Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/18/2014 11:10 AM, noname wrote:
This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?


Could be porosity in the wheel or tire, not enough to show a bubble, but
enough to seep over time.

I had a wheelbarrow tire in a similar situation. I finally just tossed
it and bought a new wheel and tire at Tractor Supply.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/18/2014 10:36 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/18/2014 11:10 AM, noname wrote:
This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a
_really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under
water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure
enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10
degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well
for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any
debugging ideas?


Could be porosity in the wheel or tire, not enough to show a bubble, but
enough to seep over time.

I had a wheelbarrow tire in a similar situation. I finally just tossed
it and bought a new wheel and tire at Tractor Supply.



Had that with a car tire.

Two weeks to notice slight deflation. No air bubble when tested.

Had a mechanic replace the valve stem and no more leak!

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:10:35 -0700 (PDT), noname
wrote:

This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?
Today 90%+ of snow blower tires are tubeless. A leak around the stem
is VERY common. The rubber hardens with age, and the rim rusts. Pop
out the stem, clean up the rim around the hole, and install a new
stem. Leaking at the bead is also common. Break the bead (you need to
do this on at least one side to replace the stem anyway), clean the
bead with course sandbaler and coat with bead sealer.

I solved the problem for good ( for me) when I bought a track-drive
blower. Solved the problem with the friction drive slipping when it
gets wet too, when I bought that track-drive blower with Hydrostatic
drive!!

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:10:35 -0700 (PDT), noname
wrote:

This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?

You might loosen and then tighten the core in the valve stem as a
first step. I done that before and solved a very slow leak. YMMV

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/18/2014 11:10 AM, noname wrote:
This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?


Don't know but mine went flat a couple of years ago and I had to remove
it to inflate it. When I went to use it several months later, it would
not move and taking apart I discovered that little disk that transfers
motion from gears to wheels had fallen off and got lost. Took half day
to fix the damn thing.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

noname wrote:

:-) Any debugging ideas?

+1 on the valve stem/core. The lazy approach is to put in a few ounces of
Slime if you have some way of spinning the tire to distribute it.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:13:12 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

noname wrote:

:-) Any debugging ideas?

+1 on the valve stem/core. The lazy approach is to put in a few ounces of
Slime if you have some way of spinning the tire to distribute it.
Not much good on a smowblower tire as it all settles at the bottom
and freezes - - -

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:58:44 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

wrote:

Not much good on a smowblower tire as it all settles at the bottom
and freezes - - -

The idea is to be proactive and get it to seal the nooks and crannies before
the snow flies.
Someone had tried it on my old snowblower - the tires kept going flat
so I took them off to fix - they were loaded with tire sealer and were
leaking at the stem. I replaced the stems AND the tires (with deep lug
tires so I didn't need to use chains any more) - about 5 years before
I got rid of it. I then used a small trackdrive Noma for a few years
until I bought my Yamaha Hydro Track drive.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/18/2014 11:10 AM, noname wrote:
This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's
tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up
to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are
no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure
enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like
snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low
tire pulling to the left, might work well for
a Nascar track, not so much for a straight
driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?


Try less than 70. If it's a rim leak,
the 70 may be sealing the rim.

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

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 17:29:07 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Try less than 70. If it's a rim leak,
the 70 may be sealing the rim.

Which seals and stops the leak, right?

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

noname" wrote in message
...

This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has
a _really_ slow leak.

If spare wheels are cheaply available ($5 top $10 here) the
simplest solution is to buy one, fit it as needed, and keep the
leaky wheel in the back of the car until you next get to a gas
station and fill it to 70 psi.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/18/14, 11:10 AM, noname wrote:
This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a
_really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under
water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure
enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10
degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well
for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any
debugging ideas?


I had a car tire losing perhaps 5 pounds a week. If I laid it flat and
applied soapy water, I could find slow leaks, not always at the same
place.

After fooling with it for years, I got "Autoguard Quick Flat Fix" at the
corner store. I'd read that the new stuff is better: doesn't cause
explosions, doesn't damage rubber, doesn't harden. I had the car jacked
up. To distribute the sealer around the bead, I'd rotate the wheel 180
degrees every few minutes. It worked.

Then I got an old mower with a front tire that had been leaking for
years. I couldn't stop it, so I bought another can of Flat Fix. This
time, it was the can with the clear hose to allow me to apply what I
needed. I'd weigh the can, squirt some in the tire, and weigh it again.

I think I applied an ounce. I applied another ounce when the leak
recurred. No more trouble. When the opposite tire began to leak, an
ounce fixed it. I guess it's been a year with no problems. The can is
ready.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

The flat is at the bottom, six o'clock.

