Humidity is Hell

fsankar · #1 2010-02-02, 8:35am

I was told that Oxygen concentrators go faulty quickly in high humidity. Anyone using a concentrator in say Florida where the humidity is high? How does it work?
Does anyone know of a dryer one can attach to the concentrators to solve this problem?
thanks
Franklin

Otter's Flame · #2 2010-02-02, 10:07am

I know Brent Graber... Mr. Smiley uses them in Florida and many others with no problem at all. I live on the coast with almost constant fog and anything in my garage that does not have a good coat of oil will start rusting in two days. VERY high humidity. I have been using an M-15 Oxycon for about two years now with no problems at all. I work almost every day and have a high number of hours on my oxycon. I don't use a dryer or anything special and I don't wait until low humidity days to torch.... because that just wont happen.

Otter

J&M · #3 2010-02-02, 10:15am

This is probably the kiss of death, but I've been using oxycons for about 3 years now with no problems as far as humidity goes. The only thing that seems to be affected, on very humid days, is the bead release on my mandrels. Even after flame drying, sometimes the release just doesn't want to cooperate!

Jack

FourTailsLampwork · #4 2010-02-02, 11:26am

I live in Georgia, and so far no trouble. knock on wood. Bead release is the big problem. J&M, have you tried Best bead release? It is especially formulated for people here on the East coast, not people in beautiful cool dry climates. In the summer I mix it with Blue Sludge and it works a treat.

fsankar · #5 2010-02-02, 11:43am

This is the best news I heard in a long while. Its the kiss of life. Refilling O2 bottles is a task I dont enjoy.
Thank you all. I dont live in the US and assume the places you mention all have high humidity. The humitity here can go to 88% at times.
Otter news is good news.
Franklin

SteveWright · #6 2010-02-02, 12:19pm

The humidity here in the Texas tropics killed the sieve beds in my OG-15. I got 3-4 years out of them in humid conditions, alternating with many dry climate hours. Repacking the beds is around $250.

I moved the OG-15 to inside our air conditioned house and ran a hose to our rear porch where I have my torch set up. I was hoping that running the OG-15 for several hours would purge the beds and rejuvenate them, but no luck after about 20 hours of running.

Steve

Ed_Slawson · #7 2010-02-02, 12:42pm

Hi Franklin, a lot of people do have problems in excessively humid locations. There have been countless posts here on LE about the problem... on the other hand, there are many people who have no problems. The companies that maintain and repair concentrators generally say that in humid locations it is best to use the concentrators in an air conditioned area, and run a hose to your studio. The sieve beds that allow the smaller oxy molecule to pass through get clogged with the water and block much of the oxy transfer. In extreme cases the sieve beds need to be replaced.

That being said, we are on the coast of Maine, right on the edge of the water, and we have had no problems running concentrators in heavy fogs and other humid conditions... without airconditioners.

I would advise you ask some of the vendors of concentrators (even if you do not purchase through them) what their feelings are, and if their warranties would cover very humid surroundings.

J&M · #8 2010-02-02, 2:29pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourTailsLampwork

I live in Georgia, and so far no trouble. knock on wood. Bead release is the big problem. J&M, have you tried Best bead release? It is especially formulated for people here on the East coast, not people in beautiful cool dry climates. In the summer I mix it with Blue Sludge and it works a treat.

Maybe I should give it a try. Where do you get it?

LyndaJ · #9 2010-02-02, 3:11pm

Do think it has to do with how much they're used? It seems like some of the folk who indicate that they don't have problems run the concentrators more. I wonder if the heat generated from running them keeps them drier?

Katie Gee · #10 2010-02-02, 3:29pm

I run a dehumidifier when I run my oxycon. During the
summer it gets full quite often, so I have to empty it at
least once and sometimes twice a day. In the winter, unless
it's raining alot, I don't have to empty it but once or twice the
whole season.

fsankar · #11 2010-02-02, 4:14pm

Oh no. Now I am in trouble again. See I told you it was Hell.
Thanks Ed. I bet if I asked the suppliers if they would warranty the unit in a humid place they will say no. I am afraid to ask.

