Adjusting or modifying oxygen concentrator pressure inside the machine
 

My flame on my Cricket torch is quite wimpy. The propane tank appears to have an ample amount of fuel in it. The oxy-con, (NewLife Elite by Airsep, model #N0001183), is set 4.5 lpm. I don't have any flashback arrestors hooked up, so there isn't any problem there. There appears to be a bit of fluctuation in the flame as well. A gradual up and down.

I bought the used oxy-con from a person who is a heavy smoker. It currently has 3,500 hours on it. There does appear to be some smoke residue in the internal hoses, which could mean that there is also residue in the sieve beds inside the concentrator.

It has been suggested by one individual that the oxygen concentrator pressure, when used for the original health purpose, is set low. This person suggests that the pressure can be modified or adjusted in order to crank up the flame in order to effectively use the torch with it. Does anyone know where the valve or knob is inside the machine in order to adjust the pressure?

In one of my previous threads regarding this same oxygen concentrator, I mentioned the smoke residue. Kimberly (kblinkster), offered her input.

Has anyone else had to have this done, and how much money are we talking? Any of you Floridians know where I can have sieve beds refilled?

Here is a link to my thread: http://lampworketc.com/forums/showth...n+concentrator

Here is a photo of what the inside looks like showing the hoses:




Help is always APPRECIATED! Thanks bunches!

The flow gauge on the front can be set to limit the amount to 3.5 LPM etc. It is NOT the PSI adjustment.

For some machines a service manual can be found on the net. While for other brands they are not listed.

Pressure can be checked at the output by using a 0 to 15 PSI air gauge that is oxygen safe. Most machines put out 5 PSI or 8.5 to 10 PSI. There are some larger units that are specifically designed for lampwork that will do more. The first test would be to determine what the actual output pressure is. Then if not correct, adjust to the manufacture recommended settings.

Machines of different designs will have their overall output pressure setting value located internally as you have stated. The adjustment is simple, once the valve is located. Perhaps someone with direct experience with your model of machine can assist.

Unit Pressure
 

The filter your arrow is pointing to is call a bacteria filter. These are usually changed between patients in the medical world. 3500 hours makes it a young pup. Thats not many hours at all. The average life span of a pressure swing system is 25,000 to 35,000 hours. The pressure regulator can be turned up to about 10 psi on the Airsep. It should look like a black round item with the small hose connected to it. You should be able to turn it with your fingers. Jack

I'll give that a try Jack. Thank you. It seems to have a more constant fluctuation with the flame tonight.. Goes down and then back up. Probably 8 times in a minute.

If you don't already have a holding tank on your setup, I highly recommend you making one:

http://www.treycornette.com/category_23/Tutorials.htm

It will alleviate the fluctuation problem.

Here is a photo of the adjusting knob that I could find inside the machine. It isn't easy to see straight on. I can look at it from the side. There is an arrow on the front of the dial, but no exact numbers to adjust the knob to. Any advise on how much to turn the knob?



Shawnette, I have been giving some thought lately to putting together one of those holding tanks that Trey was so kind to share his instructions to.

Thats the pressure regulator. You may have to pull out on the knob, that style locks so it can't be turned. Just turn it clockwise 1/2 turn at a time. Remember, raising to pressure will also raise the flow. You should adjust the flow back down to 5 lpm. If you run it over 5 lpm, you could loose purity.

That is correct Jack. I do have to pull out on the knob. There is a white mark on the side of the knob, as you can see in the above photo. Most likely to match up where the original setting should be. When you say "adjust it half a turn", do you mean to have the mark on the turning portion of the knob turned enough so that it is directly across from the white line on the non-turning part of the knob?

Here is a picture of the lpm meter. I have a question regarding where the ball should be located in order to have an accurate lpm measurement. Should it be setting directly on the 5 line where half of the ball is above the line, and the other half is below the line? Or should the bottom of the ball be resting on top of the 5 line, and the top of the ball is just under the next line above the 5? It's somewhat of an odd question, but I have never known the answer to this.

The measurement is taken where middle of the ball lines up.

Raising the pressure to more than what the manufacturer has recommended for that machine can result in further damage to your sieve beds and damage to your compressor. And while raising the pressure of the feed air will result in more flow, you still have to turn it back down to 5 lpm or lower, so it really doesn't result in any more usable flow. If you don't care about that machine and don't mind ruining it, then at least make sure that it isn't blowing sieve material into your lines and torch. That stuff can clog up the internal workings of your torch valves.

I thank you all for your input and suggestions. Your time is greatly appreciated! I also did some research on "fluctuating flame" in the archives here on LE, and learned quite a bit. So here is a bit of what I learned.

Check list with results:

1. Propane - Ample - Ck
2. Adjust pressure inside concentrator - Ck
3. Compensate for internal adjustment of concentrator pressure on external knobs - Ck
4. Test for leaks at ALL connections and hoses - found one leaky connection to concentrator. Tightened, but did not remedy the fluctuting flame.
5. Adjusted oxygen and propane knobs to get a sub standard flame - Ck - Still fluctuates
6. Wrapped propane tank up in swimming pool grade thermal bubble wrap. Placed upside down trash can over propane tank. Put a carpet under the tank. - Ck
7. Increased the psi to about 6-7. - Ck - Have acheived a somewhat steady neutral flame.
8. After turning the torch off and then back on an hour later. Same fluctuation is back. Not sure what happened :cry:

Try turning your oxygen down some on your torch the oxycon is just "breathing".

You can hook up a holding tank but that will only work until the tank is exhausted. Get a second oxycon and hook them up together that will solve the problem.

I thought she was referring to a fluctuation that was abnormal and not the typical breathing.

Aleta, if it is just breathing, then David's advice is spot on. Breathing is just inherent to using the two-bed concentrators.

Thank you Kimberly and David for your input. I think we may have it adjusted correctly again. It is now displaying a normal breathing appearance, with little disruption in the torching process. It can be very frustrating when the flame starts going up and down, and then your object cracks on the end that isn't getting enough heat to it.

Kimberly, it was actually going from a nice 8 inch flame, down to about 4 inches. AND skinny at that! Should the flame be closer to 11 inches?

I'm not sure, just off the top of my head. My notes on the subject were on my computer, which, sadly, was stolen a couple of weeks ago (as irony would have it...). Do a search for one of my flame measurement threads. The info should be there.

I think we have it now. Every so often, some yellow flames spurt out of the torch. I'm sure I need some sort of adjusting there too.

Thank you for the data on this Thread, especially the adjustment and Holding Tank tutorial. There's so much valuable info on LE.

Kristina, I'm glad to have created a thread that was useful to others. I also thank those again for all of their input. Gotta love the folks here at LE.

Hello,

I am on an oxygen concentrator too and was wondering the same thing. I don't know if I understand it right. So say the liters my doctor has me on is 2.5L, so the ball should have the line (that is past 2 and before the 3, making it 2.5) through the middle of it so it will be 2.5 liters. Do I understand that right?

Thanks

The middle of the ball is used to read even numbers (on the machines
I am familiar with).

Here is a graphic representation of 5.5 LPM:

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...e/lpmgauge.jpg

Hola
 

Tengo un equipo igual que este y se me daño un componente en la tarjeta que apenas se muestra en la foto es decir en la board y me gustaría que le tomaras una foto a esa placa donde se vea los valores de los filtros de cerámica que tiene el circuito pero de todos el que necesito es el que esta junto al conector blanco si me puedes ayudar con eso le estere muy agradecido
Saludos leonell

Please help me the contivity of flow meter and oxygen in airsep new life