Portable Oxygen Systems

[Colin]

The R2D2 item from Mountain High means my use is so low that I use it on every flight over two hours. I love it. Pretty sure my wife thinks I am crazy, but I arrive much less fatigued. Almost like I took a nap on the flight. I should ask her about that.

[Lou]

According to their website, it appears so:

Thanks. What I still find confusing is this adapter is also sold: Aircraft Spruce . I was in the FBO watching the fill yesterday and they seem to use an adapter to go from the standard thread to the filling port on the cylinder. The Aerox website is a little skimpy on details. I guess I am wondering if anyone has specific knowledge or experience.

I really like the accumulator solution too but I thought I would try filling my own for a while to see how that works, at least when flying from my home airport.

[dmloftus]

If anyone is looking for an O2 solution, I cannot recommend the Inogen Aviator system highly enough.

Hi Michael,
Sent you a PM. Would love to chat as I am about to buy one.

[gcampbe2]

+1 for the Inogen O2 concentrator system as an alternative to bottles. I've been using this for a few months, and have found it can keep two people with blood O2 of 95%+ at 15K feet (above the advertised 14K).

[dmloftus]

+1 for the Inogen O2 concentrator system as an alternative to bottles. I've been using this for a few months, and have found it can keep two people with blood O2 of 95%+ at 15K feet (above the advertised 14K).

Hi Greg,
Where did you buy yours? I've done a lot of homework on sources for the Inogen G5 and I'm surprised to find the best source for new units is directly from the manufacturer. Many distributors are out of stock (and have been for months) but the factory has immediate shipments and priced several hundred dollars less than I was quoted elsewhere. I'm in the process of buying one this week. I'll be adding the DC/DC and dual cannula from inogenaviator.com. Just waiting for my doctor to sign off the Rx, which Inogen faxes him. BTW, in searching websites, I came across this interesting option, a teledoc that will write you an Rx for $75:

https://quick.md/oxygen-concentrator?gc ... vIQAvD_BwE

My doctor already agreed to sign off, but an interesting option for anyone that needs the Rx.

[gcampbe2]

Hi David,

I purchased my unit from Main Clinic Supply (https://store.mainclinicsupply.com/coll ... -this-sale). I'm in Canada, so the fact that they shipped quickly to Canada was a big deciding factor. To that I added the same Inogen Aviator kit that you are adding.

I couldn't be happier with the Inogen setup. The only thing I noticed was a slight metallic odour for the first couple of hours of use.

Greg

[dmloftus]

Thanks Greg. I spoke with Main Clinic Supply as well at the recommendation of Tom Laux from Inogen Aviator. Expecting overnight shipping directly from Inogen. And I probably won't notice the odour as my sense of smell is still screwed up from Covid ;-)

[bdbogle]

+1 for the Inogen O2 concentrator system as an alternative to bottles. I've been using this for a few months, and have found it can keep two people with blood O2 of 95%+ at 15K feet (above the advertised 14K).

Like you, I loved the Inogen G5. Kept my POX at about 99% at 12k. I'll be doing a long XC in a couple of weeks and will experiment a bit more with the setting to see how it all works out.

[dmloftus]

Since the FAA requires an inline flow indicator, I'm curious whether those with Inogen G5's use an indicator and what they actually indicate. Since the G5 and most other concentrators deliver a bolus when you inhale rather than continuous flow, does the ball jump up and down each breath you take? Is there any real meaning to the flow meter, or is it just a formality to meet the FAA requirement? What is the behavior of two flow indicators when you buddy breath with two people on one concentrator?
Concentrators just have a numerical level on the machine where they equate a bolus rate of, in the case of the G5, 1260 ml/min to a continuous flow of 6 L/min. With my Aerox tank unit, I have two altitude scales on the flow indicator, one for a mask/normal cannula, and a lower, compressed scale for use with their mustache-type oxy-saver cannulas (which is how they can promise 3-4X longer time for the same size tank). I suppose somehow they figured out the equivalent reduced scale for those oxy-savers.

[gcampbe2]

The cannula set that you get with the Inogen Aviator kit adds a gauge inline (the red thing in the image below) that spins when delivering O2. So as you inhale, if you look at the indicator, you will see it spin.