[Closed] Ghetto tubeless inflator - total cost 9p!

I put two prestas in the cap, in one I'd removed the core, just cut the spindle with some pliers. And used the other to add air, just nip the tube to prevent air flow until you're ready, fingers or bulldog clip.

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just nip the tube to prevent air flow until you're ready, fingers or bulldog clip.

These would be the thing:

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Awesome idea. Going to try this

I posted mine up on the first page http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ghetto-tubeless-inflator-total-cost-9p#post-2616217 - that has a hole in the base, and I've pumped it up to ~120psi. I honestly can't remember how I got the valve in the base, though the two obvious ways I can think of are either using a bit of thread tied around the stem to pull it through or put it on a stick and put the bottle on top. I suspect I did it with thread...

I suspect I did it with thread...

Thread would work.

I tried fitting the valve in the base of the bottle originally - just dropped it in and jiggled it until it poked through. It worked but didn't seal that well. I'm now using two valves in the cap, which works better and is marginally less worrying.

Thread would work.

Thread does work.

Anyone done this with the head/tubing from a dead track pump, and what brand was it?

Andy

It works! Sort of. Getting a small air leak from the valve in the bottle base - is this normal or do I need to bodge it with something ?araldite

Or put a little bit of stans in... 😀

Make a washer out of an old inner tube ?

Make a washer out of an old inner tube?

Thought of that. May have to try putting one on the inside as well as the outside, and getting hold of a small Jubilee clip to make sure it's not the hose.

Do have an old Mavic UST valve stem that might work; IIRC there was a rubber o-ring that came with the rim nut for that but it might still be on the rim with the replacement valve.

ratherbeintobago - Member

It works! Sort of. Getting a small air leak from the valve in the bottle base - is this normal or do I need to bodge it with something ?araldite

don't worry about it, as you say;

It works!

🙂

My set up leaked air from the cap which made it hard work to get up to pressure but a bit of glue around the cap/valve sorted that.

I use a 10mm spanner (the round end) to hold the kinked hose to hold the pressure in the bottle. When up to pressure just pull spanner away to release the air.

Didn't even need the ghetto tubeless inflator on my current wheelset (ZTR flows) as they pumped up using a track pump but it works perfectly for my other wheelset.

Diving bottle works well. I've got a 209 bar 3ltr bottle off a mate who bought about 4000 at auction (ex-Falklands escape breathing apparatus for the troops who were transported by ship).

209 bar is about 3030 psi, so it will inflate anything from bike tyres to a paddling pool in about 3 seconds.

Only a complete idiot would try something as stupid as this. There's a couple of holes in the wall of the compressor house at my local sub aqua club from a couple of [i]know-it-all's[/i] messing about with tanks.

My company manufacture high-pressure regs & I'd implore you not to mess about with diving tanks. Pumping pop bottles to 7 bar is not too bad, as the air is gone in a second or two, but 10 bar venting from a hose on a 10 litre tank will whip about & hurt someone.

Have to admire the solutions on here though, real heath robinson stuff. 🙂

I'll grab some pics next week, but a chap in the office has rigged up a big air horn on his commuter, linked to a 2 litre pop bottle & a 3/2 valve.

My set up leaked air from the cap which made it hard work to get up to pressure but a bit of glue around the cap/valve sorted that.

Didn't even need the ghetto tubeless inflator on my current wheelset (ZTR flows) as they pumped up using a track pump but it works perfectly for my other wheelset.

Oddly enough, the cap end is completely airtight; it's the valve at the base that leaks. I shall try packing it with plasticine (well, blu tack) and failing that, Mr Araldite (the glue of champions) will be making an appearance.

My rims are no longer true enough for tyres to go up without a bit of 'assistance'; when they were new it was possible to get a tyre on with a track pump.

Made one today, worked a treat!

I finally got round to making mine last night having read this thread when it was posted.

And a few months ago I shared the idea with an Australian forum, and there's been many happy punters referring to this and that thread.

http://perthmtb.asn.au/node/43502

I'll be trying this too, been unsuccessful with the track pump

Alternatively, to save yourself 9p and all that d1ck1ng about, you could just use a track pump and press the tyre down above the valve to create a better seal. Works every time for me, ghetto or otherwise.

If you've made one, don't worry, just stick your Cypress Hill 'tape' in and take some hits.

the thread resurrection troll strikes again.

