Tire Plug kits

[Retired dozer fixer]

I’ve seen off road tire guys put 4-6 large plugs into scraper tires and they held for years

 

[gtae07]

I've used the Slime kits a few times and they've never caused issues. They've certainly saved my **** a couple times. Still running on one right now that I put in last November. The tires are almost at the end of tread life so it just needs to hold a couple more months.

 

[Beerhippie]

I have a kit that came with a offroad jack I bought. Now I'm thinking it needs some metal-handle tools. Putting a steel rod through my palm is a new experience I can just skip.

I put mine in a cheap tool roll. Takes up much less space than a blow-mold case.

 

[yhprum]

Those screw in type tire plugs have been showing up on my feed’s lately. Are they any good or just another gimmick?

 

[Hakeem]

I’ve used the Safety Seal plugs probably 50-60x. Most of those were on semi trucks or trailer tires. A few needed two plugs but all seemed to hold fine, and this is on tires inflated to 100+ psi, bearing thousands and thousands of pounds.

Admittedly I don’t think we’ve ever plugged a steer tire, only the drive tires, so a blowout would be one tire out of eight. But again - never heard of an issue.

I remember @bwringer sharing a unique type of plug that twisted on the inside of the tire to seal the inside & out .. please refresh my memory on the brand if you see this, good sir

 

[Dig Doug]

I’ve had this kit pictured below since 1995
just buy new plugs as needed
I bought mine at the Case Tractor dealer for $19.99 in 1995ish Still working Awesome and my plugs are at least 15 -20 years old !
The lube is is also older

Best Plug Kit you can Buy ! Hands Down

 

[KnurledNut]

I have a kit that came with a offroad jack I bought. Now I'm thinking it needs some metal-handle tools. Putting a steel rod through my palm is a new experience I can just skip.

I put mine in a cheap tool roll. Takes up much less space than a blow-mold case.

Its not nearly dramatic as its made out to be. I had it happen a few months ago and it was obvious the handle was breaking before the steel even separated. It also bent. I had on gloves so not a big deal anyway plus its blunt, not sharp. I ended up clamping the rod in vise grips and finishing the job.

 

[Beerhippie]

its blunt, not sharp.

Hurts even more!

 

[Jtels85]

Perhaps a bit overkill, but I recently purchased this set from Amazon for $30. I used it just one time when my wife came home with a large screw in her right rear tire. The reamer tool is stout! Much better quality than the cheap $4 unit sold at most brick and mortar stores.

 

[rlitman]

I have a kit that came with a offroad jack I bought. Now I'm thinking it needs some metal-handle tools. Putting a steel rod through my palm is a new experience I can just skip.

I put mine in a cheap tool roll. Takes up much less space than a blow-mold case.

If you're really a tightwad on space, you could always loosen the allen, take the needle and reamer out of their sockets and stow them, the allen and some plug cords inside the hollow handles. Me, I just have everything in a small bag.

For those that didn't notice, the metal handled kit in the post above differs from the Safety Seal kit, in that the needle is about 2" shorter, and the ropes are correspondingly shorter as well. I actually prefer these shorter needle and shorter rope kits, but YMMV.

 

[Firebrick43]

I now use Tech permacure plugs as they vulcanize instead of just hoping the brown goo holds. I have had a few regular plugs get slow leaks over the years.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've used the Slime kits a few times and they've never caused issues. They've certainly saved my **** a couple times. Still running on one right now that I put in last November. The tires are almost at the end of tread life so it just needs to hold a couple more months.

I bought a Slime tire plug kit solely because my SIL had a thing for flat tires for a bit and I was getting phone calls for assistance. Since I bought the kit, I don't think I have gotten one call.

....and the spammer that brought this thread back is gone.

 

[bwringer]

I remember @bwringer sharing a unique type of plug that twisted on the inside of the tire to seal the inside & out .. please refresh my memory on the brand if you see this, good sir

That would be the Nealey plugs. They're installed a little differently, don't need glue, and IMHO they work somewhat better than the usual gummy rope worms.

I've installed dozens in motorcycle tires over the years, and car tires too.

When you remove the tire, you find a knot firmly stuck to the inside of the tire. It takes a substantial effort to pull it off from the inside with good pliers.

Not every puncture is pluggable, of course. Obviously tire damage has a significant random component. The only failures I've ever seen are when the puncture is too large or in the sidewall, etc. and even in these cases you can often get it to seal enough to limp home with a slow leak.

 

[KnurledNut]

That would be the Nealey plugs. They're installed a little differently, don't need glue, and IMHO they work somewhat better than the usual gummy rope worms.

I've installed dozens in motorcycle tires over the years, and car tires too.

When you remove the tire, you find a knot firmly stuck to the inside of the tire. It takes a substantial effort to pull it off from the inside with good pliers.

Not every puncture is pluggable, of course. Obviously tire damage has a significant random component. The only failures I've ever seen are when the puncture is too large or in the sidewall, etc. and even in these cases you can often get it to seal enough to limp home with a slow leak.

Is the screwdriver insert tool built well? I looked into those years ago but never pulled the trigger because I wasn't sold on the durability of the tools for truck tire applications. The strings themselves seem well made.

 

[bwringer]

Is the screwdriver insert tool built well? I looked into those years ago but never pulled the trigger because I wasn't sold on the durability of the tools for truck tire applications. The strings themselves seem well made.

Yes, it's very strong and well-made. It's also not very large because it doesn't need to be, so not a lot of force is ever needed.

Read through the instructions on the website and you'll start to get an idea of how the kit works a little differently and why.

There's no nonsense with reaming, for example. Just move the tool around to bend any wires out of the way.

And the strings are skinnier, but they're installed such that you end up with four thicknesses of sting in the hole and not two, and there's a knot on the inside. So they confirm better in irregular punctures, and cannot come out.