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  #1  
Old 2006-01-02, 12:51pm
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Default Oxygen Concentrator for Minor Burner

I have spent most of today researching oxygen concentrators and am not having much luck. I have a minor and will be feeding into our natural gas line. For now I am working with soft glass, but can't wait to try boro. I know I'll need two concentrators for boro. I also found this info on Aurelens' website, but I'm not sure how to incorporate it into my search:

Suggested gas and pressures:
Propane: 2 to 6 PSI
Natural Gas: 1/4 to 2 PSI
Oxygen: 5 to 8 PSI

Again, I'll be using natural gas. Can anyone tell me how I should be performing my search? I don't know if I should search for a manufacturer name and then PSIs or some other criteria entirely.

I think what would be incredibly helpful would be if minor owners who use oxygen concentrators could tell me what they use and are happy with.

Thank you!!!!!
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  #2  
Old 2006-01-02, 1:19pm
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Hi Emily,

Yes, the whole oxycon thing can be sooo ovewhelming! I have a minor and two oxycons and the boro is still slow but can be done. I have a reconditioned AirSep oxycon and a Devilbliss - both run fine but I like the AirSep better - it "complains" less. Anyways, here is a link to a place to buy a reconditioned AirSep

http://www.oxyunlimited.com/

it runs 5 lpm (liters per minute) and 1 will run your minor/natural gas just fine for soft glass.

Hope that helps.
Cindy
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  #3  
Old 2006-01-02, 1:24pm
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Cindy, this TOTALLY helps! Thanks so much!!!
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  #4  
Old 2006-01-02, 1:30pm
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You're most welcome! Glad to help!

Cindy
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  #5  
Old 2006-01-02, 3:01pm
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Well, I spoke too soon. I have a follow-up question. Do I need to make sure I get a specific model or will any oxycon from either of these companies work? Thanks!
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  #6  
Old 2006-01-03, 4:53am
Justin L Justin L is offline
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You might want to get a machine from a reputable company, with as much of a warranty as possible. Here is some information you may like that I put together...

There are a wide range of concentrators out there. Heres is a quick shakedown of what you may be able to buy:

Assuming all concentrators are rebuilt properly:

-Airsep Newlife: Last about 12k hours, no real filters to keep contaminants out of the system. Sieve beds tend to get contaminated easily from lack of filters, and will harm oxygen purity in the higher flow rates. Should put out about 6.5-7.5 -psi which is ok. Pretty noisy valves as they age.

-Invacare Mobilaire 5: Last between 20-25k hours. Many many HEPA filters to keep the system very clean. Sieve beds are very very resilient and hardly ever go bad. Put out mid 90% o2 at all flow rates for a very long time. Factory PSI is 5 or 6. Quiet machine.

-Healthdyne Alliance: Lasts about 20k hours also. Good filtration. Sieve beds are very resilient. WHISPER quiet! 96% purity at 5LPM is very common. Factory is 5 or 6 psi.

-Devilbiss MC-Series; Solairis 505/515- Last about 20k hours also. Great filtration, pretty quiet. Good purity. These machines chug along at 8-9PSI from the factory with no problems whatsoever.

Respironics Millenium: When you get one that works, they are good...for about only 8k hours. "Fewer moving parts" doesnt always mean reliability. There is a reason they are on ebay for $100 AS IS. They are pretty quiet. 6PSI output pressure.

Unless you buy a new concentrator, these are the " main contenders" for used oxygen concentrators now. Anything else you may find, ask the seller all the questions you can think of, and you *should* be able to get an intelligent response if they service their own equipment.

Also, and if you want to take ANY guesswork out of the purity your concentrator is putting out, get one with an oxygen monitor (OCI/OPI). If the "Normal Oxygen" light is on, you know it is maintaining at least 87% oxygen! Unless it has the "OCI" feature, no series of beeps, clicks, wooshes or anything else from a standard concentrator will let you know the purity is good, unless there is a decent warranty and they stand behind their work.

Ive read a lot on here that a concentrator doesnt have as much "oomph" as tanked oxygen because they dont put out the same purity. This statement is true. Tanked oxygen is 97.8% pure. An oxygen concentrator that has been PROPERLY rebuilt, will put out around 95% oxygen at 5 Liters Per Minute. Not a huge loss at all!! If you have a concentrator that is running "ok" at 3 or 3.5 LPM, bump it up to 5LPM. If there is a noticeable loss in torch power, its probably because the concentrator isnt operating properly at high flow rates like it should. Once you get it running properly at 5LPM, you will never look back

I hope this helps you with your search!
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  #7  
Old 2006-01-03, 5:06am
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Wow. Great information! This is really going to help! Thanks so much!
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  #8  
Old 2006-01-03, 5:54am
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Wanted to note that I have an AirSep New Life and have had it for 3 years now and it runs beautifully! I like it much better than the Devilbliss that I have because it is quieter and more reliable. Not had a problem with it. I run it with a minor - very good for soft glass.

Cindy
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  #9  
Old 2006-01-03, 6:42am
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These beads (all boro) were done on a Minor with one AirSep Newlife concentrator. The smallest one is about 1 3/8" long, and about 5/8" in diameter. Took longer than doing them with oxygen, but it certainly can be done.

http://www.soleiletlune.com/beads/cosmic%2012-50.jpg
http://www.soleiletlune.com/beads/tu...ce%2003-50.jpg
http://www.soleiletlune.com/beads/orbit%2007-10.jpg
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