DIY foam filling small utility tires

[freedomlives]

I have a 4 foot wide hay rake for my walk behind tractor. It uses those cheap 2 ply pneumatic tires with tubes (8 inch diameter) like you would see on hand trucks. We have lots of wild roses and some bushes with strong, long thorns here, and it seems like every tire gets thorns in it. I wonder if I could use PU foam in these? There is a type of foam used as a glue for mounting insulation panels on walls, so would be very low expansion.

Has anyone ever tried DIY for these sort of things? (or for, example, even up to wheelbarrow tire size?)

Otherwise, I'm just going to look for some solid tires for this hay rake...

 

[GaryM]

I had my local tire dealer foam fill the tires on my finish mower. I believe it was about $10 per tire. At that price I wasn't going to fool around with any experimentation myself. I dropped them off and had them back in three days.

Check around.

 

[freedomlives]

I'll have to figure out how to say foam filling tires in Slovak, but certainly then its worth it.

 

[antlers125]

I just did this to the tires on my pressure washer. They are about 8". I even used the high expansion foam & it worked great. Just remove stem core, insert hose & fill until foam comes out of stem. Reinsert stem core & cap.

 

[dickfoster]

I had my local tire dealer foam fill the tires on my finish mower. I believe it was about $10 per tire. At that price I wasn't going to fool around with any experimentation myself. I dropped them off and had them back in three days.

Check around.

It looks like he is in more of a DIY zone, even more so than Missouri. LOL

Google Maps

 

[prichard]

I had my local tire dealer foam fill the tires on my finish mower. I believe it was about $10 per tire. At that price I wasn't going to fool around with any experimentation myself. I dropped them off and had them back in three days.

Check around.

Can you tell me more about this tire shop? Mom and pop? Chain? Specialty shop?

I have a friend that used to sell this service for heavy equipment that had a tenancy to end up with rebar in the tires but don't know of a shop that offers this.

 

[CCWKen]

I just did this to the tires on my pressure washer. They are about 8". I even used the high expansion foam & it worked great. Just remove stem core, insert hose & fill until foam comes out of stem. Reinsert stem core & cap.

It might work for light equipment or garden implements but don't try it on lawn tractors or anything heavy. I tried the expanding foam in a can about 15 years ago on the front tires of the lawn tractor. I let them cure for a week then mounted and started mowing. They lasted less than hour and went flat. That type of foam just breaks up into small pieces and powder. Worthless waste of time and money! Had to buy new tires and rims.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'm glad someone explained their experience with household type foam. It had me wondering. Tire shops won't do no ten dollar tire here, that's for sure.

I have some foam filled tires on the wing decks of my mower. They are rather soft, I would say. You can see the stuff in the valve stem. It looks more like cured Silicone Rubber than spray foam..

 

[bcp]

Some crack sealing foam cures hard, some cures soft.


GREAT STUFF™ Gaps & Cracks Insulating Foam Sealant
"It dries rigid and is tack-free within 5-15 minutes."


GREAT STUFF™ Window & Door Insulating Foam Sealant
"Flexible after it cures."


Bruce

 

[Quebecguy]

I haven't tried Slime yet but I have heard good reports from other people. They make versions for tubed tires besides regular tubeless tires.

www.slime.com