Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant

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kode54
Posts: 3749
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

cat4forlife wrote:
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:07 pm

Pointed out earlier, I've had 45ml of Orange Seal dry up in 35 days, but that was a near worst case tire scenario. It would have been even worse if during the height of summer. It depends on the tire construction and climate more than anything, but the poster above was using 70mL in a 28mm Pro One TLE and lives in the PNW.

Tire choice and climate affect all sealants.
Fortunately i started keeping track of my maintenance record a couple of years ago using the ProBikeGarage app on iOS so i have the exact dates:

5/12/2021: Schwalbe Pro One TLE 700-28c (rear tire) scrubbed of old sealant and added 2-oz of OS Regular sealant.
7/28/2021 (and a little over 800 miles later): Flatted somewhere in Bellevue (TyreWiz indicated tire pressure went down to 20 PSI and dropping fast). Attempted to inflate the tire using the Lezynne Trigger Drive Co2 inflator but trigger part of the inflator broke. Called ex-teammate who lived nearby for help and he came over with a floor pump. Upon unmounting one side of tire to insert a spare tube, found out the Orange Seal regular sealant was completely dry. One part of the tire had a large piece of amble color dried-out sealant. I suspect had i flatted even two or three weeks earlier, there would not have been enough OS sealant in liquid form to seal the puncture.
I carry a few ounces of sealant just for that purpose. Not knowing if the sealant has dried out.
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ridgick
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by ridgick

I've officially bailed on this experiment. I've used it all up and converted all my wheels/tires back to Stans-Race for now.

Dried out quickly, balled up fibers, messy cleanup, expensive. It's just not worth it for me anymore.

Since this thread is like an advertizement for Orange Seal I'll need to give that consideration again. I tried it a few years ago and it didn't seem to seal at high pressures like Stans-Race does for me. Don't get me wrong, it did seal eventually, but usually only when the pressure got down to 20-30psi. Enough to get me home but scary to rip turns on during a race/crit.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

ridgick wrote:
Thu Jan 26, 2023 4:02 pm
I've officially bailed on this experiment. I've used it all up and converted all my wheels/tires back to Stans-Race for now.

Dried out quickly, balled up fibers, messy cleanup, expensive. It's just not worth it for me anymore.

Since this thread is like an advertizement for Orange Seal I'll need to give that consideration again. I tried it a few years ago and it didn't seem to seal at high pressures like Stans-Race does for me. Don't get me wrong, it did seal eventually, but usually only when the pressure got down to 20-30psi. Enough to get me home but scary to rip turns on during a race/crit.
I actually had pretty much given up on the Silca sealant until they sent me a warranty replacement bottle and i decided to test it in the rear wheel while retaining OS Endurance in the front wheel. I had never experienced the Silca sealant drying out too quickly but the initial two bottles did resulted in carbon fiber balls. So far, the Silca sealant has successfully sealed every single puncture in that tire - i think at least 8 of them - and most of them were sealed with very little tire pressure loss. In terms of clean-up, i don't think it's any less messy than the OS Endurance. I also had two front tire punctures duriung my 1-month trip - on the same ride - and if i remember correctly, it took almost the same effort to clean the dried sealant off my bike. For now, the only things i dislike about the Silca sealants are that the initial install has to be poured in and some of the dried carbon fiber pieces attached can be challenging to remove from the tire.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

kode54 wrote:
Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:15 pm
I carry a few ounces of sealant just for that purpose. Not knowing if the sealant has dried out.
An unscientific method is swinging the wheel from side to side. If you hear sealant sloshing in the wheel, it probably has enough sealant. Occasionally, i also use the dipstick that comes with some Orange Seal sealant products.
IMG_3387.jpeg

whataboutEee
Posts: 117
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:55 pm

by whataboutEee

cat4forlife wrote:
Thu Jan 26, 2023 7:13 pm
ridgick wrote:
Thu Jan 26, 2023 4:02 pm
I've officially bailed on this experiment. I've used it all up and converted all my wheels/tires back to Stans-Race for now.

Dried out quickly, balled up fibers, messy cleanup, expensive. It's just not worth it for me anymore.

Since this thread is like an advertizement for Orange Seal I'll need to give that consideration again. I tried it a few years ago and it didn't seem to seal at high pressures like Stans-Race does for me. Don't get me wrong, it did seal eventually, but usually only when the pressure got down to 20-30psi. Enough to get me home but scary to rip turns on during a race/crit.
I actually had pretty much given up on the Silca sealant until they sent me a warranty replacement bottle and i decided to test it in the rear wheel while retaining OS Endurance in the front wheel. I had never experienced the Silca sealant drying out too quickly but the initial two bottles did resulted in carbon fiber balls. So far, the Silca sealant has successfully sealed every single puncture in that tire - i think at least 8 of them - and most of them were sealed with very little tire pressure loss. In terms of clean-up, i don't think it's any less messy than the OS Endurance. I also had two front tire punctures duriung my 1-month trip - on the same ride - and if i remember correctly, it took almost the same effort to clean the dried sealant off my bike. For now, the only things i dislike about the Silca sealants are that the initial install has to be poured in and some of the dried carbon fiber pieces attached can be challenging to remove from the tire.
how's your rimtape holding up? I had some of the first batch eat a hole in my zipp rim tape in a matter of weeks. After that experience I haven't been willing to try out the replacement batch they sent me. If the carbon balls up and doesn't seal, that can be fixed with a dynaplug, or worst case scenario a tube. When the rim tape fails, best case scenario that's a call to get picked up and worst case scenario that's a rim that explodes because air fills up the carbon an puts pressure in areas that weren't designed for it.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

