I went to repair a bike puncture this afternoon - and opened two tubes of rubber solution to find that they were empty!
One of them hadn't even been used before.
The solution seemed to have completely disappeared, no sign of it in the tubes at all. It's been a while since I repaired a puncture, but not
What's going on?
Daniele
Evaporation - the vulcanising solution doesn't have much solids in it, and the tube is only sealed with a double crimp. (I wonder if they use a different alloy for the tube that doesn't seal as well as the old stuff.) I quite often used to find the little tubes had "self-emptied", although usually only once they'd been opened. So I bought a big tube for about a fiver and keep it double-wrapped in the fridge - it's still good after several years of occasional use. I carry a little tube of rubber solution in a puncture repair outfit but generally reckon on not needing it because I also carry two or three spare tubes. Now watch me puncture the next time I go out on a bike. :-\
That happens to even still-sealed tubes; the solvent evaporates - how? I have a habit of feeling the heft of a new tube before I buy it, having bought the weight-saving sort once!
Isn't it the same thing as chemicals in one plastic bottle being able to migrate though the plastic and get into the bottle next to it?
;-)
Cheers, T i m
Cheap Chinese makes with no glue in them? Brian
You can get patches that don't need rubber solution which I've found to work well.
Yes, ISTR some gas at Plessey Caswell that could pass molecules through stainless steel. I bought a bottle of uPVC cleanser, never used it and the bottle well caved in on 2 sides and about half full.
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