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Plugging Tires

Cat420

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
527
Location
Pine Bush Ny
Occupation
Construction, small engine and machine shop work
Our backhoe has tiny hole in one of the back tires (it loses 8-10 psi over a week and a half) The hole is in the middle of one of the lugs. Is it alright to plug it with a regular tire plug kit or do I need something special for this kind of tire? Thanks
 

Cat420

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
527
Location
Pine Bush Ny
Occupation
Construction, small engine and machine shop work
Is that similar to something like Slime or Fix-a-Flat? The reason I ask is that we have a plug kit that I have used to plug a bunch of car tires and none have ever leaked again. I just wasn't sure if it safe to use on equipment tires. The hole is more of an annoyance than anything, because of how slow it leaks, but I want to fix it right.
 

digger242j

Administrator
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
6,646
Location
Southwestern PA
Occupation
Self employed excavator
I've had plenty of backhoe tires plugged over the years, and there's never been any saftey issue. Some I plugged myself, and others I had done at a tire shop. The worst outcome I had was that eventually the tire stopped holding air, (whether it was through one of the plugs, or something else), and I had a tube put in it. The tire guy neglected to do anything with the ends of the plugs sticking into the inside of the tire, and eventually one of them wore a hole in the tube.
 

Cat420

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
527
Location
Pine Bush Ny
Occupation
Construction, small engine and machine shop work
That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks
 

Steve Frazier

Founder
Staff member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Messages
6,609
Location
LaGrangeville, N.Y.
I've plugged my skid steer tire, got a few more hundred hours out of it. The only problem I had was pulling the plug out a couple times while spinning the tires, pop in a new plug and your back in business.
 

Bob Horrell

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Messages
424
Location
Acton, CA
Occupation
Owner/Operator grading business
I have plugged my tires numerous times without a single problem. On my previous tractor I must have had 25 to 30 plugs on all the tires combined (a problem doing finish grading around new houses with all the nails on the ground). My rear tires are filled with water and anti-freeze and never had a problem with a plug in the rear. I always plugged the rear with the hole at the top and the excaping air dried out the hole and the plug stuck well. I carry one of the cheapie plug kits with me at all times and just plug on the spot when I get a nail.
 

dayexco

Senior Member
Joined
May 21, 2005
Messages
1,224
Location
south dakota
have you ever had your tires "bubblegummed"? first flat we get, we do that, don't have to plug them from then on....locally on a 20.5-25 loader tire, about $70 each.
 

544D10

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2004
Messages
166
Location
Oceanside, CA
Occupation
Lucas & Mercier Construction Co.
digger242j said:
Don't you just love carpenters? :Banghead

I deal with that everyday. I swear if it takes 5 boxes of nails to frame a house at least 1 of those boxes ends up as broken racks that get sweped off the slab onto the surrounding ground.
 

chechnya

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
20
Location
Houston
The company i work for owns two Kubota L35's and i do multi-family so nails and screws are everyday living. We had new tires put on it and we cut open the old ones. Haha there were about 40 tire plugs just sitting there. Just use tire plugs, they work.
 

chechnya

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
20
Location
Houston
The company really wanted to foam fill the tires but it would of been WAY too heavy and therefor uneconomical. We use them for dirt work and use them in clay/mud all the time so yeah, wasnt very smart.
 
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