On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:04:58 GMT, "Bewildered"
wrote:

I was reading a Popular Mechanics in a waiting room, and they had an article
on how to fix a flat.

They said that tire repairs involved putting a patch on the inside of the
tire. That is how mine were fixed in the past, but the last few have had
plugs put in. The plugs seemed to work fine. What is the proper method.

Patching from the inside is best, but you can't do it yourself. You
can put in a plug yourself, once in a while while the wheel is still
on the car! If not, you can remove the wheel and do it by the side of
the road, if you carry and air pump or a can of fix-a-flat.

When I lived in an area with a lot of glass, I had a flat maybe every
year, so I carried a can of the stuff. Then I realized that if I used
the can, I wouldn't have a can, so I bought another can and carried
two. Then I realized that if I had a flat and used a can, I'd only
have one, and I'd have to rush to the store to buy another can, so if
I had a second flat, I'd still have one more can. So I carried three
cans for several years and occasionally used one, and then bought a
replacemnt third at my leisure. The logic that got me from one to two
to three didn't seem to apply to four. They weren't all fix-a-flat,
but whatever they were selling. (One brand said it worked as a fire
extinguisher too, but I can't find that brand anymore.)

When I moved to Baltimore, and the suburbs no less, I stopped having
flats. But a couple months ago a friend had a slow leak, had to add
air from his pump every 2 days or the tire was too flat to drive on.
One of my 3 remaining cans wouldn't work after maybe 23 years (maybe
less, if I got the can at a yard sale or somethiung, since I moved
here) but the other one, which had to be at least 10 years old, worked
well and stopped his leak.

I've never had the stuff gunk up a valve. I know the pros don't like
it. If I were in their shoes I wouldn't like it either.


I also bought a medium priced rasp and plug inserter, every since I
super-torqued one of those tools while using the ones that come in the
really cheap kits.

BTW, I think I like strings better than plugs. They still sell those,
don't they. They're cheaper, they don't make the hole bigger (at
least their diameter is not as big as plugs) and they're softer, it
seems. There is no space to be filled. No flat actually ilnvolves
cutting out some of the rubber. It's only necessary to stick the
sides of the hole to the opposite sides. A string seems better
(they're actually square in x-section, about an eighth inch on the
side and 3 or 4 inches long. You push one end in, twist some, and
pull out the tool, with more of the stink. Remove the tool, cut off
the part outside the tire and you're good to go.

I've had strings last for years.

Tire repair in NYC was about 6 dollars 23 years ago. 2 years ago,
here, they wanted 18! That's real money. And while he did it, he
complained about the police. Scarey. For some reason I couldn't fix
that one myself.

They also recommended a can of air and material to plug the hole for
temporary repairs, and then getting a real patch. I was told that those
cans ruin the inside surface so a patch can't be used.

I think the surface can be cleaned in a couple minutes. They don't
want to do it and neither would I, but they'll do it if they have to.

What is the story
there?