@lionel: very interesting product that Inogen concentrator. Did you get the G4? It works as a pulse regulator but has one connection only. Would this device be able to supply oxygen to a pilot and passenger? The minimum flow rate of the O2D2 is 22 L/min. Most concentrators deliver a maximum of 5 litre of oxygen per minute. Would this be enough at altitude?
Off topic,hope you will forgive me but on reading this thread I thought the idea of an oxygen generator/concentrator might be a good idea for me.I got the impression from my research that EASA regulations require an oxygen store and therefore a generator/concentrator does not meet NCO requirements. Am I reading this incorrectly or looking in the wrong place?
I use the G3; more oxygen for the same price and the weight difference (less than a kg) is negligible for in-the-plane use (it counts if you have to carry it around all the time like the actual medical patients do).
Looking at the website now, I see they have the G5 now which seems even better. Same weight as the G3 (50g difference…) and more oxygen. In their marketing documentation, the oxygen flow is in a dimension-less “flow setting”. Each unit of flow is 210 ml/min, so setting 5 (G3 max) is 1050 ml/min, setting 6 (G5 max) is 1260 ml/min and setting 3 (G4 max) is 630 ml/min.
I use it two people with copilot or passenger through a “Y” connection for the cannulas. I have these little red turning things that show flow after the Y (one for each person), and I check that both turn. I’m not scientifically convinced that both people get equal oxygen, but “good enough for me”. I tell myself that the only scenario where people would get, averaged over minutes, different quantity, is if they have strictly the same respiratory frequency with a phase difference. I don’t think people’s respiration frequency will be tightly synchronised.
When I’m alone, I do remove the Y and connect directly to the unit, else oxygen gets wasted. Keep in mind I fly a (poorly by modern standards, but still) pressurised plane, so all this is “comfort or complement to pressurisation” for me.
I have also tested that the electrical system of the plane can provide two units at the same time; I have two units for when we are more than two people in the plane. No problem. What it cannot do is provide the units’ working power and charge the unit batteries at the same time, so I try to make sure the batteries are fully charged before flight. If they are not, I remove the batteries.
Is the flow provided enough? <shrug>
https://web.archive.org/web/20130512192847/http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/sauerstoff-e.html says people need, with oxygen-saving cannulas, about 300-400ml/min/person/10000feet.
http://oxyfly.com/tl_files/Oxyfly/oxyfly_chart.png says about 500 ml/min/person at 15000feet, 700 ml/min/person at 18000feet
I tell myself that the pulse detection of the units has the same effect as the the “oxygen saving” in the oxygen-saving cannulas. Am I right? You’ll have to make your own decision.
http://www.inogenaviator.com/ makes an “aviator” version. Do they actually have different software? I’m not sure.
This subject was/is done in https://www.euroga.org/forums/maintenance-avionics/327-oxygen-generators/
@peter might want to move the posts specifically about generators there.
gallois wrote:
I got the impression from my research that EASA regulations require an oxygen store and therefore a generator/concentrator does not meet NCO requirements. Am I reading this incorrectly or looking in the wrong place?
NCO.OP.190 only talks about “supplemental oxygen”. There is no mention of an oxygen store.
NCO.IDE.A.155 Supplemental oxygen — non-pressurised aeroplanes
Non-pressurised aeroplanes operated when an oxygen supply is required in accordance with NCO.OP.190 shall be equipped with oxygen storage and dispensing apparatus capable of storing and dispensing the required oxygen supplies
There are matching ones for helicopters and sailplanes.
The AMC speak of the amount of oxygen and that it can be installled or portable.
Picked up an Eclipse 3 for €200 which has an error light that I believe is just as a result of wanting the €50 service items replaced. Hopefully it will do the trick. What do we use to split the output to 2 or 4 cannulas?
zuutroy wrote:
What do we use to split the output to 2 or 4 cannulas?
Something like https://www.amazon.com/RESPIRATORY-CONNECTORS-Oxygen-Tubing-Connector/dp/B005JXGGNI
Yup…that looks good. I’ll hold off on that large expense until I see if I can get the unit working fully at 3L/min again!
zuutroy wrote:
Picked up an Eclipse 3 for €200 which has an error light that I believe is just as a result of wanting the €50 service items replaced.
Having some fun with this! Opened it up and did a service, no joy. Brought it into work and measured the purity. 70% and 1 l/min and 45% at 3 l/min. Leak checked everything and all seemed fine. Compressor seems fine. I suspect maybe moisture damage to the zeolite as it was probably sitting in someone’s shed for years in the damp Irish conditions. Some company in the US offered to send me a new sieve bed for $500. Nonsense! Opened up the sieve beds, took all the zeolite out and its currently baking at 200 C. Interestingly the stuff from the output end of the module came out very clumpy so there’s definitely some moisture in there.
