My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry

Van Chocstraw wrote in
:

GoHabsGo wrote:
My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry
How old are they? I just replaced mine this year because the side walls
were weather cracked and leaking air. I could have put a tube in but the
tires would have split in time. New ones are $17.00 each from Northern
tools. The new tires should last another 30 years.

About 5 years old, give or take a year. There are no sidewall cracks in
mine.

On Oct 30, 10:12*am, GoHabsGo wrote:
Van Chocstraw wrote om:

GoHabsGo wrote:
My snowblower tires are too soft. *I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. *Are they
losing air around the rim? *How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry
How old are they? I just replaced mine this year because the side walls
were weather cracked and leaking air. I could have put a tube in but the
tires would have split in time. New ones are $17.00 each from Northern
tools. The new tires should last another 30 years.

About 5 years old, give or take a year. *There are no sidewall cracks in
mine.

I don't fool with them, the first time one of my mower/blower/trailer
tires goes down, it gets a tube and that ends the problem.

Harry K

GoHabsGo wrote:
Van Chocstraw wrote in
:

GoHabsGo wrote:
My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry
How old are they? I just replaced mine this year because the side walls
were weather cracked and leaking air. I could have put a tube in but the
tires would have split in time. New ones are $17.00 each from Northern
tools. The new tires should last another 30 years.

About 5 years old, give or take a year. There are no sidewall cracks in
mine.

That should say "no _visible_ sidewall cracks".

As somebody else noted, dunk 'em and see where the leak(s) are and go
from there. Tubes/foam/repair are all possible solutions but also as
noted it's quite possible simply new tires are as cheap a solution as
any of the above. But, w/o knowing what is the actual source of the
leak and condition of the tires, specifics aren't possible.

The generality that a bicycle pump is an inadequate air supply for most
other tires owing to them being for lower volume is another good
observation. It's quite possible you simply haven't put enough air into
them to make any discernible difference.

--


--

"GoHabsGo" wrote in message
3.213...
My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry


Larry,

is the bycicle pump pumping air?....sick your finder over the end
and make sure it pumps pressure.... Jim

On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:52:47 -0400, Oyabun wrote:
Remove the wheels from the blower and dunk them under water to find
the leaks. Or pour soapy water on the rim with the wheel horizontal
and look for bubbles. If they are leaking from the rims you can push
the tire away from the rim, clean the rim surface with some emery
cloth and refill the tire pushing in from the tread as needed to
reseat the tire bead into the rim.

And if you have a ratchet strap it sometimes helps to do this up tightly
around the tire's perimeter in the middle, as it helps the bead seat a
better as the tire's inflated.

If the snowblower is old and is anything like my ancient lawn tractor,
getting the wheel *off* in the first place might be an art in itself... :-)
(one of my lawn tractor ones leaks over a few weeks, but the wheel's
jammed solid on the axle so I just live with it)

GoHabsGo wrote:
My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?


Try filling them with a compressor - go to a gas station or something. A bicycle
pump doesn't supply enough volume to seat the beads if they leak much.

Kind of hard to diagnose over the internet. I'd guess that
rim leaks are very common.

The old country wisdom is to break down the tire, and then
sand the rim to remove rust. Apply lots of axle grease to
the rim, and blow the tire back up.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"GoHabsGo" wrote in message
3.213...
My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up
with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level.
Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry

The tire places use some kind of slimy soapy solution. Only
old farmers I've known use grease. I expect you're correct.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Van Chocstraw" wrote in
message
...

Not axle grease, that eats the rubber.Soapy water allows the
bead to
slide up against the rim tightly.

Glad to hear that something out there works.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Van Chocstraw" wrote in
message
...

Try some Rust Buster PB penetrating catalyst on the axle.
Apply it every
day for a week and the wheel will come off easily.

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:48:56 -0400, Van Chocstraw
wrote:

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Kind of hard to diagnose over the internet. I'd guess that
rim leaks are very common.

The old country wisdom is to break down the tire, and then
sand the rim to remove rust. Apply lots of axle grease to
the rim, and blow the tire back up.

Not axle grease, that eats the rubber.Soapy water allows the bead to
slide up against the rim tightly.

No, the grease will soften the rubber bead enough to allow it to
conform to the pitted rim, and will also keep the rim from rusting
again. The tires are synthetic rebber and "fairly" resistant to oil
damage.

Soap does nothing beyond making the tire and rim slippery - does not
help the seal, or prevent further rust.

A good tubless tire rim sealer is better than grease, but there are a
lot of them out there that do NOT protect against rust - so you have
to do the job over again next year (water based latex products)

In article 3,
GoHabsGo wrote:

My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry

If you live where it's cold enough to snow, then it's cold enough to
freeze water. Just fill the tires with water instead of air, and they'll
be hard by morning.

Smitty Two wrote in newsrestwhich-
:

In article 3,
GoHabsGo wrote:

My snowblower tires are too soft. I try pumping them up with
my bicycle pump but they seem to stay at the same level. Are they
losing air around the rim? How can I get them to hold air?

Thanks,

Larry

If you live where it's cold enough to snow, then it's cold enough to
freeze water. Just fill the tires with water instead of air, and they'll
be hard by morning.


I can't get my pump to blow water in, besides, my snowblower stays in the
garage where it rarely freezes.