Giant Rubber Tire Water Tanks

10/27/2014

One of the things that is becoming more popular is to take used construction equipment tires and turn them into livestock waters. The benefits of these tire waters is that they are cheap (or free) to acquire and very low maintenance to keep in operation. They will supposedly keep the water cool enough in the summer to inhibit the growth of algae, and warm enough in the winter to keep it from freezing. I plan to install some of these at ESF so I will let you know how they perform.

Back in the spring Greg and I made our way to Perry County, KY to pick up some tires of our own. There were plenty to choose from in this "little pile" they had. The biggest challenge was finding some small enough to fit on our flat bed trailer.

After picking four out we drug them over to the trailer and then "flipped" them up onto the bed. We ended up getting two 8 foot tires and two 6 foot tires.

We were able to lift the 6 foot tires up on top of the 8 foot tires and boom them down nice and tight. Those four tires was all the load we wanted driving back out of those mountains!

After these tires sitting at the farm all summer, Greg and I finally found some time to cut one of them. This was a job that we had been dreading as it sounded like a dirty, all day, kind of mess. I will say that we were pleasantly surprised that we got a big tire cut in about two hours. I will give credit to Larry Clay and Ron Shrout for giving us some tips and pointers to help make it go easier.

To cut these tires you simply take a reciprocating saw and cut your way around the edge of the tire. Sounds easy right?

Step 1: Drill a hole through the tire big enough to get the saw blade started.

Step 2: Start the saw in the hole and continue all the way around the tire until you remove the middle portion completely.

Notice the chain in the picture. This was used to hold some upward pressure on the cut so that the rubber would not cause the saw blade to get pinched. We moved the chain around the tire with us as we cut. We also sprayed the blade with soapy water to help keep it cool and cutting good.

It actually cut surprisingly well. We could cut around 2 to 3 feet before the blade would get too hot and break. By then we usually were ready for a breather too. It took us 8 blades to cut this tire.
Notice how we have moved the chain around the tire as we cut. This helped tremendously.

This tire was about 2.5 inches thick with steel belts all the way around. We cut it with 14 TPI metal blades which worked well. We are hoping to get this tire installed before winter. I will include pictures of that process once we get it completed. Until then, we have three more tires to cut.

30 Comments

Welcome

Hello, my name is Dan Miller and I work for the Kentucky Beef Network. KBN took over operation of the Eden Shale Farm in April of 2013. We are using the 961 acre farm as a demonstration and learning center for beef cattle producers. This blog serves as a place to document daily farm activity and host discussions about the demonstrations being implemented. I hope you find this information useful and that you come visit us at Eden Shale Farm.

Judy Picknell

1/12/2015 02:54:48 am

We have used tires for water and feed for YEARS. They are indestructible. We just cut them in half and get 2 "donuts" and put the feed and water in the circular part. I am very interested to learn how these guys fill in the "donut hole" to make a deep water trough. That would be great. Don't know where they are located but down south (OK) they do get algae in 100-120 degree summers. Easy enough the scrub clean with power washer or brush and elbow grease.

Larry

1/12/2015 05:19:24 am

What do you use for a liner to hold water

Judy

1/12/2015 07:10:10 am

we don't use a liner. Just add water up to the lowest part of the donut which is usually where the rim would sit. Feed same. They just stand around edges and eat and drink. I am thinking by cutting the tire your way could put hay in it also

Dan Kambich

11/14/2016 03:06:29 pm

We use concrete for the center, continuous flow on the water, put in infiltrator pipe as a drain field, in Montana winter usually bitter cold, never have had a problem, four inch pipe for drain, and with the continuous flow, moss can't seem to grow.