whataboutEee wrote:
Fri Jan 27, 2023 4:27 pm
how's your rimtape holding up? I had some of the first batch eat a hole in my zipp rim tape in a matter of weeks. After that experience I haven't been willing to try out the replacement batch they sent me. If the carbon balls up and doesn't seal, that can be fixed with a dynaplug, or worst case scenario a tube. When the rim tape fails, best case scenario that's a call to get picked up and worst case scenario that's a rim that explodes because air fills up the carbon an puts pressure in areas that weren't designed for it.
The Muc Off rim tape was in good shape after 5 months.

dvq
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:36 pm

by dvq

I tried to like this sealant but everything mentioned in this thread I witnessed even after ordering a replacement bottle later.

- Balling up
- Drying out very quickly
- Melting / Disolving multiple rim tapes including just full separation of adhesive on some.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

dvq wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:31 am
I tried to like this sealant but everything mentioned in this thread I witnessed even after ordering a replacement bottle later.

- Balling up
- Drying out very quickly
- Melting / Disolving multiple rim tapes including just full separation of adhesive on some.
When did you order the replacement bottle? Did you order direct from Silca?

dvq
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:36 pm

by dvq

cat4forlife wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:33 am
dvq wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:31 am
I tried to like this sealant but everything mentioned in this thread I witnessed even after ordering a replacement bottle later.

- Balling up
- Drying out very quickly
- Melting / Disolving multiple rim tapes including just full separation of adhesive on some.
When did you order the replacement bottle? Did you order direct from Silca?

Few months after release and their revision, and yes of course direct. I love every other Silca product I have and I've got many, but this sealant is just not for me.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

dvq wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:20 am
cat4forlife wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:33 am
dvq wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:31 am
I tried to like this sealant but everything mentioned in this thread I witnessed even after ordering a replacement bottle later.

- Balling up
- Drying out very quickly
- Melting / Disolving multiple rim tapes including just full separation of adhesive on some.
When did you order the replacement bottle? Did you order direct from Silca?

Few months after release and their revision, and yes of course direct. I love every other Silca product I have and I've got many, but this sealant is just not for me.
My first two bottles (1st bottle purchased direct from Silca 3/23/2022, second bottle purchased from Amazon 5/9/2022) had the carbon fiber coagulating into balls issue. The one sent by Silca as a warranty replacement in early September 2022 does not have that issue.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12456
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Got a medium sized cut on a GP5K S TR that is practically at the end of its life... Orange Seal did not seal it, so I tried some Silca Ultimate. It did seal, but a bunch of sealant gushed out. When I tried to push the tire pressure up to 90psi, the puncture erupted and all the sealant flushed out. I then started over and left it at 70psi overnight.

Today I inspected the tire and the puncture area was damp. I inflated the tire past 90psi and it held, but the puncture was bulging. I then deflated the tire and took it off to inspect the innards. A ball of carbon fiber was present on the inside of the puncture, but a gentle nudge made if fall off. There were no carbon strands actually in the puncture, only "on top" of it. There was also a fairly large piece of carbon fiber in the balled up mass. I still think the destruction of various rim tapes is the result of these carbon fiber balls. They probably end up fairly abrasive with the ends of each individual strand sticking out.

It's just not worth the risk experimenting with this stuff, especially not right now with road season having started.

bobones
Posts: 1271
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:19 am

by bobones

Not being able to inject it through the valve is the show stopper for me. The potential for mess is far too high, especially if you have a tyre/rim combo that is difficult to inflate and seat. I've also had it apparently eat a hole through a valve stem, so there seems to be something corrosive about it given this and reports of it eating rim tape.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12456
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by TobinHatesYou

Here is one of the larger carbon fiber pieces that was balled up. It’s made up of many strands and when I rub it between my fingers it disintegrates into carbon dust.
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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

bobones wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:24 am
Not being able to inject it through the valve is the show stopper for me. The potential for mess is far too high, especially if you have a tyre/rim combo that is difficult to inflate and seat. I've also had it apparently eat a hole through a valve stem, so there seems to be something corrosive about it given this and reports of it eating rim tape.
Strange, i bought an injector from Silca. So it should be made to be injected through a valve.
They also sell valve cores which is reportedly working for injecting sealant through (never done that though)
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jadedaid
Posts: 185
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:43 pm

by jadedaid

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 4:40 am

It's just not worth the risk experimenting with this stuff, especially not right now with road season having started.
Do you think the sealant is damaging the wheel itself?

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