Puncture repair

josip

The front left has had a very slow puncture for the last couple of years.
Too lazy to get it fixed up to now, a top up every 3-4 weeks was enough for it.
Out foreign at the moment and doing 800km tomorrow in 35C at 130kph for most of it so I decided it would be better to get it fixed.
At home, when I've gotten a tubeless repaired, both tyre guys I go to, have always fixed a tubeless puncture by sticking in a tube. Job done in 3 minutes.
Out here, the guy took off the wheel, dunked it in a barrel of water to find the leak, and then used a repair plug to fix the puncture. I never knew such a thing existed. Job done in 5 minutes.
At home I get charged €10 to fix a puncture. Here it was €4.
Out here, labour is cheap and things are relatively expensive.

Are both approaches of equal quality/reliability or are they decided solely on the cost of labour/materials.

pippip

Plug is the only repair ive ever got for puncture. Generally €10, never had any problems.

galvo_clare

Putting a tube into a modern tyre is a bad idea. It can overheat. The plug is a better way to go but a patch is the best.
If the damage is on the sidewall it's time to ditch the tyre.

josip wrote: »

At home, when I've gotten a tubeless repaired, both tyre guys I go to, have always fixed a tubeless puncture by sticking in a tube. Job done in 3 minutes.
Out here, the guy took off the wheel, dunked it in a barrel of water to find the leak, and then used a repair plug to fix the puncture. I never knew such a thing existed. Job done in 5 minutes.

biko

Depending on puncture type and location a repair can be from anywhere from free to a new tyre.

VincePP

local guy to me plugs it - says "see you when you need a replacement" and I'm on the way.

Obviously if its a slow puncture, they may need to take the wheel off to find it and I would expect a charge then, but for a "turn the wheel, pulll the nail out and plug it" job, many do it free if you are a known regular customer and it takes about minute.

savagethegoat

plugs always worked well for me and generally can be done without taking the wheel/tyre off

VeVeX

Plugs are not a permanent repair.

A tyre shop that plugs punctures should be avoided unless its done as a temporary measure and the customer is made aware of its temporary nature.

BS AU159 is the standard regarding repairs to a punctured tubeless tyres. If your tyre shop is not repairing tyres to this standard they are not doing their job properly and they are putting your safety at risk.

BS AU159 - http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Minor-repairs-to-passenger-car-and-light-van-tyres.pdf

tphase

I do all my own puncture repairs with plugs, never had a problem

pippip

VeVeX wrote: »

Plugs are not a permanent repair.

A tyre shop that plugs punctures should be avoided unless its done as a temporary measure and the customer is made aware of its temporary nature.

BS AU159 is the standard regarding repairs to a punctured tubeless tyres. If your tyre shop is not repairing tyres to this standard they are not doing their job properly and they are putting your safety at risk.

BS AU159 - http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Minor-repairs-to-passenger-car-and-light-van-tyres.pdf

I think you're reading that wrong. It states plugs applied "externally" are not acceptable. I've only ever had them applied internally.

VeVeX

tphase wrote: »

I do all my own puncture repairs with plugs, never had a problem

Congratulations.

pippip wrote: »

I think you're reading that wrong. It states plugs applied "externally" are not acceptable. I've only ever had them applied internally.

This is a plug and the tool used to insert them -



Plugs are inserted into a tyre from the outside (externally) without the tyre being removed from the wheel.

pablo128

pippip wrote: »

I think you're reading that wrong. It states plugs applied "externally" are not acceptable. I've only ever had them applied internally.

Then its not a plug. Its a patch or a mushroom patch, both of which are the correct way to repair a puncture.

jimbis

Just because their not recognised as acceptable to the British standard doesn't mean they are dangerous. How many of you would use the 'new puncture repair sealant' that seals punctures as you get them? It's backed by the dragons den so the average joe would think it's great. Yet it's on the British standards no no list aswel.

I have never ever had an external plug leak on me, yet i have had patches leak. And that's with track day driving too.
External plugs are fine once the puncture is in an acceptable spot for it.

Plugs 'can' go wrong if the tyre is driven way past its legal thread depth, where a well repaired patch won't. But you shouldn't be driving on a tyre that bad in the first place. I've still yet to see a plug fail.

pablo128

jimbis wrote: »

Just because their not recognised as acceptable to the British standard doesn't mean they are dangerous. How many of you would use the 'new puncture repair sealant' that seals punctures as you get them? It's backed by the dragons den so the average joe would think it's great. Yet it's on the British standards no no list aswel.

I have never ever had an external plug leak on me, yet i have had patches leak. And that's with track day driving too.
External plugs are fine once the puncture is in an acceptable spot for it.

Plugs 'can' go wrong if the tyre is driven way past its legal thread depth, where a well repaired patch won't. But you shouldn't be driving on a tyre that bad in the first place. I've still yet to see a plug fail.

In my days working in tyre centres I saw more plugs fail than patches. And the main reason you would use a patch is that you don't get to inspect the inside of the tyre with a plug. You might not see external damage on a sidewall from driving on it, but the inside could be shredded. I have had customers swear blind they didn't drive on it while flat but the inside would be in bits.

As well, you could find an extra couple of screws or nails that weren't even leaking.

VeVeX

jimbis wrote: »

Just because their not recognised as acceptable to the British standard doesn't mean they are dangerous. How many of you would use the 'new puncture repair sealant' that seals punctures as you get them? It's backed by the dragons den so the average joe would think it's great. Yet it's on the British standards no no list aswel.

I have never ever had an external plug leak on me, yet i have had patches leak. And that's with track day driving too.
External plugs are fine once the puncture is in an acceptable spot for it.

Plugs 'can' go wrong if the tyre is driven way past its legal thread depth, where a well repaired patch won't. But you shouldn't be driving on a tyre that bad in the first place. I've still yet to see a plug fail.

As pablo128 said the issue with plugs is that the tyre is not inspected properly not that it may leak in the future. Very regularly we see tyres presented with punctures, they look fine from the outside but are damaged internally, something a guy doing plugs wouldn't see. It's also the reason why aftermarket tyre sealant's are also not recognised as a permanent repair. Proper inspection of the tyre is critical, just as critical as fixing the puncture itself. If an internal inspection is not carried out the tyre could be dangerous.