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

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:06:00 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

The flat is at the bottom, six o'clock.

....it's only flat on one side :)

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/21/14, 1:36 PM, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:06:00 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

The flat is at the bottom, six o'clock.

...it's only flat on one side :)

If you see me driving around with one wheel jacked up, it's to avoid
driving with a flat tire.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 15:30:41 -0400, J Burns
wrote:

On 10/21/14, 1:36 PM, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:06:00 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

The flat is at the bottom, six o'clock.

...it's only flat on one side :)

If you see me driving around with one wheel jacked up, it's to avoid
driving with a flat tire.

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/62BXCePfywc/maxresdefault.jpg

http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/18000/Green-three-wheel-car--18322.jpg

Chicanos :)

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

In article ,
says...

This is driving me crazy. One of my snowthrower's tires has a _really_ slow leak. I've pumped it up to like 70lbs and put it under water and there are no bubbles. However, if I wait a few weeks sure enough the thing is losing air. Nothing like snowthrowing in 10 degree weather with one low tire pulling to the left, might work well for a Nascar track, not so much for a straight driveway :-) Any debugging ideas?

I had much the same problem. While I pride myself on my ability to
analyze and fix pretty much anything (I'm a Dad - it's what we do!), I'm
just not inclined to spend the time or energy to fix every damn thing in
sight anymore. So I bought an inner tube at Harbor Freight for $2.99.
Problem solved!

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

Mike Hartigan wrote:

I had much the same problem. While I pride myself on my ability to
analyze and fix pretty much anything (I'm a Dad - it's what we do!), I'm
just not inclined to spend the time or energy to fix every damn thing in
sight anymore. So I bought an inner tube at Harbor Freight for $2.99.
Problem solved!

It probably doesn't make a lot of difference on a snowthrower, but did you
drill the tire? If not, monitor the pressure for a while. You can wind up
with air in the tube, and air within the tubeless tire if the bead seals
while you're inflating the tube. The air within the tire will still slowly
leak out so the pressure within the tube will drop. Sooner or later it will
stabilize.

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 12:23:48 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

Mike Hartigan wrote:

I had much the same problem. While I pride myself on my ability to
analyze and fix pretty much anything (I'm a Dad - it's what we do!), I'm
just not inclined to spend the time or energy to fix every damn thing in
sight anymore. So I bought an inner tube at Harbor Freight for $2.99.
Problem solved!

It probably doesn't make a lot of difference on a snowthrower, but did you
drill the tire? If not, monitor the pressure for a while. You can wind up
with air in the tube, and air within the tubeless tire if the bead seals
while you're inflating the tube. The air within the tire will still slowly
leak out so the pressure within the tube will drop. Sooner or later it will
stabilize.


Drill the tire?? That's foolishness. you need to break the bead to
install the tube. The tube will force 99%+ of the "trapped air" out
before the bead seats. Anyone who says you eed to "drill" a tire to
let the trapped air out has found some pretty good "****" to smoke!!!

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

In article ,
says...

Mike Hartigan wrote:

I had much the same problem. While I pride myself on my ability to
analyze and fix pretty much anything (I'm a Dad - it's what we do!), I'm
just not inclined to spend the time or energy to fix every damn thing in
sight anymore. So I bought an inner tube at Harbor Freight for $2.99.
Problem solved!

It probably doesn't make a lot of difference on a snowthrower, but did you
drill the tire? If not, monitor the pressure for a while. You can wind up
with air in the tube, and air within the tubeless tire if the bead seals
while you're inflating the tube. The air within the tire will still slowly
leak out so the pressure within the tube will drop. Sooner or later it will
stabilize.

"Problem solved!" means exactly that. The problem was solved for $2.99
and about 10 minutes to install the tube. Sometimes, if it seems too
good to be true, it's still true. ;)

Snowthrower tire ... where's the flat
 

On 10/26/2014 7:48 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 12:23:48 -0600, rbowman
It probably doesn't make a lot of difference on a snowthrower, but did you
drill the tire? If not, monitor the pressure for a while. You can wind up
with air in the tube, and air within the tubeless tire if the bead seals
while you're inflating the tube. The air within the tire will still slowly
leak out so the pressure within the tube will drop. Sooner or later it will
stabilize.


Drill the tire?? That's foolishness. you need to break the bead to
install the tube. The tube will force 99%+ of the "trapped air" out
before the bead seats. Anyone who says you eed to "drill" a tire to
let the trapped air out has found some pretty good "****" to smoke!!!

I'll admit, I was also wondering. The once or twice
I've been aware of inner tubes, nothing like that
was needed.

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