Ether in tire

[sberry]

I had a mower tire giving me a fit, they are the worst and couldn't get it to seat up. My helper finally walks over gives it a shot of ether and hits it with a torch, slick as snot blows it right on. For some reason never did it before.

 

[chrismenke]

Famous trick of the Icelandic glacier rig drivers.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Seen plenty of video of this working, but I've also seen too many fails to try it myself..lol

 

[Wrench97]

I've seen it a lot with truck tires in the field.

 

[redwrench60]

Done it all the time 4 wheeling and once in a wal mart parking lot with spectators lol. Somewhere I have a VHS tape someone filmed of me in the woods seating the bead on a 38” Super Swamper TSL bogger. Always a crowd pleaser. I spray in the tire around the bead seat area and quickly spray a trail across the tire and on the ground 10 or so feet away and light the trail. Whooomph! Then I throw the wet towel (or ****** coat) I had handy to smother the flame. Works every time.

 

[sberry]

My guy is smart like that, he knows how much and it took only a pinch for the bitty tire. I know most every trick and for some reason never done it or think of it when I have the problem.

 

[jumbojak]

My best friend was nearly killed doing that to a mower tire. He doesn't remember trying to avoid going to the hospital but the shop owner took him anyway. He now has two parts in his hair. It's easy on the small ones to overdue it with the spray.

 

[redwrench60]

Yeah it’s a mind blower to someone who’s never seen it. Yeah gotta be careful on those hand truck and lawnmower tires. Just a “psssst” is all it takes!

 

[Dagny]

A friend had a truck shop and him and another friend were doing a truck tire like this only their method involved hitting the tire with a sledge hammer at the same time you light it well the guy with the hammer has red hair and at that time a very long beard.

Yep there he was bent over at the waist beard stuck in tire and the rest of us laughing our asses off.

 

[Jazz1]

It was very common for road side tire repairs on big trucks when very cold to seat the tires but now tire trucks are better equipped to avoid using this method. Its not safe.
Tire repair and mounting became regulated up here about 20 years ago. You need to be certified to mount/install tires and rims commercially.

 

[junkyardwarrior]

It works.

It can also blow a tire up (speaking from experience). Glad I was nowhere near it!

 

[laser3kw]

I remember that trick when I was a tire humper back in the '70's. Have only done it a few times myself.

 

[bushmechanic]

I've done it many times with everything from ether to gasoline, I'll continue to do it when required, and it pretty much always works, but...

It's not something I'd ever tell someone else to do. It is very dangerous, make no mistake, and I'm a ******* idiot for doing it.

Never pull that with a split wheel, such as seen on some commercial and military vehicles, and use that cage. I've personally wiped the results of a decapitation off my face after someone tried that. Many people warned the ******, too.

The problem is, you can't regulate the pressure. It takes very, very little fluid to seat a bead once ignited. There is always a risk.

 

[sberry]

Yes, used a pinch.

 

[seber]

Ratchet strap is not a fun, but it is safer and just as effective.

 

[FSrepair&fabrication]

Sometimes ether is the only way. I only use it as a last resort because i like my arm and facial hair to stay intact.

Edit: Since I bought a cheetah bead blaster i use it much much less than I did before

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I did it when I was young. Now I have a bead blaster. Honestly the bead blaster is safer and works better.

 

[Treeman]

I know most every trick and for some reason never done it or think of it when I have the problem.

I'm 63 and have been maintaining ag. equipment for over 40 years. I just learned about this trick 3 years ago from a 20 year-old.

It IS baffling when you learn something new that is such a common technique. Makes you scratch your head a bit wondering how that happened. Old dogs never too old too learn!

 

[mbshop]

Ether plus stupidity equals serious injury or death. Had a guy at my high school trying to start up our bulldozer. Was watching him from afar. Then I noticed him move his hand and saw a can in his hand. I went yelling and running as fast as I could to get there and stop him from starting it up. Got there in time. He almost emptied a whole can into the intake. He really wasn't supposed to be using the bulldozer but he was one of those with an attitude. Vented the engine for a week and it still started up with a lot of racket. Anyway, never tried the ether thing on tires and never will.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I've done it many times with everything from ether to gasoline, I'll continue to do it when required, and it pretty much always works, but...

