Has anyone ever heard of exploding Fix-A -Flat? I had to use it last night on my truck which I normally wouldn't have done but it seems like we have some really stupid people working in tire shops here in New Jersey who replaced my spare with one from someone's truck with 5 lugs unlike mine which have 6. Well anyway I put some in last night made it to a gas station filled the tire and made it home. On my way in to work the tire blew up like a hand grenade. My saving grace was I was just pulling onto the highway so I was not up to speed. More than one guy at work said that they heard about it exploding so I went online and I have gotten mixed reports so I am going to a more reliable source of information fellow HAMB members. The really annoying part almost as much as the rip off toeing charge is that I've carried this stuff in the saddlebags of my bikes and in my cars for years. So what do you all have to say about it myth or fact?
I remember hearing about the same thing years ago. Don't know if it was the propellant or what. Also the viscus sealing agent will puddle in the tire and cause an out of balance condition, supposedly.
I have used it many times to roll cars and old farm equipment on to trailers that have sat till the tires were weather checked and flat, split rubber etc. and even drove or towed a few for short distances. I have never seen one blow. Not saying they couldn't. ?????
C an you tell us more about that tireBEFORE you used that product? What I mean is that let's say a certain brand of Radial might be more likely to separate or fly apart without that product...IF> it had some sort of damage? from sitting flat for a long time in ZERO degree F temps...then the tire is mis-shaped and driving it, it fell apart? Also, those F series Trucks years ago with tires letting go...>>>those were lab tested, I THINK, and the tire had previous pothole-caused, hidden damage to the steel belts, then took weeks or more of driving until the kinks in the steel wires broke! Just saying, that every damn time I assume anything in life, I am WRONG if I don't think on it overnight! LOL, but serious..
I'm guessing the nail/whatever that caused the flat cut a belt and weakened the tire. You put the Fix-a-Flat in, then overfilled the tire at the gas station. Finally the next day you drove even farther on the bad tire and it gave up the ghost. Why did you drive even farther on the bad tire? I always laugh at the doofuss driving down the highway on the space saver spare that has obviously been on the car for weeks (dirty as the rest of the car, not fresh from the trunk). You probably got what you deserved. Sorry.
In my two-time experience with that stuff (I still keep a can and a plug kit in my rod), the fix a flat provides a seal and a certain amount of air pressure. After you drive the car the sealant levels out all around the tire and dries. I never had an imbalanced tire after using it. Further, as long as you don't exceed your vehicles recommended air pressure (combining the fix a flat pressure and any extra air to bring it up to the factory specs), I don't see any reason it should go bang like it did. Any other potential heat sources? Stray bullet holes? Gary
I put the FAF in it late last night to get home and was on my way to the tire shop which is on my way to work maybe traveled 5 miles total, tire was still in excellent condition lot of tread life left Good Year Wrangler Radial so not a cheap tire, even the flatbed driver and the guy who runs the tire shop both said that it looked like the tire exploded. I asked the guy who changed it if there was any chance of finding anything that could have caused the leak he told me both he and the other guy looked but didn't see anything in the tread but hard to say for sure
Didn't know you could still buy the flammable stuff, how old was the can you used? Personally I haven't been near this stuff in a long time 15+ years. Anyway the flammable fix a flat did work better than the non-flammable, but you were to warn the tire tech about what was in there so he didn't blow himself up breaking the tire down. I'd be willing to suspect another reason for the blow out. Alchemy has presented a believable explanation. I do hope the tire and your wallet were the only damage done. -Dave
I've used it in a have too situation with no issues. Keep in mind that a tire can blow/separate at any time in it's life span. I had a brand spanking new trailer tire blow and do $1100 worth of damage to my RV, what really chapped my hide was I stay on top of the maintenance to prevent such things and it did it anyway, so you never know.
A quick search online shows that here in Sweden one guy died from an exploding "spraycan fixed" flat tyre in 2007, another in 2008, and two in 2009. Details are few, but it seems most of the explosions were caused by attempts to weld leaks through the rim with the tyre still mounted.
