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leaky tires

7

7echo

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Feb 16, 2008
Messages
432
Location
coastal Georgia
I have a Bosch portable compressor...
http://www.toolbarn.com/bosch-cet4-20w.html

Good little mobile compressor. The air leaks out of the tires pretty quickly. I do not want to fool with Slime or tubes so I am wondering if anyone has used spray foam. I know you can have off road vehicle and construction equipment tires foamed but this is a little smaller in scale.
Any experiences, suggestions or options?

Thanks!
 
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C

chickenhauler

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May 31, 2011
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473
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Pennsylvania
It's cheaper to put in tubes, but easier to just buy foam filled tires. They're increasingly popular, and you should be able to find them at just about any lawn and garden center.
 
D

DekeT

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Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
2,234
Location
USA
7echo said:
I have a Bosch portable compressor...
http://www.toolbarn.com/bosch-cet4-20w.html

Good little mobile compressor. The air leaks out of the tires pretty quickly. I do not want to fool with Slime or tubes so I am wondering if anyone has used spray foam. I know you can have off road vehicle and construction equipment tires foamed but this is a little smaller in scale.
Any experiences, suggestions or options?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Why not look for the root of the problem -why do my tires leak?
 
K

Kevin54

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Urbana, Ohio
If you are wanting to foam fill them, why not just Slime them? Ones that change tires don't like Slime, but if WallyWorld sells Slime, then WallyWorld can change the tires out also when that time comes.

Other than that.....if this is tires on a garden tractor, a wheelbarrow, or a utility cart, and especially a John Deere tire, you need to put a bead of silicone around the rim before the tire is mounted, and it will take care of the problem. I've found that most small tires leak around the bead, and people don't take the time to clean any rust on utility or mower rims. Even one little area will let the air out. A bead of silicone will remedy that problem.
 
J

Jlbc212

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Dec 7, 2013
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1,530
Location
Northeast MA
No matter what kind of tire it is, find the leak. Get a large storage container, fill it with enough water to cover the lower portion of the tire with the tire standing up. Look for air bubbles. Rotate the tire. Look for air bubbles. Rotate the tire. Look for air bubbles. After you find the leak, if it is a small tire, get a small tire changer from Harbor Freight. It doesn't cost much and you'll be able to fix all your small tires. Break the tire down and fix the leak. Clean the rims of stuck rubber and loose rust. Follow Kevin's advice and silicone the bead sealing edge. Refill tire and check for leaks again in the water tub. If it is a big tire, take the tire to a reputable garage and show them where you found the leak.
 
S

slip knot

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Mar 22, 2010
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Location
Texas gulf coast
I've used spray foam in ires before and it worked somewhat. I tried it on a wheelbarrow tire and it wont hold the weight of the material and would collapse. empty it was ok but not loaded. Your compressor may be light enough to be ok?

These cheapo chinese tires are **** they leak from everywhere. sidewall pinholes are not uncommon. The rims on my wife garden cart weren't even formed right just angled at a 45 the tire wallowed around until it somewhat seated but it would be flat the next day.
 
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L

laser3kw

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Nov 17, 2012
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northen IL
my guess is they are chrome plated aluminum rims suffering from rim rot.
That's the corrosion that develops along the bead seat from the dissimilar metal junction. If that's the case, trust me, the only cure is to dismount the tires and grind the bead seat to get rid of the chrome and corrosion in that area. My wife's 300m is a mf for this. No amount of filler, green goo, magic black bead tar will fix it or even slow it down.
PS - the best way to piss off the tire guy who has to work on your tires is to use slime. I know one shop that gave the customer the option to clean the mess themselves or pay additional $75 per tire to clean. The customer choose to cleaned them.:thumbup:
 
J

James-W

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Feb 3, 2013
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Location
Southeastern Wisconsin
I have a little hand truck that I use from time to time. Every time I want to use it I have to pump up one of the tires. I have tried to fix the leak several times, but have not been successful. I know where it is leaking, it leaks around the rim. But I have cleaned the rim and cleaned the tire and I have done pretty much everything I can think of to fix it. I am ready to buy an inner tube for it. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to screw around trying to fix stuff like that. I can probably buy an inner tube for about $4 and save myself a lot of aggravation.
 
R

redmondjp

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Nov 25, 2014
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Location
Redmond, WA
Some of you will think I am crazy for suggesting this, but I have done it on several pieces of equipment with great success - use black silicone RTV (regular strength - not the high-adhesive type) on the beads. Deflate tire, push bead off one side of rim, apply large bead of RTV, then do the same on the other side. Inflate tire just enough to re-seat the beads but then let all of the air out until the RTV is fully cured (so the pressurized air doesn't blow a leak path through the uncured RTV).

If rims are rusty, you may want to clean them and treat the rust first.

So yes, it will be a little bit more difficult to get the tire off with the RTV on there. So what? If it doesn't leak, you're never going to need to get the tire off in your lifetime. The only other reason why you would need to dismount the tire would be to replace the valve stem, so make sure that it is in good condition before doing this.

And let's face it, Harbor Freight has those wheels complete with tires on sale for $3.99 each every few months, if you can stand the pungent rubber odor from them! So that is always an option.

I haven't had good luck with slime, especially for sealing rim leaks - it sits in the bottom the tire and it is very difficult to get it to go into the rim area.
 
C

CJM8515

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Mar 8, 2014
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Location
NJ
^ the silicone works, done it myself.

Me, its just a compressor. Fix a flat works well for this purpose.
 
G

GuyllFyre

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Sep 2, 2014
Messages
378
Location
Scotia, NY
I clean the beads, make sure they are smooth, and at most, use rubber cement as bead sealer.
Still, it's best to figure out from where the tire is leaking first before going through too much hassle.

I rarely need to use bead sealer on my car tires. It drives my dad batty as he only cleans the bead seat but I clean the seat and rim all the way to the edge of the lip and then hit them with a primer or appropriate paint. I find that doing it that way cuts down on the corrosion that can form and work it's way under the seat and make it leak at the bead.

Spray foam is no good in tires, I researched that before doing it and the consensus was the same, it can't handle the load and it breaks down. I use slime in my wheelbarrow and hand cart. It cut down on the amount of times I need to refill them.
 
T

Train

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Jul 20, 2010
Messages
249
Location
Alberta, Canada
Nobody's mentioned liquid starch yet. Do a search, there are a couple of threads on it here and everyone seems to like it. Cheap, and washes off easily. I wanted to try it, but can't find it in Canada for some reason.

Myself. I'd go with the first answer you got right beneath your original question.
 
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