Sealing inner tube wheel holes

[Charlie M]

I just finished mounting the rear tire for my little Genius plow. What a miserable job as its too small to control well and the tire doesn't stretch enough to get your hand in it for installing the tube or to finish getting the final bead on the tire easily. Anyway the tire is on the rim and I noticed a lot of todays valve stems on tubes don't always seal the opening as well as they should which means water can get inside and rust the rim. I was wondering if I could put a small bead of some type of caulk around the opening to finish sealing it or something similar. Anybody ever try that?

 

[Janicholson]

Lexel caulk is good. It sticks to things silicone will not. It is available in colors, and clear. It is not Latex, good stuff. Squirt it into the gap, not just laying on top. Jim

 

[rustred]

i think i know what you mean. some tubes have the stem the same size to fit tight in the hole and some are small and shows the tube. i have found thats where they crack from the sun . water cant get in if the tire is aired up. just as long as what ever u use dont hurt the rubber. i would be tempted to use a small round piece of old tube slid over the valve stem to protect it.

 

[Jim.ME]

I just finished mounting the rear tire for my little Genius plow. What a miserable job as its too small to control well and the tire doesn't stretch enough to get your hand in it for installing the tube or to finish getting the final bead on the tire easily. Anyway the tire is on the rim and I noticed a lot of todays valve stems on tubes don't always seal the opening as well as they should which means water can get inside and rust the rim. I was wondering if I could put a small bead of some type of caulk around the opening to finish sealing it or something similar. Anybody ever try that?

Most implement rims, at least the older ones, had about a 5/8" hole for tubes using the TR15 valve stem. The Auto tubes most use TR13 stems for a rim hole of about 1/2". There are plastic bushings available to use with TR13 stems in TR15 rim holes to help seal the hole and support the inner tube stem.

An example of a rim bushing