Monday, May 14, 2012

MESQUITE THORN, FLAT TIRE, AND GREEN SLIME, OH MY!


As luck would have it, or is that "unluck", I got my first mesquite thorn mower flat tire.  Yes, the mesquite thorns here are big enough to flatten a tire.  Even a CAR tire!  Several people recommended something called SLIME, a liquid, tire repair system.  The stuff was AWESOME!  Here is a picture of the tire with the offending thorn...






It comes in a bottle like this (and yep, it's fluorescent green!) for about $12.  The black cap on top is a valve stem removal tool.  You just unscrew the cap, flip it around and use it to do this...









...unscrew the valve stem core.  This pretty much immediately removes all the air from the tire and gives you an opening for this...

 ...the tube that it comes with is attached to one end of the bottle and the other to the valve stem.  Then you just tilt it up and squeeze.  It's a flowing liquid so it's pretty simple.  For this size tire, it's about 2/3 of a bottle, but I cheated and used 1/2 on this tire and 1/2 on the other front tire.  After you pour it in, replace the valve stem core, and air it back up to regular pressure.
Once it was aired back up, I pulled out the thorn and it started bubbling and fizzing where the hole was. That's the air pressure forcing the SLIME into the the hole.  After a minute or so, it stopped, and hardened. I went on to mow 2 acres without any loss in air pressure.  The best part is that this stays liquid inside the tire and if you run over another puncture causing item, it just reseals and you keep driving.  Everyone is telling me the best thing is to just put them in all four tires as a preventative measure.  Well I did it on the other front tire, and will most likely do it on the rear two tires soon.  For those curious, this does not affect 'changing' a tire at a future date.  The only downside is that it's messy, being a liquid, you have to wash a tire if you take it off the rim or you'll have fluorescent green all over everything.  Still, it's environmentally safe and not dangerous for future tire changes so that's important.  I'd highly recommend at least one can of this in your barn or shed if you have any sort of tire usage on your property.  It works on ATV tires, mower tires, tractor tires, even wheelbarrow and bike tires.  They have different varieties for the various tire types, so just check out your local auto parts store, or even the big box retailers.

Get some "Slime", you won't regret it!

10 comments:

  1. HA! RMan hasn't had the privilege of a puncture yet - and we have the same devil thorns :)

    Good to know - but not sure if it's available in this country...

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    1. And I will knock on wood for you!! :-) Why are there thorns in nature? I hate it, ha. Not sure where it's sold, but keep an eye out just in case! I'd ship you some if I could, ha.

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  2. we don't have your kind of thorns but that is an excellent product to have on hand - thanks a bunch!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Yes, definitely worth keeping. 2nd Family down the road put it in all his tires on outdoor stuff and he said he occasionally gets a thorn, he pulls it out, it fizzes for a few seconds and then it's sealed up automatically and he keeps going. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. It's not cheap, $12/can, but I think it's worth it if you have the danger of possible flats. Thanks!

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  3. I need some of this for my wheelbarrow:-/

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    1. They make a smaller can just for tires like that. I think they have it for all types of tires, including even bicycle inner tube type tires. You can find it at any of the big box retail stores.

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  4. My father in law has replaced many tires from mesquite thorns on his property. Yes, they are dangerous!

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    1. It's crazy that they are so dangerous. Makes me not want to run around barefooted, that's for sure!

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  5. Slime is awesome. We live in Northern Nevada which is essentially the "old west". On windy days it looks like a cartoon outside with sagebrush rolling across the street! Anyway, we get what that locals call "goat heads" (sagebrush thorns) in our tires on a regular basis. Long ago, we started replacing every tire tube with Slime tubes. Every bike, our wheelbarrow, etc.. You can even buy riding lawnmower Slime tubes. Once we've replaced a tube with a slime tube, we've never had a flat again. I love em!

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    1. I just realized I miss replying to this. "The old west" that's too funny. I can imagine though! I did live briefly, as a child in Phoenix and I do remember tumbleweeds, just appearing overnight in the back yard. Of course, Dad made ME get rid of them. Ugh. I can't imagine what the thorns must do. I will have to try slime tubes, thanks for the heads up!! Come back and visit soon!!

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