Newbie Question on Concentrators?

[BayBeadz]

I am sorry if this is posted somewhere else but I can't seem to find it. :?:

I want to get a concentrator but don't know where to begin? What do you use and why? Are there any great ones at great prices?

Thanks in advance for the information.

[Dale M.]

Ok....

Little background... A "concentrator" is a reapplied medical oxygen therapy unit. In real general terms they supply 4-5 lpm (liters per minute) of about 96% pure oxygen at a delivery pressure at about 6-8 psi (pounds per square inch).

Some sources are from:

Acquire from private individual:
Find on internet (e-bay or oxy concentrator sellers).
By from other bead maker.
Buy used from local medical oxygen supply vendor.

There are at least three vendor who post here on other boards the sell new/used/reconditioned units. I will not show favoritism by mentioning one or two... The are easy enough to find.

A oxygen generator is a larger industrial style unit that has performance specifications that usually start where the "concentrator" specifications end...
These generators us same technology as concentrators and are usually a higher volume/pressure output than concentrators and also more expensive.

Also it is possible to hook tow or more units together to get a larger volume of oxygen, how ever it does not increase pressure.

It is wise to know your source for buying a used unit. You should get some kind of warranty/return policy with it from a dealer, it should have low hours (though the will run 25,000 hours and still perform well) Check to see if sieve beds have been repoured lately and filters cleaned. Buying off e-bay could be risky, but many have has successes there....

I'm sure a few "dealers" will chime in here soon... Be patient.

A real decent unit should be in starting range of $200-300 and may go up from there.... Be ware of the really good deal, although I did pick up a unit with only 3000 hours for $100.

Dale M.

[BayBeadz]

Thanks so much for all of the information. I just do not want to deal with oxygen tanks. ](*,)

[Peg Medill]

Still searching for help in making a row of squares around a bead in the middle. I saw a picture of them done on a black bead with white squares so I tried a black bead and put 4 dots around each white dot and got squares, but mine had little tags at each corner and I want a true square. What is the secret? Peg M

[jamied]

The best place for an inexpensive concentrator is on eBay. I have purchased two in the last 4 years. They just hook up to your O2 hose. You will want one that has 5 LPM (liters per minute). I wouldn't worry about the number of hours, since you aren't trying to keep someone alive with it. My first had more than 23,000 hours, and it still works 4 years later. I paid $124.00, including shipping, from eBay. My second one has 7000 hours, and I paid a little more, but I was desperate, I had a show coming up and my other concentrator was overheating (my husband later figured out that I needed to clean the filter, oops). You should be able to get one for well under $200. Look for the "buy it now" auctions, and if it is a 5 LPM unit, buy it. It will pay for itself in no time.

Jamie

[Justin L]

There are a wide range of concentrators out there. Heres is a quick shakedown of what you may be able to buy:

Assuming all concentrators are rebuilt properly:

-Airsep Newlife: Last about 12k hours, no real filters to keep contaminants out of the system. Sieve beds tend to get contaminated easily from lack of filters, and will harm purity in the higher flow rates. Should put out about 8-9psi which is good. Pretty noisy valves as they age.

-Invacare Mobilaire 5: Last between 20-25k hours. Many many HEPA filters to keep the system very clean. Sieve beds are very very resilient and hardly ever go bad. Put out mid 90% o2 at all flow rates for a very long time. Factory PSI is 5 or 6. Quiet machine.

-Healthdyne Alliance: Lasts about 20k hours also. Good filtration. Sieve beds are very resilient. WHISPER quiet! 96% purity at 5LPM is very common. Factory is 5 or 6 psi.

-Devilbiss MC-Series; Solairis 505/515- Last about 20k hours also. Great filtration, pretty quiet. Good purity. These machines chug along at 8-9PSI from the factory with no problems whatsoever.

Respironics Millenium: When you get one that works, they are good...for about only 8k hours. "Fewer moving parts" doesnt always mean reliability. There is a reason they are on ebay for $100 AS IS. They are pretty quiet. 6PSI output pressure.

Unless you buy a new concentrator, these are the " main contenders" for used oxygen concentrators now. Anything else you may find, ask the seller all the same questions you just asked and you *should* be able to get an intelligent response if they service the equipment.

Also, and if you want to take ANY guesswork out of the purity your concentrator is putting out, get one with an oxygen monitor (OCI/OPI). If the "Normal Oxygen" light is on, you know it is maintaining at least 87% oxygen! Unless it has the "OCI" feature, no series of beeps, clicks, wooshes or anything else from a standard concentrator will let you know the purity is good, unless there is a decent warranty and they stand behind their work.

Ive read a lot on here that a concentrator doesnt have as much "oomph" as tanked oxygen because they dont put out the same purity. This statement is true. Tanked oxygen is 97.8% pure. An oxygen concentrator that has been PROPERLY rebuilt, will put out around 95% oxygen at 5 Liters Per Minute. If you have a concentrator that is running "ok" at 3 or 3.5 LPM, bump it up to 5LPM. If there is a noticeable loss in torch power, its probably because the concentrator isnt operating properly at high flow rates. Once you get it running properly at 5LPM, you will never look back

I hope this helps you with your search!

[BayBeadz]

Thanks for all of the information!

[bclogan]

There are a wide range of concentrators out there. Heres is a quick shakedown of what you may be able to buy:
<snipped list of concentrators...


What about a Puritan Bennett Aeris 590? Is that a decent machine? I have an opportunity to get one, but they (and I) don't know much about it.

Thanks,

[Justin L]

The Aeris 590 is a decent machine...but are prone to circuit board failure.