dllfo wrote: I just found 6 E bottles and 2 regulators for $100. The lady, who sounds like she is .. uh .. mature says they are full of oxygen and the tanks are "current". From her language she may work in the medical field.
That price sounds too good to be true, but I will buy them in the morning.
I will clean the regulators and outside of the tanks, but how can a person tell if it is oxygen or just plain air in the tanks?
Any help appreciated.
That is a very good price. Did she say why she has all these tanks and regulators? I would be more concerned about the function of the regulators than the contents of the tanks. The regulators are easy to damage, but as someone else noted if the tanks are green they are likely oxygen. Somewhere on one of the gauge faces it should say "oxygen".
Since oxygen is NOT flammable but does support a flame, you could point a low flow from the tank at a match and see if the flame gets larger. Air would not make it any larger. If there is any chance there is a flammable gas in the tanks don't try this! If you still have a homecare provider/DME maybe they would let you use an oxygen analyzer. Just put the analyzer cell and the nipple or the end of a piece of tubing connected to the nipple in a baggie. The analyzer should read 96-100% very quickly. Or any one who refills tanks could also analyze for you. The tanks will have a date stamped into the metal near the top which indicates when they were last pressure tested. I don't remember the required time interval anymore, but it is years (10?maybe?).
I heard another respiratory therapist say the the oxygen you buy from a welding supply company may be MORE pure than medical grade as some welding operations cannot tolerate any impurities. He worked for a DME and was doing a presentation to our pulmonary rehab class. I do not know if that is accurate or not.
Her husband is alive, but due to severe respiratory and diabetic problems, he is in a .. what is the word .. nursing home that can monitor him 24/7. They were his tanks and regulator.
The lady who sold them appears to be 50-60 and has called us twice since we got home to see if I needed the cannulas. I figured I would call the sheriff's dept. Monday. If there is something wrong, I will give the tanks to the sheriff. But price wise, you can buy an E tank off the internet for under $50 and get regulators too. I do have a prescription and I showed it to her.
The regulators go up to 5 LPM, so they may be fairly old. Since the most I ever used, even at the Continental Divide was 4.5 LPM, I should be ok.
This info is from an article I read about oxygen ...
"There are four kinds of oxygen that are merchandised or sold to users; Aviation, Medical, Welding and Research. There is a ongoing controversy if there is any difference between the different types. Oxygen gas is produced from the boiling off of liquid oxygen. It would appear that the oxygen is therefor the same. Where we obtain oxygen, all the different types of oxygen are supplied from the same manifold system. Then someone says that medical oxygen has more moisture in it. That is partly true. The oxygen going to a hospital bed is plain oxygen that comes from liquid oxygen. At the bed location, there is a unit on the wall that adds moisture. At this moment we now have medical oxygen. If the oxygen is in a pressure vessel or in a manifold system (like inside a hospital) then it is regular oxygen. The cost of medical or welding oxygen is normally much less than the oxygen you get at an airport.
Also of interest, we have been told by the suppliers of welding oxygen, the purity level required for welding and cutting purposes is more critical than for breathing.
The bottom line about the different types of oxygen is in the insurance liability of the oxygen supplier. The gas is the same but the insurance liability is different."
"This info is from an article I read about oxygen ...
Oxygen gas is produced from the boiling off of liquid oxygen."
This is wrong. Oxygen is in its liquid state only if it is colder than about minus 300 degrees F. It becomes a gas as it warms above that. Have you ever tried to transfer LOX from your large tank to your portable on a warm humid day? Have trouble with the tanks sticking together when the condensation at the connection freezes?
Unless the "boiling point" for oxygen is -300??
"The bottom line about the different types of oxygen is in the insurance liability of the oxygen supplier. The gas is the same but the insurance liability is different."
Oxygen is a drug and requires a prescription. too much can be as bad for you as too little.
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