How much sealant do you use?

I just set up two sets of wheels tubeless, a pair of Maxxis Re-fuse 40mm and a pair of WTB Resolute 42mm. I put 2 oz of Stans in each, is that enough?
Thanks

I'd double it.

from stans FAQ:

How much sealant should I use?

For a XC 29er tire we recommend 3-4 ounces (89-118ml) of sealant. The amount of sealant can be adjusted based on the volume of the tire. More sealant can also be added if a tire is porous and difficult to seal. For road and cyclocross tires, we recommend 2 ounces (60ml).

spectastic wrote:I'd double it.

from stans FAQ:

How much sealant should I use?

For a XC 29er tire we recommend 3-4 ounces (89-118ml) of sealant. The amount of sealant can be adjusted based on the volume of the tire. More sealant can also be added if a tire is porous and difficult to seal. For road and cyclocross tires, we recommend 2 ounces (60ml).

Good grief, spectastic. You really are a font of info, considering that you’ve been running tubeless for, what, a day or two now? Do you even realize that a 29er XC tire is larger than the tires that the OP is running? 

OP: if it seals up well and you don’t see much sealant weeping through the sidewalls, 2oz is probably about right. More sealant won’t hurt anything, but it’s not necessary and just adds weight. 

Good grief Koyote, you really think 2 oz. of sealant is enough for a 40mm tire?  Why would anyone think the 2 oz.  that is good for a 23mm road tire is enough for a 40mm gravel tire.  If all you are trying to do is seal the tire, 2 oz is enough.  But if you actually want some puncture protection 3-4oz is a better idea.  Especially if you don’t want to constantly refill your tires as the sealant dries up.  And if you are concerned about the extra weight of the sealant you  have issues.  And since it seems to matter to you, I’ve been running tubeless for over 10 years.

ljsmith wrote:Good grief Koyote, you really think 2 oz. of sealant is enough for a 40mm tire?  Why would anyone think the 2 oz.  that is good for a 23mm road tire is enough for a 40mm gravel tire.  If all you are trying to do is seal the tire, 2 oz is enough.  But if you actually want some puncture protection 3-4oz is a better idea.  Especially if you don’t want to constantly refill your tires as the sealant dries up.  And if you are concerned about the extra weight of the sealant you  have issues.  And since it seems to matter to you, I’ve been running tubeless for over 10 years.

Like I said, you can use more than necessary, and it won't really hurt anything; it just won't help much, either. If I lived in a dry climate and thought I might forget to top it off regularly, I might use way too much, too. But it's easy enough to set a regular calendar reminder to check my sealant level each month.

I had seen the recommendation from Stans, that's kind of what lead to my question. It seems a lot of companies use cyclocross and gravel interchangeably so I started with 2 oz. My gut feeling is that 40mm is in between 29er and traditional cross tires so 3 oz is probably the way to go. I'm just asking how much other more experienced people use, my tubeless experience thus far has been limited to my 27.5+ mountain bike

Here in a dry environment with lots of goat heads, I do 3 oz for each 40mm tire. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

Also, some new tires soak up sealant, so it wouldn't hurt to put extra sealant in the first time around.

it also said you should check your sealant every 6 months or so, to make sure the solvent hasn't evaporated or something. they make dip sticks for this purpose, but I'm thinking if you can hear it go splash inside, it should still be ok.

spectastic wrote:it also said you should check your sealant every 6 months or so, to make sure the solvent hasn't evaporated or something. they make dip sticks for this purpose, but I'm thinking if you can hear it go splash inside, it should still be ok.

Yeps, but this depends on climate also, like pawnee implied.  I live in the Southwest (Vegas) and have had to add ~2 oz every 3 months.

CC wrote:

Yeps, but this depends on climate also, like pawnee implied.  I live in the Southwest (Vegas) and have had to add ~2 oz every 3 months.

do you also clean up the tire of all sealant once in a while? the dried up sealant will likely thicken the solution.

I live in Az---high goat head and thorn risk--and have run tubeless MTB for years and now on gravel bikes.  I add an ounce of sealant every 2-3 mo to typical gravel  tires esp in hot weather--usually Stans or a resin type.  I havent found a good reason to take tire off just to clean out dried sealant tho I always do it if I take the tire off for some  other reason.  This works very well and almost never get flats gravel or MTB. 

Well there you have it .... the answer is, it depends.

I use 2 to 2.5 OZ in 700-36 to 38's, for up to sharp gravel riding, works for my riding, yours may vary.   (typically orange seal endurance or orange seal regular) I have a mark on a dipstick for reference. 

