Who plugs tires?

[pmsmechanic]

I also haven't mastered installing multiple in the same hole.

I install multiples all in one go I fold the worm in half because mine are plenty long. Then thread it onto the plugging tool and thoroughly coat the worms in tire patch glue and push them in.

 

[WinterDeere]

Maybe im the only one, but I probably own 3 plug kits, but can never find all 3 of the reamer, plug tool, and worms, any time I need them.

I keep the worms and tools all together in a heavy zip-lok bag, figuring it might help keep the worms from drying out as fast. I've kept worms probably more than a decade, and they seem to stay gooey and useable, in that bag.

Kinda like, when you need a Phillips, every screwdriver morphs into a flathead, and vice versa.

For me, it's always that I'm in the house (or even on a ladder) with one tool, when the one I really need is 200 feet up the hill in the shop.

Last time I plugged a tire, I think i found 2 or 3 reamers and a pack of good, still sticky worms, but not a single plug tool.

Zip-lok baggie!

I install multiples all in one go I fold the worm in half because mine are plenty long. Then thread it onto the plugging tool and thoroughly coat the worms in tire patch glue and push them in.

I'd guess if you're installing multiples in one go, then the rubber cement is downright required lube. But in my meager efforts to use it on a single plug, I've had issues getting the tails to stay in place when I pull the nose back into the hole from the inside. Everything just gets too slippery, to want to stay in place through the whole maneuver.

Over ~35 years of installing these plugs, maybe only a dozen or two in total over all that time, I've flip-flopped a few times on which way is best. I've taken to basing the decision on how fresh and "gummy" the current worm supply is, finding it's sometimes easier to skip the cement when the worms are fresh and gooey.

I can't remember any plug that has ever leaked on me, with or without the cement.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I give the tool a quarter turn before pulling it out. I have no problems with the worms staying in the tire.

 

[Runner]

For me, it's always that I'm in the house (or even on a ladder) with one tool, when the one I really need is 200 feet up the hill in the shop.

The last time I plugged a tire, was for my sister in-law and was about 20 minutes from the house. Had "everything I needed" in the truck. Got there and started working, realized this was a "heavy-duty" SUV tire and I had forgotten my cordless drill and bit set. Had a he!! of a time reaming out the hole with just the hand reamer supplied in the kit.... Next time, I'll remember....

 

[stephenh]

Yes I also use the drill-out-the-hole thing. Few years ago, I was having fits plugging a hole from a small-diameter piece of stiff fencing wire. Finally decided on drilling out the hole a little, thinking I'd probably regret it but what the hell, nothing else was working. To my pleasure, worked like a charm and no I do that regularly. In maybe twenty plugs, all have held permanently. Tire mechanics might shudder but it works for me.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Speaking of tire repairs... I saw this a week or so ago and bought them. Seems like rubber screws that plug up the nail hole. This set has two sizes. I have used the "worms" for about 50 years now with great results. I'm curious how these will hold up.

https://www.amazon.com/Ypoyney-Self-Service-Repairs-Motorcycle-Puncture/dp/B0FW4SHZSN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SHYz3KKSxsyBtDdnXeCcUdtM8nkKvsKq-LrCD8gBXc8J8_PwD-R1zSglmoKN_dxdoym2syRk8sFrmPCPup4bXOHWTFzA-81gyU5YWBy75bS7T3Kyo80pcwigumNlP0TyEwfy-xGCcll8P80Dx-uc0vRf1JdKK62rNhji71YV977GVXYtaTZNlUAGb2gw8sM2vewZvQu58opIGWWCXNpyc4r225X7g7DQ3cCigm0JnGCPd-27E94Us1I01F8cmAkQHrEoBYU7SmVPCS14CfYpEuITqmJKJRFJX0tH3SkiZbg.sOLstQiAMRSn4DfXCK4TrEWh56EOkKn8W_Z_S1yyxxE&dib_tag=se&keywords=tire%2Brepair%2Brubber%2Bnail&qid=1769971175&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

[paulsharvey]

Speaking of tire repairs... I saw this a week or so ago and bought them. Seems like rubber screws that plug up the nail hole. This set has two sizes. I have used the "worms" for about 50 years now with great results. I'm curious how these will hold up.

https://www.amazon.com/Ypoyney-Self-Service-Repairs-Motorcycle-Puncture/dp/B0FW4SHZSN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SHYz3KKSxsyBtDdnXeCcUdtM8nkKvsKq-LrCD8gBXc8J8_PwD-R1zSglmoKN_dxdoym2syRk8sFrmPCPup4bXOHWTFzA-81gyU5YWBy75bS7T3Kyo80pcwigumNlP0TyEwfy-xGCcll8P80Dx-uc0vRf1JdKK62rNhji71YV977GVXYtaTZNlUAGb2gw8sM2vewZvQu58opIGWWCXNpyc4r225X7g7DQ3cCigm0JnGCPd-27E94Us1I01F8cmAkQHrEoBYU7SmVPCS14CfYpEuITqmJKJRFJX0tH3SkiZbg.sOLstQiAMRSn4DfXCK4TrEWh56EOkKn8W_Z_S1yyxxE&dib_tag=se&keywords=tire%2Brepair%2Brubber%2Bnail&qid=1769971175&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

I am 0 of 1, on completely sealing rhe nail hole with them. They are Incredibly easy to use, but in the single case I used on, it still dropped about 10 psi per day. Now, this was a rusty, 16d nail, that I had previously tried a worm style in, if that matters

 

[Too many Kubotas]

One very good thing abut the excellent Safety Seal plugs is that they also come in a "Slim" version, and the smaller diameter is perfect for nails and screws.

Minor twisting with the reamer and in they go. And stay there. I would never take a drill to a radial tire I'd use on public roads. Just the thought is cringeworthy.

 

[Grumpycat]

I give the tool a quarter turn before pulling it out. I have no problems with the worms staying in the tire.

I twist the tool to form a knot inside the tire to maximize contact with the inside of the tire. Air seals on the inner layer of rubber where a patch would lie, not in the hole though the tire. Only this thin inner layer of rubber is formulated to hold air. Tread rubber is porous.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

With a radial it's still important to keep moisture from getting to the steel belts.

 

[Runner]

Pro Tip:
If you can't find the leak, have your wife check it out. I was trying to find a leak in a tire in a parking lot, next to a busy street in the dark and whatever made the hole was not in the tire. I put some air in the tire and my wife located the leak immediately. She could hear the air coming out. Has ears like a rabbit.

 

[Grumpycat]

With a radial it's still important to keep moisture from getting to the steel belts.

That is what the plug through the hole does.

Patch on the inside holds air.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

That is what the plug through the hole does.

Patch on the inside holds air.

Or, a good plug does both.

Patching from the inside only was/is no big deal with bias tires.