> The net effect of running the air through an ari compressor (the typical
> way of inflating tires) is to reduce the amount of water.
Actually, I suspect the biggest water problem happens when running the air
through the compressor does not reduce the amount of water. When the air is
heated by compression, the water stays in the form of vapor. It doesn't
condense out until the air is cooled, which normally happens in the tank.
However, if the system is used hard enough (as might happen at Costco where
they mount a LOT of tires), the tank will get hot too and the water will
stay in the air as vapor. Then when the air finally cools (in your tire),
the water condenses.
I've always made it a habit to bleed out a little air before filling a tire
at a filling station. It's amazing how often you get liquid water out of
the air hose, especially in humid weather.
> Heck, even if
> water DOES have a catalytic effect,
I rather suspect it effectively does, since rust is iron and oxygen with no
hydrogen. And it seems clear there is some connection between water and
rust.
> there is a limited supply of oxygen
That may be the secret right there. A lot less oxygen means a lower partial
pressure, making the rust reaction slower, plus less rust before it's all
bound up.
> But filling tires with nitrogen is still snake oil!
I don't think snake oil in tires would work very well ...
Randall
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