Thread: Tractor Tires?

This seems to be a Battle between rival Eco groups again!
One side thinks tires are terrible and the other thinks it's OK!

I spent 2 days going over everything that I could find....this is just my personal opinion from reading all I could!

The Osborne Reef Project in Florida seems to be the most used point for Ecological disaster....the main issue seems to be that the tire bundles were not properly lashed together....THE TIRES OUTLASTED the methods to contain and hold them together....the idiots used steel bands/etc. that corroded....you are talking Over 2 Million tires used in this project that are floating around on the bottom of the ocean...they have moved onto real reefs (harming them by smothering coral and breaking it) and are constantly moving due to wave action etc., due to their natural buoyancy.
OTHER tire reefs in other parts of the world are JUST FINE!

Environmentalists claim that Salt Water electrolysis causes the chemicals to leach...but their studies cannot yet conclusively provide results...and no one can provide any data that massive amounts of chemicals are leaching out in the water and is causing issues.
One report will say tires are non-biodegradable and the next will say that tires can leach chemicals from the Vulcanizing process....the best sense that I can make out of all of the reports/etc., is that if a tire is not cut up it will not leach in freshwater. Most studies are done on rubber coming from roads, shredded tires used for mulch, fill, etc. Whole tires SEEM TO BE INERT....AT THIS TIME?????

Several States allow the use of tires as cover and South Dakota along with others give diagrams and how-to's on making different shapes...They sing the Blessings of tire cover for Bass, Perch, Walleye, Cats, and other fish. They say that warnings of toxic leaching have been studied and not verified???
The ONLY "CON" that any of those States list is "People have said these structures do not hold fish, but we have found this not to be the case" "Proper Placement leads to Very good results"!

I guess, like anything else, this can be debated and documented on how you choose to believe....I can say, I still don't have my mind made up one way or another, after reading all the "facts"! Maybe someone can enlighten Me!
I guess someone needs to do a non-partisan study, so we all know for sure! lol

The upside is I have access to SDS for every individual chemical involved in rubber making so I can judge for myself I suppose.

Originally Posted by smashdn

The upside is I have access to SDS for every individual chemical involved in rubber making so I can judge for myself I suppose.

My question would be....after curing, aren't all the chemicals cross-linked and made inert???
I can understand the steel belts and the coatings used to keep them from rusting/etc, degrading when exposed, but unless heat is applied to break the chemical bonds, wouldn't the rubber remain inert...especially under fresh water??? I find this interesting!

Y

Originally Posted by Andrews

Y

I read a couple Months back, that there is so much pollution in the Ocean, that by 2020 there will be more pounds of just PLASTIC REFUSE in the Ocean than pounds of fish!

Josh, your lake may be the very first that will soon have more pounds of cover than pounds of fish!lol Within a couple spawns, that place will be a MONSTER! You're going to double the fish holding capability of that lake! CONGRATS
Good Fishin' buddy!

You are correct. It cross links and is chemically locked together. The chief components are natural latex/rubber and carbon black.

We put huge tractor tires around the paremeter of our big reservoirs to prevent levee erosion and they work great for that! And I also WEAR the fish out around the tires too!

Was thinking about all the tires around the marinas in the boat slips and all the crappie and perch being caught around them. No expertise here, just got me to thinking
and wondering.