I love A/C but when you say run a hose I dont quite understand. A hose for what.
I wonder if I could run a dehumidifier in a box with the conc. WAit a min. did you mean that the conc was not in the same room as the a/c?
Franklin

Starfield · #12 2010-02-02, 4:26pm

I think he meant put the concentrator in an A/C room and run a hose to the torching area.
That's what I did. I ran a my hose right through the wall and presto I have the concetrators in nice climate controlled conditions even though I am not!

Karen

Ed_Slawson · #13 2010-02-02, 5:19pm

Yes, thank you Karen, that is what I meant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starfield

I think he meant put the concentrator in an A/C room and run a hose to the torching area.
That's what I did. I ran a my hose right through the wall and presto I have the concetrators in nice climate controlled conditions even though I am not!

Karen

LyndaJ · #14 2010-02-02, 7:11pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by fsankar

Oh no. Now I am in trouble again. See I told you it was Hell.
I wonder if I could run a dehumidifier in a box with the conc. WAit a min. did you mean that the conc was not in the same room as the a/c?
Franklin

This wouldn't work. Your concentrator needs a steady supply of "fresh" air. It concentrates the O2 that's in the air and separating it from the nitrogen. If you put the concentrator in a box, it wouldn't have any fresh air, so you'd run out of O2.

FourTailsLampwork · #15 2010-02-02, 9:26pm

You can get Best BeadRelease from John Roberts at Forward Motion Art. http://forwardmotionart.com/bead_release.htm

fsankar · #16 2010-02-03, 2:48am

Lyndaj I was thinking about putting a port/hole on the side of the box for air to enter it and pipe the O2 out. I am so disappointed about this O2 business.
Can you all live without your conc. I bet that will be Hell.
We don't have dehumidifiers here so dont know how effective they are. I have to find out some more about them.
What do you all think?
Thanks
Franklin

Kym · #17 2010-02-03, 5:53am

A lot of portable/wheelable air cons will naturally dry the air as well, some even have catchers for the condensation. I figure if you could hook an aircon up to a box containing the concentrator it would be capable of pushing enough cool dry air to keep a concentrator happy. Anyone got any experience with this?

Kym

getdul981 · #18 2010-02-03, 7:31am

If you don't have dehumidifiers where you live, then you probably don't have high humidity either. In which case, this thread is a moot point. We live in VA and we have high humidity in the summer, so I run a dehumidifier full time in the basement. It has a hose connected to drain to the drain in the basement and I don't need to empty the reservoir.

Greg

Lisi · #19 2010-02-03, 9:31am

I'm in FL and I have an oxygen generator (Airsep) that is 7 years old and it's still running like a champ. The only thing I have ever had to do for it is wash the foam filter.

It's best to keep these machines in an air conditioned room. Mine was never kept in a/c at all, but this is a generator and it is equipped with an internal dryer. Expensive machine though, it cost me $2400.

Kym · #20 2010-02-03, 12:23pm

I can promise you that we have high humidity but dehumidifiers are still as rare as hens teeth here. Its just something you hardly ever even hear about.

Kym

fsankar · #21 2010-02-03, 4:50pm

I know exactly what you mean Kym. Humidity and the Caribbean go together not dehumidifiers. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
Franklin

Otter's Flame · #22 2010-02-03, 4:53pm

Same as here....... super high humidity here and definitely don't run a dehumidifier..... haven't had any issues after years of hard running my M-15..... and most tools in my garage are rusted.

Otter

J&M · #23 2010-02-03, 10:05pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourTailsLampwork

You can get Best BeadRelease from John Roberts at Forward Motion Art. http://forwardmotionart.com/bead_release.htm

Thank you.

Jack

laserglass · #24 2010-02-04, 5:25am

hi franklin!!!!!!!! glad to see you here at LE.

fsankar · #25 2010-02-04, 6:08am

Thanks Mark, now I see why you so quiet on your board. I am glad you are here to help with the tech. stuff.
Yes this is a nice board lots of good advice for the brave.

Franklin