Steel rim repair

[Leon Phelps]

Hello,

Have an early 80's mini-sneaker case vibratory trencher. The rims are junk from the calcium. I bought three new ones and getting the fourth is tough. Case dealer originally told me three weeks, now it is another two months.

The bad rims are only messed up at the valve. I cut out a 6" section down past the bead on the valve section then cut out the same amount opposite of the valve (on a different rim) then welded the section in with my mig gun. The weld looks good.

I am curious if anyone else has done such a repair. The tires only hold 25psi, and I am having them foam filled.

I am wondering if anyone else has done this with success. I am tired of looking at my trencher sitting when I have three jobs to do with it.

I can post pics when the primer dries.

 

[Leon Phelps]

Welds look solid but not pretty. I did weld on both sides after beveling.

 

[jrtraderny]

If you're having them foam filled you'll be fine. No pressure on them then.
jr

 

[Randy88]

By the looks of your rims, I'd opt to not put air in them but rather foam fill them, I've never seen any weld job that held, some that even blew up or blew steel off the rim once filled with air, try some other manufacturer or a rim manufacturer, case never built them anyhow, there are companies out there that make special rims as ordered for about any type of tire, do some googling and search the internet to find rim manufacturers. Best of luck

 

[willie59]

On a Mini Sneaker, you wouldn't want air in the tires anyway, they need something in the tires for ballast, that's why they had calcium filled tires. Foam fill would probably work just as well for ballast and would have no consequence with repaired rim.

 

[stumpjumper83]

They should hold with foam, don't put air in there. What people don't understand is that psi refers to area. So your little 6x6 patch must hold 900 lbs @ 25 psi, 1,200 @ 35. If you were going to expect a rim like that to hold air again, I would have a pro welder / fabricator swap the centers from other rims...

 

[Landworks]

Just FYI. And it may not apply to you. But OSHA STRICTLY prohibits the welding or heating of any type of rim. There is a lot of liability out there for this type of repair.

 

[DirtHauler]

Just FYI. And it may not apply to you. But OSHA STRICTLY prohibits the welding or heating of any type of rim. There is a lot of liability out there for this type of repair.

Its talked about here. You are correct. https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?16857-Dangers-of-welding-wheels

 

[stock]

What about someone like this ? ..............http://usrimcorp.thomasnet.com/