Nitrogen Gas

I was flipping through the channels this morning and happen to run across an episode of Trucks or one of them shows on Spike and they were talking about Nitrogen Gas. Specifically they were talking about using it in tire, as the molecules are bigger the O2 and a few other reasons that I forgot.

Has anyone used this vice air/O2?

Reply to
azwiley1
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Costco uses nitrogen as does many tire shops here. I believe pure nitrogen does not expand and contract as much as air resulting in more stable tire pressure with temperature changes. Many people fail to check their tires as seasons change resulting in poor tire wear.

Reply to
miles

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

It's been around for several years now..AZ.

Haven't used it myself, have worked on vehicles with it in the tires.

My personal thunk's on the matter..??

A fine idea. Does what it says. but...... If folks would ck their tire pressures regularly..... this would be one LESS gimmick to charge them for.

mmmmm.....kinda akin to tranny flush'n in my book.

~~

00 L O

m/o

~:~ marsh ~sips his crownroyal......hooks up the flusher~ ~:~

Reply to
Marsh Monster

Costco does huh? I will have to look into it.

Reply to
azwiley1

========== ==========

It's been around for several years now..AZ.

Haven't used it myself, have worked on vehicles with it in the tires.

My personal thunk's on the matter..??

A fine idea. Does what it says. but...... If folks would ck their tire pressures regularly..... this would be one LESS gimmick to charge them for.

mmmmm.....kinda akin to tranny flush'n in my book.

~~

00 L O

I would think that in AZ with as hot as it gets that it would be of a benefit, even when one does check air pressure regularly.

Reply to
azwiley1

At least here in Phoenix. They put a green stem cap on when they use nitrogen.

Reply to
miles

Probably so. I have a tire PSI monitor system on my Caliber. I notice it will read 32PSI in the morning when cold and 40PSI after driving an hour on hot roads.

However, it could be that the sensors themselves are subject to error caused by temperature shifts. Will have to get my old fashioned gage out to check.

Reply to
miles

If you remember Boyle's Law from physics class, the pressure increases as a function of temperature so the increase in tire pressure while driving is normal. A good rule of thumb is about 1 psi per 8-10 degrees F.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Simmons

True but the sensors could also have a thermal span error. They're cheap and probably not well compensated.

Reply to
miles

Ex - A&P mech here (Boeings and Lears) -

Nitrogen is used to fill transport category aircraft tires (727, 757, etc), but I was told this is for several reasons - it dissipates heat better (imagine if the reversers are out, and 600,000 pounds is on the wheelbrakes), and in the event of a tire fire or wheel well fire, there's no extra oxygen to feed the fire when the thermal fuse plugs pop out. Also, there's no water condensation at altitude when the wheel cold soaks at 35k feet.

Not sure what the advantages would be in an automotive application, and it seems like a pain in the ass to have to hunt for a nitrogen tank when your tires are low.

Reply to
Roy Batty

I use a mixture that is 78% nitrogen.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

You notice any advantage or disadvantage to it?

Reply to
azwiley1

That's the same one I use! Advantages, first, it's cheap, second, very easy to find, third, it keeps the tires from being flat on the bottom.

Reply to
BigIronRam

How did you get that high?? First off you have to consider the humidity level as well as the green house gasses in your region. I can only get

77.995% here in AZ where its very dry.
Reply to
miles

Damn, you caught me rounding up...

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Advantage; cheap.

Disadvantage; being plain old air, it doesn't have that feel of exclusivity to it.

Filling passenger car/truck tires with pure nitrogen is nothing more than a profit add on for those selling the service and a new market for the equipment companies pushing the machinery. In the case where a tire store may do it as a no charge, it merely becomes a sales tactic for why the customer should choose to buy their tires instead of going to the competition.

Yeah, there is a bit of science to support using nitrogen in tires but not enough to make it worth the cost or hassle for us mere mortals.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

All you need is a little hot air from AlGore, and it brings it up to the proper level. Of course, then you have to listen to the lectures while you're driving to maintain proper pressure.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

From How Stuff Works:

Many race car teams use nitrogen instead of air in their tires because nitrogen has a much more consistent rate of expansion and contraction compared to the usual air. Often, a half pound of pressure will radically affect traction and handling. With track and tire temperatures varying over the duration of a race, the consistency of nitrogen is needed. Nitrogen pressure is more consistent than normal air pressure, because air typically contains varying amounts of moisture due to changes in the relative humidity on race day. Water causes air to be inconsistent in its rate of expansion and contraction. So, a humid race in the southeast United States or a dry race in the desert western United States could make for unpredictable tire pressures if "dry" nitrogen were not used.

Nitrogen is also used in the high-pressure tires on large and small aircraft.

END QUOTE

Bottom line, nitrogen is better. It also costs more, and one would have to carry a tank with them to keep the tires topped off. If one did not have a flat, or something to cause the use of large volumes of nitrogen, a small tank would suffice, probably in the 40 cubic foot range. A simple regulator and filler hose would work.

Is it worth all that extra? Maybe if you're running NASCAR, but for regular freeway driving, an 80/20 mix of regular compressed air would seem good enough for me. (even though the 80/20 description is not totally accurate to the nth degree, much as the .357/.22 arguments recently demonstrated)

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Over rated as far as I am concerned for mom and pop's car tires. If you are racing or flying airplanes then it is a different story. The only benefit I can see for everyday use is the expansion issue, but then few people check their tires often enough to make a difference. Also, if nitrogen leaks out of tires at a lower rate than air, I figure if I have a small leak, what is left is nitro anyway! ;-) Greg

Reply to
Greg O

I disagree. The average person going into a tire center here would have gone anyways regardless of nitrogen or not. They're looking for the best prices on a given tire.

My guess is there are other reasons that are money motivated. Such as law suits from tire blow outs even though the owner failed to maintain proper PSI. Or perhaps tire manufactures can claim higher mileage and fewer warranty claims as a result of PSI that is more stable.

Reply to
miles

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