basically an electric motor, the balance arm assembly - which I assume has some sort of strain gauges that measure the deflection from the spinning tire and a computer to take the inputs, read the gauges and give you output to where to put the weights on.

Another option would be to put them on wheels and roll them outside to run them and roll them against a wall to store them. You would have to have one of those machine sets that allows you to put them down on the floor solidly - at least for the balancer - something like they make for table saws.

They don't take up a lot of floorspace, but you need quite a bit of space around them to work. I would say they would take up less room than a washer/dryer if you just wanted to store them.