Flat Tire Sealing Aerosols - Explosion Hazard??

[Phred]

Has anyone had experience with a fire or explosion related to tire sealant, packaged in aerosol cans, after it has been installed in a vehicle tire? I read the warning on two different brands; neither one said very much about the length of time the material remains dangerous after being injected into the tire.


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Phred from Ohio
Phred322@aol.com (http://Phred322@aol.com)

[adarty]

If I recall correctly these products (or at least one brand) use either propane or butane as the pressurizing agent. More environmentally friendly than the old freon pressurizing agent but now also extremely flammable. I believe that the use labels on these products recommend that after filling the tire you should drive several miles to allow the product to flow to the puncture and plug it, then tire should be deflated & refilled with air. Most people that I know who use this stuff never do deflate & refill.
In my area a few years back farmers used propane as an alternate fuel for farm vehicles. Many of the farmers rigged a hose from the tank so they could inflate tires in the field from the propane tank. I'm just glad that the cost of gasoline has gone down and that diesel trucks have become more popular around here. We see very few of these trucks with propane tanks now. Whew!!!

[Capez]

Did you actually have somthing like that happen? If so what was the ignition source? I understand that the wheel on a vehicle gets hot during use, especially under heavy braking condidtions, but unless the mixture in the tire is within flamable limits that shouldn't be a problem. The propelant should raise the level in the tire well beyond the UEL as long as it was flat when the product was used. Unless the party did let the propellant out of the tire and re-filled the tire in the right proportion to get to at least the LEL. Then I could see a problem.

Lt. Alexis J. Capezza
Canton Fire & EMS
CFEI, CFII

[This message has been edited by Capez (edited 01-21-99).]