Stupid question about tires
So y'all can call me uneducated, stupid or whatever you like, but the 5th wheel we are looking at comes with nitrogen in the tires. Are there nitrogen pumps available? Can you mix it with air or jus...
Forum Discussion
CapriRacer wrote:DrewE wrote:
..... The only component of air that expands or contracts significantly differently than nitrogen alone is water vapor. .......
Sorry, that is not true.
Water vapor behaves like an ideal gas EXCEPT near the dew point. Even a tire with liquid water in it will eventually lose all that water through the sidewalls, and become like the outside air - which is normally NOT near the dew point.
Water vapor not near the dew point does indeed act as an ideal gas, for practical purposes.
Air from a compressor (at least in somewhat humid climates), if there is no dryer in the line, will be saturated and pretty close to the dew point at the tank pressure, as evidenced by the condensation that collects in the compressor tank. Tire pressure is lower than the tank pressure, which lowers the pressure dew point in the tire somewhat, but it's still well in the range of ambient conditions that a tire is likely to be exposed to.
While rubber is somewhat more permeable to water than to air, it's still a very slow process for it to get out. (It's still more permeable to carbon dioxide, and it takes a long time for a tire filled with that to deflate noticeably.)
