[Bob Carriere]

Bonjour Gilles

Can't really recommend something I have not bought or used yet, however....

It seems to me that the above model would be ideal for the hobbyist and should work on the CMP rims. I have seen videos of its use on large tractor tires and it seems to be doing the job very well and only requires hand tools.

The model 70160 retails as low as $137 US with free shipping inside continental US which is convenient as I have a mail box in Upper NY state.

There is a larger heavy duty manual model that retails for near $600 model 20429 Pneu-Tech his intended to be used with air impact hammers and comes with grease fittings.... not any faster as it is still manual but could take more repeated operations without wearing out as fast.

All the manual machines rely on a screw device which if over used can wearout....regularly greasing the screw thread would go far to ease the operation and extend the life of the tool.

Even the low tech tire installer that we created use gets a liberal dab of grease on each threaded rod when ever we use it.

By chance Rob Clarke did by a smaller bead breaker model he purchased a few months back and sadly he found it lacking in capacity both for the size of the CMP rim or the pressure required. It is very similar in concept to the ESCO 70160 but about 1/4 its size.
We have used his device successfully on smaller tires and on one side of the 900x16 Michelin we unrimmed,,,,, it could not get a bite on the reverse side of the rim due to the deep dish design of the rim. We finally gave in and cut the rim on half to remove the tire.

I have yet to consult with Rob and Grant on the purchase of the ESCO model but when we do and when we test it out we will be sharing our information with the rest of MLU.

I have no trouble around here getting a tire shop to remove stubborn tires for us...... use to be $20 dollars to remove and reinstall the new tires.....now its by the hour and if your tire is stubborn you pay for it.... it works out to approx. $25 a wheel just to remove and we have to loosen and remove the 8 rusted nuts at our own expense of time and Oxy-acet. gas......

I have estimated that in about 6 tires we break even....... with the 3 of us using it it will get paid for quickly.

The tractor/truck dealers use a hand carried hydraulic system that is worth about $3000. and allows one man to remove tires from a fram tractor without removing the rim off the tractor. I have seen the operator change a blown tire on my Massey in less than 2 hours including reloading the tire with calcium but he did charge me over $500 for the service call.

I have studied the design sold by ESCO and concluded that it would cost us just as much to make our own when you consider the material and some machine shop time.....

Hang in there sooner or later we will have more information to share. It would be easier if the Cdn Looney was worth a bit more.....

Cheers

PS ...Comments & suggestions on tire bead breakers welcomed.....