Finding a slow leak in a tube

[[email protected]]

There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the pressure
to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed it in water,
but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and sit there for an
hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my time. Any suggestions?
Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that would open the whole larger?
It is schrader.

Thanks

Tom

 

[Martin Borsje]

[email protected] pretended :
> There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the pressure
> to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed it in water,
> but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and sit there for an
> hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my time. Any suggestions?
> Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that would open the whole larger?
> It is schrader.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

PUmp it up to a higher pressure (the inner tube only); make it
leg-thick.

The tube diam increases as well the hole dimensions.

If you don't find a leak then, immersed in water is was the valve that
leaked.

If no success:

1. pump every other day
2. buy a new inner tube

Please share your results

kr

Martin

 

[Leo Lichtman]

"Martin Borsje" wrote some good stuff.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sometimes a particle of dirt gets into valve, and it may no longer be there.
If you are determined to track this down, use a round wash tub with water so
hou can immerse the entire tube, holding it down with bricks if necessary.
Put liquid diswashing detergent in the water, so bubbles will form at the
surface and sort of collect. Then come back after several hours and you may
find out where to really look.

Of course, we both recognize that all this trouble is not worth the cost of
a tube.

 

[Larry Dickman]

In article <[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

> There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the pressure
> to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed it in water,
> but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and sit there for an
> hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my time. Any suggestions?
> Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that would open the whole larger?
> It is schrader.

I have the same issue with 2 tubes. On one, the lone patch has rubber
cracks. I suspect the leak is coming from there. Personally, if you
can't find a leak when the pumped up tube is under water, it's not worth
the trouble so throw it out.

 

[[email protected]]

On Oct 28, 2:21 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the pressure
> to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed it in water,
> but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and sit there for an
> hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my time. Any suggestions?
> Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that would open the whole larger?
> It is schrader.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

I agree with the others, that it is usually not worth a lot of time to
find the bad spot on the tube.

The OEM rims that came with my folder have a sharp unfinished edge, at
the valve stem hole. Over time, the sharp edge cut the tube. If I had
not noticed this, a new replacement tube in the bad rim would have
suffered the same fate.

Jay

 

[[email protected]]

On Oct 28, 3:21 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the pressure
> to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed it in water,
> but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and sit there for an
> hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my time. Any suggestions?
> Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that would open the whole larger?
> It is schrader.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

You may try putting a thin layer of dish soap around the tube while
it's inflated a good amount. It shouldn't take more than a few drops
spread with your fingers to coat the tube, and the leak will slowly
produce bubbles. Another faster (if you have the stuff lying around)
but slightly less effective option is to spray a 60/40 dishsoap/water
ratio through a spray bottle, with the nozzle adjusted to give a
foaming spray. Again, the leak should bubble.

 

[[email protected]]

Larry Dickman writes:

>> There is a slow leak in my tube. Took around two days for the
>> pressure to go down. I pumped up the tube quite alot, and placed
>> it in water, but no bubble. I guess I could be real patient, and
>> sit there for an hour or so, but tubes a less expensive than my
>> time. Any suggestions? Should I squeeze the tube alot, and that
>> would open the whole larger? It is Schrader.

> I have the same issue with 2 tubes. On one, the lone patch has
> rubber cracks. I suspect the leak is coming from there.
> Personally, if you can't find a leak when the pumped up tube is
> under water, it's not worth the trouble so throw it out.

OK. If it is a high pressure leak, try testing the whole wheel by
cleaning the inflated tire in a sink with dish detergent (not dish
washer detergent) and don't rinse it. In a short time, this will
usually reveal an area with extremely fine foam generated through the
tire casing.

Jobst Brandt