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Jelveh Designs - Glass Beads Torched One-by-One

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  #1  
Old 2005-11-10, 11:35am
beadme beadme is offline
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Question Are Oxygen Concentrators Quiet?

Hello! This is my first post.

RE: Oxygen Concentrators.

Do they make much noise? I really enjoy not having alot of loud noise when making beads. Are certain brands quieter than others?

I have a Minor Burner, and hope to upgrade soon to a Major Burner, or ??. How do I find out the output of a used concentrator...and whether it will run my torch?

What is the most cost effective way to get an O2 concentrator? Are the rebuilt ones just as good? Does anyone out there use a rebuilt concentrator and who did you get it from?

Also....is it complicated to take a used concentrator that was used for medical purposes and convert it for torch use? Is there a safety issue?

Do you have any recommendations or warnings before I invest in this? Is it simply better to buy from a known vendor? Who do you recommend?

Oh...one final question...are they just as easy to hook up as my O2 tank?

Thanks for all your help! I am learning so much from this forum.

Diana
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  #2  
Old 2005-11-10, 11:40am
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Cosmo Cosmo is offline
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We use two AirSep Newlife concentrators when teaching our classes. With both of them running, we can still have a normal conversation without raising our voices. They aren't much louder than your refrigerator when running.

I think most everyone uses rebuilt or reconditioned concentrators. When they are new, they are very expensive. Once the medical industry gets their use out of them (which usually isn't very long) they are no longer "safe" for breathing. They become very cheap then. But, they are still perfectly fine for running a torch. Both of ours are rebuilt, and we have been using them for two classes a month for almost a year.

We bought ours off of Ebay, but I would check at http://www.oxygenplusmedical.com/ and http://www.suncoastbeads.com/ as well.
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Last edited by Cosmo; 2005-11-10 at 11:42am.
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  #3  
Old 2005-11-10, 2:51pm
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Sue H-K Sue H-K is offline
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I run two Airseps together too and there is a hum, but it isn't very loud...like Chad said you can have a normal conversation. I really don't even notice mine anymore.

I got one of mine from Paulette at suncoast beads, but she has turned the reconditioned portion of the business over to Margi at oxyunlimited and I got my other one from someone here at LE in the garage sale section.
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  #4  
Old 2005-11-10, 5:49pm
Justin L Justin L is offline
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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. If you get a relatively "new" Newlife, they seem to be quieter.

-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.


I would say the quietest machines out there would be a Devilbiss Solairis 505, or a Healthdyne Alliance. Both can also be had with the OCI/OPI oxygen purity sensor feature!
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  #5  
Old 2005-11-10, 6:25pm
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well after working with a hothead and going to a minor with a concentrator, the concentrator is sooo quiet compared to the hothead. Yep, normal conversation levels, radio on even. LOL
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  #6  
Old 2005-11-10, 6:50pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin L
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. If you get a relatively "new" Newlife, they seem to be quieter.

-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.


I would say the quietest machines out there would be a Devilbiss Solairis 505, or a Healthdyne Alliance. Both can also be had with the OCI/OPI oxygen purity sensor feature!

A bunch of good info there. When we get our studio up and running, I'll have to drive a half hour down 460 and come see you....
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  #7  
Old 2005-11-10, 11:01pm
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I have a Lynx torch with two Invacare Mobilaire 5 oxygen concentrators. I have a third Airsep that I turn on when I want to do boro.

I find that the oxygen concentrators are not as obnoxious as a Hot Head torch in term of noise. Overall, the noise levels are about the same, but the oxygen concentrators can be set up several feet away from you, whereas the hot head torch is right in front of you, so you can't get away from the noise.

Overall, my exhaust fan is way noisier than even 3 oxygen concentrators running at once.
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BHB/PANDORA EXCHANGE IN THE PATIO
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  #8  
Old 2005-11-11, 9:31am
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Dale M. Dale M. is offline
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One has to remember medical units usually run 24/7 and that means they must be quiet enough to not interfear with patients sleep. And the are usually only 4-8 feet away from patient.

Dale M.
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  #9  
Old 2005-11-11, 9:59am
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Excellent information! Thanks guys!!

Char
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  #10  
Old 2005-11-12, 8:22am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coyotesfamily
well after working with a hothead and going to a minor with a concentrator, the concentrator is sooo quiet compared to the hothead. Yep, normal conversation levels, radio on even. LOL
Yes, indeed! I refer to my concentrator as "Darth Vader".

Vanessa
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  #11  
Old 2005-11-12, 10:13pm
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Hi!
I have both airsep, and invacare. I use my airsep the most. It has a nice beat to it as far as noise. The invacare is used when my girlfriend comes to visit from Arizona and she sets that up for her use. The invacare bugs me, its quiet then PUSSHHHHHH. Startles me every time! I watch T.V. and my little DVD portable. Talk on the phone no problems with the Airsep machine. I purchased my Airsep off E-bay, broke down 3 mo. later and spent 250.00 to have it fixed so beware. Probably best to buy it from some of the web sites that are mentioned above.
Happy beading!
Teena
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  #12  
Old 2005-11-13, 7:34am
Justin L Justin L is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cosmo
A bunch of good info there. When we get our studio up and running, I'll have to drive a half hour down 460 and come see you....
Hope to see you soon!
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Old 2005-11-13, 8:45am
smutboy420 smutboy420 is offline
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Quote:
Do they make much noise? I really enjoy not having alot of loud noise when making beads. Are certain brands quieter than others?
They are pretty quite. but some brands do make more noise then others. they tend to sound like and old refrigerater or a big fish tank air pump running. So its not too much louder then things that others have in there living spaces in there house going 24 hours a day.

