Valve Stem Protection Idea and Advice...

[budcampo]

Hello James...
Anyone that has the skills to operate a welder, BUT is lacking the "don't weld a pressurized vessel", is really not needing a warning 'don't do it...'.

If such a person is out there, and they go through life making irresponsible choices, all you are doing is postponing the time they finally make their last careless blunder.

I do not encounter very many folks that fall into that group... especially that can also afford welding equipment and a rim with a tire on it to weld...

There are accidents all the time... Some involving people that have grown accustomed to being warned about the most obvious risks... then when there is no one around to warn them... boom an accident 'happens' ...
That could have been prevented by allowing that person to self destruct during one of their earlier misadventures, there is some natural selection that you need to allow, least the herd looses all common scenes...KennyV

I was thinking the same thing, pretty stupid move, and it was the first thing I thought of... but I do appreciate the warning, even the most level headed people make mistakes, and a warning like this could save someone a lot of pain or their life!

Also that Surevalve thing looks sweet, I think I'm going to go that route, seems easier and cheaper! Thanks for the advice!
I'd also say that the not so level headed folks out there are no less entitled to a warning that could save their life, or many warnings for that matter

 

[Skyco]

:

Off roaders face this issue and have come up with alternate ways of dealing with it ...you can google appropriately ... or, here are two links with their advertising blurbs:


Surevalve (TM) The Valve Stem / Tire Valve For Off Road Use "The Surevalve has a subriminal valve core for maximum protection for your extreme off-road adventures. The outer valve stem is double sealed to prevent air, dirt, and water from penetrating and corroding the valve core. The valve stem is the weak link in the tire and rim assembly. When participating in extreme off-road activities you are at a great risk of severing your valve stem. The last thing that you want when you're in a mud hole is to get a flat tire due to a broken valve stem.
Amazon.com: Flush Mount Chrome Valve Stem System (Set of 4): Automotive "The new Flush Mount chrome valve stems are the perfect way to set your new wheels off. Unlike most valve stems that are very tall tall and stick out, these "Flush Mount" valve stems give a clean smooth look to your new wheels. These are perfect for use with highly polished wheels to smooth out the look of that ugly valve stem. They work on almost all aftermarket and factory wheels that require normal valve stems.

"With this unique design you only need one valve stem to air up your tires. To air up your tires simply unscrew the cap and screw in the valve stem. Then apply air like normal. When you are done simply unscrew the valve stem and screw in the flat cap for the ultimate look.
BUT, A READER ADDS: yeah those are nice until they start to leak at the grommet like any metal stem does eventually and you have to dismount the tire to fix it. They are also slow to air down through the "detachable stem" and take longer to air up when done. Also if you happen to lose the "detachable stem" you're screwed untill you get a new one.

I like those flush mount stems but I could see the removable part getting lost. They should include a new tire chuck that doesn't require that stem or 4 stems so you have lots of spares. It would really suck if you had the stem in your tool box at home while you needed to put air in your tire while at your land 100s of miles away.

I had posted about installing the Surevalve system a couple of years ago in one of the other "bust your valve stem" threads- they work great. Had some minor leakage after they broke in a little, only noticed it because the Slime in my tires made a wet spot that collected dust around the stem base, never had a measureable air loss. Tightening them down again fixed that, no more leaks. They can be snugged down more externally without breaking the bead.
As for losing the adapter, well yeah, one stays in my truck, which is always near the tractor and another is in a little baggy tie wrapped in the battery compartment. I had 4 of them, no idea what happened to the other two

 

[jimmer2880]

I had posted about installing the Surevalve system a couple of years ago in one of the other "bust your valve stem" threads- they work great. Had some minor leakage after they broke in a little, only noticed it because the Slime in my tires made a wet spot that collected dust around the stem base, never had a measureable air loss. Tightening them down again fixed that, no more leaks. They can be snugged down more externally without breaking the bead.
As for losing the adapter, well yeah, one stays in my truck, which is always near the tractor and another is in a little baggy tie wrapped in the battery compartment. I had 4 of them, no idea what happened to the other two

Good to hear from someone who has tried them. I like them. I'll have to opt for some of those if/when I ever need new tires.

 

[jimmer2880]

Here is another link of a tragedy. This is a lengthy study after the death. If you weld on a rim, dismount the tire, and let everything cool down really well. Please be careful.
James K0UA

http://www2.worksafebc.com/PDFs/investigations/IIR2005108320019.pdf

Something isn't clicking for me. In the study, it said the valve stem was removed and the air hose was attached.

If the air hose was attached, why didn't the pressure relief on the compressor open? Or - did the pressure build so quick that the relief valve wouldn't have been able to keep up?

hmmm.....

EDIT: No way am I thinking it's safe to weld on a rim with a tire attached. Something just didn't make sense.

