Good afternoon to all Bitogers on yet another beautiful Florida day!
On the family farm, I have a 350 gallon sprayer that is in need of some new tires as the old ones are rotten and falling apart.
Problem: The current tires are 15 inch and I have no 15 inch tires and am too cheap to buy new ones.
Solution: I have a killer set of heavy duty 16 inch tires that are in great shape and ready to go.
Problem: The 16 inch tires are too big to fit on current wheels of sprayer.
Solution: Buy 16 inch wheels.
Problem: I'm cheap. If I'm going to buy 16 inch wheels, I might as well buy 15 tires and use current wheels on sprayer.
Solution: I happen to have a set of 16 inch wheels sitting happily in my shop.
Problem: The bolt pattern on my happy 16 inch wheels are totally different from those on my sprayer.
Solution: I happen to have another set of 15 inch wheels in my junk pile that will fit the sprayer.
Problem: The reason they are in the junk pile is because the rims are incredibly rusty, as in, they have large chunks and blisters of rust on the rim.
Solution: The inside of the wheel, (the part that bolts the wheel to the hub) is not rusty. In fact, they even have the original factory paint. Why not cut that part off the rusty 15 inch wheels and weld them to the 16 inch wheels and use the 16 inch tires?
Problem: The old, rotten tires are rusted to the rims and no amount of strength or pressure will break the bead loose.
Solution: A bottle of old brake fluid. I simply laid the tires on the ground and poured a few ounces of brake fluid on the tire where it meets the rim and allowed it to soak for about a week. Week two, I flipped the tires/wheels over and did the same thing on the other side and let it sit for another week. Yesterday, I put one wheel/tire combo in my bead breaker and literally, with one hand, easily broke the bead loose with hardly any effort at all. Tire two came loose with equal ease.
I hammered both rotten tires off both rusty wheels, cut the centers of the wheels out with a torch, then cut the centers out of the 16 inch wheels and then welded the centers off the 15 inch wheels onto the 16 inch wheels, mounted the 16 inch tires and bolted them to my sprayer.
I now have two good 15 inch wheels which I can use in the event 15 inch tires come my way and two good 16 inch wheels with heavy duty 16 inch tires that will do the job of supporting my sprayer through the grove.
Problem solved.
On the family farm, I have a 350 gallon sprayer that is in need of some new tires as the old ones are rotten and falling apart.
Problem: The current tires are 15 inch and I have no 15 inch tires and am too cheap to buy new ones.
Solution: I have a killer set of heavy duty 16 inch tires that are in great shape and ready to go.
Problem: The 16 inch tires are too big to fit on current wheels of sprayer.
Solution: Buy 16 inch wheels.
Problem: I'm cheap. If I'm going to buy 16 inch wheels, I might as well buy 15 tires and use current wheels on sprayer.
Solution: I happen to have a set of 16 inch wheels sitting happily in my shop.
Problem: The bolt pattern on my happy 16 inch wheels are totally different from those on my sprayer.
Solution: I happen to have another set of 15 inch wheels in my junk pile that will fit the sprayer.
Problem: The reason they are in the junk pile is because the rims are incredibly rusty, as in, they have large chunks and blisters of rust on the rim.
Solution: The inside of the wheel, (the part that bolts the wheel to the hub) is not rusty. In fact, they even have the original factory paint. Why not cut that part off the rusty 15 inch wheels and weld them to the 16 inch wheels and use the 16 inch tires?
Problem: The old, rotten tires are rusted to the rims and no amount of strength or pressure will break the bead loose.
Solution: A bottle of old brake fluid. I simply laid the tires on the ground and poured a few ounces of brake fluid on the tire where it meets the rim and allowed it to soak for about a week. Week two, I flipped the tires/wheels over and did the same thing on the other side and let it sit for another week. Yesterday, I put one wheel/tire combo in my bead breaker and literally, with one hand, easily broke the bead loose with hardly any effort at all. Tire two came loose with equal ease.
I hammered both rotten tires off both rusty wheels, cut the centers of the wheels out with a torch, then cut the centers out of the 16 inch wheels and then welded the centers off the 15 inch wheels onto the 16 inch wheels, mounted the 16 inch tires and bolted them to my sprayer.
I now have two good 15 inch wheels which I can use in the event 15 inch tires come my way and two good 16 inch wheels with heavy duty 16 inch tires that will do the job of supporting my sprayer through the grove.
Problem solved.