I do a shake test when I have a wheel off....if I can't hear it, I know I need more. I fill to dipstick mark'ish.   Or, anytime I want to be sure, I check with dipstick.  I don't have to add very often after getting the tire seated....I could probably get away with running a little less sealant.

(Note: How often you check sealant levels has a bearing on how much you need too!)

When tires are trashed and take them off, I typically find quite a few spots where the sealant save me.

I don't clean them out ...... I wear them out before I am concerned about build up,   

This is me .... the answer remains.... it depends on the conditions you are riding, and how often you are riding too ( meaning I wouldn't want to leave leave sealant in a tire on a bike that sits 9 months out of a year, guessing it would get clumped up, idk), and how often you check em.

For example .... the guy in this video used a whole bottle, (and I would have to) and am guessing he kept the level topped off between "exhibition rides"....because his environment is quite hazardous for tires.   Humor intended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTlZvOVG8zs

Well, I'm going to step in and offer some completely different advice. In my experience, the recommended amount of sealant is much more than necessary.

I started running sealant in all of my tires ~17 years ago. That includes road tubulars, road clinchers, MTB clinchers & tubeless and more recently 'cross/gravel clinchers & tubeless, and fat bike tubeless as well. I've found that using half the recommended amount in 'cross/gravel/MTB/fat tires and as little as one third in road tires works just fine. The only downside I've found to this is that I have to add sealant more often, 2-3 times a year (I live in NH, not in a hot climate, so adjust accordingly). I rarely ever get flats - literally going several seasons between them - and typically only get flats if I've been lazy or forgetful and haven't added sealant frequently enough.

On the plus side, my tires are lighter, I spend less on sealant and in the event of a severe tire cut that the sealant can't handle, there's less of it to spray all over me and the bike. Additionally, I don't have issues with balls of latex forming in my tires.

Sealant manufacturers are obviously in the business of selling their products. While I'm not suggesting that there's some secret "sealant conspiracy" or that they're trying to screw their customers, it's to their advantage to recommend using more of their product than is actually necessary. It's just smart marketing. My point is that you don't need to take their suggestions as gospel.

This is what works for me, as as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary".

CC wrote:

Yeps, but this depends on climate also, like pawnee implied.  I live in the Southwest (Vegas) and have had to add ~2 oz every 3 months.

I haven't had to do this on my Resolutes yet.  With the type of gravel/terrain in my area, I'll probably wear the tread out first before needing to worry about additional sealant mucking up what's inside.

Actually, I just check the tread on my tires after my ride this AM, and I can't imagine going another full season with these tires.  Crushed rock, sharp limestone, and broken glass from all the yokels throwing (or shooting) beer bottles in the desert...it's all murder on tires here. I got about 1K miles on the pair, and not one flat.   Good enough!

on the note of weight, the extra sealants add minimal additional rotational weight, as it settles in a puddle that perpetually settles to the bottom of the tire as the tire rotates. the sealant is more evenly distributed around the tire when you pick up speed. but considering rotational weight is most pertinent for acceleration, which in this case, assumes that you're starting from a slower speed, weight of the sealant in the wheel matters less than weight of the rim. something to consider

That's complete BS. At any speed above a crawl, the sealant is going to be spun out to the outermost part of the tires, which is the worst case scenario in terms of rotating weight. The one saving grace is that rotationally, the sealant can move somewhat independently from the tire, though it still has to be accelerated linearly.

That said, we're typically only talking 25-50 grams (1-2 ounces), so the difference is not huge. 

spectastic wrote:on the note of weight, the extra sealants add minimal additional rotational weight, as it settles in a puddle that perpetually settles to the bottom of the tire as the tire rotates. the sealant is more evenly distributed around the tire when you pick up speed. but considering rotational weight is most pertinent for acceleration, which in this case, assumes that you're starting from a slower speed, weight of the sealant in the wheel matters less than weight of the rim. something to consider

The bolder text is just plain incorrect, as has been pointed out...And it directly contradicts the italicized text, to add to the illogic. And the underlined text makes no sense at all.

But as bnystrom points out, it’s really not that much weight. 

bnystrom wrote:That's complete BS. At any speed above a crawl, the sealant is going to be spun out to the outermost part of the tires, which is the worst case scenario in terms of rotating weight. The one saving grace is that rotationally, the sealant can move somewhat independently from the tire, though it still has to be accelerated linearly.

That said, we're typically only talking 25-50 grams (1-2 ounces), so the difference is not huge. 

depends on viscosity of the fluid, amount of fluid, and speed of rotation.