This is what I recall too...tire is opened up to change, guy's cigarette drops in, and a flash fire started. Worst I recall was singed hair/eyebrows.
As a coworker just brought up one possibility may be that the nail or screw what ever was causing my slow leak rubbed the steel cords of the tire causing the spark that cost me $250 plus dollar this morning
I always carry a can of it when we hit the beaches of N.C. when we go surf fishing in case of a flat on the beach.I have also used in my tractors and lawn mower tires with no problems.Bruce.
had someone have a tire explode on our car trailer using a can of fix a flat. stuff is Nasty! makes a mess in the tire. the old cans use to have instructions to purge the tire with air after rolling to seal the leak. unfortunately a lot of people never read that far.
As far as I know way back then (90's) some of the fix-a-flat cans were flammable, I ran a tire shop and we were not allowed to work on tires that had the fix a flat when they came in to the shop (back then people smoked everywhere, restaurants, shops etc.) I am probably wrong; but my humble opinion is you experienced a blowup due to the tire being under or underinflated (either is bad news and can cause a blowout) even though it was a short distance that you traveled back to safety.
Tire shops I worked in and have been around hated tires with fix a flat in them as it leaves a gummy coating inside the tire that makes it a pain in the butt to patch right from the inside. I'm going to go along with those that say that there was a problem with the tire it's self that caused it to blow. Probably a separation between the layers of tread plies right at the puncture. Before it got sealed up the pressure created a bubble between the layers. Or you just had crappy luck in the past two days and hit something else in the road that caused it to blow. Possibly hitting some object like a sharp rock right at the spot of the previous hole. I think they don't use it as much now but they used to use propane as the propellant in a lot of spray cans a few years ago. \
I have a buddy who has no car, just a bicycle. he got a flat and bought a can of that stuff and filled his tire, then sat there and looked at it as the tire went down, so he bought another can and filled it up again. so he calls me to maybe give him a ride. come to find out he put the stuff in and did not rotate the tire so it all just puddled up at the bottom.... 2 cans worth.
Probably a good thing he doesn't own a car. Somewhat related, I've pondered what I could put in my wheelbarrow, hand truck etc. tires besides air since they always seem to be flat when I need them. Evidently you can drill an escape hole on the other side of the valve stem and fill with expanding foam. Videos online. Think I'll try Slime first.
I have a friend whose brother was welding a trailer rim that had FAF in it. It blew up and took the top of his head off! The final analysis was that some FAF has propane as a propellant. I do not know which brand it was, or anything more, but I do know NEVER get a tire that has FAF in it overheated or near a flame! Google FAF---older cans used propane or Butane as a propellant.
That stuff was FAMOUS for exploding a long while back. Threw mine away, never bought any more. I'd suggest CHECKING your spare. Springing for AAA, they can fix tires and TOW your vehicle.Membership is well worth the money. Why stake your life or car on being cheap?
^ Now that's VERY interesting and scary! I'm headed out to check on my cans now. Gary PS mine have a "non-flammable" formula. But there are lots of interesting warnings on the can I never read before, like not to use on two wheeled vehicles and that the propellant is still pretty nasty ifn you inhale a bunch of it.
I haven't used the stuff in a car tubeless tire but I have tried it in bike and hand truck inner tubes with no luck. I keep a small portable air compressor and a can of the goop and a roadside assistance phone number in my wife's car...... not in any of mine, except for the phone number, though. In this country, with a lawyer behind every bush, I haven't heard about any big ol' class action law suits.
Cite your "famous findings" please. Are you old enough to know how large tires were inflated to seal? Hint: Gasoline was used.
I know the early stuff in the 90’s was flammable( explosive) when you used it there was even a sticker to put on the rim to warn the tire guy what was in it. Your tire exploding was likely driving under inflated and the tire letting go. Had it happen in my service van before Christmas tire light started flashing then BOOM!! I was going around 130-140 kmh on the highway Got over to the shoulder quick and nothing left of the tire but the beads
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