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DIY foam filled no-flat tires?

Kingcreek

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Nov 18, 2013
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143
Location
Illinois
Anybody try this?
several youtube vids claim success for cart tires, mowers, etc
My specific need is a 4 wheel hose cart on pneumatic tires. It usually holds 200ft of 5/8 garden hose and only travels occasionally between the gardens and the greenhouse.
Thanks
 
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dieselmech86

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Mar 26, 2013
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35
Location
St. Louis, MO
Yeah we had our local truck tire shop fill our front riding lawn mower tiresfor our shop yard with it. It is pricey but has held up for over a year now.

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk
 
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Kingcreek

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Nov 18, 2013
Messages
143
Location
Illinois
Some tire shops offer a superior and more expensive method even suitable for highway and commercial use.
I am considering trying the foam in a rattle can stuff. I'll take the axles off and drag it before I spend $100 or more filling tires on a $75 hose cart.
 

lotsoftools

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Oct 22, 2011
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Inland Empire
I think you'd have to spin the tire a few times as you fill to make sure the foam distributes evenly. If you just spray it in through the valve stem it seems like it would concentrate on one side of the tire.
 

kbs2244

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Nov 11, 2006
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14,065
I have never had any peoblems after installing old fashioned tubes.
 

rsanter

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Dec 22, 2007
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Location
visalia ca
Do not use that foam in a can meant for houses.
If you blow it into the tire through the stem some of it will set up and the rest will stay guey or uncured.
Once it runs out of moisture vapor in the tire it stops curing.
Heard this from someone that tried it in his hand truck tires. Then it was a big mess to clean up and clean out

Bob
 

countryroad82

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Mar 18, 2011
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Location
Kentucky
We used to have foam filled tires on our backhoe at work. Had several flat spots in them it rode horrible! Finally had to put new front tires on and we left out the foam it rides like a dream now...... well for what it is anyway lol. Keep that in mind if it is going to be something that sits for awhile, you tend to get flat spots.
 

rlitman

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Oct 18, 2010
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Location
Long Island
I read somewhere that someone stuffed those light tires with pool noodles. Apparently it worked.

Interesting idea. Might work on a tire with air in it too.

I've had issues where letting the pressure on a handtruck (or wheelbarrow) tire get too low, it can collapse and have the bead pop off. I wonder if you could stuff enough pool noodle foam in there to make it act like a run-flat.
 
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shanker

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Jun 27, 2005
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Portland, TX
using a pool noodle between the tire & tube on a bicycle will almost cure all leaks from thorns....somehow they can't penetrate the compressed pool noodle :dunno: how it work
 

ekuhn

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Jun 7, 2010
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223
Location
08873
We used to have foam filled tires on our backhoe at work. Had several flat spots in them it rode horrible! Finally had to put new front tires on and we left out the foam it rides like a dream now...... well for what it is anyway lol. Keep that in mind if it is going to be something that sits for awhile, you tend to get flat spots.


We fill our front backhoe tires not only to prevent flats, but to add ballast for the back end. The extra weight does help when transporting items with the stick.
 

nonhog

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Nov 6, 2007
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2,449
Location
Arizona (Tucson)
I used liquid starch from WalMart to seal my garden tractor tires.
Use to go flat in 1 day. Now since adding liquid starch its not gone low in weeks.
Suppose to be water soluble so easy clean up.

Not sure if that meets your needs but its working for my leaky beads.
I'd suspect it would seal minor punctures?
 
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Kingcreek

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Nov 18, 2013
Messages
143
Location
Illinois
I put a foam pool noodle section in until I remember to pick up a new tube. It's working ok now looks like a low tire instead of a flat one.
 

Notgrownup

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May 5, 2014
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Location
Snow Hill NC
I use rude on balancer sealer gel in my Harley tires....i thought of putting the foam in my wheelbarrow and garden trailer.....worth a try....
 

Skyline

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Nov 11, 2008
Messages
3,586
I had a trailer for my lawn tractor that would constantly break the bead seals on its tire(s) when you went into reverse. Was a real PITA. I took the wheels and tires to my local tire shop, and they filled them with foam for me. As I recall, cost about $35/tire. But they never rolled off the rims again; worked perfectly. Obviously not a DIY solution, but clearly the right stuff can work very well.
 
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