Dan Miller

1/13/2015 01:52:06 am

The Eden Shale Farm is located in Owen County in Northern Kentucky. I am also curious to see if these tire tanks will either freeze in the winter or grow algae in the summer, but I am told they should not in Kentucky. Our summers usually have highs in the upper 80's (a few in the 90's) and it will get down into the low teens with some occasional single digits in the winter.
I do not plan to put a liner in the center of the tire. I plan on setting the tire with all the plumbing in place and then filling the open center part of the tire with Quickrete making sure to tamp it in under the lip as much as possible. Then simply fill the tire about half full of water and wait about 30 days for it so set up before using the tire. I have not used this method yet, but am told it works well. I will be posting more pictures as we install the tires and get them into production.

judy

1/13/2015 02:35:33 am

I will be looking forward to your progression posts. thanks for the comments.

ken james link

1/14/2015 12:36:59 am

since you have to plug the center hole anyway. Why not build a "Montana Stock Tank Heating system. This uses ground well heat to keep surface from freezing.
Use vertically buryied culverts or stackied and welded steel containers what ever you can find and use to create a 6'to8' column of air under a heat transferable surface. Metal stock tank bottom or with tire design a circular steel plate size of the wheel hub.When burying the air column form besure and leave 2to3" above ground surface to compress a tight seal with tank bottom or plate. What ever size of column of air diameter is size of Ice free hole in stock tank surface.

1/14/2015 12:46:46 am

Thanks Ken for the idea. We may try this technique with some of the tires we install. There are some that will have cattle on them year round and they would be good candidates for such engineering. The first one I install I am going to install without this, just because I want to see how they perform in Kentucky winters.
Thanks again for your input.

Have you tried using propane tanks for your warmer ....There are used out propane tanks available ...

3/10/2015 06:10:56 am

Kim Audette

1/22/2015 05:01:32 am

Trivia: I believe that an old time term for tubes going into the ground to make a heat exchanger is "Hoodoos".

Please tell me what the diameter is of the hole in the middle (the donut hole or the hole where the rim would fit), the hole to plug? I need to guesstimate the cost of supplies. Thanks.

1/23/2015 12:23:11 am

Kim,
The hole in the middle of the big tire (in the above pictures) is about 3 foot and sits about 8 inches tall off the ground. This tire is 8 ft in diameter. I will let you know how much concrete it held once I get it installed.

Scott pfeiffer link

2/17/2015 04:48:26 pm

I have been cutting these tires for water tanks for years. I did not read all the posts but one crucial technique that makes cutting much easier is using a water hose and applying water on the blade during cutting. This keeps the blade cool and the rubber cool as well. Cool rubber cuts like butter. By using water you can cut the tire with a minimum of blades ,time and effort

jerry

4/26/2016 02:15:37 pm

Start with a metal blade first...then use a rough wood blade...its vibrates more but cuts better...soap water with a good drop of cooking oil....makes good lube..I dig 2-3 inches below the bead and I mix the quick Crete in a separate container for maximum mixture..let sit for 24 hours....then caulk the the bead and cement crease...let sit for 24 hours....this works better here in new mexico....extreme heat and wind and drought and rough cold in the high elevation

jerry link

4/26/2016 02:15:56 pm

4/26/2016 02:17:46 pm

Joe

5/1/2015 02:17:56 am

I have installed several, filling the center with concrete. They work great. I followed instructions found online(Google it) they have a float valve and ball valve with a small 1/16 inch hole, you open the valve in freezing weather, the small amount of circulation prevents freezing. A internal overflow is installed as well. Some I only cut openings in the sidewall rather than removing the whole side, works good also.

Mike

7/18/2015 04:37:16 am

I have cut rubber tires with the same type saw but you sharpen the blade into a knife blade with no teeth on it. Cuts quick with little drag.

Jeff Lodge

12/29/2015 12:54:56 pm

Guys,
Rubber tires are chock full of toxins. Zinc (up to 2% by weight can be poisonous by itself). Lead is often used as a filler there are metals and other contaminates. Rubber tires should never be used to water animals.

Brett

2/21/2016 07:58:58 pm

I have installed six water big tire water tanks and they are leaking very slowly somewhere and not out the overflow. Has anyone experience this and what can I do to fix this problem? Any help would be appreciated.

