Before you buy

Every business that services motor vehicles needs nitrogen inflation capabilities. Nitrogen inflation is here to stay. Properly administered it really does provide amazing results. In fact, nitrogen inflation will probably be mandated in passenger vehicles as it is in aircraft in the near future. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of tires are inflated with nitrogen every day - and you cannot service these vehicles without nitrogen inflation capabilities.

There are basically two levels of entry into nitrogen inflation: Stored Gas and Generation. Stored gas systems simply use cylinders or "bottles" of compressed nitrogen as opposed to Generation systems that actually generate nitrogen on-site. Stored gas systems are much less expensive as they are merely inflator devices that work in conjunction with a container of nitrogen. Generators are a wise investment for any business that is selling enough nitrogen to take advantage of the cost savings of on-site generation.  If your business does not sell tires and/or only services a few cars per day, purchasing a generation system is probably not the best use of your money. After factoring in the cost of money, maintenance, energy expenses, and unit life expectancy, it is difficult for an “occasional use” shop to ever earn a decent return on an investment in a high quality generation system, and buying a “cheap” generator is even a bigger mistake. If you only require the ability to maintain or convert a few tires a day, please view our stored gas options.

If you plan on converting numerous cars per day, or sell tires in your business, please read on as the following information WILL save you time and money.

Reliable and perpetual high purity nitrogen generation is a much more technically complex and industrial function than our competitors would have you believe. The market is flush with small scale, low volume (less than 8 cfm output) systems with 15-60 gallon reservoirs that will not provide the purity or storage capacity to adequately serve the needs of any business that actually NEEDS a generator. What is more concerning is the lack of adequate filtration and gas management in most units on the market. Many of the “players” in the industry, including most of the  name brands you know, have little experience in compressed gas and nitrogen generation technology. Some do not even produce their own generators and have simply put their names on other manufacturer’s units to get into the nitrogen business.

NitroFill generators are manufactured by Pneumatech, Inc. in Kenosha Wisconsin. Pneumatech has been a world leader in compressed gas engineering since 1966. Our nitrogen generator customers include the United States Air Force, The United States Navy, Ford Motor Company, Bristol Myers, Roush Industries and hundreds of automotive service facilities world wide. NitroFill is the only system guaranteed to produce a minimum of 99.9% purity and an in-tire minimum of 95%- every time. While NitroFill generators are not the least expensive units available, we are confident you will find them to be the best, and the best value. Our industrial grade generators are engineered to last decades and become an integral part of your shop, not an accessory. If you merely want to “try” nitrogen, take advantage of our stored gas solutions. All are available for a free trial period. Do not waste your money on an inferior, “cheap” generator. Longevity is a key factor when determining value and a key reason why NitroFill is the most economical unit available.

Mechanically inferior, low volume (less than 8 cfm output, or any non-PSA unit with less than 80 gallons of storage) systems and incomplete systems (those that require additional equipment to function or convert tires to nitrogen) clearly designed to gain market acceptance as low cost alternatives to complete industrial grade systems such as NitroFill are swamping the market. Most nitrogen systems are being offered ala carte despite the necessity of all components to properly and profitably enter the nitrogen "business." Any nitrogen systems proposed to effectively service the automotive industry must contain a minimum of the following:

Dryer: Few manufacturers are openly disclosing the necessity of a refrigerated or membrane air dryer with their generators. Yet, if you study their warrantees, all exclude moisture damage as a covered condition. All membrane and PSA nitrogen generators require a dryer mechanism. While this obviously increases the price of a system, it is misleading to represent that any system will perform long-term without one.

Proper Filtration: Although there are efficiency differences, to a large extent, a membrane is a membrane. The major difference in systems, as it relates to membrane longevity and sustained performance, is inlet air quality. Beyond the moisture issues addressed above, it is imperative that oil, particulate and other impurities be removed from incoming air to protect the membrane. Our 40 years of experience as world leaders in compressed gas engineering has lead to our six stage filtration system, plus dryer filtration. Obviously more filtration adds expense, but there is no margin to diminish this necessary filtration without potentially affecting the longevity of our units. The two and three stage filtration systems that have become the norm for our competitors DO NOT provide the protection required to achieve the long life our systems are known for. Few if any of our competitors provide final pre-membrane filtration air quality as clean as we achieve after the second of our six stages of filtration.

