Slime: is it bad for valves?

allen-uk

I can't change punctures on the road (old, disabled), so use the toughest tyres and tubes I can find, plus Slime...

And for the past 8 or 9 years, I haven't had a puncture, in spite of my weight and London's pot-holed roads - but what I have had is trouble with my (Schrader) valves. Three have failed - failed to keep air in, or function at all.

In the past I've been able to extract the cores, chuck them, and put in new cores. This time unscrewing the core also removed the rubber part (normally stuck to the inner tube itself), so I had to put a whole new tube in.

My question is this: does Slime get into the valves and muck them up? And if so, is there any way round it (like regular pumping up of tyres, just to keep the valves clear). The bike had been in the shed for 4 months, and when I took it out and tried pumping it up, the valve blew.

Ta.

Allen.

sungod

once a tube has sealant in it, you need to keep it inflated, especially latex ones, but even butyl will eventually lose pressure

once the inner tube collapses, any active sealant will eventually dry and stick it together, when you inflate the tube can fail

if you know it won't be used for a while, hang the bike up so that there's no weight on the tyres, this way the residual pressure will keep the tube partly inflated and far less likely to get stuck

sealant in any valve is liable to bung it up, if it gets on the threads it might be strong enough to lock them

jermas

A few drops of silicone grease (best) or silicone oil on the valve stops the sealant sticking to the rubber part of the valve. Applied once or twice a year will keep the valve in good order.

allen-uk

Thanks - that all makes sense.

One question re the silicone grease - do I have to take the cores out to grease them, or can I get away with putting a smear on the pin and then pumping it a few times?

Ta.

A

jermas

Removing the cores is probably best, but either way will work.

allen-uk

Thanks jermas, appreciated.

A

The Rookie

If the valve is leaking (drawing the sealant to the valve) the sealant is guaranteed to screw up the valve!