Reading this with interest - but not having attempted tubeless at all yet...can someone humour an idiot and explain why this is needed? I assume its to inflate the tyre to a decent pressure very rapidly?
But why does that help seal the tyre to the rim more than just the track pump?
Sorry, perhaps not the right thread for such a simplistic question - but planning on giving a go soon, so intrigued.
cheers

It's all about volume, getting volume of air into the tyre quickly to set the bead into the groove in the rim.

Cheers, that's what i thought, but i assumed the tyre seating in the rim was what happened normally anyway....but at a guess that's because you have the tube full of air pushing it into place?
No tube, harder to get the force required to push it into place?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/diy-tubeless-tyre-inflators

tried a few ways and found the garden sprayer worked best.

Just attempted mine. One tyre worked after 4 attempts (but is now flat, need more sealant in there)

2nd tyre didn't work and is now in orbit 😡

Yep, after almost pressing the buy button on a compressor from Screwfix after years of the straight up/no chance lottery and struggling with a pair of Rocket Rons today I tried this as a last resort. I've run tubeless for years and have always got them on eventually but fed up with struggling at times.

Took about 10 minutes to make. Used two prestas one with the core and one without and a short bit of tube from a previous tubeless kit. Mole grips to kink and hold the the tube. Pumped up to 60 psi with a track pump, let off mole grips and hey presto it worked first time on a tyre I had been struggling with for an hour. Absolutely brilliant and still have power in my arms!!

Just need some hose and I'm going to give this a try.

I was gonna make one but got sidetracked and re-lived my youth...
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Also used this set up for the first time last week. Pumped up to 75psi in my case and works everytime

Used to make bottle rockets with the kids and we found a fizzy bottle has a sweet spot of about 120psi about one quarter to one third full of water. We used to rig them up to a 12v car compressor and a release system based on a male hose lock bonded onto the bottle using resin bond, and a female hose lock in an angle iron frame with a release mechanism using an old brake lever wired to the slider release on the hose lock. Finned, our record was about 500 metres total flight.

We discovered a 5 litre squash container didn't quite take 120psi. One ruptured at about 110psi on a French campsite and it literally sounded like a bomb had gone off. The staff weren't all that impressed. The compressor and the remote release meant no one was hurt, but the shards of plastic created quite a spread. 😡

Just a thank you for this thread...Ive been fortunate that all my previous tyres have gone up with just a pump but my smorgasbord 29er was not going up yesterday due to being very loose on a wide rim so set about making one of these ghetto inflators and it worked on my first attempt! Just used some valves off some old tyres and a 2l pepsi bottle plus 75p of hose from my local hardware store. Top stuff 😀

IT LIVES!

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Thanks very much for the guide 🙂

Was talking to one of our fitters the other week and I was on about the coke bottle compressor and he wasn't to keen on the idea of me messing about blowing up coke bottles and told me to leave it with him.

Thought no more of it and this is what he handed me today. He said he's still looking for a pressure gauge for it.

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"Messing about blowing up coke bottles"....hehe

what do you do if you dont have removable valve cores? dot fancy chopping the hose off my track pump...

i want to use this method to inflate 4" fat tyres, set up using the 24" split tube ghetto procedure, and my 24" tubes do not have fancy valve stems!

edit: simply a case of connecting one of these onto the end of my hose? http://www.amazon.co.uk/BICYCLE-CYCLE-SCHRADER-PRESTA-ADAPTER/dp/B00BWMT7MC

You buy some tubes that have removable valve cores.

It's not about the adaptor - it's about how much flow you can force through a normal presto valve. You can deliver the air much quicker with the core removed. By all means try it without removing the core but it's just less likely to work.

So I did this last night and it didnt work, bottle was leaking air - presumably because the valves weren't tight enough in the cap/lid of the drinks bottle? Any tips or just man up/tighten with tools?

you got it, tighten the hell out of it. It could still work with leaking air if it's not too bad and you're quick. Maybe put a small square of gorilla tape where the valve goes through the plastic to help seal better or something squidgy.

I had to make the valves enormously tight, way more than I'd use on a wheel. And then threw a wee bit of stans sealant in to see what happened. Not sure if that's what fixed it but it ended up almost perfectly airtight, held 100psi for a week with not much loss.

dollop of silicon on the inside of the cap?

Mine has one valve in the cap, one in the bottom. Before fitting the valve stems to the bottle, I have put a locking collar, then a large washer, then a 1/2" tap washer and this seals very easily.

With both valves in the cap it's a bit crowded but you could probably use normal washers and the smaller size tap washer (3/8").

Chaps you are all brilliant thanks.

Will report back!

