Just realized I was applying tire sealant wrong for 3 years

I used to pour sealant straight into the valve stem after removing the core, figured that was the standard way. Then last week a customer brought in a wheel that kept losing air and I watched my coworker pull the tire bead loose, dump the sealant in, and reseat it in under 2 minutes. Turns out pouring through the stem leaves most of the liquid pooling in one spot near the valve, so it never coats the whole casing evenly. That little trick with the bead spoon, plus rotating the wheel before inflating, fixed a slow leak I'd chased for months on my own gravel bike. Now I'm wondering, how many of you actually break the bead every time or do most folks just use the stem method out of habit?

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margaret23429d ago

Three years. That's how long I've been doing the stem method too and wondering why my tires always sounded like they had a tiny water balloon sloshing in one spot after every ride. My mate Dave finally watched me do it and just laughed, asked if I was seasoning a roast in there or trying to seal a tire. I broke the bead on my commuter last night just to test it and the difference is wild, like the sealant actually goes places now instead of sitting there judging me. Honestly at this point I'm surprised my tires haven't filed a complaint against me for negligence.