Furthermore some manufacturers are advertising that their membrane units do not require a carbon filter, an essential component that removes oil from incoming air. This is not accurate. Many membranes used in industrial applications utilizing membrane heaters do not require carbon filters because the membranes are not affected by oil vapor. The heater is the key element here as it keeps the oil in a vaporous state. However these competitors do not use heaters in their equipment and the air temperature can and will drop to the point where the oil in the air condenses from a vapor into liquid. While their pre filters will remove some liquid oil they will not catch it all, and this oil will ultimately ruin any membrane – another condition which is specifically excluded from warranty coverage. The oil content remaining in any NitroFill system after our extensive filtration system is approx. 3 ppb (parts per billion). Our competitors filters, at best, achieve 1 ppm (parts per million).

Analyzers: It is common knowledge in our industry, and an irrefutable scientific fact, that 95% + purity in the serviced tire is mandatory to afford the widely advertised benefits of nitrogen inflation, yet many generator units do not have onboard purity analyzers and some do not even provide handheld units to test the in-tire purity. Analyzers are pricey, but essential. As nitrogen inflation gains popularity the public WILL become more knowledgeable and maintaining and providing proper purity will become a necessity -- not a matter of choice. Again, don’t confuse economical with incomplete.

Adequate Storage Capacity: Membrane generators, without exception, cannibalize a tremendous quantity of air, typically 3-5 times the output quantity, to produce high purity nitrogen. This equation necessitates the use of an adequately sized storage vessel. Many units on the market, again in an effort to reduce cost and size, are being offered with 15 to 30 gallon storage vessels. Such minimal capacity is simply inadequate for the present and future needs of any facility that expects to service a profitable quantity of tires. In fact, it is doubtful any of these units are capable of properly converting 2 sets of standard SUV tires without a time and profit sapping recovery period. To overcome this problem, most of our competitors have little or no flow control, allowing their tanks to fill quickly, but with mostly compressed air, not nitrogen. If you have considered any “portable” membrane generator, or any stationary unit with a 60 gallon tank or smaller, perform this simple test before you buy:

Convert all 4 tires on 2 separate SUV’s back-to-back, one right after the other. Upon completion, check the purity in all 8 tires. What you will find is the tires on the second vehicle will not achieve the needed 95% threshold, and with many units they won’t even be close. Why would you risk your reputation?

Industrial Design and Quality: NitroFill equipment is built to industrial grade standards with the expectation of lasting for decades -- not a few years. Our tire service products are simply smaller versions of the industrial units we build for the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, Ford Motor Company and other industrial companies world-wide, and based upon over 40 years of manufacturing experience. We have been a "gas" company since 1966. Most of our competitors are either startups or equipment manufacturers who recently entered the nitrogen business. You can pay less, but why would you?

Understanding Purity: Purity has received a lot of attention in our industry but only because most of our competitors can’t provide enough of it. The major benefit of nitrogen as an inflation medium is its large molecular size (approximately 4 times larger than a molecule of oxygen found in compressed air) and hence, its resistance to permeation. To gain the benefits of nitrogen inflation, the in-tire purity must be 95% or higher, which equates to 5% or less oxygen content.  95% in-tire nitrogen purity is the minimum specification recognized and required by:
     All branches of the US Military
     The FAA
     Ford Motor Company
     Almost every industrial application where oxygen level containment is required.
Don’t be fooled by our competitors attempting to “lower the bar” to meet their ability. There is no mystery to purity. The higher the purity the better. It’s simple common sense. The small molecules (oxygen) leak out of a tire, the larger ones (nitrogen) don’t.

A Program: In addition to properly designed, high quality, long life equipment, and ALL supporting accessories, success requires a program - another area where we are without peer. All of our systems include on-site training from local representatives that are forever available to train and support. We train the users, the sales staff and your customers. We also provide customer retention tools and programs that add tremendous value and profits. No other company comes close.

We hope the above aids your ability to provide accurate comparisons and alleviates pricing concerns. Consider that a set of Snap-On brand wrenches sells for about $350.00. A similarly sized set of "cheap" wrenches can be purchased at any discount store for $19.95. Show me a professional who uses the twenty dollar set.