News You Can Use

RTA NEWS YOU CAN USE
August 7, 2015

HERE IS ANOTHER INTERESTING LETTER
REGARDING THE CHAMBER FIRE ISSUE

The following email was received from  Michael W. Burgess of Delta First, LLC and we present it to you for your reading interest. If you wish to have more information about Mr. Burgess or his company please contact him directly at the contact information shown at the end of his email.

Mr. Brodsky,

I read with interest the emails you passed on last week about chamber fires from Brian Bordner at Service Truck Tire Centers. In his emails, Mr. Bordner indicated that "Michelin helped us determine that the fires were caused by a combination of casings containing dried up tire sealant residue (which is primarily very small, almost tissue-like particles of what looks like paper) and tires which were dismounted from the wheel using a petroleum based lubricant." He went on to state: "Chamber fires seemed to increase about the same time that tire sealants really became popular and the industry was quick to blame the sealant. The sealant people did laboratory tests to prove that their sealant would not cause a chamber fire.

When we received casings with the tire sealant residue we were washing and vacuuming as much of the sealant residue from the casings although you never get all of it. If you remove some of the dried up residue you will see how similar it is to paper towel or tissue paper. Knowing how easily you can light tissue paper on fire you would never think of leaving a bunch of tissues in a chamber when curing a bunch of retreads, would you."

I have personally been involved in the manufacture of tire sealants for the past 15 years, and I wanted to offer a bit of further insight. Most tire sealants are indeed water based formulations which are made with various particulates mixed into the fluid. Most sealants have a wide variety of such particulates, as they operate on much the same principle as a beaver dam, in that they use deliberately differing sizes and shapes of "stuff" to help form the seal that plugs the puncture in the tire. Bored yet? Sorry, didn't mean to get too technical.

The relevant point is this….tire sealant companies have many choices about what particulates and fillers they use in this process. The cheapest particles are indeed cellulose based fibers, which, when the sealant dries up,. will leave a residue that can ignite, much like paper. All reputable tire sealant companies use fibers that are inflammable, at any and all stages of their existence, precisely to avoid this very problem. 

Our firm uses polyester fibers, for example, which will never ignite. Hence, our product has No Flash Point  and has no risk of chamber fires such as Mr. Bordner suspects. To be fair, while all reputable tire sealant manufacturers are careful about this issue, there are, regrettably, some low cost sellers out there who have used such low cost fibers in their products in the past and who could be the source of such problems as are mentioned by Mr. Bordner.

So, my advice to all in the industry is simply this…always ask what the particulates are that are used in any tire sealant you are thinking of buying. You should be able to get a straight forward answer. If you aren't sure what the chemical means (say, cellulose) google it, and you will quickly see if it is flammable or not.

Avoid those sealants, usually the low-priced stuff, that use cellulose fibers for precisely the reasons that Mr. Bordner suggests. While some will say there is no proof that cellulose fibers can cause chamber fires, I do agree with Mr. Bordner that there is no reason to take such a risk, especially when there are a number of quality, safe, tire sealants available out there from companies (like us!).

Regards,
Michael W. Burgess
Delta First, LLC
105 Bucknell Court, Suite B
Atlanta, GA 30336
Phone: 404-349-2560
Fax:      404-349-7066
www.deltafirst.com

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
"When you get into business,
things aren't always going to go right,
so you have to be persistent."
~Herald Smith