E*thirteen tire plasma is an acrylic polymer tubeless sealant that claims to seal punctures up to 4mm. The low-viscosity solution should make installation through a valve possible, but we had mixed results in our tests.
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Tire Plasma is available in 100ml, 500ml, and 1-litre bottles, with recommended quantities required, similar to other brands. The 100ml bottle would be enough for a smaller cross-country tyre, and we used the full bottle in our test with a 47mm gravel tyre.
E*thirteen tire plasma tubeless sealant - Performance
With many sealants being tested we created a standardised puncture test to assess each sealant. The same brand and model of tyre onto the same rim. The tyre used was a Halo GXC measuring 47mm. Tyre sealant was added in the amount suggested by the manufacturer, and the tyre was inflated to 40 psi. This pressure was chosen to give a realistic tyre pressure for all areas of off-road riding. A digital tyre pressure gauge was used to ensure that the pressure was identical on each test.
After that, the tyre was rotated sufficiently to ensure that it was distributed evenly throughout the tyre. The tyres were all punctured by driving a 3mm nail through the carcass. The wheel was rotated to assess if the sealant had successfully sealed the hole. If the sealant worked, the test was repeated using a 5mm diameter nail, and if successful on the larger hole the remaining air pressure was measured with a digital pressure gauge and the result was recorded.
On our initial test e*thirteen plasma (batch 2020.07.20) performed poorly, with spray released on both sizes and it did not form a permeant seal, despite rotating and leaving the tyre to sit with sealant pooled over the puncture.
After the poor performance, we received more sealant, from a different batch (22.10.11.B3) of manufacture, and the results were quite stark. During the second attempt the sealant formed an instant seal on the smaller puncture, with very little spray released, and on the larger 5mm puncture, there was again only a small amount of sealant spray released, and the remaining air measured at 38 PSI. This test was repeated 3 times in total, to ensure it was repeatable, and on each time the result was the same.
While the performance in the second test was very good, it leaves questions over the potential differences with manufacture, and how similar they are created. If all batches perform at the same level as our second test, it is an effective, and well-priced option.
Tire Plasma is available in three sizes, 100ml (£9.99), 500ml (£10), and 1 litre (£18), which make it good value compared to many other brands, with WTB TCS being another well-priced alternative at £15 for the 1-litre size, and more expensive options including Silca Ultimate tubeless sealant at £44 for the same size.
E*thirteen tire plasma tubeless sealant - Overall
E*thirteen tire plasma tubeless sealant is good value, and one of the cheapest sealants you will find, but it has delivered two very different sets of results, leaving questions over repeatability with batches. Performance and sealing ability during our second batch was very good, and it was easy to clean with good longevity.