Sealant in an unused wheelset

[sjbraun]

We’ll be making our annual pilgrimage from Tucson to Corvallis soon, (not so much to escape the heat, but more so to see the grandkids.)
My Pegoretti won’t be making the trip, so its sealant filled tires will not move for a little over three months. Do I need to remove the tires and purge the sealant? I’m worried I’ll come home to a hardened, congealed mass of Stan’s in my wheel

Thx

[Jaybee]

You probably will. In which case the solution will be to remove the tires, peel out the Stans booger, and remount and refill your tires. Do it now, do it later, doesn't matter. Though I find it a bit easier to do after it's a lump.

[giordana93]

depends on how long ago they were topped off and with how much sealant. I would try to remove the sealant if it were pretty full, like an ounce or so, just to avoid removing a bugger later. but it is not that big a deal to let it dry out and remove before you set them up again upon return. In either case, you don't have to pull the whole tire off. Just get an edge of the bead off and let it spill out. If you can't really hear the sealant sloshing around when you shake the wheels, I would not worry about it.

[axel23]

This is exactly why I use tubes. We move back and forth to Oregon and dealing with goo isn't worth the hassle. Roads are certainly more free of glass and debris than they once were and (thankfully) no issue with pinch flats at 75 lbs of pressure.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by axel23

This is exactly why I use tubes. We move back and forth to Oregon and dealing with goo isn't worth the hassle. Roads are certainly more free of glass and debris than they once were and (thankfully) no issue with pinch flats at 75 lbs of pressure.

Paceline Bingo!!

[kppolich]

Leave the sealant as is in the Peg and take the 10 mins to clean it out before you refresh the sealant or just refresh over the top of the old stuff if using the same brand when you return.

[AngryScientist]

lol. i bet the next innovation will be a watch winder for tubeless wheels

As above, pull the tires when you get home, clean out the dried stuff, refill and you'll be good to go. Dry sealant is easier to clean than wet IMO.

Have a fun trip!

[NHAero]

I would use something like the KOM Cycling syringe to remove as much sealant as possible and start over upon returning.

[gbcoupe]

I'm sure someone in the area would be happy to spin the wheels while you're away. I'd offer, but I'm not local.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by gbcoupe

I'm sure someone in the area would be happy to spin the wheels while you're away. I'd offer, but I'm not local.

Spinning the wheels weekly or every few days is what I do to prevent air loss in tubeless tires, seems to really work.

But if the sealant is thickening, having it spread around can make it a total bear to remove later, I've known people to discard tires that were coated internally with globby sealant, and it's taken me lengths of time and blistered thumbs trying to clean out a tire with dried sealant in it.

What is needed (but will perhaps never be sold) is a thinner for sealant, replacing what's lost to evaporation/diffusion. Apparently you can't just use plain water, maybe needs some ammonia added to it?
It won't be sold because of the liokelihood/certainty that someone will add too much, and then complain (or sue?) because the sealing didn't work.
It would also reduce profits on the sale of new sealant, unless priced comparably (and of course it would get "knocked off" by sellers on Ali-, who can sell anything without risking assets).

[jasonification]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

lol. i bet the next innovation will be a watch winder for tubeless wheels

As above, pull the tires when you get home, clean out the dried stuff, refill and you'll be good to go. Dry sealant is easier to clean than wet IMO.

Have a fun trip!

Feels like that idea is a kickstarter campaign waiting to happen

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

You probably will. In which case the solution will be to remove the tires, peel out the Stans booger, and remount and refill your tires. Do it now, do it later, doesn't matter. Though I find it a bit easier to do after it's a lump.

This is likely the answer. ^^^^^^^

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I would use something like the KOM Cycling syringe to remove as much sealant as possible and start over upon returning.

This is what I would do. No need to remove the tire and do all that time consuming cleanout. Just inject fresh sealant the next time you use the bike months later.

[rab]

Where is the bike/wheels being stored? Cool/indoors - leave it and top off upon return.
Tucson garage - take it out now if you want to play it safe.

Longer answer:
There are a lot of things that can go on. For Stan’s, probably Water loss biggest concern. If well sealed and not getting too warm it will stick around a while. Water loss will make latex coagulation more likely. Second thing is how the tire is absorbing the propylene glycol or whatever Stan’s uses. If the tires tend to weep then more likely to dry out. If not then a top off upon return should be good.

Spinning regularly won’t necessarily help so I wouldn’t worry about that. Think about it this way - a bottle of Stan’s well sealed can sit in shelf for months and easily mix.

Fwiw I’ve left mtb wheels in Phoenix garage for months w Stan’s (inadvertently) and still had liquid. What the ratio is hard to say but a top off w a couple ounces was fine. Wouldn’t recommend garage storage though hut point is a well sealed wheel with a tire construction that’s a good barrier can hold stable for a while.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Leave the sealant as is in the Peg and take the 10 mins to clean it out before you refresh the sealant or just refresh over the top of the old stuff if using the same brand when you return.

I had a situation where my sealant dried up on an unused mountain bike and the beads were glued to the rims so I couldn't remove the tires. I injected fresh sealant and after some period of time, that unstuck the beads.