Tire Sealers... Do they work ??

   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #1  

gobbler

Silver Member
Joined
May 15, 2002
Messages
214
Location
NE Missouri
Tractor
Kubota BX1800
Just wondering how the available tire sealers I've seen (Slime and others) really work.

I avoided this area is the past w/ my JD L&G and now that I've got the BX, I want to clean it up a bit. I'll have to cut down about a half dozen Osage Orange trees and the thorns will invariably find there way to the ground and most likely in my tires. This area leads to a nice location down by the creek and the wife wants me to clean it up so it can be enjoyed.

If this stuff works, I figured a little preventative maintenance would save me some grief.

Jim
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #2  
I've got Slime in the turfs on my Power Trac. Either it works, or I wouldn't have any leaks anyway.
Bubenberg reported in a thread a while back that he had had problems with flat tires on his PT and other commercial lawn and turf equipment, but has had no problems at all since he put Slime in everything.
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #3  
Jim
I had trouble with Osage thorns when I first started cleaning up my place. I have about 5 or 6 plugs in each one of my Gravely tires, these didn't work. I tried "Fix a Flat" with no luck, now I use "Slime" this stuff is great. I can even let the Gravely sit for long periods of time without the tires going flat. I have even tried the Wal-Mart brand it seals fine to, but I can't let anything sit for any length of time without the tires going flat. The great thing about both of these products is you can tell right away if it is working. Once you roll the tire over, after pumping it back up, you can see it coming out of the holes immediatly, and it seals right now.
Solo
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ??
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Anybody have an idea how much Slime I need for my BX turfs ??

Jim
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #5  
Jim
I too had problems with thorns in tires but my problem was with Mesquite and Honey Locust thorns. I have pulled thorns as long as three inches out of the tires and Slime would stop them from leaking. The worst trouble was when the thorn would break off below the tire surface and I didn't know it was there. The wood is porous and eventually the tire would go flat. Since I was mowing infrequenly at the lake, I finally got so tire of airing them back up and had them all foamed solid. Doesn't stop the thorns from going in the tire but I just keep on mowing and don't worry about a flat. Sure helps when I want to get after a big patch of prickly pears/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Randy
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ??
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Now you got me to wondering...

Assuming I have Slime in tires and I pick up a thorn, would it be best to pull it out, or cut it off ???
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #7  
Jim
You can leave them, in pull them out, it doesnt matter they will all seal.
Solo
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #8  
I have a PT-425 and had a slow left tire leak (I have turfs). Put a bottle of Slime in each tire ($7 at Home Depot) and haven't had a leak since....
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #9  
After having a flat in my mesquites and honey locust trees the first day I used my new tractor 3 years ago I plugged the hole, then put "Master Seal" in the tires. Got it at Tractor Supply for about $7 a quart. I put 2 quarts in each rear tire and 1 quart in each front tire. I have not had a single flat since. The stuff looks like snot - probably basically the same thing as the "Slime" they are selling now.

The good thing is that it does not harm the tires, and would wash out with a water hose if you took the tire off the rim.
 
   / Tire Sealers... Do they work ?? #10  
This evening I used a purple version of the slime/sealer in my front tires. Got it from my local Kubota dealer. The pump that came with it had a bb sized ball bearing in the top and it kept plugging up. Had to use coat hanger and garden hose several times to keep it free. SAFETY WARNING. I should have been wearing rubber gloves. After about 20 minutes of this stuff on my hands my fingers started to swell and feel like they were getting frost bit. I spent about 30 minutes flushing and washing my hands with orange cleaner/409/etc. to try to neutralize whatever is in this stuff. Only 1 fingertip remains a little numb.

I had gotten really good about always wearing gloves after a friend ended with some 2nd degree burns after using Winks carpet cleaner for rust stains (purchased at the grocery store). He ended up at the Parkland burn center in Dallas. His fingers/hands didn't start to until hurt until quite a while after he had finished using the product.
 
 
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