Quote:
I have a Minor Burner, and hope to upgrade soon to a Major Burner, or ??. How do I find out the output of a used concentrator...and whether it will run my torch?
A good one should run a minor no problem. but a major will be cutting it close even with 2 hooked together because of the low pressure they put out.


Quote:
What is the most cost effective way to get an O2 concentrator? Are the rebuilt ones just as good? Does anyone out there use a rebuilt concentrator and who did you get it from?
Almost all of the used 1 come as "rebuilt" tho I highly dought many actallty are rebuilt, inless spining back the hours meter is considered a rebuild. any that are really rebuilt have a $13 bearing in the compressor replaced and filters and thats it. some times the sieave beds are vacummed to repleanish the zeolite in the seive beds if they get moister in them.

Quote:
Also....is it complicated to take a used concentrator that was used for medical purposes and convert it for torch use? Is there a safety issue?
Nope it needs no conversion. just hook up your o2 hose and you are ready to go. No saftly issue sence you are not going to be breathing the o2 so even if purity is low or you have dirty filters you torch will not get sick from the o2 if its not up to medical standards.

Do you have any recommendations or warnings before I invest in this? Is it simply better to buy from a known vendor? Who do you recommend?
more or less no it does not matter who you get it from and a dealer might be more apt to blow smoke up ones butt when buying one then. if you find one that some one is selling cause grandma kicked the bucket. You might be even better off. Sence most places that sell em as rebuilt but for glass blowing would not have the slightest ideal how to rebuild them. cause if they did they would know there is not much to rebuild in them and if they are not for medical use there is no need to rebuild them. Also it don't take a brain surgen to figure out that no one in there right mind thats in biz of selling these would spend the $ to have one rebuilt and bought back up to full medical specs then go turn around and sell it for non medical use. If one was truly rebuilt they would sell it as a medical use one for a lot more $$ as long as you find one with only a few thousand hours on it or less you should be all ok.


Quote:
Oh...one final question...are they just as easy to hook up as my O2 tank?
even easier. there is no regulator. the hose just hooks up to the o2 outlet.
and its stays there so you never need to take it off and put it back on to change tanks.

BTW are you the handy type or do you have a hubby or hany man at your disposal? If so there are some good tweeks on can do to a used medical o2 gen to make em work much better for glass blowing. but they all involve going inside it and making some changes.
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  #14  
Old 2005-11-13, 12:21pm
Justin L Justin L is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smutboy420
BTW are you the handy type or do you have a hubby or hany man at your disposal? If so there are some good tweeks on can do to a used medical o2 gen to make em work much better for glass blowing. but they all involve going inside it and making some changes.
I wouldnt advise on any "tweaking" unless you have the proper gauges and test equipment to tell if the machine is working properly after the "tweaks" or not. Also going inside a machine like that and changing settings may very well void any existing warranty you may have. Be careful!
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Last edited by Justin L; 2005-11-14 at 6:13am.
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  #15  
Old 2006-03-04, 12:26pm
smutboy420 smutboy420 is offline
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Yes I agree its not some thing any one should not mess around with inside inless they are willing to take the risk of voided warrentys or knowing what any change they are makeing does,

If Someone has a pcs of junk older one and they can get some better proformance out of it. And they feel confortable in the plumbing jungle inside.
some can be tweeked a tiny bit if they know what they are looking at once they are looking at it. with out to much to loss if it don't give much better proformance. and to much or the wrong thing will dramaticly LOWER proformance and longevity.
I know you do stand behind the ones you sell with a warranty and a very good warranty at that. So it would seem as any in good shape and still under warranty would be at the best proformance already. And in that case if 1 is not cutting it for some ones needs. or they need more o2. its prob a sign they need to add a 2'nd one.
Don't anyone go frankinstiening There Good o2 gens.
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  #16  
Old 2021-06-06, 2:35pm
duncanweishaa789 duncanweishaa789 is offline
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Default Are Oxygen Concentrators Quiet?

Yes and no. In general, they're much quieter than your average fish tank or central heating unit. However, the noise level can vary depending on the setting on the oxygen concentrator you're using, how fast it's running, and how much outside sound is reaching in through its casing. With all that said, an noisy oxygen concentrator is still better than not breathing because of momentary annoyance with a sound. As long as it does what you need it to do efficiently and easily enough to manage without any issues--then who are we to judge?

There are two different types of oxygen concentrators. The Jet O2 Concentrator is the most popular one, and it is as loud as a vacuum cleaner. But they have developed quieter machines that are smaller in size called Pulse CVT and Pulsair.
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  #17  
Old 2021-08-17, 7:00am
simcha simcha is offline
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Just want to weigh in on my setup. I have an Invacare Perfecto 2 concentrator and an Invacare Homefill II. I have to say the setup is not so quiet and I run it when I'm not on the torch. It takes about 1.5-2 days to fill up my K tank. The only quirk is that sometimes the system doesn't work and you have to troubleshoot it which can be a huge pain if you're not a hands-on kinda person. If you like to tinker and take things apart to see how they work, then the Invacare combo is great and you can find them on Craigslist pretty often and at great prices.
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