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 | PaulPrince
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35 California 
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2004-04-06 82303
After 2 hours of reasonably heavy work, I parked the BX23 in the garage, and noticed the left rear tire beginning to buldge. In 20 seconds it was looking like a baloon! I couldn't imagine what was going on; turned off the engine and grabbed a fire extinguisher (why I don't know now). In another 20 seconds the thing exploded! To my surprise there was water in the tire (with a tube). I surmise that the dealer had put something volatile in the water that maybe the heat from driving started it off?? It was probably the heaviest work I'd given the tractor since the beginning (28 hours), and the weather is the warmest it's been (though only about 70 degrees).
I was very surprised to find the tire filled; had been following the ballast/wheel weight discussions and decided if I needed more stability I'd get some weights. I'm about to call Kubota dealer on the warrenty. Any ideas? Shouldn't they have told me the tires were filled?
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 | yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan 
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2004-04-06 82308
It sounds to me that you had a cut, chop or partial puncture that caused it to blow. Using your tractor is not going to raise the tire temperature any significant amount other than the ambient temperature increase from the garage to sunshine.
I'm assuming the tire blew on the sidewall. Your profile indicates that you have rocky soil. Sharp stone edges or foreign objects can cut a tire. What type of tire do you have R1(farm/agriculture) R3(turf) or R4 (industrial)? The industrial tire design is thicker and stiffer.
Did the tire blow real bad or is it in one piece that you can push/piece it together to see if you can find external damage.
The dealer should have informed you if the tires were loaded, however, the dealer may not have known either.
If no apparent reason for the tire failure can be seen, you may have a chance in getting it replaced or someone to share in the cost. Won't find out until you ask and are persistent. ....
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| PaulPrince
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35 California
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2004-04-06 82316
The tire took about 40 seconds to explode once I noticed it enlarging. It was more on the tred than the sidewall, its a special tire for the BX, and is a nylon 4 ply tubeless rated for 20 psi max.
I think what happened is that it was inflated to the max pressure at the dealer at 1200 ft elevation (or more likely in LA at sea level), then brought up here to 6000 ft altitude without releaving any pressure. There was snow on the ground then. I expect we were at the threshold of a failure (maybe a defect)and it finally went. The right back tire measures 22 psi. ....
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 | Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL 
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2004-04-06 82322
Dealers and manufactures often over pressure the tires for better riding on the truck. They seldom tell the owner to check the tire pressure.
Like you said the tire pressure was likely too great and the tire probably had a bad cord from the manufacturer. Buldging is indicative of cut of lack of a cord in the side wall.
He should replace the tire under waranty or the tire company should.
The filling of the tire has no factor on the buldge. In the south I have heard stories of the farmers filling the tires with propane. ....
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 | shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Wisconsin 
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2004-04-06 82325
OK, I'll bite. Why would you want to fill your tires with propane? ....
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| PaulPrince
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35 California
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2004-04-06 82339
Hope they don't smoke ....
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2004-04-06 82350
If you look back in the TP archives is more than one discussion here. It certainly make no sense to me, but a number of farmers ran propane on the old tractors and had large tanks to supply them. I guess they figured that it would not freeze and add some weight. To wax Foxworthy you may be a red neck if....... ....
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| PaulPrince
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35 California
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2004-04-07 82390
I couldn't find any punctures, think it was a weak tire and just enough pressure to blow it apart. Pictures added to my gallery. ....
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2004-04-07 82392
Definately a defect. It is hard to tell from the pictures is the cording separated from the rubber or is there no cording? It looks like there is no adhesion of the cord with the rubber and therefore no reinforcement. A cut in the tire should never do that no matter what. ....
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| yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-04-07 82393
That is very unusual for a tire to blow like that without having been punctured. Anything is possible.
Back in the 50's and early 60's Farmall for one offered tractors that ran on LP gas. Recently I saw an "M" for sale with that option. Back in those days, regular leaded gas was 15 to 20 cents per gallon and LP was much cheaper. Most everybody had fuel oil for heat so LP gas was in excess. Oil wells were still being drilled and weren't being capped.
I was just a young kid at the time so I'm not clear on the whole picture. Some farmers had oil wells in their fields and oil companies gave it to them for free.
I've never heard of putting propane in tires to load them. It was a common practice to dump some in a rear tractor tire when changing it and setting it off to set the bead. You needs lots of air volume to set the bead on those bigger tires, the ignition thing worked. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-04-07 82401
I've definitely seen my share of shredded tires in my day and it sure looks like that one was ripped open under excessive air pressure.
