Oil in the tires .. Don't Laugh!

When I first built my OBA system, I slightly overfilled the compressor as well, and it would sometimes blow some oil mist. I filled my tires and my friends' tires with it plenty of times. Nothing bad came of it. It's such a small amount and such a fine mist that I wouldn't worry about it, really. I have no technical background in oil + inside of tire possible reactions, though, so take it fwiw. I'm just speaking from experience of having done that over a year ago and having no problems with my tires after.

/Bob

FrankW did pass the time by typing:

Actually, they fill them with salt water to increase the weight.

just one of them and take a look. If there's not much life left, I ;guess you could ignore it.....Any feel of wheels out of balance at high speed?>

They're almost new BFG MT KMs, less than 5k on them. Although I've heard you can't effectively balance beadlocks I did it anyway and they've been very smooth running. no effect from the oil I can tell at this stage.

What I may do I just pull the ring off one and wipe it down on the inside. If it's really a mess I'll bust the rest down and clean 'em.

Thanks for the feedback, it's good to know someone else has had this happen...I feel like, less of a dunce! ;-)

Looks like it burped out about 5-6 OZ, but nearly all of that was caught by the coalescing filter, so It couldn't have been more than about an ounce total that got into the system & tires.

I worked for a big factory ranch back in the early '70's when I was in college. We sometimes used to fill tractor tires with water but for the life of me I can't remember why. I learned all about this when I went to change one one day and got a bath when I wentt to "air" it down !

Oy, that's what it was...we just used well water!

The installer says he initially added oil (10-30), then realized it was already full so he dreww it out. So, it's likely a hybrid. It smelled more like compressor oil when I flushed the system, so maybe the petro effect is minimal.

For any interested, Kilby's service has been superb on this setup. You can scrounge parts to do this for much less money, but they really provide an excellent setup and information. Also, nothings cooler than just pulling out a hose and filling up your tires on the trail. I ran an air wrench with it the other day just to test it, worked like a charm.

Brine or calcuim cloride is added to increase weight for traction & balance (ie. front loader) Its much heaver then water & won`t freeze (important) It does corode wheels in time unless you use tubes.

If memory serves, Kilby recommends SAE30 in the York compressors he sells.

For replacement oil he recommended 10w-30. The compressor came sealed from York and was filled with refrigerant-specific oil, and a LOT of it! After puking out about 6 ounces, it still has about 10 in there, by the dipstick anyway. Not sure how much the installer added, then siphoned back out. I can tell you one thing for sure, getting that stuff out of the system was a PITA!

Oil breaks down rubber. Get the oil cleaned out.

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Some oils break down some rubbers. Petroleum oils will generally attack the rubbers used in tires pretty aggressively. I would definitely break the tires down clean them out as best as possible manually then thoroughly wash two or three times with a detergent approved for tire use and let dry. If oil has been in the wheels a length of time some damage has probably been done, but if the tires look good inside,I'd probably not summarily replace them.

I hate to be pedantic but this is one reason there are air conditioning compressors and air compressors. Yes, the Yorks will work as an air compressor for awhile. But real AIR compressors are available and do work a lot better. They can also be rigged to be lubed from the engine's oil. Oil goes in through an orifice to the compressor sump and back to the engine through a standpipe.