Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Well I ended up using the bottle of CO2 that sits inside the spare tire after one of my tires blew out on the highway last month. I'm having a heck of a time finding a place to re-fill it.

I stopped by Discount Tire. They'd never even heard of a system like that. They suggested go to GM. I went to a Pontiac dealer. They don't have an adaptor that would fit the nozzle on it. Tried a sporting goods store. Nope. Army Surplus store. Nope. O'Reillys didn't have anything either.

I know I can't be the only person that's pumped up their spare tire with the CO2 bottle. Where did you get your's refilled at?

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

I haven't, but I was told you can get it charged at a fire extinguisher service company.

Lon

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Never had one but I do get a 15 lb CO2 tank filled up at the welding supply store. Any chance of posting a pic of the bottle to see what sort of connection it has?

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Would one of those cans of fix a flat work?

I think they're supposed to help reinflate a tire... so you get that white crap all inside your spare...

Would mean you'd need a new spare, new fix-a-flat, and a new regular tire too...

But hey, it would get you home...

I suppose you could use it on the tire too, now that I think of it...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

They used to be fairly common at the junkyard.... might still be, since they came in ALOT of cars.... easier than refilling one. I'm not even sure it's legal to refill them, as you know alot of things like that are that way by law. Use it up, throw it away and get another. Like propane cylinders and such.

Dizturbed One

I don't know about getting one refilled, but I do know that you can buy can's of compressed air made just for inflating tires up. May as well try and pick one of those up to replace it if you can't find a way to refill the original.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Here is a picture of the bottle.

L69norm

Buy a little 12VDC portable air compressor for like $10

Duracell Bunny

Who needs a stikin' spare tire and all that dead weight. The AAA car in my pocket weighs much less and comes with many more conveniences like not even having to get dirty on the roadside.

Serious note though, I just carry a tire plug kit and the AAA card will get the tow service there to inflate it as i plug it if it is fixable. I have only had to resort to that once ever. ANy other time a tire standed me it was cut so badly I just needed to toe it to the tireshop to just have them put a new tire on it so I ddin;t have to look like one of those tourists driving all week on a temp dounut spare. People, they are to just get you to a repair shop- Not to commute the rest of the week on. I was smiling a little as I typed this. I just laugh and get the heck away from them every time I see that going down the freeway at 70mph.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I ran over a piece of metal in no man's land south-east Washington state. 4:30AM. The closest city was Spokane (50 miles away). The tire pressure dropped and then the inner part of the tire caught on a piece of metal in the wheel whell. Opened the inner sidewall of the tire like a can opener. I was doing about 75 mph when it happened. All of a sudden the back end started getting squirly. You should have seen the cloud of blue smoke that went by the passenger window when I stopped. And the smell, good God the smell. Blah!

No can of anything could have fixed that tire....I needed the spare.

I also don't have a cell phone. Can't stand the darn things.

Wound up sleeping in the car until 5:30AM when a cop woke me up asking what was going on. I told him I'd wait until sunlight to tackle the spare tire. Saved me an expensive tow truck by fixing the tire myself. I kept the speed to a max of 50 mph driving into town just like the tire said.

Of course having to throw away a 2 month old Goodyear GS-D3 only to buy another one isn't too cheap on the wallet.

Murphey's Law of course was that I had just taken off the original factory Gatorbacks 2 months prior. Oh well, I got 19 years out of them. Can't complain too much.

Mikz86TA

iTrader: (4)

Do you have a Paintball supply store or a PaintBall course near you. Try there. Thats what those guns use I think

Dens71TA

iTrader: (5)

Try your local fire station. If they can't refill it, then a fire extinguisher service place can refill them. Most GM dealers no longer have the equipment to refill the inflator bottles anymore since Stow-A-Way tires haven't been widely used by GM for about 15 years now.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Good advice from everybody in this thread. I'll let you guys know if I find out anything.