Filling a tire with "Great Stuff" expandable foam

I wonder what would happen if someone took a small tire, such as the ones on wheelbarrows or push carts (dollys) and just filled them with Spray Foam (such as "Great Stuff" brand).

It would seem to me, that you could just remove the valve stem core, insert the nozzle from the spray can into the valve stem, and fill the tire. I guess the only concern would be to make sure the whole tire was filled, and not leaving parts of it empty. The foam would expand and make a solid tire.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Reply to
Paintedcow
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I know it is an old concept. Air would still leak out as tire is under pressure and air would still permeate rubber needing occasional replenishment.

Reply to
Frank

I've thought about it, but never tried it. I'd be tempted to pull the valve core, and then collapse the tire off the rim. Squirt the expanding foam in under the edge of the tire. Put the tire on a horizontal axle. Turn the tire (by hand?) as the foam cures. Wear gloves, and treat the wet foam like toxic waste. Takes a long time to wear off hands, and never really comes out of clothes.

The foam continues to expand about double size, after it's dispensed.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The foam hardens when dry. As such, it seems like it would fill the tire and be rigid. No inflating needed, due to the rigid, hard foam.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Tires need to flex. Foams are not that ridged but would need to recover from flexing. Stiffer foams would not recover as well.

Reply to
Frank

For a slow tire such as wheel barrow, might not be an issue. Vehicle tires? I'm not sure.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The trick would be to get enough in the tire to fill it, but not too much. If too much is put in, it would probably push the tire off the rim or bust it.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Yeah. Is your google broken?

Reply to
rbowman

My bet is the foam collapses and you still end up with a flat tire. These tires carry 40-50 PSI of air, Put 40 pounds of force on a 1x1 stick against that foam and it will disappear into the foam.

Reply to
gfretwell

Why does a tire need to flex? On a car, the flexing is desirable to cushion the ride, which makes the ride more comfortable. But on a wheelbarrow or push cart it does not matter. I have both a hand cart and a wheelbarrow which have solid tires, and they work fine. I also have both of these which have aired tires. All they do is waste space in my garage or barn, because everytime I want to use them, the damn tires are flat. There is no excuse for having to screw around with tires everytime I want to move a load of dirt or move an appliance. I have never noticed much difference in handling the ones with solid tires or aired tires.

Reply to
Paintedcow

Try it on soft ground. ... and the foam will crush giving you a "low" tire pretty quickly.

Reply to
gfretwell

Frank posted for all of us...

Frank, I know you are trying to be nice but take a look at some of the pigmented bovines past postings.

Reply to
Tekkie®

rbowman posted for all of us...

The pigmented bovine is not familiar with what you speak and lacks the critical function of a brain.

Reply to
Tekkie®

I don't think it is physically possible for the foam to exert enough force to demount the tire.

It'll work for a while. Eventually the foam may break down and turn into powder, but it will take some time and some load.. It will ooze out the valve stem long before the tire comes off!!!!

Reply to
clare

If I could figure out how to inject it into the valve stem, I'd prefer to fill them with concrete.

Reply to
Paintedcow

Just buy solid tires and be aware on soft ground, they suck. If you are always running on a hard flat surface, they work great. Think rail road wheels vs car tires

Reply to
gfretwell

Not all tires need to flex. I was having trouble with constant flats from thorns on the trailer for my garden tractor. Tire shop suggested replacing them with solid tires. Yep, they ahd them, I got them, they are great. F or wheelbarrows, carts, and such use there is no need for "flex".

Reply to
Harry K

???Why would the suck on soft ground? On carts, hand trucks, garden trailers, etc. regular tires don't flex enough to be noticeable...actually I suspect they don't flex at all.

Reply to
Harry K

That is true if you are not running your wheelbarrow over uneven or soft surfaces. I have one each (solid tire and pneumatic tire). If you load them up and try to go out across the yard, the difference is immediately apparent.

Reply to
gfretwell

You suspect wrong.

Reply to
gfretwell

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