Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/04/i-like-this-tire-repair-kit-mu.html
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I have an old Victor set that I got many years ago. The plastic handles are okay. The problem I had most recently was trying to plug a tire in cold weather. I ended up applying a heat gun to the plug to get it soft, then it went right in. Others use propane torches to heat the tire.
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Old Papasan saying: Never plug a motorcycle tire, ever.
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Roger that!
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It was nice of them to include the Slim Jims. /s
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If you get that many flats it may be time to make up with the neighbors.
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I bought a set like that a couple of months ago to to repair the rear tires on my tractor after having to take one off last year so I could get it repaired by a local tire shop. Getting a liquid filled rear tractor tire into the back of the truck was not much fun so I really want to avoid that experience again. Knock on wood as I haven’t need it yet, but mowing season is just abut to start, so glad to hear the kit works well!
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I get the tire repaired for free while it is under warranty. It’s like 6 years (or 50,000 miles), and a full replacement of tires with irreparable damage for 3 years.
Also handy: a 12V mini compressor. Ten minutes with one of those beats an hour or more waiting for a tow truck, if you’ve got a slow leak.
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I have one, they’re easy to use & they work fine, but the guys in the local tire shop told me these are illegal in calif. because only pros are (should be) able to use them the way god intended.
Once upon a time I stopped in Boulder City, Nevada for one of those tourist-trap zipline attractions, and by the time I got back to my car I found that one of my tires was flat as a pancake. It was late at night, nothing was open, and all I had to get back to my home in Phoenix, Arizona was a damn’ donut (which wasn’t recommended for that kind of distance). Then a kind stranger pulled out one of these repair kits, stabbed my tire, plugged it, and helped me reinflate it (he had a pump with him as well). I thought the whole thing looked insane – stabbing a tire and plugging it with something that looked like a wad of tobacco – but I didn’t have a lot of options at the time. The patch held all the way back to Phoenix.
There are punctures that are not safe to repair. Anything near the sidewall is out.
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True story: I bonded with my wife over tires. Early in our dating, she had a flat on her way to a date with me. We got her towed and took it to a nearby shop. All four tires were completely shot, but her rims were a “sport” size and they were expensive. She was a poor teacher who hadn’t had a raise in years, her credit card nearly maxed out.
So I bought her four brand new tires. My first gift to her. There’s nothing that says “I’m falling in love with you” more than Goodyear rubber. Am I right? I’m right. You know I am.
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Assuming you went by car - isn’t that exactly the sort of situation the spare wheel is for?
Of course these days many cars don’t even come with a doughnut spare.
People pay gyms good money for that experience, though.
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Wait. This isn’t in the BoingBoing store?
Seriously, the T-handles are where it’s at. The screwdriver style handles are what kill your hands.
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