Tire Sealant

Lee1935

Active member
This has been a topic in the past but with all of the new users I thought since spring is just around the corner it might not hurt to touch on it again.

Nothing worse than being a long walk from home with a flat tire. Now is the time to think about tire sealant.

Their are several brands to be considered, I've had good luck with a product called "Ride-On Tire Balancer and Sealant" but I think you have to go online to buy it.

You can go into most any equipment store and find a product called "Slime" which by all reviews is good

p.s. The tire sealant/repair in the little pressurized cans is not to be depended upon
 

aurthuritis

Well-known member
Site Supporter
it may just be my location but if i bring a tire to the shop that has sealant in it they won't even take it off of the rim. they hand it back and say take it somewhere else. so i carry a plug kit instead,the tire guy just grinds off the plug and repairs the tire. he says the sealant makes the tire where it won't hold a patch.
 

ovrszd

Well-known member
it may just be my location but if i bring a tire to the shop that has sealant in it they won't even take it off of the rim. they hand it back and say take it somewhere else. so i carry a plug kit instead,the tire guy just grinds off the plug and repairs the tire. he says the sealant makes the tire where it won't hold a patch.

That's been my experience as well. I also carry a plug kit. Very simple to plug tires. I've even plugged my tubeless tractor tires.
 

foxalaska

Active member
it may just be my location but if i bring a tire to the shop that has sealant in it they won't even take it off of the rim. they hand it back and say take it somewhere else. so i carry a plug kit instead,the tire guy just grinds off the plug and repairs the tire. he says the sealant makes the tire where it won't hold a patch.

As a mechanic, I've found tire goo to really cause issues trying to hold a patch, not to mention the extra work to clean the stuff off everything. I agree with plugs, but they are a leak looking for a place to happen and should be repaired. Of course I've had a plug in mine all winter, but I don't go any farther than I'm willing to walk. A spare mounted tire carried on the machine is the real answer.
 

Alaskanassasin

Senior Member
Site Supporter
Im a plugger! I have plugged hundreds of off road tires sometimes 2-4 plugs per hole and forgot about them! We always carried a pressurized air tank though.
(on a side note I had a guy working for me and I told him to air up the air tank. He did and when he was lifting it into the truck he said "man this thing is heavy when its full" :drink: )
(Had another guy just started working for me and we were in a subdivision at about 7am on a Saturday, I told him "grab the tank and put air in the wheelbarrow tire" as I rounded the back of the house I heard this huge explosion... :boom: it really is hard to find good help)
Anyways after 10 years of landscaping I found that a air tank and plug kit will fix almost any leaks. I always carried a few cans of fix a flat as a back up, back up and a bunch of times that really got me out of a bind.
One year I bought a new zero turn and they slimed the tires for me, like the others said it made everything messy and sometimes lubed my plugs which did not help keep them in place.
I will plug any tire and forget it except steer tires on vehicles.
 

Lee1935

Active member
it may just be my location but if i bring a tire to the shop that has sealant in it they won't even take it off of the rim. they hand it back and say take it somewhere else. so i carry a plug kit instead,the tire guy just grinds off the plug and repairs the tire. he says the sealant makes the tire where it won't hold a patch.

your tire shops don't sound very hungry☺☺

Truckers often use tire sealant, the stuff can be even bought in caulking gun tubes. Race cars use tire sealant but I've been told they stay away from the stuff called slim and I understand there is stuff out there that dries out and gets hard over time.

In my little hermit world ☻ I've seen two utvs that had a flat in the bush. The bead on both broke from the rim before the driver realized he had a flat.