It's not something I'd ever tell someone else to do. It is very dangerous, make no mistake, and I'm a ******* idiot for doing it.

Never pull that with a split wheel, such as seen on some commercial and military vehicles, and use that cage. I've personally wiped the results of a decapitation off my face after someone tried that. Many people warned the ******, too.

The problem is, you can't regulate the pressure. It takes very, very little fluid to seat a bead once ignited. There is always a risk.

Now that you mention the decapitation, it reminds me I knew a guy that had his nose ripped right off his face changing an 11 r 22 tire. He wasn't using ether and still almost died.

 

[mcbane]

Ether doesn’t vaporize effectively at low temps. In the winter only propane works for this “trick”. A cheetah tank is more reliable than either of the explosive methods.

I am curious though what the actual fatality rate is for ether bead seating vs simply inflating tires. Lots of people have died using an air chuck. For that reason I use a chuck/hose that keeps me out of the danger zone when inflating big or high pressure tires.




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[BDT/NWMN]

I was in a shop, running the rack on an N14 that was mounted in an engine stand. About 20 feet behind Me; two men were mounting an 11R-24.5 truck tire.. I heard one yell: that is too-----BOOM.... I was fortunate to be wearing a winter cap with ear flaps which softened the noise. The blast pushed Me up against that N14.

My first concern for My Coworkers were eye injuries from the blast. Fortunately; one was wearing glasses, and both were ok eye wise;; but not so much for their ears and sense of balance. I observed as one staggered in clockwise circles, while the other staggered counterclockwise. One guy's ears were still ringing two months later. The sidewall of that truck tire was ripped out 3/4 of the way around. Shortly after that event, they purchased a bead blaster.. It is ironic that a few years later, I stopped a third guy from using ether on a tire mount while in that same exact spot. I offered to show him how to use the bead blaster , but this young green horn was rather pissed at me for stopping him; and stormed out the door. Why was I concerned????? I was working on the truck brakes, and that tire was less than three feet away from Me.

The bead blaster tank at My own shop was not that expensive, so I left the ether for Cooter over in Hazard County.

 

[WittHay]

Surprising what you can do with a sledge hammer and either. The last repair with either was on a newer Hino 5 ton truck. It ran over a curb, bent the wheel and popped the tire. Hammered the wheel straight, shot quite a bit of either in the wheel. Used a propane torch to ignite and boom. The 11/22.5 tire was mounted. Late night tire fix.

There are better ways to mount tires.

 

[FSrepair&fabrication]

Like I said for me its a last resort. Ether is the strongest of all my tricks tho. on a stiff cold hard chinese recap 11r24.5 it can take 3 or 4 tries with ether to get the beads to catch. You dont need a whole can just a quick 1 second spray in 2 places then make a trail up the sidewall and hit it with the torch. Sometimes when it seats theres so much energy the tire literally jumps off the ground

 

[upper_tanker]

I always seem to have an issue with trailer tires and mower tires. Usually when we order from the warehouse, we always seem to get the pieces of sh!t that are on the bottom of the stack. We call them pancakes. We have a ranger tire machine with the optional bead-blaster attachment, which doesn't usually work on these. Either only sometimes works, but I leave that to my dad. He's old-school, and seems well versed in the "skill." I'll NEVER do this, and I always walk far away from the tire when he's doing this.

What I HAVE found to work GREAT, is to get a tube that is close in size to the tire. Put the tube in the tire, blow it up so it blows the sidewalls of the tire out wide. If it's summer, take it outside and put it in the sun for a half day or so. If it's winter, get a heater and put it in front of the heater for a day. Remove it from the heat for an hour so it cools in place, then be very careful when you put it on so you don't compress the sidewalls again.

I understand that my inner-tube trick won't work for some due to time constraints. However, I find that this is about the only thing that works at least 99% of the time. I never have good luck with the ratchet strap trick, because the actual ratchet ALWAYS only digs into one part of the tire instead of compressing the tire all the way around.

