Originally Posted by
boofhead
In Alaska we use nitrogen for all the reasons given here plus it is not as affected by the cold. If the tyre is inflated with compressed air and then flown to the Slope for example, the tyre pressure drops as the temperature drops and we have had tyres roll off the rims when taxiing. With nitrogen the pressure is more stable and since the change we have had no problems with tyres in cold conditions.
Nitrogen and
dry air will respond exactly the same to changes in temperature - it's called the ideal gas law. The potential problem with compressed air is if it isn't dry and there is significant water vapor present. The change in state of vapor to liquid (or visa-verse) is the potential issue.
Bottled compressed air is normally dry (running it through some sort of dryer is part of the process) - as is bottled nitrogen. It's the air out of the shop compressor that may be a problem.