Strange Ballast Material
 

Howdy all!

I'm hoping someone might be able to provide a bit of insight as to what ballast material might be in my front and rear tires of my 1863.

It is a tacky, brownish, very thick paste or at least that's what I was able to get out of the valve stem. This isn't a liquid and does not flow, and there is no Schrader valve. I'm not really sure how to describe the smell, and I'm sure as hell not going to taste it.

So as a ballast, this stuff is pretty darned heavy and fills each tire making them pretty much flat-free. The valve stems are completely plugged with this stuff and as mentioned there is no Schrader valve so there is no filling of air. The rear tires (23x10.5-12) likely weigh over 80 pounds and this stuff has me completely stumped.

Any idea what this material might be? Any insight would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Sounds like they're foam filled

Hi Green,

It may be, but this stuff is really dense and tacky. Foam filled, I'm guessing would create a "run-flat" tire, isn't terribly heavy, and wouldn't be near as dense and sticky, would it?

I'm trying to think of something that would be similar to provide at least a little bit to compare it to. The stickiness is something like some really old grease. You know, the stuff that you get on your finger and no matter how much you try to flick it, it just doesn't want to come off on its own. I'd say it is a lot more dense than old grease. As for color...sort of a dark brown but not quite black.

As a ballast, I think this stuff is the cat's a$$, that is if it also serves as a run-flat. Part of what I'd like to find out, aside from what it is, would be where can I get more of it for my new front wheels and tires. I just put rear wheel spacers on last night, and trying to get the tires reinstalled was a pain...suckers are heavy!

Molasses maybe?

Oh...haven't considered molasses. As it ages, does molasses dry out and become so thick it doesn't flow? I've had cooking molasses get really thick, but that's about where my molasses IQ ends. Maybe I can dig more out and give it a good sniff test...maybe convince a neighborhood kid to taste it. Just kidding...but I would think there should still be a molasses smell.

No experience with it myself, but here's this....

Honey? Can i tap into the tractor tires? I'm out of blackstrap and I need to finish baking all the cookies for tomorrow.

If molasses or honey turns into an ultra-viscous, non-flowing material with age I'm still stumped. I'm thinking molasses might be the most reasonable so far and if it were honey, I'd have a batch of mead brewing. I'm going to see if I can gather a bit of of the sticky mess...will try to post a pic if I can.

It sounds like Beet juice ballast, but with beet juice they utilize a tire core and you can add air to adjust the sidewall deflection

Hi George! Thanks for that bit of info. My issue is there is no Schrader valve in the stem, and the valve stem is completely plugged with the boogery material. I'm kind of thinking you might be correct about the material, but rather confused about why it no longer flows. None of this really matters...the tires are fine, heavy, and seem to be inflated to a level that seems sort of close. I just don't care for not understanding something.

Thanks all...me and my goofy rear stupid-heavy tires are going to go play for a bit.