the hard way first- inflating a 16.5 tire

SDE

Well-known Member
The tire had a very slow leak at the outside bead. Unfortunately, the other side of the tire unseated itself as well, when I broke it down.
I struggled for most of an hour, trying to get both sides of the bead to seat, and then gave up. After supper, I used a dead blow hammer to re-seat the wheel into the tire. I put the wheel up on a stand and used both of my legs and one hand to push down on the edge of the tread. With the other hand, I put the air nozzle to the shrader valve, and just like that I was done. Five minutes and no swearing.

And I got to use a hammer to fix something.
SDE
 
i use a big ratchet strap wrapped around the tire to squish the tire and then put air to it works good if that doesn't work a big squirt of john deere ether will
 
It makes it a lot easier if you have an air chuck that clips onto the fill valve It also helps to remove the valve core, air goes in much faster. Sam Womer(PA)
 
All of the replys are dead on. The funny one to watch is utube where the guy uses some propane and lites it. Boom! seats the tire.
 
They can be a bugger. I got some new cheap 9.5Lx15's on the internet that would not seat for love or money when I tried to put them on. The sidewalls were caved together too close and they would not expand. The bead seating jets on the tire changer wouldn't do It the air tank wouldn't do it, a strap was worthless and I was too chicken to use ether. Finally I put tubes in them, off the rim of course and spread them way apart and left them sit that way overnight. The next morning when I put them on the rims they seated. What a hassle but I guess that's what I get for buying cheap Internet tires.
 
Ratchet strap is what I use. On the wide tires, like garden tractor/riding mower tires, 2 straps, as close to
the edge as possible work well. And take the valve core out.
 
propane or ether in a tire to seat the beads??? Ya right. If you use it to inflate tubeless truck tires, the DOT is not only going to fine you, but you are shut down till a tire man comes, removes all 18 tires from your truck and reinstalls them. How do I know?? I received many calls from the DOT to come to the DOT station on I 80 west of DES Moines Iowa to do this exact thing. Customer came in one fall day with 2nd degree burns all over his face, arms, the rest of him didn't look too good either. He tried to inflate a new 30.5X32 combine tire using either. blew the darn tire clear off the rim, destroyed the tire. He still has scars on his face. At least he had the combine blocked up so it did not blow the combine off the jack. It took me about 30 minutes to put a new tire on and inflate it.
 
buy yourself a 2" ratchet strap and a can of balkamp bead sealer.

unless the tire or rim is junk.. that and a good volume air line and you can bead a tire.
 
(quoted from post at 09:22:18 05/04/16) propane or ether in a tire to seat the beads??? Ya right. If you use it to inflate tubeless truck tires, the DOT is not only going to fine you, but you are shut down till a tire man comes, removes all 18 tires from your truck and reinstalls them. How do I know?? I received many calls from the DOT to come to the DOT station on I 80 west of DES Moines Iowa to do this exact thing. Customer came in one fall day with 2nd degree burns all over his face, arms, the rest of him didn't look too good either. He tried to inflate a new 30.5X32 combine tire using either. blew the darn tire clear off the rim, destroyed the tire. He still has scars on his face. At least he had the combine blocked up so it did not blow the combine off the jack. It took me about 30 minutes to put a new tire on and inflate it.
ow does the DOT guy know what was used to seat/inflate them?
 
the mobile tire guy that does our big truck tires has an air hose fitting that fits on to the milton coupler for his air line. the other end is threaded to screw on the valve stem . after he mounts the tire on the rim, the valve core comes out, and he screws this fitting on. hook up the air line and it blows air in the tire and seats the bead right away. he has a valve core tool that looks like a screwdriver, he can install the core right thru the coupler fitting, and good to go. real slick!! gets a lot more air volume than a clip on air chuck.
 
What became of the 14 guys who swore they'd been changing tires for 50 years and had NEVER EVER had a problem seating beads when this topic came up a few months ago?

They laughed at a photo of an inflator I made. I don't laugh at it, cause it works. I'll admit I've never thought of inflating a tube in a tire and letting sit overnight to widen the beads.
 