It has all the telltale signs, a triangular-shaped rip, and the apex of the rip is (almost) right at the centerline. This tells me that the tire was over-inflated and caught on something, likely a sharp rock. With too much air the center of the tread is the main contact point and it bears the most load, therefore it is the first part to fail. The growing bulge comment just re-enforces this theory. The cords were damaged by the sharp object forced against the tire, the cords failed, then the excessive air pressure caused the rubber to herniate until it just blew.
Unfortunately, I've never seen either a tire manufacturer or vehicle manufacturer cover this under any warranty, hazard or otherwise. They say, and rightly so, that tire pressure is up to the operator to monitor and adjust, nor will they cover a tire ruined from running with too little air either.
Best of luck. ....
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 | Abbeywoods
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 110 New England
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2004-04-07 82408
I've heard of aircraft tires filled with nitrogen to prevent condensation from freezing at altitude and damaging the tire through bead/seating problems or an out-of-balance condition when landing in freezing weather. But propane? Wow, how dumb is that? ....
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 | oneace
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1490 south central pa
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2004-04-07 82422
ok as a kubota dealer as well as case ih and nh all require a pre delivery check which is a check of all tractor componants including tire air presure is is one thing for the tire to be too low (maybe a small leak that is not imeadiatly noticeble) but over inflation is out of the question IF all guide lines were followed. as only having 23 hours i would have to say that if would be a warrenty issue. and that looked like a defective tire to me if you did any thing out of the ordinarty it was very minnor. ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2004-04-07 82436
I think after viewing the pictures that this is a manufacturing defect.
In any case it is clearly a warranty issue. ....
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| PaulPrince
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 35 California
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2004-04-07 82441
Thanks for all the comments. The manufacturer (Kobota) of the tractor had the responsibility to inflate the tires properly, which I think they did. But the DEALER at a low elevation personally delivered it up here, and should have then (or earlier) lowered the tire pressure. I put it on the dealer. Of course this is with 20-20 hindsight. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2004-04-08 82458
I'd go for the defective tire idea. Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is a bit over 14 psi so that's the greatest increase possible due to altitude change and the tractor wasn't in the stratosphere although some might think of prices and say they are pretty high. Even if the tires were left at pressures used to set the beads I wouldn't expect them to explode due to a few thousand-foot change in elevation. I think you'd get greater pressure increases on tractors left siting in the sun on hot days.
Altitude does make a difference. I remember my uncle disappearing into a cloud of instant coffee power when he opened a new jar at around 8,000'. None of us exploded during altitude school at 43,000' although we weren't exactly closed systems either. Well, if noise could be made at that altitude we sure would have made a bunch of it. ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2004-04-08 82469
Here is my anal-ysis. The tire is made of a carcass, which acts like a pressure vessel, and a slab of tread, which is bonded, vulcanized to the carcass.
If you run over a nail, it pierces both layers and the pressure escapes to the outside. But when you get a flaw in the carcass that leaks under the tread section it will do exactly PaulPrince described. Since the tread section contains no cords or belts to reinforce it.... it blows off in big chunks.
Another scenario would have a bubble of poorly bonded tread rubbing/chaffing a hole in the carcass with the same results.
When you see those big chunks of tread lying in the road, this is what got them there. ....
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 | itsgottobegreen
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 329 Mt. Airy, MD
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2004-04-10 82688
Thoses pieces on the road are from retreaded truck tires. The retread works its self loose, if it wasn't attached on right. Then comes flying off at high speed. Which is why you only see them on highways.
Paul I would send photos to Kubota, the tire company, the dealer, your lawyer, etc. We might just have another firestone tire problem. ....
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 | AV8R
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 882 North Central Wisconsin
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2004-04-10 82697
The same thing happened to me!! I was driving my 2230 through Texas with the cruise set at about 90 and my tires inflated to 12psi, and all of a sudden... Wait maybe that was a BS Ford/Firestone deal. Nevermind. ....
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 | harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2004-04-11 82711
It sounds more like a rock bruise. Which damages the innercords and if steel belted a wire gets broken from it and could puncture the inner liner.
Propane in tires? Big deal those little tanks work good for portable air tanks and that was/is what they are used for in many places. Especially when they changed the styles of valves.
The reason I say big deal. We have a whole discussion about filling tires with windshield washer fluid. Alcohol! DUH! ....
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