OT tire bead sealing

SLK001 said:
I have a lawn tracker that has a tire that unseats itself regularly. I put a ratchet strap around it, remove the valve stem, then apply compressed air. This seats the tire in no time. You have to be careful with the ratchet strap, because the inflating tire can put tremendous pressure on the strap, so I inflate until seated, then stop and reinstall the valve stem, then remove the strap. Only then do I finish inflating the tire.
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Consider getting some of that black rubber tire sealant. I had a skid steer that would leak down regularly so bought a
can of bead sealant. You need to clean the rim well and also the tire bead surface before applying
the stuff. If you air up the offending tire and spray on some dish soap solution from an old spray bottle, it's
easy to find where the leak is and break the bead on that side for the repair. I'm a believer now.
 
SLK001 said:
I have a lawn tracker that has a tire that unseats itself regularly. I put a ratchet strap around it, remove the valve stem, then apply compressed air. This seats the tire in no time. You have to be careful with the ratchet strap, because the inflating tire can put tremendous pressure on the strap, so I inflate until seated, then stop and reinstall the valve stem, then remove the strap. Only then do I finish inflating the tire.
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That is exactly what I do.
 
Way way back in the gas station days we had something like this.

You placed it around the tire, pulled it snug then filled it with air.

When it inflated it got shorter pushing the tire out.

Had to use it those clowns placing narrow tires on wide rims to lower the ride.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 
Somehow, I have had the misfortune of repairing/replacing tires on multiple trailers and yard vehicles this past year. Rather than a ratchet strap, I w2ind several wraps of 3/8" nylon rope around the tread and insert a tire iron under one of the wraps. Twisting the tire iron, tourniquet fashion will compress the tread and seat the bead on the rim, Then I inflate the tire, with the valve stem removed if necessary, until the bead seats and pressure begins to increase. Releasing a hold on the tire iron allows it to unwind, freeing the rope. Insert the valve stem and inflate to pressure.

My wife's Mazda CX5 has had a small air leak since the car was new and the dealer has tried to fix it with no success.. The tire required topping up every ten days. Last year, I pulled the wheel and dunked it in a water tank and found a small leak on the inside rim next to a clip type wheel weight. I removed the tire (not a small feat in itself) and sanded the entire rim on both beads ro remove any corrosion, nicks, and scratches. To add suspenders to the belt, I coated the tire bead with bead sealer and let it dry and used tire lube to seat the tire. It has been six months and the leak has been sealed.
 
I had a slow leak on the bead of a 3 yard front end loader. The tire repair service said the rim was too rust pitted in the groove for the O-ring that seals the removable rim, I had them remove the tire completely, then sandblasted the wheel in that area. I used JB Weld to fill the rust pits, and discovered that a 3/8" wide popsicle stick (from a craft supply store) was perfect for spreading the epoxy to the right radius. After letting it harden and painting the cleaned area, we had the tire reinstalled, and no leaks!
 
jcp said:
I have seen (and heard) it done this way with propane and a oxygen/acetylene torch on a large backhoe rear tire. Raises the adrenaline levels.
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N.O.!!!

You’re making a friggin bomb here.

Ether works somewhat safely as the explosion stops when it uses up all of the oxygen.

I’ve done ether and also a ratchet strap looped in the center of the tread and tightened.
 
RaisedByWolves said:
N.O.!!!

You’re making a friggin bomb here.

Ether works somewhat safely as the explosion stops when it uses up all of the oxygen.

I’ve done ether and also a ratchet strap looped in the center of the tread and tightened.
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Rest assured I didn’t do this……just saw it done from inside the shop.
 
I spent many years around heavy equipment, it was my jam until I earned my degree at 33 years old. Now I dont' get my hands dirty at work anymore, but I have seen many tire inflation incidents. Whenever someone thought to shortcut the process of seating a bead safely, I would just calmly back away and go out for a smoke. You can't control the pressure or volume in any meaningful way. When it works, it's nifty, but it's not worth the cost if it doesn't. Several soldiers were killed in tire inflation mishaps while I was in the Army, but people still did stuff like this. It's even more spectacular with split ring rims under field conditions when nobody wants to deal with the inflation cage. Check out youtube. You'll see some successful insta-flation with ether or gasoline, but you'll also see some people's final moments captured on film.
 
pontiac428 said:
It's even more spectacular with split ring rims under field conditions when nobody wants to deal with the inflation cage.
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I could have easily been killed while inflating a split rim when I was about 20 years old. Luckily, I worked in a shop that believed in safety cages. I had brought it up to about 50 lbs when an incredible explosion occurred. The split ring flew out of the cage, taking a chunk out of the brick wall on the other side of the shop. It knocked me over backward, but the cage saved me from that ring. I couldn't hear much for days. I would not be here if I had not had that tire in the cage. They sent the whole tire assembly out for analysis, and it turns out that a seam in the inner tube was faulty and had initiated the destruction.

Ironically, I went for a hearing test last week. I have significant hearing loss in my upper ranges, and I do contribute it partly to that accident. I'm 57 and consider myself too young for hearing aids but I guess that is what I will end up with.
 
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