help with settings on propane and concentrator

[brendareed]

I am not new to lampworking but am new to using a concentrator. I have one coming that is an EX15. I also have my propane tank. This is the first time I've had to set everything up by myself...lol I had a husband that set up my tanks (propane and oxygen) but now I have no husband (someone else has him..LOL) . So my question is, what settings do I use and any other MOST HELPFUL instructions?

[Afro1621]

Hello Brenda,

What torch do you run?, the pressure (psi) on your propane regulator will be determined by the torch you´re using, for example, I have a GTT Cheetah and it runs from 8 to 11 psi.

The concentrator is really easy to use, you just have to connect the hose from your torch to it and that´s it, turn it on and leave it there for about 15 minutes before you start torching so it can reach the highest oxy purity. You don´t need a flasback arrestor or something like that. Also always leave the oxy valves from your torch cracked open so it does not generate any back pressure going to you oxycon ´cause it could get damaged.

[brendareed]

I use a nortel minor. I appreciate the help!

[Dale M.]

Actually the propane pressure should be about 1/3 your oxygen pressure...

If Oxycon puts out at about 10 PSI (not LPM) your propane pressure should be about 3-4 PSI... Its not overly critical and torch knobs actually control amount of propane and oxygen... You can actuality go down to 0.50 (1/2)PSI on propane and it will work fine, this the same pressure that most people have when they run torch on Natural Gas (utility company supplied) ....

Dale

[brendareed]

Now that I have my oxycon in and hooked up, (I'm going to get really technical here) what number should the little ball sit at? LOL! I did a couple of practice beads tonight and the silver ball stayed at around the number 4. As I said I know nothing about the concentrators so all advice and help is needed!

[Alaska]

For the most part with a scale of 0 to 5 your setting at four is correct. If you have the manual, the higher the LPM the lower the percent of oxygen. Thus it is better to run less than the maximum possible LMP out of the machine.

In my case use four also and control the needed amount at the torch.

[Role]

Originally Posted by brendareed

Now that I have my oxycon in and hooked up, (I'm going to get really technical here) what number should the little ball sit at? LOL! I did a couple of practice beads tonight and the silver ball stayed at around the number 4. As I said I know nothing about the concentrators so all advice and help is needed!

The EX-15 is "capable" of 8 LPM output.

Realistically, you want 6-7 LPM out for better oxygen purity.
(4 LPM is very good purity but low output for the EX-15)

The (EX-15) Respironics M series LPM gauge reads the ball in the
middle of the line to indicate even numbers.

Example: if the middle of the ball is on the 5 line it is producing 5 LPM.
If the ball is between the 5 line and the 6 line it is producing 5.5 LPM.

[brendareed]

Now I'm having another problem. I've got everything hooked up. Thanks for information on the oxycon. But now tell me what I've got wrong....I'm having trouble lighting my torch. I light the propane but when I then turn on the oxygen, it pops, then goes out, or I have a very weak flame. So what do I have wrong?

[Eileen]

When mine was doing that, I had to turn up the propane at the regulator.
I have an ocycon (5 lpm) that I keep at just under 4.5 and I keep the propane regulator at about 5-6 and turn it down at the torch to what I need.

[brendareed]

Thanks! Maybe I'll get this right someday! I just hooked up my oxycon last night and the little silver ball never gets past 4-5 (I'm really tech savvy). But from all the comments I've got my propane psi too low. I'll see if that fixes it tomorrow! Thanks again for all the help!

[Afro1621]

Originally Posted by brendareed

Now I'm having another problem. I've got everything hooked up. Thanks for information on the oxycon. But now tell me what I've got wrong....I'm having trouble lighting my torch. I light the propane but when I then turn on the oxygen, it pops, then goes out, or I have a very weak flame. So what do I have wrong?

Hi brenda,

Are you letting the oxycon run for about 10/15 minutes before start using it? low oxy purity might be the reason why the flame goes out.

As other people said, it might also be the propane psi is not a its correct level.

[Afro1621]

Originally Posted by brendareed

Thanks! Maybe I'll get this right someday! I just hooked up my oxycon last night and the little silver ball never gets past 4-5 (I'm really tech savvy). But from all the comments I've got my propane psi too low. I'll see if that fixes it tomorrow! Thanks again for all the help!

The same thing happened to me when I started using mine, I realized that it would not reach number 10 (mine is an M20) so I gave it a closer inspection to make sure nothing was obstructing the way in or way out of the air. I found out that the little styrofoam things that came inside the box to protect the oxycon had gotten into the lower part or botom of the oxycon (see picture) so I had to open it and take them all out.



The second thing I did was to place my hand on the side where the air comes in (left hand side) to make sure the oxycon was "breathing" (you should feel how you hand gets slightly sucked) and also opened the back where the filter is placed (you should also feel a small brezee!).



Third thing I did was to adjust the knob on the top of the flow indicator, either turn it clockwise or counterclock and you should see how the ball goes up or down.

And as a last thing, I always leave the oxy valves wide open so there's no back pressure going to the concentrator. I noticed that whenever I tried to adjust the flame by using the oxy valves on my torch it would inmediately make the ball come down from 10 to 5 or 4 and it would stay there untill I cracked open the valves again.. So it is important to let the oxygen get out of the oxycon without obstructing it.

I'm no expert but I'm sharing my experience with you so you have and idea of possible scenarios that may show up!

I hope you find this info helpfull! (and excuse me if I didn't explain myself clearly but English is not my mother language )

Please let me know how things go on!

[Role]

Originally Posted by brendareed

the little silver ball never gets past 4-5

Even when you turn the knob up all the way ???

If that is the case, you have a kinked or leaking hose inside.

It is possible you twisted the connector when you attached the hose
to it, this causes the internal hose to twist and kink restricting the O2
flow.

You can look inside the air filter door on the back, remove the filter for
better access/viewing, to see if the hose is kinked.




The red arrows point to the connector that goes to your hose, the clear
tubing must not be kinked.

If the tubing is kinked, take your O2 hose off and turn the connector back
until the clear tubing unkinks then reconnect your O2 hose making sure
you do not twist the connector.

[Role]

Originally Posted by Afro1621

And as a last thing, I always leave the oxy valves wide open so there's no back pressure going to the concentrator. I noticed that whenever I tried to adjust the flame by using the oxy valves on my torch it would inmediately make the ball come down from 10 to 5 or 4 and it would stay there untill I cracked open the valves again.. So it is important to let the oxygen get out of the oxycon without obstructing it.

First, do not worry too much about back pressure, there is a pressure
relief on the regulator, if the internal canister pressure gets too high
it will vent through the relief valve (and most likely shut off).

Remember, these things are made for elderly people that kink and pinch
the hoses all the time.

From what you are saying above, you may have a kinked internal hose
from attaching your O2 hose.

Take a look inside with a flashlight and make sure that clear tubing is not
kinked.

Addendum:

I should have said this the first time:

Your LPM gauge should Not drop to 4-5 when you close your O2 valve.

Take a look for that kinked hose inside.

[Extreme Oxygen Admin]

This is really great info sounds like a kinked hose, if you still are still experiencing issues give our shop a call (Exteme Oxygen 765-315-0333) and they will get one of the technicians on the phone or they will call you and walk you through some steps to help you figure out whats going on. They have alot of knowledge and they can usually spot a problem if its in setup or with the unit.