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Thread: Using canned spray foam to make flat free tires

  1. #1
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    Using canned spray foam to make flat free tires

    Anyone tried making flat free tires with canned spray foam?

    Which canned spray foams are the most dense?

    There are various YouTube videos about making flat free tires for dollies and yard equipment. Small holes are drilled in an old pneumatic tire and spray foam from a can is squirted inside. Most of the videos show using one of the "Great Stuff" brand foams. One video uses the Hilti brand window and door sealer That video says the foam is so dense that it will hold screws driven into it.

    I have four 10 inch pneumatic tires that were taken off a little garden wagon. Attempting to convert them to flat-free tires with spray foam would be an interesting experiment - although I have no particular plan for using the tires afterwards.

  2. #2
    I've never done this but I'll be interested in the results of your experiment.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #3
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    I have watched most of the YouTube videos on this topic. Lots of people are foaming garden tractor tires and other utility tires. I have not tried it yet either but I hope to this Winter on a yard wagon.

  4. #4
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    I don't think this is a good idea because I think the foam is not resilient when it is cured and then compressed. I suspect if you did this to a wheelbarrow wheel for example that the tire would flatspot with a load applied and then sitting for a while. Give it a shot though and lt us know how it works.

  5. #5
    Depending on wheel width you could try a pool noodle, or cut bicycle tire foam inserts to fit.
    It's a popular option for frisbee golf carts.

  6. #6
    Not trying to rain on your parade, but if I were attempting this, I'd make sure that when the tire is worn out, I can toss the wheel in the trash and shed no tears over it.

    I've tried to clean the remamants of the 'fix-a-flat' liquids my aunt used on 2 wheels of her small lawn tractor. It was a mess and is VERY difficult to clean enough off to allow re-use of the wheel - - since it gums up the bead. I suspect foam would be even worse - or maybe impossible? Maybe you'll never wear out the tire, but if you do, have a dumpster nearby!

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    I don't think this is a good idea because I think the foam is not resilient when it is cured and then compressed. I suspect if you did this to a wheelbarrow wheel for example that the tire would flatspot with a load applied and then sitting for a while. Give it a shot though and lt us know how it works.
    That is exactly my experience. The foam will eventually form a flat spot no matter how long you let it cure. I did it for one of my hand carts, it worked fine for a little bit, then the tires got out of round and pretty useless. I just replaced them with new non-inflatable tires.

  8. #8
    To avoid flats on tires that do not have tire pressure monitors check out Tire Jet. Maybe spelled wrong. I have used it and it seems to work well.

  9. #9
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    There is stuff made for that purpose, check at a pro lawnmower joint. Had it in the dolly wheels of a zero turn.

  10. #10
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    Loctite makes a new spray foam that is supposed to be more dense than Great Stuff.

    I bought a used commercial riding mower with cab and snowblower a few years back. It was too tall for my trailer so we tried to take air out of the tires. It turns out the tires had been foamed so that was out. I am pretty sure it was done with foam designed for tires and nor Great Stuff. Those wheels were heavy! The tires were also worn completely through in spots. I suspect they wore faster due to the foam, but I don't really know.

  11. #11
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    Some possible downsides

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    Loctite makes a new spray foam that is supposed to be more dense than Great Stuff.

    I bought a used commercial riding mower with cab and snowblower a few years back. It was too tall for my trailer so we tried to take air out of the tires. It turns out the tires had been foamed so that was out. I am pretty sure it was done with foam designed for tires and nor Great Stuff. Those wheels were heavy! The tires were also worn completely through in spots. I suspect they wore faster due to the foam, but I don't really know.
    I once checked into foam-filled tires for my bobcat, er, John Deere skid-steer. They were expensive! I just stuck with air and keep a spare tire mounted on a rim for the occasional flat.

    I don't know what kind of foam they use but it's not supposed to get flat spots and of course, never go flat. There are down sides though. Since there is no give in the tires the ride is supposed to be rough, bouncy, jarring - operators who use them all day complain. Also, some say the rigid tires get less traction. Some suspected increased wear on the tires. And the worst thing is apparently the added weight is a strain on the machine drive train.

    These issues shouldn't matter much for a wheelbarrow. Might be an issue for a riding lawnmower. I know I would not want a bouncier ride or more strain on the hydraulics on my 60" zero-turn mower. The repair would probably be thousands.

    JKJ

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    These issues shouldn't matter much for a wheelbarrow. Might be an issue for a riding lawnmower. I know I would not want a bouncier ride or more strain on the hydraulics on my 60" zero-turn mower. The repair would probably be thousands.
    The mower was apparently used only for blowing snow. I am pretty sure they wanted the weight for more traction.

    I bought the machine sight unseen and it was in far worse condition than I thought it was in based on pictures. (I don't they did anything intentional to misrepresent it.) I sold the machine to my neighbor for a small loss.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    These issues shouldn't matter much for a wheelbarrow. Might be an issue for a riding lawnmower. I know I would not want a bouncier ride or more strain on the hydraulics on my 60" zero-turn mower. The repair would probably be thousands.
    John, I replaced the pneumatic tires on the front of my ZTR with flat-free, non-inflatable tires a couple years ago, largely because coming off a sharp turn while mowing in certain sloped areas of our property was causing the tire bead to get pushed back and causing "instant de-inflation". It was maddening. I wouldn't want them on the back, however...as you surmise, for most ZTRs, the tires are "the suspension"...most don't have a setup like Ferris does with a real suspension.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    John, I replaced the pneumatic tires on the front of my ZTR with flat-free, non-inflatable tires a couple years ago, largely because coming off a sharp turn while mowing in certain sloped areas of our property was causing the tire bead to get pushed back and causing "instant de-inflation". It was maddening. I wouldn't want them on the back, however...as you surmise, for most ZTRs, the tires are "the suspension"...most don't have a setup like Ferris does with a real suspension.
    I'm glad I'm not mowing your property! Turns on slopes are one reason no one but me operates my zero turn. I have not yet experienced an instant flat although I've had slow leaks so I keep an eye on the tires. (Kubota's super goop in the tires took care of that!) My primary mower is a 25 hp 60" Kubota diesel and as you say, there is no real suspension! It's usually no problem but I do have to slow down on one end of one field where some previous use of the field made shallow waves I have to cross.

    Maybe some day someone will invent a tire filler that is light weight, resilient, and won't deteriorate with use, perhaps something like closed cell ethafoam made from some super silicone compound encapsulating large pressurized air cells, perhaps manufactured with integrated tread like solid tires.

    JKJ

  15. #15
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    I would have tubes put in my tires before anything else. They will last for many many years.

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