I noticed one of my caster wheels on my walk-behind was flat. I couldn't see anything stuck in the tire so I was just going to pump it up and see if it would hold air but I can't get the bead to seat so I can fill it. Any tricks to get it to seat? Thanks for any advice, Joel B.
spray it with starting fluid and stand way far back and try and throw a match on it. BUT watch out it will seat and fill with hot air instantly and usually fly 20 ft into the air. dangerous but if all else fails and you want to save $2 give it a go
Two solutions. A) you can use a larger volume of compressed air. B) Press the top of the tire against the ground while filling with air. C) Put grease or oil along the rim to take up some space.
The tie-down ratchet works good. You can wrap it around the outside of the tire or if it is still on the mower you can press down on 3 sides- bottom, 1/3 up a side ,& 1/3 up the other side. Use one hand and a knee to press down and use the other hand to air it up.
Iv'e had troubles with the front caster tires too, as most have i'm sure... The strap trick works ok, but sometimes it smashes the tire where the ratchet is and then deforms it so it still dosn't seat... Iv'e also used some used motor oil applied with an old paintbrush. It's thick enough to fill that void enough to keep some air from leaking out. If you can get more going in than going out you have it made! High volume of air is what's needed. More than can go thru a standard air chuck. Sometimes you can use the blowgun on the air hose and it will actually work even with the valve in the stem. Or remove the valve from the stem and use the blowgun if that dosn't work... Only prob. is that once it seats you have yo put the valve back in and once the air goes back out the tire usually pops back off the bead. Grrrrrrr! I'm gonna try the starting fluid and match trick... not on a good tire tho! Just want to see if it really works and just how dangerous it is... May take a few beers of bravery before I try it though!
I had trouble with the front caster tires on my old eXmark. Fought with them for one summer trying to keep air in them until I bought a pair of airless foam filled tire/wheel assemblies and replaced the originals. No problems since then. Got them on eBay for about $35 each.
I have had the same trouble, but found a rope around the center of the tread works best. Somebody mentioned the ratchet making an indent in the tire. A rope with a loop, running the loose end through the loop, and pulling it tight, eliminates a buldge with a ratchet. Use a relatively small diameter rope and any buldge where the loop is tied will be minimal.
