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Old 2006-07-17, 7:25am
Justin L Justin L is offline
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Join Date: Sep 09, 2005
Location: Moneta, VA
Posts: 421
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kbinkster
Paulette, I have two questions.

I had been told that if you add two concentrators together, then you get the combined total of the LPM and whatever the pressure is. For example: two 5 LPM machines that each put out 8 psi would yield 10 LPM at 8 psi. Is this true? If say one of those machines were only 5 psi, would that mean the combined psi would be between 5 and 8 psi, but definitely less than 8 psi?

My other question is: does the speed at which other units cycle back and forth between seive beds affect how noticeable any breathing is? Do some machines have a shorter lag time than others? I am just curious how some people say that their concentrators breathe while others say that they do not. I know that my Integra does not breathe, and it's cool to know the reason.

EDIT to add: PS Jack, Justin, or Larry: If any of you guys have any input, I'd like to hear from you, too.
You shouldnt feel hardly any lag, if any at all! Why? Because there is a built in holding tank in most concentrators. It is built as a buffer to prevent just this problem. You cant hook this machine to a patient that needs oxygen, and have a lag in the delivery to the patient. The ONLY way you should have any lag is if you're running the machine at such a high flow rate (IE: running it above the red mark on the Liter Per Minute gauge) that you are actually emptying the holding tank and depleting any oxygen stored inside. This "lag" problem is also typical of Airsep Newlife oxygen concentrators. By design with these machines, when you get a lot of hours on them and run them at the higher flow rates (4 or 5LPM), the oxygen purity can tend to swing very widely. Say, from 75% pure to 90% pure is NOT uncommon! If you have this problem, your machine needs service. When the Airsep Newlife is rebuilt properly, you wont notice this problem until you get some hours on it. The airsep also lacks the "holding tank" that I mentioned above.
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