Lifespan of tyre sealant?

JBA

I have been considering going tubeless (Specialized 2Bliss tyres on DT Swiss 420SL Rims) for a while and a puncture from a thorn last weekend made up my mind for me. However, I was looking at tyre sealant in my LBS today and on one of the bottles it stated that the sealant would remain liquid for between 2 and 7 months only, depending on the temperature.

If sealant needs refreshing every 2 months I don't think I can be bothered with the hassle.

How do people determine when it is time to replace / add fresh sealant? Can you hear the liquid sealant in the tyre?
I have assumed the liquid coats the inside of the tyre and will not be slopping around.

warpcow

JBA wrote:

How do people determine when it is time to replace / add fresh sealant? Can you hear the liquid sealant in the tyre? I have assumed the liquid coats the inside of the tyre and will not be slopping around.

Some coats the inside, the rest sloshes around inside. I tend to give a little top-up every 6 months; just a half-portion (When changing to winter tyres I just move anything that's left over to the next tyre and add a bit more). Tbh, I think most people remember to top it up when they finally get a puncture. Just because it's dry doesn't mean it isn't sealed anymore, just that it won't plug any new holes.

prawny

You can hear it when you shake the tyre. If you can't it's dried out, if you've used co2 to seat the tyre this may be 5 seconds after you've got the bastrad thing up, if you're lucky.

JBA

Cheers, chaps.

I have done a bit of Googling and it seems that the higher the ambient temperature the sooner the sealant solidifies. I live in wet and cold South Wales so the sealant shouldn't need replenishing too often.

Onwards! To tubeless tomfoolery...

thelonegroover

Fenwicks Airtight is not a latex based solution and lasts a lot longer.