how necessary is an air compressor when fitting tyres?
Discussion
I have some part worn 235 85 16 tyres that I would like to fit. I have never fitted tyres before, but would like to give it a go. I also have plenty of old rims and old tyres to practice with.
Problem is I don't have an air compressor, only one of those 12v things that plug into the cigarette lighter. I have some old tyre leavers that belonged to my grandfather, so tempted to give it a go. But really how essential is an air compressor to seat the tyre? I have seen plenty of youtube videos of people spraying ether into the tyre (even deodorant) and then lighting it. It seems to work well.
Problem is I don't have an air compressor, only one of those 12v things that plug into the cigarette lighter. I have some old tyre leavers that belonged to my grandfather, so tempted to give it a go. But really how essential is an air compressor to seat the tyre? I have seen plenty of youtube videos of people spraying ether into the tyre (even deodorant) and then lighting it. It seems to work well.
I think you'd struggle without an air compressor...take it to the petrol station and use the one of the forecourt maybe?
The warmer the tyre, the easier it is to get a seal. In the summer you'll be fine, but in winter they need warming up in front of the fire, otherwise all the air just blows straight out.
I tried the lighter fluid trick once - didn't work for me.
The hardest part is getting the tyre off and back on without damaging the rim!
The warmer the tyre, the easier it is to get a seal. In the summer you'll be fine, but in winter they need warming up in front of the fire, otherwise all the air just blows straight out.
I tried the lighter fluid trick once - didn't work for me.
The hardest part is getting the tyre off and back on without damaging the rim!
5harp3y said:
dont bother, even breaking the bead will be hard enough.
my local place charges me £2.50 a tyre to swap over
Please PM me the name of the garage. Never heard of the price that low. All of the places round here want at least £40. That even includes me leaving the rims with them for a few days, so they can do the job whenever. my local place charges me £2.50 a tyre to swap over
Wait Here Until Green Light Shows said:
The hardest part is getting the tyre off and back on without damaging the rim!
Well I don't have to get them off as I have some rims with nothing on there. I just need to put them on. Been looking on youtube, and it does not look too bad a job. The problem is going to be seating the tyre without a compressor. So I have 3 options:1) Use lighter fluid
2) Use ratchet straps
3) I am into scuba diving and have a lot of dive cylinders about the place. I believe they have about 2400psi of pressure in them. I just need some valve attachment. Most of the attachments I have seen are really stepped down, for normal tyre inflation. But I am going to need a burst of around 100psi - so what options do I have?
In the past I've watched tyre fitters fit tyres and one thing they always seem to do is to remove the valve core.
When the tyres on the wheel they connect up the air line and pop the tyre onto the rim. Once this stage is reached
they disconnect the air line and screw in the valve core, not even waiting for all the air to escape. They then blow
up to running pressure, and job done.
I now fit my own tyres with a manual tyre changer and I've tried leaving the core in to save time but it seems to me
that the quicker you can get the air in, the more likely the tyre seals and pops out onto the rim.
Since the 12v compressors have no reservoir tank I would say your on a sticky wicket. You do need that blast of air.
Paul G
When the tyres on the wheel they connect up the air line and pop the tyre onto the rim. Once this stage is reached
they disconnect the air line and screw in the valve core, not even waiting for all the air to escape. They then blow
up to running pressure, and job done.
I now fit my own tyres with a manual tyre changer and I've tried leaving the core in to save time but it seems to me
that the quicker you can get the air in, the more likely the tyre seals and pops out onto the rim.
Since the 12v compressors have no reservoir tank I would say your on a sticky wicket. You do need that blast of air.
Paul G
david151 said:
But I am going to need a burst of around 100psi
finishing touch said:
In the past I've watched tyre fitters fit tyres and one thing they always seem to do is to remove the valve core.
Since the 12v compressors have no reservoir tank I would say your on a sticky wicket. You do need that blast of air.
Bang on! It's volume of air you need, not pressure.Since the 12v compressors have no reservoir tank I would say your on a sticky wicket. You do need that blast of air.
david151 said:
5harp3y said:
dont bother, even breaking the bead will be hard enough.
my local place charges me £2.50 a tyre to swap over
Please PM me the name of the garage. Never heard of the price that low. All of the places round here want at least £40. That even includes me leaving the rims with them for a few days, so they can do the job whenever. my local place charges me £2.50 a tyre to swap over
£10 per corner is a good rate here in Cambridge inc new valves and disposal.
I'd love a place that'll do a set of 4 for a tenner.....I would probably drive across the country with a van load at that price...
Bob (~40 rallycar rims & tyres in the garage)
I think I will probably go the Scuab Cylinder route, as I already have cylinders and a few spare first stages. I plan to Use one of the low pressure hoses coming off the first stage (around 140PSI) and fit a 3/8" barb quick disconnect. I can then fit a tyre inflator. This should be perfect for what I want to do.I could even use the setup with air tools like nail guns etc. I saw on another forum that someone was able to inflate from flat to full around 20 tyres with one scuba cylinder. It seems there is some serious pressure in those scuba cylinders - around 4351 psi !
227bhp said:
Please film it so we can watch.
This shows me mounting them:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8OePGSYWpU&t=...
It was my first time doing this and I found it pretty easy. Was really not a bad job. I think some people on youtube make it look very hard. My technique is not perfect, so don't laugh! But it shows you anyone can do this, even if they have no clue what they are doing! In the end I used a scuba diving cylinder to seat the bead, which worked like a charm. For the fun of it I want to do one with an explosion as well! Hopefully that video will come soon.
5harp3y said:
dont don't bother, even breaking the bead will be hard enough.
I did not need to do this, as the ones I had were already off, but I did some extra ones. Actually it was a really easy job. I just did it with a jack:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AleWMv_BbCk&t=...
The time it took me, would have taken longer to load the tyres and drive to a garage.
Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff