HELP! Flat tire, now what?

[ctgoldwing]

I just finished 1-1/2 hours of great seat time clearing scrub trees in the woods with the FEL. As I was backing into the garage the machine just sagged down. It was obvious I had a flat & sure enough my left rear was down. I lifted the machine by the bh outriggers & the tire is broken away from the bead. Is there any 'trick' to getting the bead to seal while I put air into it? I have about 90 psi available but the gap between the tire & wheel is just way too much. Horsing these R4's isn't very easy. . .

Am I reduced to calling a tire company?

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Do a search for " bead seating" in all forums and you will get plenty of ideas.
Bill

 

[ctgoldwing]

Do a search for " bead seating" in all forums and you will get plenty of ideas.
Bill

Thanks! much better results than searching for "tire"

The ratchet strap sounds like a winner! I can't imagine what happened other than perhaps a rock broke the bead & I lost most of the air in the woods & then it just let go as I was backing in. . . weird.

Thanks so much (I wasn't looking forward to pulling it off & schlepping it to a tire dealer)

 

[The Haymaker]

Ratchet straps work well on smaller tires, I've never used them on bigger stuff. On tires like those on a "dolly" or wheel barrow, wrapping the tire with several turns of black tape under the most tension it will handle will also work.

I've also used the ether method on very stubborn larger tires.

The vid is a little more safety oriented than what I do, but it shows the principle. Keep water handy, as whatever you overspray will burn. Don't get you face or body inline with the outer face in case the tire coms over the bead, which I doubt will ever happen. If the tire is dismounted, it may jump off the ground a bit.

Greasing the bead also helps get a quicker seal.

Check what the propellant in the ether can is, some use CO2, which slows the burn. Also makes it useless in spud cannons!

E

 

[brin]

I just finished 1-1/2 hours of great seat time clearing scrub trees in the woods with the FEL. As I was backing into the garage the machine just sagged down. It was obvious I had a flat & sure enough my left rear was down. I lifted the machine by the bh outriggers & the tire is broken away from the bead. Is there any 'trick' to getting the bead to seal while I put air into it? I have about 90 psi available but the gap between the tire & wheel is just way too much. Horsing these R4's isn't very easy. . .

Am I reduced to calling a tire company?

Twice so far on my NH TC-29 I have broken the bead on the left front tire ..once bush hogging on a hill side and another time with a load in the FEL and both times I let my small 30 gal air compressor get full and then shot the air to it and the bead sealed and no problems..I was surprised myself but it was just that easy..it takes some fast air pressure with mine and all is well.

 

[The Haymaker]

Some day I may also build a "bead blaster" which is made from a 20lb propane cylinder. Charge the tank and put a 1.5" ball valve on it. (Obviously not in that order! Then there is a nozzle shaped sorta like a wide wet/dry vac end and set it next to the bead. Flip the valve and KABOOM!

With air cannons, I've used 3/4" electric sprinkler valves for quick air release. I'd have the only battery operated bead blaster!

 

[radioman]

Some day I may also build a "bead blaster" which is made from a 20lb propane cylinder. Charge the tank and put a 1.5" ball valve on it. (Obviously not in that order! Then there is a nozzle shaped sorta like a wide wet/dry vac end and set it next to the bead. Flip the valve and KABOOM!

With air cannons, I've used 3/4" electric sprinkler valves for quick air release. I'd have the only battery operated bead blaster!

So how in the heck can you work on a propane tank, even if it empty? I heard of people cutting it, welding it, but it just plain scares me. What can you acutally do to make it safe to work on?

 

[AHNC]

So how in the heck can you work on a propane tank, even if it empty? I heard of people cutting it, welding it, but it just plain scares me. What can you acutally do to make it safe to work on?

Purge the tank with argon and go from there. Argon is an inert gas and should improve your comfort factor.

 

[ultrarunner]

Purge the tank with argon and go from there. Argon is an inert gas and should improve your comfort factor.

We use nitrogen...

As for the flats... after having 3 different work dates interrupted by flats... I went ahead and had my tires foamed filled and no problems since...

 

[RPW]

There is a tire soap that looks like lard. You slather it on the rim to seal between the tire and the rim. As you're filling the tire you would scrape the soap off and put it back in the bucket. Stuff lasts forever and you don't need a large amount.

Good luck