How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
(OP)
I have some new, unused tires which recently went out of production.
Because they are so damn good I want to store them so that I can use them in future (assume I want to store them for 10-20 years).
The problem with rubber seems to be the fact that the softening agent evaporates with time and makes the tire more hard and brittle. So how can I prevent that from happening?
So far I have heard about the following solutions:
1. Put each tire in a polyethylene plastic bag and weld it so it becomes air tight. Personally I know that polyethylene is not 100% air tight itself as it lets air diffuse through the material very slowly with time. The reason for this solution is to stop the evaporation of
softening agent so one gets an over saturated atmosphere within the bag blocking for further evaporation. I don't know, but introducing a vacuum in the bag might accelerate the evaporation and an over pressure might maybe decelerate the evaporation. Any explanations?
2. Put all the tires in a box filled with talcum.
3. Coat every tire with silicone (using a silicone spray) and let them hang from the ceiling fixed at only two points keeping the tire completely circular.
Of course, all rubber should be stored cool, dry and dark (preferably in a basement).
Anyone with hands-on suggestions, experience etc etc??
regards lucas
PS: Suggestions using liquid nitrogen does not apply
Because they are so damn good I want to store them so that I can use them in future (assume I want to store them for 10-20 years).
The problem with rubber seems to be the fact that the softening agent evaporates with time and makes the tire more hard and brittle. So how can I prevent that from happening?
So far I have heard about the following solutions:
1. Put each tire in a polyethylene plastic bag and weld it so it becomes air tight. Personally I know that polyethylene is not 100% air tight itself as it lets air diffuse through the material very slowly with time. The reason for this solution is to stop the evaporation of
softening agent so one gets an over saturated atmosphere within the bag blocking for further evaporation. I don't know, but introducing a vacuum in the bag might accelerate the evaporation and an over pressure might maybe decelerate the evaporation. Any explanations?
2. Put all the tires in a box filled with talcum.
3. Coat every tire with silicone (using a silicone spray) and let them hang from the ceiling fixed at only two points keeping the tire completely circular.
Of course, all rubber should be stored cool, dry and dark (preferably in a basement).
Anyone with hands-on suggestions, experience etc etc??
regards lucas
PS: Suggestions using liquid nitrogen does not apply





RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
Tyres become brittle because of atmospheric attack by ozone, oxygen and even sulfides. Light is also bad, specially UV. Moisture or water vapor can damage some of the chemical components as well. Keeping cool and hanging or changing the position once in a while will reduce deformation set.
BTW, one would expect the industry to be producing better tyres in10-20 yrs.!
Regards,
Giacaglia
RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
David
RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
R J Del Vecchio
Technical Consulting Services
(consultant in Applied Rubber Technology)
RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
Wil
RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
If the tires were that good, why did they go out of production?
RE: How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???
prolongued periods. Besides the commonly known procedures
for storing rubber ( cool-dark-away from uv sources)
it should be stored in an oxygene reduced atmosphere.
For this purpose we use commercially available oxygen
absorbants ( in small bags including oxygen indicator
tabs) and pack the samples in aluminium/pe sandwich foil.
These bags produce some humidity, so we add some bags
with silicia gel.
For tyres I would use parafin for additional protection
of the side walls to prevent drying out.
Delazap