Nitrogen

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

I am tending to side with Jon on this topic. I feel if the Nitrogen is available to you at little to no cost then it does have some benefits. If you are conscientious in tire maintenance, which is paramount to safety, then you don't need it. Examine your tires and check pressure frequently, take pains and do not let water into tires when mounting and use the driest air available when inflating.

To fill a tire with Nitrogen deflate it to about 50% and bring it up to pressure with the nitrogen. Repeat this process and you will have for practical purposes a tire filled with Nitrogen.

Some Nitrogen facts: Air is composed of about 80% Nitrogen anyway. Nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules.

QUESTION FOR THOUGHT:
It is claimed that tire pressure from Nitrogen is more stable, because it excludes moisture and the nitrogen molecules do not permeate through the rubber as does the Oxygen. If so then if the Oxygen leaks out and the Nitrogen remains then how long before you have a tire filled with pure Nitrogen just from repeated filling.

JIM

Gary, Didn't we settle all this on April Fool's Day??????

[Jon Wehrenberg]

On another site I visit this was posted:

This is Honda's opinion
Surf any automobile tire-related website these
days, and you’ll likely see something mentioned
about nitrogen inflation. It’s becoming a hot topic.
We’ve gotten a number of inquiries lately
concerning American Honda’s position on this
practice.
When it comes to inflating automobile tires, it’s
our position that ordinary, dry compressed air—
which is about 80 percent nitrogen already—is
the best choice. That’s because it’s more readily
available, and the benefits of using nitrogen
simply don’t appear to outweigh those of using
compressed air.
The practice of inflating tires with nitrogen really
isn’t anything new; it’s been around a long time.
It’s been commonly used on aerospace vehicles,
commercial and military aircraft, military vehicles,
race cars, and even heavy off-road construction
equipment. Here’s why:
• To meet rigid safety and performance specs,
the required tire inflation pressures are often
very high, especially in the aerospace industry.
The tire inflation pressure for NASA’s space
shuttle, for instance, is a whopping 315 psi!
• Nitrogen is an inert gas; it doesn’t combust or
oxidize.
• The process used to compress nitrogen
excludes water vapor. Water vapor can expand
if the temperature climbs above 212°F.
• Tires inflated with nitrogen leak slower over
time than those inflated with compressed air.
Automobile tires, on the other hand, are subjected
to an entirely different set of conditions. Here’s
why inflating tires with nitrogen offers no real
advantages:
• Although tires inflated with nitrogen leak
slower over time than those inflated with
compressed air, they still leak and need to be
reinflated to maintain proper pressure. If you
can’t find a place that offers nitrogen
inflation—and there aren’t yet all that many
places that do—your only option left is to
reinflate with compressed air. Doing that
drops the nitrogen purity.
• Nitrogen offers no better protection against
road hazards such as cuts and punctures. So
no matter what you inflate the tire with, you
still need to check the condition and pressure
of the tires at least once a month as
recommended in the O/M.
• Tires that are inflated with compressed air and
properly maintained offer the same fuel
economy, tread wear, and ride comfort as
those inflated with nitrogen.
• Nitrogen for automobile tires is produced by
nitrogen generators, which typically get about
95 percent purity. But to actually get that
level of purity into an automobile tire, you
would have to deflate and inflate that tire with
nitrogen several times. If you’re not careful
doing this repeated deflation and inflation
process, the purity level winds up being closer
to 90 percent (compared to the approximate
80 percent nitrogen already in compressed
air). Because of this, those claims of less
pressure loss with nitrogen aren’t valid.
So here’s the bottom line: Nitrogen is an ideal gas
for inflating tires in aircraft, military vehicles, race
cars, and heavy off-road equipment, but when it
comes to automobile tires, it offers no apparent
advantages over ordinary, dry compressed air.
Our advice to you: Just stick with the air you

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jon, by what means did you post the previous article. Did you scan it or what?
Just wondering.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I copied and pasted off another forum where the same topic was debated.

[Jim_Scoggins]

The reason I carried around a 40 cuft nitogen bottle was to be able to get the 112-115psi I needed in the front tires. Occassionally had to top off the tire pressure. Got it cheap enough from a welding shop. Could have carried around compressed air I guess. After the tank couldnt deliver the needed psi I would hit motorcycle tires and trailer tires--stuff that sits a lot.

Engine drive compressor could not supply needed psi. Neither can current prevost.

My goal was to get the driest air possible and carry it in a covenient package

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jon

Uncle Harry, Debs brother has had nitrogen put in all 10 of his tractor tires.

I am anxiously awaiting test results.

The trlr. he is pulling does not and the next time he is loaded and overnight in a rest area he is going to make cold pressure readings on both before starting out and then hot a couple of hundred miles down the road and see if there is any difference in the growth rate.

He has also been instructed to check them cold on a colder morn. to see if the press. drop is less or not for that cenerio.

[utahcamera]

Hello all,

This is my first post so pardon any errors.

If “AIR” was CO2 then we would not exist as pure Carbon Dioxide is a deadly gas to humans.

The composition of air is:

Component Symbol Volume
Nitrogen N2 78.084% 99.998%
OxygenO2 20.947%
Argon Ar 0.934%
Carbon Dioxide CO2 0.033%
Neon Ne 18.2 parts per million
Helium He 5.2 parts per million
Krypton Kr 1.1 parts per million
Sulfur dioxide SO2 1.0 parts per million
Methane CH4 2.0 parts per million
Hydrogen H2 0.5 parts per million
Nitrous OxideN2O 0.5 parts per million
Xenon Xe 0.09 parts per million
Ozone O3 0.07 parts per million
Nitrogen dioxide NO2 0.02 parts per million
Iodine I2 0.01 parts per million
Carbon monoxide CO trace
Ammonia NH3 trace

I found this site http://www.getnitrogen.org/ to be of interest. I feel that nitrogen is well worth the 5-8 dollars per tire.

My thoughts, worth just what you paid for them.

[dalej]

And I'm breathing all that stuff!

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Tim nice to talk to you.

Jon and I have a bet for dinner on this issue. I am betting that the fluctuation on pressures will be less with nitrogen than without. He disagrees.

My brother-in-law has a truck and the shop he uses now offers this and I have wanted to get down there to do the bus but for a whole bunch of reasons we have not been able to. Now I will find out through him.

I plan on bugging the heck out of him so I expect it will not take long for some data that I can for sure trust and rely on.

We have a wireless tire pressure unit. Tires inflated with air to 100lbs at 75 degrees or so will go down to under 90lbs and set off low pressure warnings when it gets down below 40 degrees. I had hoped nitrogen will eliminate this.

Also I would like to up the current 100lbs we run in our steers to 115 but don't because in the heat they currently grow from 100 to 115 so if we start there they would be at 125+ hot and I think that is too much. I'm hoping nitrogen will remedy and allow this as well.

Nice avatar I like it

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Joe,

Did you cut your bro-in-law in on this deal?

Think about this for a minute:

You fill your tires. Now they are 79% nitrogen.
The pressure goes down. If your theory is correct it is because the oxygen escapes so now the contents of the tire is almost pure nitrogen
So you fill it with air which is 79% nitrogen.
The next time the pressure goes down it will be at a much slower rate because there is almost pure nitrogen now.
And so on.

After a while your tires are almost pure nitrogen filled and you haven't spent a penny.