I obtained and installed my screened stem inserts myself. The stem just unscrews. The trick is to complete the exchange before too much air escapes. Of course the stem is near the 12:00 position while doing this.

quote:

Originally posted by Digital Boy:
I obtained and installed my screened stem inserts myself. The stem just unscrews. The trick is to complete the exchange before too much air escapes. Of course the stem is near the 12:00 position while doing this.

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That is good information as I had assumed the screened valves would be a tire dealer install item.As long as I do it at home,there is lots of air pressure here.Thanks for your post.

I just bought new tires. The tire dealer here is a local guy I've known for 15 years or more, and had his kids in school. The first tire he put on the spin balancer was going to need a bunch of weight. The tires I was replacing had used the beads inside. I replaced because of age, not wear, but I know they had over 40,000 miles because I had the receipt from the previous tire change. We decided to go with beads again. The new valve stems needed came in the package with the beads. Good luck, HarveyP

I use Equal and it does a good job. There should be four parts with an Equal "kit." There is a bag of beads and the size of bag depends on the size of the tire. The original valve stem should be replaced with a valve stem with a screen to prevent the beads getting in the valve and causing a leak. A yellow band should be placed around the valve stem to alert tire workers that the tire contains beads. And the kit comes with a new valve cap that is suppose to seal better than standard caps.

So when you install Equal make sure you get all four parts for each tire - Equal beads, valve stem with screen, yellow band and new valve cap.

quote:

The new valve stems needed came in the package

Do they have long valve stems available? I don't use extensions, but have long metal valve stems that make it very easy to check pressures & add air.

Interesting subject. I wonder if marbles or BBs or lead shot would work? Golf balls?????
What is the physical principal here anyway? It seems to me that if you have a heavy place in your wheel, then the centrifugal force would be more in that area and tend to attract more weight to that point, which would do the opposite of what was wanted. I have seen some circular tube devices filled with some material mounted on a disk that you were supposed to bolt on behind your car wheels, which is the same idea, so I guess there is something to it. It just doesn't seem logical.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: two2go,

Camping World did 6 new tires for me using beads back in Dec 06. So far we've driven around 8,000 miles with no issues and hardly ever needing to add air. The only thing I would mention is if you really want to be super safe use filtered dry air, (inline air filter/moisture filter,) to prevent any possible clumping of the beads/powder since condensation is prevalent while filling and/or bleeding the tires. You can purchase a small filter that does both for a few bucks and install a quick disconnect to plug into your air compressor.

Hi All. Very interesting info ! Has anyone heard/known of 2 situations?
1: Using nitrogen instead of air in the tires w/ powder?
2: Using a "fix-a-flat" type sealer, or "Slime" w/ powder/beads in the tires?
Thanx, waiting for any/all actual knowlege replies. Please, no "I think" replies. Robbie

1. Costco put Nitrogen in my XRV Michelins when they installed them. I supplied the Equal powder and they put it in at the same time. Have enjoyed both for over 2K miles this summer.
2. I think the "Slime" would cause the powder to clump up and destroy the balance.
Jerry

quote:

Originally posted by riggarob:
Hi All. Very interesting info ! Has anyone heard/known of 2 situations?
1: Using nitrogen instead of air in the tires w/ powder?
2: Using a "fix-a-flat" type sealer, or "Slime" w/ powder/beads in the tires?
Thanx, waiting for any/all actual knowlege replies. Please, no "I think" replies. Robbie

Consumers report did a review on Nitrogen for car tires back in October of 07 if you want to view it and make your own determinations on it. Those pressures were at 30 psi though.

Fix-a flat type sealer has been around for a long time and overall didn’t have the best reviews from what I can remember. They use to state that it alone would act as a balancer but I can recall back in the late 70’s a product called Stop-A-Flat tire sealant that looked like pepto bismol and caused more balance problems by drying out in clumps.

I would stick with the basics such as equal/beads and/or nitrogen if you prefer.