Starting Fluid

I came to the truck stop this morning after a full week of a flu vacation, and one tire was completely flat, just hanging around the wheel. I heard about setting it back with gasoline, but I didn't have it anyway, and never tried before, plus I got an advice to use starting fluid. As they say, the result exceeded my expectations! Now this fluid is number one item in my supplies list :-)

Ummmmm..

WoW?

Sounds dangerous, but .. the old guy isn't home for me to ask, hahaha!! Ether is as good as duck (duct) tape, eh?

He carries an 'air pump' thingy that plugs into the cig lighter and airs up a tire ... quickly & safely!

Kudos to ya; glad you are 'un sick!' Man, Idk about yours.. we have this;

Stay SAFE, rogue one!! LoL!

~ Anne ~

SMH.... Go on YouTube and watch some Darwin Award candidates blowing themselves up "fixing" tires. Call road service for national accounts.

I kind of agree with packrat here. Yes if your an O/O and running a shoestring budget then maybe that is worth the risk. But any larger company worth its salt is gonna have a national tire account n you can just call road service.

Trucks are “internal combustion”. Introducing “external combustion” makes me nervous. Playing with fire is like, well, playing with fire.

Here are a few things. 1) My company is small and doesn't have any national accounts. My boss changes oil and tires himself. 2) I had a pick up appointment in an hour in 30 miles, so there was no time for calling and waiting. 3) There is zero risk in spraying a tiny bit of starting fluid into the tire - zero risk, but lots of fun, believe me...

There is zero risk in spraying a tiny bit of starting fluid into the tire - zero risk, but lots of fun, believe me...

I'm sure it was lots of fun, but can you honestly say there is zero risk to creating a mini-explosion that blows the tire back onto the bead? I've watched people do it a million times so I know the process. There's risk to it. Starting fluid works in the first place because it explodes in the cylinder the same way gasoline or diesel does.

I looked up the safety sheet on starting fluid. Here is what it lists:

• H222 - Extremely flammable aerosol
• H280 - Contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated
• H315 - Causes skin irritation
• H336 - May cause drowsiness or dizziness
• H351 - Suspected of causing cancer
• H361 - Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child

So if you rule out dangers like catching fire, exploding, causing cancer, causing skin irritation, or making you sterile then I agree it's 100% safe.

I really, genuinely like you Andrey. I do. You're fun to have around and you have a strong spirit. I don't think your idea of 100% safe is the same as mine, but I do admire your resourcefulness in getting that tire fixed. It was, in fact, somewhat dangerous and I wouldn't recommend that people try it unless they understand it could explode in their face and that's a risk they think is worth taking but I'm glad it worked out for you.

I've worked for several very small companies over the years so I know what it's like. In fact, that's why I always recommend large carriers. They make life soooo much easier on their drivers. So at a small company, sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

We used to use starting fluid in west Virginia for setting a bead, heck, back before the internet.

A much safer method is use a bit of Vaseline or grade on the side of the tire not on the rim edge, pull the rim tight to the other bead and fill with air. The grease or Vaseline will create enough of a seal that the tire will hold enough air to seat both beads. Makes a heck of a racket when the second bead sets.

Starting fluid can cause LOTS of damage, if not used in the right amount ! When I worked for WM we had a morning mechanic (my friends dad, who just passed away at 81) He would start the fleet up in the wee hours. Well back then the trucks used a ford 4 cylinder diesel, to run all the hydraulics (side motor). Well, when 1 wouldn't start, he'd blast, wayyyy too much into the air cleaner, and BAMMM ! Broken crankshafts ! At least 2 a day ! My dad would get mad n tell our super NOT to buy that crap, OR NOT let, Mr Johnny, get ahold of any ! Pop's was getting fed up having to replace them crankshafts all the time, I changed a few in my time as well.

Now,one time at the swap meet, a guy had a drag VW bug on a trailer, trying to sell. As we walked past, his buddy was spraying a ton of that fluid, down the velocity stacks on the side draft carb, as the owner was cranking it over !!.....A crowd had grown around, waiting, and watching, for that beetle's race engine to light! I said "Let's get as far away as we can, this idiots gunna blow this thing up!" Don't wanna be near it, when it fires! I said it loud enough, so people heard me and might get out of the way hahaha.

About 30 minutes, later, quite a ways away, we FINALLY heard the beast fire up! I dunno if anything bad happened, but it wouldn't shock me if it had lol.....Some people just should leave well enough alone

I’m curious about using starting fluid. I saw the videos and wouldn’t try this myself. What if the fire migrated to the inside of the tire? If there was air pressure being put into the tire (think oxygen), wouldn’t that cause the tire to explode? I’d prefer to die in my bed with pleasant dreams.