Securing a portable oxygen bottle

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Marc_CYBW
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Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Marc_CYBW »

I use an Aerox two person portable o2 setup. It comes with a canvas bag and a sling to hang it on the back of the right seat. The sling worked well in my old C182 but no so well in the DA40.

What do others use to secure the bottle when in use?

Thanks
Marc
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Jean »

I attached my MH tank in its bag behind the passengers seats.
The problem is that I can't reach the knob nor read the pressure gage from pilot seat.
The oxygen pulse unit is attached to the right on engine control assembly.
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Antoine »

Wow. This looks like an almost perfect hospital room installation. Are you a doctor Jean?
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Jean »

Yes I am :)
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by carym »

Jean wrote:I attached my MH tank in its bag behind the passengers seats.
The problem is that I can't reach the knob nor read the pressure gage from pilot seat.
The oxygen pulse unit is attached to the right on engine control assembly.
I, too, mount my MH tank in its bag but behind the right front seat. In this way I can easily reach the valve to turn it on and off. The O2D2 unit sits on the floor in between the front two sets in the passenger compartment. I can keep my sats at or above 90% if I have my pulse unit set for mask settings, but my wife doesn't need nearly as much oygen to keep her sats above 90%. I think that is because I am a year older than she is :(
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Marc_CYBW »

What type of unit do you use to monitor your saturation levels?
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by carym »

We have a couple simple pulse oximeters in the plane, like this one:

http://www.clinicalguard.com/fingertip- ... p-161.html

No need to spend lots of money to get fancy. You just want to know that your oxygen saturation is about 90% or greater.

Using oxygen has a number of advantages including keeping your brain awake. One advantage that you hear about is that you are less tired at the end of a trip. This is because your pulse is actually slower when you use supplemental oxygen and this can be observed on the pulse-oximeter)
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by BlackMammoth »

The less tired part is a big deal for me. I frequently fly on business, and the difference in how I feel after a day of "DA40 commuting" with oxygen vs. without is significant. I also keep and use a pulse oximeter in the plane.

Most of my flying is done @ 8500 or above ... might not be as much of a factor if I was lower.
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle & fire extinguisher

Post by Marc_CYBW »

As it happens, there has been some recent and animated discussion on the aviation forums as to the usefulness and operation of various types of aircraft fire extinguishers.

After some research I came to the following conclusion:
1. I cannot reach the extinguisher we have in our DA40 in its back seat location;
2. Even if I could, operating the extinguisher in the confines of the aircraft in flight would likely incapacitate the pilot and passengers.
3. Dry chemical extinguishers cause a lot of aircraft damage.

In addition, as mentioned on the original post, I need some additional form of securing my O2 bottle which as i use it, hangs in a purpose built bag on the back of the co-pilot's seat.

So after more research, and consulting with our AME, I came up with a working solution for a three person configuration:

1. Wedge a block of semi rigid foam in the right rear passenger foot well.
2. Cut a hole in the foam in which to cradle the bottom of the O2 bottle.
3. Carry a second 1.2 lbs aviation model Halon 2122/1301 extinguisher (H3R RTA600) in a second hole in the foam right where I can easily reach back and grab and deploy the extinguisher.

There is no permanent installation involved.

I bought all the components and will install them for my trip to Oshkosh and eastern Ontario this summer. I'll apprise you of progress.
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Re: Securing a portable oxygen bottle

Post by Marc_CYBW »

Meant to post a follow-up some time ago.

Last summer, we flew from Calgary to Oshkosh to Battle Creek to London to Kingston to Sault Ste Marie and back via the south shore of Lake Superior and then through Canada. Mostly IFR with a good deal of solid IMC and active weather. Mostly around 9,000 to 10,000'

Although we didn't experience any really rough flying, the rig stayed solidly in place, the O2 bottle valves were easy to manipulate and, fortunately, I didn't have to use the halon.

Since then I bought a pulse oximeter which I plan to use on a trip over the rocks this Spring and during any night flying.

Not sure what the regs are in the US and the EU, but here you MUST use O2 for any flights over 30 min over 10,000' and anytime over 12,000'. And although I live at 4,000' I always felt better using O2 over 10,000'.

Marc
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