Today both the of the owners use sealant, no idea what brand as I suggested they search the internet for reviews.

old saying about showing a horse the water bucket :myopinion:
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I've used slime on my ATV with good results. Also used it on the RTV 900 tires that had a leak, no more leak.
Tubes have been very good to me. I had a old 50' houseboat. It's trailer had six mobile home tires. Had numerous leak problems, so I put tubes in the tires. No more problem. My ZTR front tires would go flat way to often, put tubes in them, no more problem. When the rear tires had a leak I went straight for the tube solution and it worked.
Tubes seem to be the best all round fix other than buying a new tire. Especially if the rim is hard to seal. A tube will fix it for good.
 

ovrszd

Well-known member
Im a plugger! I have plugged hundreds of off road tires sometimes 2-4 plugs per hole and forgot about them! We always carried a pressurized air tank though.
(on a side note I had a guy working for me and I told him to air up the air tank. He did and when he was lifting it into the truck he said "man this thing is heavy when its full" :drink: )
(Had another guy just started working for me and we were in a subdivision at about 7am on a Saturday, I told him "grab the tank and put air in the wheelbarrow tire" as I rounded the back of the house I heard this huge explosion... :boom: it really is hard to find good help)
Anyways after 10 years of landscaping I found that a air tank and plug kit will fix almost any leaks. I always carried a few cans of fix a flat as a back up, back up and a bunch of times that really got me out of a bind.
One year I bought a new zero turn and they slimed the tires for me, like the others said it made everything messy and sometimes lubed my plugs which did not help keep them in place.
I will plug any tire and forget it except steer tires on vehicles.

I agree.
 

ovrszd

Well-known member
I've used slime on my ATV with good results. Also used it on the RTV 900 tires that had a leak, no more leak.
Tubes have been very good to me. I had a old 50' houseboat. It's trailer had six mobile home tires. Had numerous leak problems, so I put tubes in the tires. No more problem. My ZTR front tires would go flat way to often, put tubes in them, no more problem. When the rear tires had a leak I went straight for the tube solution and it worked.
Tubes seem to be the best all round fix other than buying a new tire. Especially if the rim is hard to seal. A tube will fix it for good.

I agree that tubes will stop the leaks you described. Problem is the upcoming nail that jams into your tire. Now you are forced to take it off, break it down, and patch the tube. If tubeless you are underway within a couple minutes. :)
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I agree that tubes will stop the leaks you described. Problem is the upcoming nail that jams into your tire. Now you are forced to take it off, break it down, and patch the tube. If tubeless you are underway within a couple minutes. :)
Yep, that is true Richard. I was lucky and never have found a nail with a tire I have tubed. Plus I got so tired of having to air up the tires with slow leaks, put a tube in and fa get about it. Worked for me. But ... a nail would be an extra pain like you said.
 

Alaskanassasin

Senior Member
Site Supporter
I agree that tubes will stop the leaks you described. Problem is the upcoming nail that jams into your tire. Now you are forced to take it off, break it down, and patch the tube. If tubeless you are underway within a couple minutes. :)

That’s what I meant ;-). Nail in a Tube and your done, 4 way, spud bars, patch kit, etc. or valve stem gets stuck in the rim where you cant get a air chuck on it! Frustrating! Nail in a tubeless... sometimes you can pull and plug without adding air if your fast enough! Sometimes you can just roll with a nail in a tubeless, that would not happen with a tube.
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I use Slime myself and put it in the tires before I have an incident.

I have found occasional green spots on the exterior of the tire denoting that I poked it and the slime did its job and plugged it right up. Found a screw in a tire. Pulled it out and the slime plugged that right up as well.

I also like the slime to address slow leaks where you have a tire that doesn't have a perfect bead.
 

geohorn

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
Slime and other similar products will eventually ruin your wheel/rim with rust. NO SLIME for me!
Slow-speed/Off-Hi-way tires....??… I use quality PLUGS and never have another problem. Tubes are the last resort for me.... but they do work well. Breaking down a tubed-tire is easy.... leave the tire on the rim... pull the tube out thru one side's collapsed bead.... patch it... reinsert it, and fill with air. Simple and fast.

Rather than carry a spare tire/wheel ($125+)… carry a tube and a cheap pump... less than $40.
 
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