Vulcanising Solution

Cyclopath! - Keiron said:

When patching a tube i cracked open a 'new' tube of solution. I've had this
tube in my garage for 4 years but as it remained unopened/airtite i assumed
it would be fine whereas it was actually all dried up inside. Scratching
around for more solutions
(eh, eh?) I dug out an even older and opened tube. The solution seemed fine,
well patch is currently holding.

Questions:
1. Does vulcanisiong solution have a lifespan/best before/use by?
2. Do brands of solution vary that much in quality? i had assumed not as
they all cost roughly similar.
3. Does contact with the air break down the solution or just dry it up? i.e.
so if i use an opened tube from years back will it still have the same
bonding properties if it's not dried up?

Thanks

Sometimes making sure there is no air left in a partly used tube will
extend the life of the glue.

On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:28:24 GMT, "Cyclopath! - Keiron" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

When patching a tube i cracked open a 'new' tube of solution. I've had this
tube in my garage for 4 years but as it remained unopened/airtite i assumed
it would be fine whereas it was actually all dried up inside. Scratching
around for more solutions
(eh, eh?) I dug out an even older and opened tube. The solution seemed fine,
well patch is currently holding.

Questions:
1. Does vulcanisiong solution have a lifespan/best before/use by?
2. Do brands of solution vary that much in quality? i had assumed not as
they all cost roughly similar.

Quality variations seem to center on the metal tube more than the stuff in it.

Quoted message said:

3. Does contact with the air break down the solution or just dry it up? i.e.
so if i use an opened tube from years back will it still have the same
bonding properties if it's not dried up?

Just dries up.

Ron

Cyclopath! - Keiron said:

Questions:
1. Does vulcanisiong solution have a lifespan/best before/use by?

Yes. But they aren't marked, and it varies by manufacturer. The
solvents used are so volatile and have such a small molecular size
that they can evaporate out through the non-welded crimp in the end of
the tube; typically, they're dead in about a year. Good ones take
longer, crappy ones can be toast in three months...and a tube bought
from a place that seldom sells one could be dried up when received.

Quoted message said:

2. Do brands of solution vary that much in quality? i had assumed not as
they all cost roughly similar.

It's not the contents, it's the tube itself, and "yes".

Quoted message said:

3. Does contact with the air break down the solution or just dry it up? i.e.
so if i use an opened tube from years back will it still have the same
bonding properties if it's not dried up?

Correct; if it's not dried up, it's fine.

For home use, the screw-top can is your friend; to maximize its life,
put a thin film of grease on the threads so that you can get it tight
without having to worry about it being impossible to get back off
later. I routinely toss the small tube out of my seat pack when it's
been in there for six months, opened or not, and replace it with a
fresh one. The old tube goes in the patch box, and most of the time
it's dead when I get around to trying to use it.

The same problem exists with most other solvent-based adhesives.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cyclopath! - Keiron said:

Questions:
1. Does vulcanisiong solution have a lifespan/best before/use by?

Yes. But they aren't marked, and it varies by manufacturer. The
solvents used are so volatile and have such a small molecular size
that they can evaporate out through the non-welded crimp in the end of
the tube; typically, they're dead in about a year. Good ones take
longer, crappy ones can be toast in three months...and a tube bought
from a place that seldom sells one could be dried up when received.

Quoted message said:

2. Do brands of solution vary that much in quality? i had assumed not

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

they all cost roughly similar.

It's not the contents, it's the tube itself, and "yes".

Quoted message said:

3. Does contact with the air break down the solution or just dry it

up? i.e.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

so if i use an opened tube from years back will it still have the

same

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bonding properties if it's not dried up?

Correct; if it's not dried up, it's fine.

For home use, the screw-top can is your friend; to maximize its life,
put a thin film of grease on the threads so that you can get it tight
without having to worry about it being impossible to get back off
later. I routinely toss the small tube out of my seat pack when it's
been in there for six months, opened or not, and replace it with a
fresh one. The old tube goes in the patch box, and most of the time
it's dead when I get around to trying to use it.

The same problem exists with most other solvent-based adhesives.

Good explanation.

This weekend I put some used 700c high pressure tires on some old wheels
I had sitting around. The tire beads were hard and I ended up having
several tubes get pinched and had to patch them. I opened 3 different
Rema patch kits and the glue was dry in 2 of them.

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

When I was young, I remember using Camel brand patch kits for repairing
hip boots, waders and bicycle tires. The tubes of glue always went dry
but a can of vulcanizing solution would last for years.

Here's a web site on patching farm equipment tires. The author doesn't
recommend mixing different brands of patches and cement.

http://www.alltiresupply.com/tutorial1/Basic-tube-patching.html

Chas.

"* * Chas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

(snip)

Quoted message said:

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

(more snippage)

Soapy water.

Cal

Quoted message said:

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

Sometimes I use Schwalbe mounting solution, other times I rub
the rim and bead with paraffin. Both help. Wax is cheaper.

P.S. - Once I've opened a cement tube, I place a small thin sheet of
polyethyline between the cap and the threads, which acts as a gasket
and thread sealer. That extends the cement life, but still, once the
tube is open, I get a second kit and put a fresh tube alongside the
old one, just in case. Park patch kits have smaller tubes, which makes
it easier to carry two.

You got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.

- Yogi Berra

In article <[email hidden]>,

* * Chas said:

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

A little dish soap in water. Proportions aren't all that critical, just
enough to feel slippery. Or use a better tool- the VAR tire jack (now
sold under a different name) or a Crank Brothers Speed Lever. I thought
the Crank Brothers tool was hype, but it actually works great.

"Tim McNamara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

* * Chas said:

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

A little dish soap in water. Proportions aren't all that critical,

just

Quoted message said:

enough to feel slippery. Or use a better tool- the VAR tire jack (now
sold under a different name) or a Crank Brothers Speed Lever. I

thought

Quoted message said:

the Crank Brothers tool was hype, but it actually works great.

Looks pretty slick. I'm going to try one.

Used to be able to work the tighest tires on just by hand but things
have changed.

Chas.

Snortley said:

Quoted message said:

What's good to use for rim lubrication for installing tight fitting
clinchers?

Sometimes I use Schwalbe mounting solution, other times I rub
the rim and bead with paraffin. Both help. Wax is cheaper.

I've been using straight Dr. Bronners soap with fair success.
Thankfully it's been the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, so I haven't had
to take them off since I've put them on.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"What do you do when your real life exceeds your wildest fantasies?"
"You keep it to yourself."
-- Broadcast News

* * Chas said:

Quoted message said:

sold under a different name) or a Crank Brothers Speed Lever. I

thought

Quoted message said:

the Crank Brothers tool was hype, but it actually works great.

Looks pretty slick. I'm going to try one.

Used to be able to work the tighest tires on just by hand but things
have changed.

Okay. Even the Cool Tools blog entry for it doesn't
really explain how it gets the tire back on.

Does it do any lifting of the bead over the rim, or does
it just push on the bead that's already behind the rim and
let it drag the rest over?

Because if it's the latter, that's hard on beads,
and really wants lube.

--Blair