inflating tires on rv with nitrogen, good idea?
I'm interested in hearing comments on using nitrogen in tires on my rv, supposed to run cooler and maintain air pressure better. Any comments would be appreciated.
Tom
Tom
Forum Discussion
65 Replies
- I can't believe this generated 4 pages!
- Water and oxygen in compressed air might contribute to wheel corrosion and might react slowly with tires. However, I have never had to replace a wheel because of corrosion and all my tire replacements have been due to treadwear so I'm not going to worry about those possibilities.
There may be a small difference in the permeability of oxygen and nitrogen but this difference is so small as to be of no consequence.
Chemistry 101 teaches that the effect of temperature on pressure for ALL gases is the same, regardless of whether the gas is helium, argon, nitrogen or oxygen. There is no difference between air and nitrogen in the effect of temperature on tire pressure.
For a more complete description of this topic see Gas Laws
These simple laws were discovered over a hundred years ago and have not changed since. - As to NASCAR using nitrogen, it is so the expansion rate is predictable,as the moisture content of regular air changes with the weather. We tried nitrogen in a late model and found there was less pressure build than regular air, and the high pressure tank held alot more than a reguler air pig.I use semi-synthetic air in my tires, cheaper than full synthetic LOL
azdryheat wrote:
Nitrogen will also maintain a constant pressure regardless of temperature or elevation.
Nitrogen expands and contracts just like any other gas, according to the Ideal Gas Law
PV=nRT
Temperature (T) goes up, pressure (P) or volume (V) must also go up.tplife wrote:
Rolling with an inert gas means no worries about swelling under heat, as with standard compressed air.
Again, ditto.
As said before, if it makes you feel better, go for it. There is exactly zero benefit from running pure nitrogen.
One of the main reasons it's used is because a compressed nitrogen tank is easy to move around and has no flammable gas in it.tplife wrote:
YES, I AM AN ORGANIC CHEMIST. :)
Well, that makes you an expert on Carbon, not Nitrogen ;)
As to the debate of synthetic air versus natural air, I think it's more important to have the proper blend- Summer versus winter!azdryheat wrote:
...Nitrogen will also maintain a constant pressure regardless of temperature or elevation...
In high school chemistry class, the teacher taught me an equation which went something like
Pressure * Volume = number of moles * a constant * Temperature (PV = NrT)
I'm not sure I recall the name of that equation, but I guess it was something like the Universal except-for-Nitrogen Gas Law.- You can still add regular air to a Nitrogen filled tire. it will do no harm!
- I don't understand the idea some of you have about the NASCAR guys using nitrogen to keep the PSI the same. IF you had ever watched a race. You would know they start out on LOW PSI tires, and wait for the pressure to build as the tires heat up. So IF in fact they are using Nitrogen. It does expand as it heats up.
- Inert gases like N2 are worthwhile if your installer/pm folks use it (no corrosion in steel or ALUMINUM and no pressure variability). Topping off at home means a lot less percentage of corrosive air in your lines. Paying a premium for it makes little sense if you're proactive about pressure checks. Rolling with an inert gas means no worries about swelling under heat, as with standard compressed air. YES, I AM AN ORGANIC CHEMIST. :)
azdryheat wrote:
Regular air is 78% nitrogen. On that note, 100% nitrogen won't leak out of your tires as fast as air as the nitrogen molecules are larger.
True statement.
Nitrogen will also maintain a constant pressure regardless of temperature or elevation.
A common misconception. Nitrogen obeys the gas laws as do all gasses, one of which states "if the amount of gas remains constant (as in a tire), the pressure and/or volume are directly proportional to the temperature."
I have no experience with nitrogen in my tires, I just carry an air compressor with me.
