Nitrogen vending inflation station set to save you fuel
Fact 1: The US Department of Energy estimates that we could save two million gallons of gasoline every day if our tires were properly inflated.Fact 2: An estimated 30-50 percent of all vehicles on the road are operating with at least one under-inflated tire resulting in decreased fuel economy.
Fact 3: Oxygen and moisture in air diffuses through tires 30-40 percent faster than nitrogen resulting in under-inflated tires.
Conclusion: inflate your tires with nitrogen to improve fuel economy and help reduce oil imports.
All well and good if you can find nitrogen to fill your tires with in the first place.
Enter TireLast Systems, who announced the new UltraAir Nitrogen Vending Station which provides, a cashless, VendiPay prepaid smart card smart-card-operated, self-service nitrogen gas dispenser for cars and light trucks. The nitrogen that UltraAir provides is basically compressed air with the oxygen and moisture removed. With nitrogen constituting 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere by volume, removing the oxygen and moisture pretty much just leaves nitrogen.
The UltraAir also features microprocessor controlled tire inflation supplied to any desired pressure. Payment will be via prepaid Inflation Cards available soon at retail stores.
Analysis: Good idea - deserves to make a lot of money.
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Nitrogen Vending Tire Inflation Station for Autos and Light Trucks
LAFAYETTE, Colo., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- TireLast Systems located in Lafayette, Colorado has just announced their new UltraAir(TM) Nitrogen Vending Station, a cashless, RFID, smart-card-operated, self-service nitrogen gas dispenser for autos and light trucks. UltraAir(TM) nitrogen is compressed air with the oxygen and moisture removed. "Car and light truck owners have been asking us for a self-service vending unit that will enable them to fill their tires with nitrogen easily and inexpensively," states TireLast president Nick Verini. "Drivers will now be able to get nitrogen on the road with 24-hour access."
This new vending machine features a VendiPay(TM) prepaid smart card and an advanced microprocessor for controlling the filling of tires. The unit can supply nitrogen at the desired pressure with the touch of a button. The
consumer will be able to pay for this unique service using prepaid Inflation Cards(TM) available soon at retail stores.
Nick Verini states, "Oxygen and moisture in air diffuses through tires 30- 40% faster than nitrogen resulting in under-inflated tires. The US Department of Energy estimates that we could save two million gallons of gasoline every day if our tires were properly inflated. Furthermore, tires sometimes fail on the road due to blow-outs which may be caused by weakening of the tire's internal steel belts. Research indicates that elimination of wet air as a pressurizing medium would substantially reduce this weakening and reduce the number of tire failures."
An estimated 30-50% of all vehicles on the road are operating with at least one under-inflated tire resulting in decreased fuel economy. As gasoline prices remain high this issue will become all the more important for consumers. The units will be manufactured in Colorado, USA and are available immediately.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
carwaterguide.blogspot.com 11:01AM (11/26/2008)
You can truly get better mileage...... http://carwaterguide.blogspot.com
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McRat 1:14PM (4/04/2009)
As you drive, the tires heat up, and running dry nitrogen (or any other dry gas) is going help keep the inflation pressure from changing as rapidly. Excessive inflation causes shorter tire tread life, and increased braking distances, as well as reduced cornering traction.
If you race, run dry gas. If you have a choice, run dry gas. Nitrogen just happens to be simplier. Any yes, oxygen accelerates corrosion and degradation of rubber. Whether it's significant depends on the application.
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Dave 8:14AM (2/14/2007)
"nitrogen constituting 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere by volume" putting a dollar in quarters into the air pump you can find at any gas station should work just fine, as long as you check you check the tire pressure every so often.
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Karkus 10:33AM (2/14/2007)
I call BS on the marketing of this N2 system. Can you say "Snake oil"? While it is true that O2 goes through the tire slightly faster, the diffusion of either N2 or O2 through tires causes very little of the low pressure problems most people experience. Most underinflated tires seem to be caused by leaky valves, tiny punctures, and most importantly, temperature change! Save your money and use it to get a good tire gauge. Then check your tires more frequently, especially in the fall/winter when the temperature drops over time.
Even if you filled your tire with pure N2 in the summer, it would still be low that winter, just because of temperature changes.
There is one benefit to using this dry nitrogen over regular air. Dry gas (N2 or O2 or whatever) doesn't have the water content problem, which causes pressure to change more drastically with temperature (due to water condensation at low temps).
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Leszek Pawlowicz 12:55PM (2/14/2007)
I second these comments. I haven't found a single technical study to back up the claims of improved mileage from using nitrogen, and I've looked. All the reports are anecdotal, and promoted by the makers of nitrogen-filling equipment.
It's said that you can lose about 1 psi per month by leakage through rubber (though I don't see nearly as much). Oxygen leaks through rubber about 4 time faster than nitrogen, but there's about 4 times as much nitrogen as oxygen in air, so the oxygen loss is responsible for at most 0.5 psi of loss per month. Switching to all nitrogen would cut your monthly drop to a bit more than 0.5 psi, a trivial amount. You should be checking and filling your tires monthly anyway, for the reasons cited in the second comment (though I don't buy the argument about water condensation being a factor).
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Jim 9:39AM (2/15/2007)
Fact 4: Your tires are already filled with 78% nitrogen. If that pesky 18% oxygen leaks out, top up with plain air, and you're at about 96% nitrogen with just one check of your tire pressure.
Analysis: Dopes will fall for this - they deserve to spend a lot of money.
Nitrogen inflation first became fashionable because most airplane tires are inflated with it. But it's only used for aircraft becasue nitrogen is not flammable in the case of a tire blow out. It has nothing to do with 'better inflation' or maintaining cooler temperatures.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who sees this N2 hoax for what it is, just another chance to take money away from people who shouldn't have as much.
Can we get a bit of critical thinking going on by the staff here? Would go well with better editing. Just an idea.
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MikeW 3:36PM (2/15/2007)
I use 100% argon in the tires.
If I could get some, I would.
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Walls 9:07PM (12/04/2007)
Nitrogen is not flammable? Give me a break of course it burns but at very high temperatures. Oxygen is not flammable but it does support combustion.
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