Put the screwdriver back!

I have a lawn tractor that is worth its weight in gold but........ the rear tires on it are 70 bucks each and are in need of replacement. I had a friend tell me about a guy he knows that put Great Stuff ( you know that insulation foam in a can that you see at Home Depot and Lowes) in his tires and never has to worry about a flat tire again. According to his directions "remove the valve core and blow the stuff in and even if there are cracks in the tire it will expand and ooze out just cutting off the excess and away you go. Be sure to put the valve core back in once you have finished putting in the foam." :) Now this is for riding mowers which have much smaller tires than a lawn tractor has.

Well I bought 4 cans of the foam and thinking that since the tire is so large I decided to pull the tire and turn it over. Drilling 4 small holes across from each other that way I would be able to tell when the tire had been filled with foam. I inserted the nozzle from one of the cans in the tight fitting hole and some small plastic tubes in the other 3. Away I go and after 3 cans in the original hole no foam came out of any of my other holes. I put the last can in the hole across from the 3 can hole, still no foam, concern, not enough foam? After about a minute foam , foam everywhere. Being the quick thinker I grab some phillips head screwdrivers and plug the holes. Foaming slowed to a stop and an hour later the tire began to expand. Yea buddy here we go. Well its been about 3 hours so I go out and pull one of the screwdrivers and some gas bubbles out of the hole, so I pull another and another, I get to the original 3 can hole and pull the screwdriver out and guess what? Out sprays a flood of gas and foam that sprays all over me and the shop, put the screwdriver back!

LOL/LOL oh my...I'll not try that one...

Never heard of using Great Stuff (I bet your friend heard an earful after your experience) but they do sell Slime (green looking gooey stuff in different size squeeze bottles) at the hardware stores usually found around tires and inner tubes (Wal-Mart has it too) and you can use that stuff in bicycle tires, wheel barrow tires, and I guess any tire that has an inner tube. It works pretty good and it is basically the same instructions as you gave, remove the valve with the tool that comes with the Slime, squirt in some slime (instructions tell you about how much), put the valve stem back in, and pump with air. Ta Da!! Your leaks are fixed (at least small leaks but big holes will probably require a new inner tube). You can also buy inner tubes with the Slime already in it if you want to go that route.

If you have a lot of pneumatic tires, it would be better to buy the larger size of it if you don't mind another bottle of stuff on your shelves. Cheaper this way and you don't have to run to the store to buy another bottle of it.

http://www.slime.com/

I'll stick to great stuff the tire is full and tight and will never go flat again! I do a lot of work in the woods with green brier. I was a novice at the first attempt I know now what to do and how. The tires have dry rot on the sides and by golly they are sealed and look good, it was the dry rot that had me needing new tires, not anymore. Just wait 24 hours before pulling the screwdriver. :)

Funny. Maybe next time try concrete mix for dry rot?

That would be tuff to stick in that little hole. :)

Now that would make for some hard tires