 

[k0ua]

I think it occurs so quickly that no relief valve would stop it from blowing up, I cannot find the case where supposedly 2 men were killed after they were aware of tire Pyrolysis, and thought breaking the bead would be enough to prevent the tire from blowing up, and supposedly the gas production was of such a volume that it reseated the bead and blew up before they could get away. I dont know if this is true or not, but I remember seeing it a few months ago. If you read the who study link I posted, apparently the guy was actually hit by a flap of the tire and killed, but from the damage around the area, he may have been killed from the blast alone, or other bystanders would have been killed if any had been there.
James K0UA

 

[Redbug]

Valve stem mod....been there done that...here's an older thread...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/116005-valve-stem-mod.html

 

[woodchuckie]

Do you have any pictures?

Here's a picture with the cap removed.

 

[TripleR]

Here's a picture with the cap removed.

Thanks, I am going to show that to my son who is our welder etc.

 

[leonz]

You can visit the OSHA home page, the Firestone home page and the Goodyear home page and you wil see a lot of accidents that did not have to happen; a mounted car tire can kill just as easily as the TIRE is the pressure vessel;.

 

[CANdiyMXER]

I have read the postings in the forum for over 2 years and can't get over the incredible amount of knowledge and experience found here. I have used many of the suggestions in maintaining my machine and making a couple of custom attachments for it. Keep up the great work!

I have an Kubota MX 5000 and using a back blade to remove snow put my front wheels in the crusty snow bank sometimes. This caused damage to the valve stem and demounted my tire a few times. I also noticed that my summer work with the front end loader in rocky ground had caused damage to the wheel studs. To get around this I looked at doing the welded valve stem protectors, but found it wouldn't offer protection to the wheel studs.

I ended up installing tubes and had two 3/8 by 17" steel plate water cut into disks and used them as hubcaps. The hub caps are held on by 4- 5 1/2" carriage bolts with nylon quick-tite bolts which exactly cover the exposed thread on the carriage bolts. My Kubota rims already have square knockouts so it was easy. It has worked fine ever since.

 

[crazyal]

Here's a picture with the cap removed.

Did you remove the valve stem before you welded the pipe on? I would think you would half to or it would burn and leak real badly.

 

[woodchuckie]

Did you remove the valve stem before you welded the pipe on? I would think you would half to or it would burn and leak real badly.

We left the stem in but removed the core. I've had such hard times getting the tires to reseat I was willing to sacrifice the stem to keep from breaking the bead. It hasn't leaked. It's been something over a year. The other tire didn't have a stem as it had just been damaged which was the reason I finally had it fixed.

 

[Dead Horse]

You did the welding with the tire mounted on the rim and the valve removed from the stem. Is this correct?

So then, I wonder what conditions it takes to get the results in those safety videos..........

 

[TripleR]

You did the welding with the tire mounted on the rim and the valve removed from the stem. Is this correct?

So then, I wonder what conditions it takes to get the results in those safety videos..........

Just guessing mind you, but in the safety video they did more welding and did not remove the valve stem.

On this one, he indicated he only tack welded it, so very limited heat buildup.

I am not saying to do this as I don't know, but the conditions did seem different.

 

[PoorMansCat]

Why not lay the tire/wheel combo down, fill it with water, leave the valve stem out, do the necessary welding, drain the water and re-install??? Would that work?

 

[k0ua]

I guess I dont understand, why are we all still trying to figure out some way to get around dismounting the tire.. why would you risk your life? Ok someone has said they got away with doing it by "just tack welding" good, you survived, you took a large risk. You probably did not know that you did. Now you do. Here is the video again, with a lot of explanation and narration, also making note of the 2 guys that unseated the bead and it still blew up. then there is the 22 hour reference. There are a lot more links on the web about this. The answer is to dismount the tire. Just because you get away with it once does not mean the next guy will. They also cover using a torch to heat lug nuts, lightning strikes, electrical energizing, and hot brakes. Better safe than sorry I say.. There, I have acted as a safety policeman now, you all know. if you choose to still try to cheat death and weld on the rim with a tire on it , well I guess you will just have to take your chances. Good luck

YouTube - Wheels of Fire Training Video

James K0UA

 

[BeezFun]

I guess I dont understand, why are we all still trying to figure out some way to get around dismounting the tire.. why would you risk your life?

Yes, especially since it's easy to demonstrate that you can seat the bead on a tire by spraying a small amount of starting fluid into a tire casing and touching the fumes with a match. There's a pretty loud explosion as the tire bead seats instantaneously. You can do this with or without the valve in place. I worked in a truck tire place for a summer and used to do this all the time (not too smart but I was young, at least we used inflation cages). I think everyone who plans to keep doing this should give their wives the username and password to this forum, so when they're widows they can post all their good tools for sale here.

 

[Fxfymn]

Aren't the powers of a contained fluid awesome? I know this focused on tires, but welding/heating any fluid in a closed container is asking for a rapid going away of things also known as an explosion.

Those of us who keep doing it are just proving Darwin right.

 

[Jeff Lary]

You wont ruin anything i just did one of mine a stick broke off the stem as my wheels are loaded this is a pain .While it was broken down i fitted a 2.5 diam peice of pipe about 3 inchs tall to the wheel shape and welded it on .After you brake a few stems you will see the value in doing this I finally did Though it took me 3 broken stems first.Remember if ya aint breaking stuff you aint doin much.