I'll keep that in mind if I ever start changing tires on semis.

Just curious - how did they know propane was used to bead the tires on all 18 rims?

As for the other - its an attempt to seat the bead - not seat the bead and inflate the tire in single stroke while flash roasting a package of wieners. But then some people can break an anvil if left to their own devices. The fact he left the rim on the combine while installing a new tire tells me someone was trying cut a few corners.
 
And more is not always better. I used to tell people back in the leaded gas days if more was better, throw a lead sinker down the carburetor occasionally.
 
I have been changing tires since I was seven. Not just my own in an actual shop. Either is safer than a ratchet strap if you are not insane. I have eithered truck tires in front of dot before. Not their problem or business. Might be an ocea(SP?) issue but not dot. If they are calling someone in for that they are oversteping their authority and could be sued. I have a bead cheeta. That's the best and preffered method. Every once in a while either is nessicary. Low pro tires with redicously thick sidewalls usally. Also anything the size of a combine you leave the wheel on the machine to change tires. You have to have a 3/4 air hose to Get them to seat usally.
 
How would either work on an upright tire (or does it)? It would all rise to the top of the tire making a huge "cloud" - especially in something the size of a combine tire. With it laying on its side the either "pools" around the entire top sidewall of the tire and when lit it directs force up and down against the sidewalls all around the tire. Not that I would mess with trying to use either on a combine tire - that just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

I've just gotten used to taking the tire and rim off because I usually have to use a loader to break the bead loose on the old stuff I mess with.
 
I watched the tire guy install a new tire on my neighbor's JD 310 4x4 backhoe. He couldn't get the beads to seat, tried the ratchet strap, no joy. Then he got a 5 gallon bucket out of the truck, it had what looked and had the same texture as Vaseline. He smeared that around the beads and onto the rim, kind of a half assed seal. Hit it with the air and it was seated.
 
(quoted from post at 09:22:18 05/04/16) propane or ether in a tire to seat the beads??? Ya right. If you use it to inflate tubeless truck tires, the DOT is not only going to fine you, but you are shut down till a tire man comes, removes all 18 tires from your truck and reinstalls them. How do I know?? I received many calls from the DOT to come to the DOT station on I 80 west of DES Moines Iowa to do this exact thing. Customer came in one fall day with 2nd degree burns all over his face, arms, the rest of him didn't look too good either. He tried to inflate a new 30.5X32 combine tire using either. blew the darn tire clear off the rim, destroyed the tire. He still has scars on his face. At least he had the combine blocked up so it did not blow the combine off the jack. It took me about 30 minutes to put a new tire on and inflate it.

Unless you do it with DOT looking over your shoulder they have no way to know. And why would they give a hoot anyway? If they do care, and if they ever ask about it you simply lie to them like everyone else does all the time. Unless there is some kind of paper trail there is never a reason to tell them the truth if it is against your interests.
 
I am not a physicist so I cant tell you how either works on a vertical tire but it will. I have a pneumatic bead breaker so I don't have problems breaking the bead.
 
I had used a chain and three ratcheting binders. I was getting anywhere. I had done it this way before, but it wasn't working this time. The hammer method took less than the time to put the binders and chains away.
SDE
 
I had used a chain and three ratcheting binders. I wasn't getting anywhere. I had done it this way before, but it wasn't working this time. The hammer method took less than the time to put the binders and chains away.
SDE
 
I have used the ether deal. Can be a bit exciting if not used with some common sense. I did like Goose did and made a bead seater from a propane tank with a ball valve on it. I just smashed the pie coming out of the valve a bit with a sledge hammer.
 
(quoted from post at 10:30:30 05/05/16) I watched the tire guy install a new tire on my neighbor's JD 310 4x4 backhoe. He couldn't get the beads to seat, tried the ratchet strap, no joy. [b:d8b5fcb790]Then he got a 5 gallon bucket out of the truck, it had what looked and had the same texture as Vaseline.[/b:d8b5fcb790] He smeared that around the beads and onto the rim, kind of a half assed seal. Hit it with the air and it was seated.

Freylube?
 

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