He Makes His Own “Tire Slime”

2013 - Volume #BFS, Issue #13, Page #43

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Elwood Tainter is semi-retired and living on a fixed income. He’s always looking for ways to save a few bucks and he found a good one when he figured out how to make his own tire slime.
  “I fix a lot of tires for my part time lawn mower repair business,” Tainter says, “and I used to go through a lot of commercial tire slime that cost more than $20 a gallon. One day I figured there had to be a way to make my own slime for a lot less money.”
  Tainter mixed up his own tire sealer using corn starch and water. He heated water on the stove and added starch until the mixture was the consistency of oatmeal. When the mixture turned thicker, he added a small amount of ground black pepper.
  “The pepper serves to plug a tiny air leak in a tube or a tire,” Tainter says. “If you don’t put that in, it’s probably not going to work.”
  Tainter stores the mixture in a jug and pumps it into a tube or a tire with a hand held pump. The mixture also works as a sealant around the edges of tires.
  On most tires that he fixes Tainter removes the valve stem, cleans out the tire and then roughs up the inside surface. He puts the slime over the roughed up surface, then installs the tube or fills a tubeless tire with air. “It works well just about every time,” Tainter says.
  He’s also used his home-brewed mixture on 28 in. tall tractor tires that are cracked, well worn and don’t hold air very well. “I put enough in the tire so it will flow around the tire as I’m rolling it,” Tainter says. “Then I bounce the tire on the ground so the cracks open slightly and the slime finds its way in. Instead of fluid I can add water here in California, where it doesn’t freeze, and the tires don’t leak. It’s a very good product.”
  Tainter says his homemade slime also works on tubes that have small holes. “This stuff has saved me a lot of money. I can make a gallon for less than a buck, and the commercial stuff would cost me more than $20 a gallon. It’s not 100 percent perfect, but it’s darn good.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elwood Tainter, 5913 Highway 99, Yuba City, Calif. 95991 (ph 530 329-6764).

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He Makes His Own “Tire Slime” TIRES/WHEELS Elwood Tainter is semi-retired and living on a fixed income He’s always looking for ways to save a few bucks and he found a good one when he figured out how to make his own tire slime “I fix a lot of tires for my part time lawn mower repair business ” Tainter says “and I used to go through a lot of commercial tire slime that cost more than $20 a gallon One day I figured there had to be a way to make my own slime for a lot less money ” Tainter mixed up his own tire sealer using corn starch and water He heated water on the stove and added starch until the mixture was the consistency of oatmeal When the mixture turned thicker he added a small amount of ground black pepper “The pepper serves to plug a tiny air leak in a tube or a tire ” Tainter says “If you don’t put that in it’s probably not going to work ” Tainter stores the mixture in a jug and pumps it into a tube or a tire with a hand held pump The mixture also works as a sealant around the edges of tires On most tires that he fixes Tainter removes the valve stem cleans out the tire and then roughs up the inside surface He puts the slime over the roughed up surface then installs the tube or fills a tubeless tire with air “It works well just about every time ” Tainter says He’s also used his home-brewed mixture on 28 in tall tractor tires that are cracked well worn and don’t hold air very well “I put enough in the tire so it will flow around the tire as I’m rolling it ” Tainter says “Then I bounce the tire on the ground so the cracks open slightly and the slime finds its way in Instead of fluid I can add water here in California where it doesn’t freeze and the tires don’t leak It’s a very good product ” Tainter says his homemade slime also works on tubes that have small holes “This stuff has saved me a lot of money I can make a gallon for less than a buck and the commercial stuff would cost me more than $20 a gallon It’s not 100 percent perfect but it’s darn good ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Elwood Tainter 5913 Highway 99 Yuba City Calif 95991 ph 530 329-6764

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