Oxygen vs Nitrogen in tires

[barbagris]

i was wondering if anyone uses nitrogen instead of oxygen

Believe me - if you fill your tyres with pure Oxygen - the risks of an explosion is very elevated. Any contaminant in tyre will oxidise - and this usually is exothermic.

If you follow the sales pitch - a tyre cold maybe deflate up to 20% from the fill pressure. But as you successively refill - this % will drop to nothing (near enough). Reality is that most tyres deflate through damage and poor valves. Good Schräder valves are good - but most fitted at tyre shops are cheap and cheerful with dodgy rubber.

Water vapour formation in road tyres I would expect to be minimal as at 3bars (approx) the vapour phase of water would require quite a bit of heat.

But Speedy's comment on home compressor with water trap is the solution. You can fill a BIG tyre with a 0.5Litre bottle with 250bar in - for the travellers.

 

[Joesmoe]

Every once in a while, we see someone decrying the lack of basic science education.

Nitrogen as a fill for tires is bogus - complete.

The molecular weight of nitrogen is 14, and the molecular weight of oxygen is 16, and as stated, the atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, the diffraction of sunlight why our sky is blue.

Since most of us are filling our tires from the atmosphere, we are already filling our tires with mostly nitrogen.

As an aside, the US Olympic cycling team went to helium-filled tires at one point, to shave 14 grams per tire off their bikes.

To pay someone for fill gas that has had the oxygen (and other gases) removed is - well I have better things to do with my money.

And Avogadro's number says ALL gases expand and contract with temperature -- it's not nice to fool Mother Nature.

The conventional wisdom, backed by science, is one should check tire pressure before every ride.

Let's be safe out there.

 

[sleeves]

Completely with Speedy, Joe, Barbagris here.

This has always really irked me, I'm only a "sledgehammer chemist" but air is 70% Nitrogen, Nitrogen is N2, Oxgyen is O2 so same molecular weight, this means if there's a leak it will leak at same speed. Air is 20.9% Oxygen. The remainder of "Air" is other gases

If peoples tyres go flat using Air but don't with pure Nitrogen this means the tyre is ion selective and effectively an oxygen scrubber, if this works I will patent this process using old used tyres and be very very rich and an environmental hero.

After all this though my wife insists on Nitrogen and you do get nice blue valve caps......

 

[Zonechamp]

Sorry Joesmoe, weight and particle size have nothing to do with one another.

Since we are getting all scientiffical...........https://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/graham.pdf

 

[scot in exile]

I compare it to buying bottled water but who am I to say how people waste money

 

[thorin]

That’s a pretty good explanation of the difference between the two gases. Even I understood most of it.
Seems to me that something that maintains a constant tire pressure is a no-brainer. Safety and tire wear would both improve by the use of nitrogen (according to the report).

 

[sonny]

I just check my air pressure about once a week and if it needs air hook up the little portable air compressor to the car and whoop pea,we have the proper pressure in the bike tires. Now if I could just remember to do that with the car tires.

 

[breeze]

I just check my air pressure about once a week and if it needs air hook up the little portable air compressor to the car and whoop pea,we have the proper pressure in the bike tires. Now if I could just remember to do that with the car tires.

sounds like alot of hot air to me

 

[Joesmoe]

Again, we decry the lack of basic science education. Who should be surprised that someone who sells gasses would produce a bunch of gobbledygook, that while technically correct, has nothing to do with our motorcycles ?

Air hasn't leaked *through* rubber since the days of natural rubber tires -- so that is NOT the question here.

Since the leak sources are predominantly mechanical vice chemical, words like permeability, effusion, suffusion are so many red herrings.

@Zonechamp this is free country, and I still like you.

I still say far more important than what you put in your tires, is that you check them often. We incur that responsibility when we accept a higher-than-mean power to weight ratio losing the cage.

Let's be safe out there.

 

[sonny]

Whats Up?#ell yea. May take you up on that offer to come to New Mexico. Carlsbad New Mexico is where the grand kid works. He works as some big shot in natural gas. Wife wants to visits him and the grand kin this spring. $ell I'll ride then shoot up north. Lets hook up. More than likely be some time in April. Fits right in with the run to Kentucky in May.If I plan it right could be on the road for the hole year of 2018. At 59 years old figure it is my time. Been working on figuring a year of ride time. So far so good.