 

[Bill vonSteuben]

I had a mower tire giving me a fit, they are the worst and couldn't get it to seat up. My helper finally walks over gives it a shot of ether and hits it with a torch, slick as snot blows it right on. For some reason never did it before.

Heard about this technique years ago. Allegedly used with a three wheeler tire. It was counter productive as it blew all the plugs out of the tire!

 

[Fix Until Broke]

Cheeta is the way to go. Make sure to wear ear protection, hold the tank tight to your gut and have a good stance when you pull the handle as it will set you back. Don't pull the handle slowly, need to get the air in there fast.

https://www.google.com/search?q=che...iAhUDUKwKHXjHBusQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1745&bih=997

Had to use 3 of them simultaneously on a tire once, but they're the best way. You can make your own with a ~11 gallon air tank, 2" ball valve, a couple pipe ******* and someone who knows how to weld. Much cheaper than the purchased ones - and many are only 5 gallon which is too small for anything but mower tires. I know many will cry about welding on an air tank and such. Make your own decisions.

 

[sberry]

I am not advocating this but simply hadn't done it. I wasn't going to stop and build a Cheattah. My bud new exactly how much to use. Blew it on just right in one shot.

 

[PartsGuy]

I watched my ag tire guy do this with a combine tire. Holy hell!

 

[AA/FC]

For some reason never did it before.

Really? I thought everybody knew that trick. lol. I've done it myself dozens of times over the last 35 years, or so.

 

[sberry]

I knew it,,, just never did it and never really thought of it when I was in that bind. Still didn't occur to me till the helper grabbed up the can and did it.

 

[Bighead38]

Ratchet strap is not a fun, but it is safer and just as effective.

Surprised your the only one to mention this. I use the ratchet strap method for small tires.

 

[sberry]

Yes, I strapped a few, this was easier and faster.
There was a guy killed here not too long ago, decap from working on truck rim, no cage, no chains.

 

[sberry]

The mower fronts and golf cart tires are the worst. Aspect ratio is so close and they are so small its a chore to get them on/off.

 

[Farmall450]

I've only gotten it to work once myself.

onelonleyfarmer does it all the time.

 

[Jazz1]

You have to "think" when using ether in very cold conditions, I'm referring to -30 and colder.. Don't fall asleep on the dispensing nozzle! Problem is sometimes the ether does not ignite so user will give it another squirt. I've seen guys get a bit too generous with the "start dammit" but never enough to explode a tire, again, its not recommended.

 

[bushmechanic]

I've also found my Powertank (Co2) is perfectly happy seating beads, and it's quite a bit more progressive; similar to a machine designed for the purpose, in regard to how it all happens.

That's a lot of pressure on tap, though, and a lot of flow potential. Get stupid with it, and you'll blow something up with that, as well.

There are many ways to do it that are safer than an explosion inside the carcass of the tire. Ratchet straps can work with a compressor, depending on the tire you've got and the strap.

The best way of all is obviously to just take it to a tire shop and let someone else do it, because it's better them than you; but that's not always possible.

 

[sberry]

Tire shops do not want to do these. In my case I do them all the time, I want it now vs a drive to have someone tell me they don't want to and would have to buy a tire I already have.
I do other tires too. My helper pumping one here, my Brother breaking a bead.

 

[mmb617]

I've read about that trick and seen videos and I'll admit I've been tempted a time or two, but I guess I'm a chickenshit at heart because I just can't convince myself it's safe enough to do it.

Completely off topic so please excuse me but I just happened to notice that redwrench60's avatar pic is very similar to a pic of mine:

And I'll bet he uttered similar words to mine when the event that caused the opportunity to take that pic occurred. I was told that if you aren't breaking **** you aren't trying hard enough. I'm guessing redwrench60 and I were indeed both trying hard enough.

 

[Farmall450]

Tire shops do not want to do these. In my case I do them all the time, I want it now vs a drive to have someone tell me they don't want to and would have to buy a tire I already have.
I do other tires too. My helper pumping one here, my Brother breaking a bead.

I wouldn't want to mess with the calcium too much, myself.