beach cart tire tube broken ?'s

i just got back from hawaii (work trip unfortunately) and my TI's beach cradle cart has a flat. i aired the tire up and a few hours later it was flat again. the tube part where you attach an air pump too will not hold the air inside, guess there is a pin or something that is not there anymore so as soon as i fill it up with air it rushes back out when i pull off the pump. i was hoping the cap would hold the air in since i don't hear air coming out after putting air in it and putting the cap on but after a few hours it was flat.

initially i thought i would just replace the entire tire/wheel if this is even possible but would like to try other solutions first. is the tire itself replaceable or is it mounted to the wheel? i have some extra tire/wheel caps so i am going to put some epoxy in the cap and try to put it on after airing up the tire to see if that stops it from leaking.

unfortunately my beach cart thing is all rusted out and it may not be easy to pull the wheel off since when just inspecting the pin thingy that holds it on and trying to move it around, half of it snapped off in my hand...

i love living at the beach/ocean but it is rough on metals. thanks for suggestions.

Does your wheel have a Schrader valve?
If so just replace the valve core:
http://www.wheeleez.com/repair.php#panel3

Sounds familiar. Had the same problem (flat tire) and thought it's the valve. Since no bike shop in the Philippines had the tools to take out the valve or any spare valves gave it to a gas station with tire services. They put the blown up tire in a bucket full of water and found out there was a small hole on the side of the tire. Brought it then to a vulcanizing shop down the road, who somehow managed to put some rubber over the hole and fixed it.

Suggest you check first if there is really no hole in the tire before you try to fix the valve.

Peace
Serbi

The WheelEez tires should only require something hot (soldering iron) to melt a hole close if that's the leak. Replace/install the valve otherwise.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

I had a similar problem with a wheeleez tire, mine was punctured by a sharp sea shell. Kayak bob is correct, the grey is urethane thermoplastic (not vulcanized rubber), so minor repairs can be made with the careful use of a solder iron. However I found even with sealed tires they tended to leak air and had to be checked often. I found a tire sealant at Walmart in the bike department called Slime, which is a green goo you pump a small amount into the tire that prevents it from leaking air, and self seals small leaks. Worked great for me, obviously if your valve is broken that's a different problem.
Hope this helps
Bob

Yep, Slime has helped a lot on Wheeleez slow leaks.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

i think it is the valve since i can hear and feel air rushing out of it. thanks for the info, i've seen the tools used before, actually many times, just never had the need to do it myself. so now i will find a bike repair shop and see about getting the stuff to fix it with.

thanks a bunch for the info, i was really thinking about having to replace much more than just that. will report back if it works, but i do have confidence in the problem/fix...

A Schrader Valve cap looks like this and you should be able to find them at any bicycle shop or auto parts store.
It double as a tire valve cap and a tool to remove and install the shrader valve by lining up the slot in the top of the cap to the valve.

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bike shop here didn't have anything, go figure. but i got a little mini screw driver tool from an auto parts store that did the trick. so far no air rushing out and is holding air for an hour now. i think its good to go. thanks again guys for the help.

all good.