Oxycon Squeaking Sound! Help Needed!
 

Hi!
In my home set up I am using a Devilbiss 525 with a small torch (equivalent of a minor). My oxycon started to make a squeaking sound while working over 3lt/min. The squeaking is repetitive, and happens in a cycle (the time between each squeak are equal). Does anybody know why this might be happening?

I purchased the oxycon second hand but it was only used 5 hours ( belonged to a patient). It is now at 77 hours, and still within warranty, but the technical service is in another city and I don't want to risk sending it there if the problem is not something important ( I am afraid that the handling of cargo companies might damage it more :( ).

Please Help!

Call the warranty place.

Fussing with it yourself while it's still under warranty is not good

Check if it is not too hot (and not too cold) and you have good incoming flow of fresh air. And that there are something like 12 inches or so from any wall. For an almost new one there are two main reasons to "cry" - not enough fresh air supply and local overheating (or overcooling). Also check if the hose lays nice and freely without any tight swirls that may block the normal output.

Hi Katia!
It starts making the sound whenever I start the machine, but only when the output is higher than 3lt/min (for now). It is not like crying, it is more like chirping of a bird, and not louder than the machine, but it is a higher pitch! It is hard to explain! I wish I could send a video... ( it is located in a good ventilated space, with enough distance to the wall. We're living the spring, thus it is located in a normal temp. (20-25 celcius)...

I found the manual for your model but it is in Russian. And it says that the oxycon may give a signal of "low oxy" if you set it on less than 3 lpm but the machine will work. May be alarm can switch on at 3 - let's check it. Can you go up to, say, 3.5 or 4 (you do not need to light the torch, just open the oxy valve, set to 3.5-4 lpm and let the oxycon work for some time? And what happens if you remove the hose from the oxycon and let it work alone without any attachments (like glasses for water and so on)?

The chirping you hear reminds me of the alarm noise only it lasts for a fraction of a second instead of going on and on.


We used to get chirping like that from the smoke alarms installed in on base housing back on the island of Guam.

Turns out is was from power spikes and sagging due to the crappy power system in Guam.

I would doubt that that is the source of your chirping but it could be that the alarm system is going off about a specific type of problem.

I would check to make sure that all the filters are clean ( It wouldn't hurt to go ahead and get extra filters now and swap them out but keep the old ones around in case that is not the problem this time).

I think there could be as many as 3 filters.
1) one that keeps the dust bunnies and cat hair out of it on the outside.
2) a pretty fine mesh one that really cleans the air after it gets into the case but before it reaches the mechanical parts that compress it and separate the oxygen from the rest of the air.
And 3) At least the oxycons I have opened up had a third 'biological' filter on the output line just before it goes back out the front panel to the "patient". ( This one prevents anything that might have decided to -grow- in the inner tubing from making the patient any sicker than they already were. -Growth- can be a problem if you live in high humidity areas or if the unit has been stored somewhere that did not have air conditioning for an extended period of time.)

But just to be safe, check to make sure that you don't have it powered from an extension cord past its prime or that you have too many things plugged into the same circuit breaker line.

Kilns, refrigerators, air conditioners and stoves and water heaters can cause power sagging and spikes that might trigger the alarm system in an oxycon.

A word of warning to anyone using a oxycon !

So one day I am using my torch and all of a sudden it goes to 100% propane flame. I immediately shut off the oxycon ,reasoning the problem had to be there.

All oxycons have a foam liner glued on the inside to reduce the noise level of the machine.
To my surprise, most of this black foam had desinagrated into a crumbling, gooey mess !

The oxycon stopped working because a piece of this mess had broken off and lodged in the cooling fan. With the fan not working, the machine overheated and stopped working.

It took me a full day to get this sticky mess out of the machine and wipe it clean using denatured alcohol and paper towels and a tooth brush.

My machine is 8 years old and from my research this type of foam starts to disintegrate in as little as 2-3 years.

So check the inside of your oxycon before it shuts down. And by the way, after a thorough cleaning, my oxycon works great and the noise level seems to be the same - go figure !

Hi,
Thank you all. I really appreciate the support, it is priceless.
I also do habe the manual, and I am not able to find a similar problem on the manual...

The sound is not an alarm sound, does not come from the board (none of the warning lights are on either, the oxy flow is ok too.) The sound is coming from inside the machine, I think it is related to a part within the compressor.

The same sound appears when I disconnect the hose from it and let it run without anything connected to it.

The sound is like when you have a turning wheel and in one point of the cycle the wheel is touching to another piece. Sound is not very loud ( someone who doesn't know wouldn't notice it), but it is there, and I am afraid to use the machine to not to damage it!

May be you try to use your phone to record the sound, contact the service company and send them the recording? Will the dictophone catch it if you provide silent environment with only sounds your oxycon is producing?

Katia I already did that, they are not able to hear it! Today I tried again and I think the sound is coming from the exhaust mechanism. Anyway, I guess I'll give it to the local dealer that the machine was bought and let them deal with the technical service...

Hmm... Mine produces some sound from exhaust, don't know how to describe... Like "sigh" may be. But this is definitely not from friction of its components and it seems it is normal.

But if your dealer is ready to help - it is better to check if everything is OK.

It really depends in what time the 5 hours were taken. Oxycons are made for working 24/7. If those 5 hours were taken in weeks/month the inside granulate material gets wet and does not dry enough while just running 1 hour. That's the worst for any oxycon. The chirping just says that your oxycon is still working but no more on a level of 5L/hr.
A used oxycon with 5000 hrs can be more powerfull because it's clear the machine was running on a regular basis.

Elke :waving: