Tubeless Sealant Refresh and Replacement

Can you keep the sealant going longer by adding water?

Dear Lennard,
I have a question about topping up sealant in my tubeless setup. My understanding is sealant needs refreshing every 3 months and the old sealant should be cleaned out. This is a messy job quarterly. The alternative is to simply top up the sealant which leads to accumulation of sealant.

I am using Stan’s and it appears to be water soluble. Is it possible to simply add some distilled water every quarter to solubilize the latex again?

Looking forward to your advice.

Charles

Dear Charles,

This is a great question for several different reasons. I find that riders using tubeless tires almost universally wonder about whether to refresh the fluid and how often to do it. They also wonder how it depends on temperature and humidity and whether they frequently pump their tires and let air out of them. Add this question of adding water, and there’s a lot to unpack here.

The photo in this post shows the downside of not refreshing your sealant! Oh, the dreaded wheel imbalance that can get scary at high speed!

In answering this question, I got a lot of manufacturers to weigh in, who provided many nuggets of wisdom that could be useful to any rider of tubeless tires. I passed your email on to seven different sealant companies—starting of course with Stan’s, since that’s what you’re using. Six of them replied (Orange Seal did not). In addition to discussing how water might or might not work, most of them gave useful general advice about complete sealant replacement and how to increase the time between doing that. One did endorse your water idea to extend the life of one of their sealants (one of the sealants from Effetto Mariposa—a biodegradable one made from olive pits). Another mentioned a way to check whether it is time to refresh your sealant or not.

Each manufacturer has a slightly different take on these subjects, and the nuances are

fascinating and enlightening.

― Lennard

From Stan’s:

Stan's sealant remains liquid once installed in your tire, for 2-6 months depending on temperature and relative humidity.