Anyone used one of these to get tyres inflated tubeless?
My worry is that it wont give the burst of pressure required to push the tyres onto the rims.
Something like this: https://www.stressnomore.co.uk/ideaworks-cordless-tyre-inflator-11511.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA5OrTBRBlEiwAXXhT6EWxdcZFPSWxKP9S7DbUPV48659qWlrTSsPVBfaSkmIcThIK0_kdEhoClsAQAvD_BwE
That won't be any use for seating tubeless tyres. That's just an inflator. You need something with a big chamber/canister to pressurise to give you the big rush of air needed.
Garden sprayer, with a built in pump, does the trick for me.
Something like this...
You'll need to work out how to attach it to your valve (with core removed) but the satisfaction of pressing the trigger and watching (and possibly hearing) the tyre snap into place, is superb.
NOTE: It has never had chemicals in it.
The garden sprayer approach is basically doing the same as either the pop bottle method or the Airshot. I can see that the sprayer costs just under half the price of an Airshot (around £15-20 vs £40) but the Airshot is a much smaller item to find a home for being about the size of a wine bottle when packed. The Airshot is the 'paying for the convenience' option.
If cheapness is the aim, then since you're going to need to get modding to make the sprayer work for this, why not just use the tried and tested Coke bottle? Just so long as you don't use a damaged bottle or try to do anything like reinforce it with tape, the bottle is perfectly safe...
Why would reinforcing it with tape not be a good idea?
Tape won't reinforce it, cos it is much more stretchy than PET. But it may stop small shards of plastic flying everywhere in the event of a failure. (But you should always wear eye protection when using one anyhow). OTOH, certain types of glue may weaken the plastic, but I have no information whether this is actually an issue with PET.
I went for the tape option and go up to 60 psi, no failures yet. I should probably replace the bottles with new ones though.
Tape gives an impression of reinforcement and lay lead to higher pressures being attempted.
The main problem though is that it hides any damage. As with any pressure vessel, you should not consider charging one that shows any sign of physical damage. Likewise, it’s important to use a bottle that served fizzy pop, not water, juice etc as while they look indistinguishable one is rated for pressure and the other isn’t.
Plastic pop bottles as pressure vessels are remarkably fragile in some ways. While undamaged they’ll happily take 80 odd PSI, maybe a bit more if your cap seal is good. If they’ve been bashed about, squashed, folded etc they won’t and could fail in the manner described, although in honesty it’s more likely that the hose will pop off and the bottle shoot itself across the floor than become some sort of frag bomb.
Would a co2 inflater not do the job?
yep should work fine to pop the bead on and inflate the tyre but apparently the CO2 reacts with the sealant in the tyre and makes it go off quicker or not work as well. Never tried it my self.
You could always inflate with CO2, then purge it out trying to unseat the bead and inflate again but with normal air.
* trying to NOT un-seat the bead.
Sorry don't know how to edit posts with the new forum.
[b]greyspoke[/b] wrote:
Tape won’t reinforce it, cos it is much more stretchy than PET.
Not if you use fabric/fibre reinforced tape, which is what I presume most people are using - no, normal electrical tape won't do much useful.
[b]vincienup[/b] wrote:
The main problem though is that it hides any damage.
How exactly is the bottle going to get damaged when it is surrounded by tape?
Plastic pop bottles as pressure vessels are remarkably fragile in some ways. While undamaged they’ll happily take 80 odd PSI, maybe a bit more if your cap seal is good.
My understanding is that standard 2l fizzy drinks bottles are rated to at least 150psi - the test results I've seen suggest they'll mostly take close to 200psi before failing. 100psi still has quite a significant safety margin (though that's as high as I've dared take mine).
£20 for a garden sprayer which has to be bodged and might not work, vs £40 for an airshot which works perfectly. No brainer. Asked for an Airshot for Christmas - one of those things that costs more than you'd like but is well worth it.
yep should work fine to pop the bead on and inflate the tyre but apparently the CO2 reacts with the sealant in the tyre and makes it go off quicker or not work as well. Never tried it my self.