I put one in the cap and one in the base of the bottle. There not mega tight just enough to compress the sealing rubber. Then i pump to 80psi and it usually pops the tyre on and inflates to about 30psi.

Just tried it... and it worked!

Thank you!!!!!

another happy customer here, worked perfectly. Cost me a whopping 20p for a value lemonade bottle, guess thats inflation since the original post 3 years ago!
cheers.

guess thats inflation

Brilliant. I'm totally pumped now.

Excellent guide thank you! Was struggling to re inflate one of my tyres after taking it off the other week. I used a schrader valve to inflate the bottle with a presta cut in half to attach the tube to straight on the my removable core valves. Anyone after the tubing just eBay search for PVC flex, I got 1 meter but 50cm would suffice. I would think pet shops and aquatic shops also sell it for fish tank set ups. I also superglued around the valves on the bottle lid to stop any leaks and also had to glue the pipe on the bottle valve as it popped off.

Hi
Here is my device for pumping tubeless tires ..
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That looks like a mineral water bottle- not sure they're designed for holding pressurised air- I've always used 2L coke bottles...

2 litre sparkling water bottle worked for me yesterday. Had to remove the valve stem core and pump to 60 psi but worked a treat.

This bottle of carbonated mineral water, Aqua Minerale withstand 100 psi. Is my video where I blew in a one-liter bottle of carbonated mineral water up to 100 psi...

Where are people getting the taps from? I tried a plastic fuel tap, but the air pressure blew it apart!

I took a tee and valve in the store sells equipment for garages.

If somebody could post a link to a site selling the valves in the higher end versions of this set-up I'd appreciate it.

Just made mine this evening - worked perfectly, even without a track pump (I just used my trail pump) - cheers to the OP for posting this 😀

Lack of parts in my garage forced me to make a very simple ghetto setup...

Parts required:
* Tubing that fits snugly over a presta valve.
* A nail.
* Air from a donor bike tyre.

Hammer the nail thru one side of the tube about 1.5 to 2cm from one end. This will push the presta valve on the donor when you push the tubing onto the valve. That's all the DIY there is 🙂

I used another donor bike as the air chamber. I got enough air with a 26"x2.1 at 65psi but it took a few goes as I wasn't using washing up liquid. It's not quite quick enough to do instant pop inflation. A plastic bottle with higher pressure as per the original suggested ghetto setup will be superior, but you could still make it with just one valve in the lid.

How to use:

Take the tube end without the nail and push it over presta valve of the wheel to be inflated.

Take the other tube end *with* the nail and push onto the value of the donor bike wheel. The nail should press the end of the valve and release the air.

Phil.

Just built one, fitted 2 new tyres, the first tyre without the inflator approx 2 hours of swearing & struggling... 2nd tyre with inflator approx 10mins... wow.

Please note. Does not include time taken for KFC break.

Using Nobby's thread from a while back [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ghetto-tubeless-inflator-mk-vii ]HERE[/url] as inspiration, a couple of emails to the man himself, I've gone the posh way and made an inflator out of a CO2 fire extinguisher.

I've had to buy some pipe fittings to get things to work properly, but then this thing will survive the apocalypse. Also went proper posh with the hose and valve head, Topeak hose and head.

I just need to paint it now, I don't want anyone to mistake it for a fire extinguisher. So its either going to be a gold and black version of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat, or graffiti paint and sticker bomb. Not sure if I've got enough stickers.

2 Coke bottles linked up using a T piece worked loads better then 1 coke bottle .

FRANKEN-FLATOR! IT LIVES!!!!!!!

I got busy with the masking tape and rattle cans.

[IMG] [/IMG]

Experiments with pressures reveals that 140psi in the bottle blows the tyre right off the rim. Good job there wasn't any sealant in there! 120psi is enough to mount even the subornist Trail King ghetto style.

Happy days.

Wouldn´t have believed that it could be so easy. Trail King at first try!
60 PSI.

Apologies for resurrecting this old thread but I bought some Schwalbe Rocket Rons recently and was having trouble getting them to go up with a track pump. I've never had any trouble with other tubeless tyres such as Maxxis and Specialized but for some reason the Schwalbes just didn't want to seat and go up. I tried all the usual dodges suggested on the internet but still no joy.

I knew about the ghetto tubeless inflator so knocked one up in ten minutes and it worked first time! It was a bit nerve wracking pumping a Coke bottle up to 60 psi - I was expecting the pipe to blow off and give me a heart attack but it worked like a charm. 😀

Great.

FYI, I've found mine just as successful at 30-40 psi, you don't have to go nuts.