Counteract Balance Beads

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Counteract Balance Beads
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 08:08 am:

Just wanted to share: the beads WORK! Holy smokes. I didn't know how much shaking I was doing just from the wheels/tires being out of balance. It's like driving a completely different car.

I heard about Dynabeads and wanted to get some, but while hunting for them I found the ones that Snyder's sells that were both easier to find and order as well as cheaper. I believe the difference is that the Dynabeads are made from ceramic and these are glass?

Installation sucks. If I had to do this again I would figure something else out. You remove your valve from the valve stem, and they provide a small bottle with piece of clear tubing. The beads do NOT, I repeat do NOT just pour in. They go until they hit the stem and then just sit there. If you tap the stem with something like a screwdriver handle, it will shake loose about 3 or 4 beads. The beads are very small, literally the size of the period . you see on your screen, so in 6 oz. of beads, there are thousands. I spent about 45 minutes to an hour tapping beads in EACH tire.

Ideally I'd have had something like a very small metal tube that will be big enough inside for the beads to slide through, but small enough on the outside to just slip through the valve stem and into the inner-tube. That way a funnel or something at the top could be lightly shaken and the whole process would go much faster.

Despite all of this craziness, the end result was very much worth it. Also, in my research I heard some folks concerned with being able to hear the beads moving in the tires when driving very slow, but I have great hearing and I can only hear the bears when I slowly roll the rim in the garage. If the engine is running, you can't hear them. Anyway, if anybody is contemplating getting some of these, my vote is yes.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Bamford, Edmonton AB on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 09:06 am:

I put Dynabeads in my '24 Speedster tires the other day and they made a big improvement. We are just back from an 1867 mile run in the car — many many miles at 50 mph and the reduced vibration was most welcome!

The first wheel took 30 minutes to install the beads, the second was only five minutes. For the second one I used a small hand-held engraver (the vibrating-buzz kind), holding the side of the bit against the valve stem. The high-speed vibrations kept the tiny beads dancing around and dropping nicely into the tube.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 09:20 am:

I also bought the cheaper Snyder's alternative. They were actually easier than I anticipated to pour in - I used a plastic funnel that fit just right over the top of the rubber stems in my 4.50-21" tubes - when pouring the beads slowly from their plastic bag so they went in a spiral down the funnel into the stem they didn't stack up more than once - that was when I poured too fast. Spent just about three - four minutes on each tube. I filled the tubes with 4 ounces each before I put the tires and tubes on the wheels, don't think it makes any difference though.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 09:40 am:

Well, you guys had it easier than I did. I tried all kinds of stuff. I didn't have much to work with though because I was in my garage and not my dad's shop.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 09:44 am:

Maybe your rubber stem was a bit restricted down below the Schrader valve? I checked with a drill bit that I had at least as big a hole as in the top all the way down into the tube.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 10:28 am:

I tried that! I have a stiff piece of metal that is pretty thin but very stiff and hard. It's useful for all kinds of thing, but I used it to check that stem was clear, then ran a drill bit back and forth that was small enough to not eat the Scrader valve threads. I don't know why they kept sticking.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 01:12 pm:

We purchased a foreign made Washing machine and clothes dryer that have an automatic balancing system which consists of a hollow circular tube with balls inside of it. They work just like Dyna beads. If the load is out of balance the balls re-position themselves to a place that stops vibration because the load is balanced.

The true action is called centripetal force. It is not to be confused with centrifugal force. Centrifugal force is the act of slinging some moveable parts of a rotating mass to the outside of a rotating mass in order to make everything equal and happy. Centripetal force is the act of weights relocating themselves to a place where the center of rotation is the center of balance.

So, in other words some loose weights can be re-positioned in a circular tube in a manner that will make the rotating mass happy. and will spin without vibration.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 02:10 pm:

Seth, was the air humid? I think the directions say that will make 'em clump.

The Dynabeads sure smooth the ride; most noticeably at freeway speeds.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Mikeska, Denver CO on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 08:07 pm:

LOL. I need some Dynabeads for a couple of crankshafts!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 09:14 pm:

It's eastern North Carolina in late summer. Lol it's so humid you can swim outside.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Alexander in Albion, Maine on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 07:48 am:

My Dynabead instructions said to use a drill and ream out the inside of the valve stem.( I can't find the data now, but it does give the size to use.) Apparently at the end of the stem is a rubber "flap" or protrusion that prevents the beads from dropping into the tube. This you drill out. Drill with the stem at 12 o clock so the bits will not go into the tube. Then, with the stem at 6 o clock the beads run in just fine. You do not ruin the threads in the stem if you use the correct size drill bit. I got mine from Langs.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 09:07 am:

Could this rubber "flap" or protrusion at the end of the stem maybe be some sort of check valve to help keep the air in the tube, despite the valve stem being designed to do so? Just a thought. I plan to get the beads also, so will keep a close eye on air pressure after drilling out anything if I do that.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Dufault on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 09:45 am:

Not wanting to "re-invent the wheel", but reading so many posts by Mr. Frugal makes me wonder.....

Just how different are these high priced beads from the glass beads the highway departments pour onto their freshly painted highway lines to aid in reflectivity?

I do believe a "4 tire sized" portion of those beads could be obtained for the price of a dozen donuts from your friendly DOT person...if the highway beads do work.

Steve or Mack...do you folks know?

Just trying to save a nickel.

Dave


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 09:46 am:

I bet Seth's problems had to do with the humidity in North Carolina. It was quite dry here in the spring when I did mine.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 11:19 am:

There you go, Dave, just like a politician: wanting somebody's tax dollars to pay for your vice. :-)

Why don't you just squirt in a cup of water?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Todd on Saturday, September 07, 2013 - 12:07 pm:

"We purchased a foreign made Washing machine and clothes dryer that have an automatic balancing system which consists of a hollow circular tube with balls inside of it."

Back around 1960 they sold a similar setup for modern cars that clipped inside the rims. IIRC they had a liquid inside along w/the balls. I had a set but they didn't seem to do anything. Don't remember what ever happened to the set I had, probably threw them away.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ralph Fitz-Gerald on Saturday, September 07, 2013 - 12:58 pm:

I just finished putting balancing beads in a set of buffalo 20 inch wire wheels. I call counter balance with a couple of question, they were great. I hope to get the speedster out Sunday after church and see what kind of improvement in handling I get with the balancing beads.
Fitz


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Garnet on Saturday, September 07, 2013 - 04:36 pm:

Don't know why I kept track of this, but I did. The first wheel took me 15 minutes. Second took 15, third took 25 and the last one took a whopping 75 minutes. I checked all four with the drill bit first and the bottom end of the bit slid right in all four. I wasn't smart enough to think about vibrating the tube with a drill or the wife's egg-beater ... a feller has got to be a three armed monkey - just like the good 'ol days of tuning a TRF radio !!

Garnet


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