help purchasing oxygen concentrator

[VickiK]

I'm on a minor and tanked oxy and want to buy an oxy concentrator. I've been looking on ebay and was wondering if anyone has any advice/hints on buying, or even horror stories of what to stay away from. I'm terrified of being taken (for such a large amount of money)!

Also, someone asked in another thread about switching between an oxycon and tank. There wasn't much response and I too am wondering if this is feasible. Thanks.

[A.Loomis]

I have two oxycons I purchased directly from Hobbiesforus.com . I am very happy with the price I paid, and have had no issues with them so far after I learned how to set them up and run them correctly with my minor.

I dealt with them over the phone, and the person I spoke with was Gary.

I've never had tanked oxy here, just used it at classes. So I can't speak to that.

Hope this helps,
Angela

[Cosmo]

It's easy to switch between a concentrator and a tank. Just unhook the hose from one and hook it to the other. The concentrator doesn't need a regulator.

I have some AirSep Newlife concentrators that we teach on, and they work great running a Minor. I got mine off Ebay. One was a good transaction, and the other was anything but...

I recommend you check out www.oxygenplusmedical.com. I believe they sell on Ebay as well, but you can purchase right from their web site.

[Flamechick]

Holy cow. I just checked Hobbiesforus.com and was amazed to see refurbished oxycons for under $200 with a warranty. I don't want to hijack Vicki's thread, but as a prospective buyer, I too am worried about getting ripped off. Thanks for the thread Vicki!

[Justin L]

yup we sell on ebay a lot, and sometimes we even have machines for a severely discounted price. Warranty means a lot, too! If you get a machine with a good warranty it means the companys work quality can stand the test of time. More often than not we receive calls from customers that bought a 'quick and dirty' machine off of ebay and it needs repair.

Do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions before you purchase on ebay. If the seller balks at any question that you ask, I would be weary. If they say they rebuild the equipment they should be able to intelligently answer your questions, or if it was "just refurbished" they should have proof. There is a LOT of false advertising going on, as far as ebay is concerned.

If you have any more questions, I have a detailed write out of the most popular concentrators that I can email you later on...

[VickiK]

Thanks everyone. Tommorrow I plan to call around to some local places - a few medical equipment suppliers.

Thanks for answering the question about switching, Chad. My husband had purchased a tank well before I started lampworking. He used it for welding, that is until I took it over . So it will be really convenient should I need some extra punch.

No problem Amber. Hijack away! You may have questions I haven't even thought of!

Justin, I'd appreciate all the info I can get!

Thanks again, guys!

[Justin L]

I'll copy what I said in another post:

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 purity in the higher flow rates. Should put out about 8-9psi which is good. 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 same questions you just asked and you *should* be able to get an intelligent response if they service the 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!

[A.Loomis]

Just so you folks know, my Hobbiesforus.com oxycons are reconditioned, and came with many hours on them. However, because I went straight to them, and didn't use their eBay, etc., I paid less than $200 per machine, and the shipping was hefty at $50 each. I also got the one year warranty per each one included in my price.

I completed the entire transaction over the telephone, and actually received the systems the VERY NEXT DAY!!! I was certainly surprised!!!

Anyway, they come boxed up so well that we kept one of the boxes just in case we ever needed to ship it back to them for service. In the meantime, I also contacted a local company so that even after the warranty is up, I can get service for them locally.

All in all, I was completely satisified with the service I got.... and I've been using them for just over a month now--YAY!! The tanked oxygen scared me a bit, and I'm much happier with these babies.

-Angela

[LoriBird]

Vicki,
I got my oxy con from http://www.oxygenplusmedical.com/ back in June. They have great customer support and great prices, a warranty and they have been in business for a number of years.
good luck in your quest!
xoxo
lori