David

4/17/2016 11:45:24 pm

yes, I have a slow leak as well on new concrete. I have 5' centers that I packed sand/gravel in then used about 30 bags or so of sakcrete through a mixer as stiff as I could get it and still work it. I was told less water makes stronger crete. I wish I would have added some more Portland to it like a couple cups per bag. I was told after that helps also. I think I have at least 6" of concrete now and my guess is that it leaks between the rubber and concrete. could it be that I poured the concrete in Dec when the tire was 35-40 degrees F and now that it is 50-70 degrees F the tire expanded that fraction to allow water to seep out??? how can I fix that? as far as the surface look, the concrete looks good and is not crumbly. I also used the tire top for a large wildlife bird bath, water about 6-8" as my 100' over flow. I was told that might just be a water west nile breeding grounds, hmm. its at ground level and the critters sure have liked it so far. I am going to use rocks or broken cinder blocks to add sunning spots or escape ramps for the small poor swimmers. I used bentonite, 6 mil plastic then covered with soil about 6' and silicone the plastic down. they leak also but it think what I am going to try some bentonite on the seem between the plastic and the tire if the silicone didn't hold. batting 0 so far

2/23/2016 04:22:33 pm

We now have 5 of these tire water tanks installed at Eden Shale Farm. We have not had any problems so far with them leaking anywhere, but they are relatively new. For most of the tires we installed, we included a concrete apron that the cows can stand on while drinking. We did all the concrete in one pour. This helps hold the tire in place and hopefully will help with some settling issues down the road.

I can also tell you that tire water tanks will freeze. The severity depends on a lot of factors including how much solar and wind exposure they receive and the number of cattle watering from them at the time. This winter has had some periods of zero degree mornings and the ice never got more than an inch thick. It was more than the cattle could break on their own, but not enough to cause major concern.

We have put together a Virtual Tour of these and other BMP's that we have installed at the farm over the course of the last year. You can view the virtual tour at the link below, or it is on a tab at the top of this blog.

https://leemoser.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/?appid=0b7f4bef2efd46689549c8e8db19969d

Randy

1/13/2017 10:01:37 am

Rubber will not bond to cement very well. Use bentonite to make your bottom, and if you already did concrete simply dump a few bags in around the rim hole. You might have to do this every few years, but it only costs $7 per bag here. We have plenty of 20-40' bottomless tanks around here that work perfectly.

solid tires link

2/1/2017 07:34:19 am

Thanks for sharing wonderful information.
We also offer extensive range and developed a special purpose solid tires, press on solid tires, solid skid steer tires for material handling equipment.

Ryan link

4/19/2017 05:06:08 pm

Cutting tires can be a chore, however as it is my career I have found out many ways to make it easier on the back with a little effort beforehand. For setting the tank the most important step to remember is to cure the concrete under water, makes for a watertight seal every time.

Kate George

5/9/2017 12:59:11 pm

So mix the concrete, pour, then fill the tank with some water on top of the concrete? Or wait till it has set a bit first?

5/9/2017 12:59:28 pm

Karl

5/19/2017 02:26:14 pm

Can you run the plumbing up from theground and through the centre and not heat in the winter ? I only use it in summer. Will it hurt it if it freezes on top

5/24/2017 10:37:16 am

Karl, Yes you can run the plumbing up through the middle of the concrete and not worry about it freezing. That is how all of our tire water tanks are designed. We set the valve just above the concrete so that it is in the bottom of the tank and the ice never freezes that far down inside the tank. Only a couple of inches on the surface will freeze. I would not drain the tire and leave it empty during cold weather. I would recommend keeping the tank full of water during the winter so that the plumbing is protected. You will get ice on the surface, but when it warms up the tire will thaw out and function like normal.

LeRoy Arnold

1/16/2018 04:00:54 pm

We have at least 10 rubber tire watering facilities in my county of Oklahoma and with summer in the 90+ temps and lows in the teens. they have yet to have a problem and I would highly recommend them for livestock watering facilities. There are many ways to install the pluming in the middle of the tank and cement them in place. then put a gravel apron around the outside edge to keep the livestock from making mud holes up next to the tank.

Jay

5/8/2018 12:40:25 pm

I have installed several of these in MO. Use USA water valves with side bleeder already installed for year round use. I do nothing to the ones I don't use during the winter, freeze solid practically. I have yet to have a problem and there at least 6 yrs old. I use concrete in the bottom and gutter seam sealer around edge and pipe penetrations. I have had a hole as well in side wall. Fix it like a tire. Patch it or I clean with powered wire wheel and tar. Wider tire the better I have some that have 24" plus in ground about 18" above, bull can't touch it. Have openings in it, kept tire in tact for strength.

Giant Rubber Tire Water Tanks

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