Did this for many years without issue. Except the cost of the damn things and that you never have one when you need it.
Swapping tyres for conditions is now a possibility. Although still more of a faff than tubes.
I've got a mighty fire extinguisher inflater that cost me just a little bit more than nothing. But these days I'd just get an airshot tbh. Or if you've got space just go full beans and get a compressor- I just got a 50 litre job for £75 off that ebay, to replace a rather more sensible but dead 25 litre one I've had for years. I wouldn't want to do my fatbike tubeless without one
Tracey posted a 12v inflator that also had a little receiver in, looked pretty good, I can't find a link now though.
Drewd made one out of an old mini co2 bottle (disposable welding gas), a t piece, ball valve and bit of hose with a tyre inflator end. You could do the same with a mini co2 fire extinguisher too. I've got it here at the mo and used it to seat my tyres. I'll take a picture in a bit and show you. If you've got anyone with empty mini extinguishers or welding bottles it's a few quids worth of fittings from eBay to make it happen though and is far less likely to fail than a pop bottle.
It was an Aldi one that I posted a link to. Had one in the garage for quite a while and it's never let us down. Bought it in their sale and then got another one for in the camper. It's 240v not 12v.
Drewd made one out of an old mini co2 bottle (disposable welding gas), a t piece, ball valve and bit of hose with a tyre inflator end. You could do the same with a mini co2 fire extinguisher too. I’ve got it here at the mo and used it to seat my tyres. I’ll take a picture in a bit and show you. If you’ve got anyone with empty mini extinguishers or welding bottles it’s a few quids worth of fittings from eBay to make it happen though and is far less likely to fail than a pop bottle.
I did make that, and it was inspired from a previous thread on here. It was easy enough to make with off the shelf parts, and they're all designed for that purpose so it's as safe as a DIY option can get. It's more faff to build than buying an airshot, but cheaper and it gave me something to do.
It was an Aldi one that I posted a link to. Had one in the garage for quite a while and it’s never let us down. Bought it in their sale and then got another one for in the camper. It’s 240v not 12v.
I also bought this based off of Tracey's PSA. It's good for what it is, and works very well, but it is really loud. I built the inflator because I felt a bit antisocial using the compressor in the back yard (I live in a mid terrace). That said the compressor is my fall back while the inflator is out on loan.
Converted 5kg CO2 Extinguisher here. Good for 140psi which is as much as I can manage with the track pump without jumping on it. Will seat and pressurise a 2.5 tyre in one go. Cost me a tenner for the extinguisher, I had a spare hose off my Rennkompressor when I replaced the head with a double ender and I think I had to buy a air hose connection and a jubbly clip. Was quite fun to make but emptying the CO2 out was nerve wracking.
The one thing that always troubles me about the fire extinguisher, is that some day someone might try to use it to put out a fire. That's going to end excitingly.
I do like the extra adaptor that comes with the airshot with the that screws to the inside of the valve once you've taken the core out.
I've a compressor and an airshot and always use airshot not cheap but worth it for less faff and easy life.
I've got an Aldi inflator compressor. 240v and inflates well, but it doesn't have a reservoir so it won't do the blast of air required for stubborn tyres.
But I have a Frankenflator!
No danger of it being confused for a fire extinguisher.
I do like the extra adaptor that comes with the airshot with the that screws to the inside of the valve once you’ve taken the core out
This. For the seconds it takes to remove the core, it's always worth it to get a better inflation. I also use the opportunity to pick old sealant off the core.
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I used a garden spray as a cheaper option for a while but because it's not designed for the air pressure I was putting in, it developed leaks around the seals. I'm currently using a track pump with the backup of co2 cans that I got for a ridiculous price. Soon as I've used those up I'll be getting an airshot